You may have heard about Jesus your whole life—but do you actually know Him? I’m not talking about religion, church attendance, or head knowledge. I mean a real, personal, authentic relationship with the living God. If you’ve ever wondered, “There has to be more than this in the Christian life,”—you’re not alone.
In this episode, we’re going to uncover how to move from knowing about Jesus to truly knowing Him. I want to give you three words that often describe our relationship with Jesus and the third one genuinely has the potentially to radically change your life.
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Paul’s Accomplishments
Philippians 3:4–6 – If anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh, I far more: circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless.
While Paul says he (more than anyone else) could boast about his accomplishment, background, and achievements, he quickly goes on to say that he would be willing to give it all up for the sake of Christ Jesus … in fact, Paul continues, he would be willing to count ALL things in His life as “rubbish” in view of knowing about Jesus. Here is what he said in Philippians 3:7–8, “But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ …”
The word for “knowing” Christ Jesus is gnostos/gnosis. We talked more in depth in the last study that these words for “knowledge” in the Greek give the idea of:
- General intellectual knowledge
- Informational — facts and data
The term “rubbish” is far more than trash or garbage—the Greek term (skyballon) literally means “dog dung.” In other words, Paul is saying that he would be willing to call all things in his life “dog dung” so that he could gain Christ and know (gnosis) information about Jesus.
Do you realize how grand and glorious Jesus Christ is?
Jesus is so good, and so superior, and so exalted that it would be worth giving up all things in our lives just to have information about Him.
Yet Paul wants more (just as we should) …
Paul’s Passion and Desire
While Paul would be willing to lay down everything in his life and call it rubbish in order to gain Christ and have information about Jesus, He goes on in Philippians 3:10–11 and declares that his passion, longing, and desire is “that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.”
The word Paul now uses for “knowing Jesus” is my favorite Greek word, ginōskō. As we mentioned previously, the word is used in a variety of ways but it is typically understood as:
- Knowledge typically found through experience or relationship, an intimate understanding
- John 17:3 – “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”
Knowing ABOUT Jesus verses KNOWING Him
As Christians, we often default to knowing about Jesus—having our information, facts, and data about Him—and missing out on the most important thing … actually knowing (ginōskō) Him.
While it is true, as Paul declares, it would be more than reasonable to call all things in our lives—all our accomplishments, achievements, success, wisdom, talent, ability, etc., etc.—worthless compared to gaining Christ and knowing ABOUT Him. Jesus is just that good.
But we must not stop at information and details … we must cry out as Paul did that our longing, hope, expectation, passion, and excitement is to actually know (ginōskō) Him.
Do you spend more time in your life learning about Jesus or spending time with Him?
FOOTNOTES
Photo Credit: Hannah Merritt
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Question: Do you spend more time in your life learning about Jesus or spending time with Him?
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About NRJohnson
NRJohnson (Nathan Johnson) is the host of the Deeper Christian Podcast and has an overwhelming passion for Jesus, the Gospel, and Studying God’s Word. He is a writer, teacher, and communicator who helps other believers understand and apply the Bible as they grow and mature in their faith—desiring that they gain greater intimacy with Christ, experience the victorious Christian life, and transform the world through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Read more about him here.
About the Deeper Christian Podcast
Many Christians feel frustrated because they don’t grow spiritually. The Deeper Christian Podcast helps equip Christians to understand the Word of God and cultivate a passionate love for Jesus that turns the world upside down.
Whether you want to learn how to study God’s Word, grow in your faith, cultivate a powerful and effective prayer life, share the Gospel boldly, deepen your intimacy with Jesus, live victoriously, or transform the world through the indwelling life of the Holy Spirit, the Deeper Christian Podcast with NRJohnson (Nathan Johnson) will encourage and equip you to grow spiritually and live a Christ-centered life.
