-Know. It can describe the state of having a relationship with someone - you know them (and there is a Biblical sense of that which we won’t go into at this point). Or you can have truth/fact about something or someone, you know this or that or the other. Understanding. Knowledge. It’s certainty - you know. It’s a funny sounding word, in English it sounds exactly like our negative - but that’s English for you. In fact, it comes from the Greek - gignosko, or ginosko, meaning to know, and gnosis, meaning knowledge. Agnostic, ignorant - these all derive from this same Greek root which speaks to this state of having accessed and acquired truth about something or someone. But whereas in Greek, the ‘g’ before the ‘n’ is silent, in English we have a silent ‘k’. Who knew? Some kneehigh knave with a knot in his knickers and a knife in his knapsack telling knock knock jokes? Knot likely.
-John knew, that’s who. He talks about knowing, about accessing and embracing truth (AND about knowing the Father and the Son in relationship), more than any other writer in all of Scripture. The word shows up 40 times in this little letter (132 times in his Gospel!). John clearly values awareness and certainty about the Truth of God, knowing His truth AND knowing Him. John wants his readers - US - to know the One True God, to have this eternal relationship with Him, and to be certain about that, to know for certain that we have eternal life. This is why he has written this letter. kNOw doubts about Jesus...
-Now you can possess facts about something, and let’s assume it is true, but to actually KNOW that something, you must trust in its truth. Become persuaded that it is in fact true (which is the essence of faith). Confidence. You may have encountered facts about Jesus - that He is the Son of God - but you don’t KNOW that until you are having trusted in that truth. Until you have allowed that truth to sink into your heart and mind and settle down as settled fact. You KNOW it when you are fully and finally persuaded that it is true. Elvis is dead. You don’t KNOW that until you embrace that truth. There are no more Cinnabons - someone ate the last one. You don’t KNOW that until you accept it, embrace it. Someone might try to convince you, but until and unless you become convinced of it, you don’t know it. You must believe it in your heart. That’s what we call faith. It is trust. You trust that it is in fact true. Now one can become absolutely convinced of something which in fact is not true. Belief, trust, conviction, sincere faith - does not make something true. There is truth (and falsehood), and there is KNOWing, knowledge of truth. John KNOWS. He knows what - and WHO - is True, Who is Life, and Who is the true and only source of (eternal) life (John 1.4, 3.16, 5.39-40, 6.47-48, 10.10, 11.25, 14.6, 17.2-3). John not only heard these words of life from the Life, he saw it and touched it. He is an eyewitness. Seeing is believing (KNOWing), right? But he is concerned for those of us who did not have that same opportunity, and wants us to nevertheless have the same level of certainty which he himself has. About Jesus. And the eternal life which He alone offers. Absolutely certain. 100%. It’s a fair question - if you were to die tonite, God forbid, how certain are you that you would be with Jesus?
No comments:
Post a Comment