Can I know God?
Yes!
The following four principles will help you discover how to know God personally
and experience the abundant life he promised.
1. God
loves
you and created you to know Him personally.
God's Love
"God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever
believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life" (John 3:16).
God's Plan
"Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus
Christ, whom you have sent" (John 17:3, NIV).
What prevents us from knowing God personally?
2. Man is
sinful and
separated
from God, so we cannot know Him personally or experience His love.
Man is Sinful
"All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).
Man was created to have fellowship with God; but, because of his own stubborn
self-will, he chose to go his own independent way and fellowship with God was
broken. This self-will, characterized by an attitude of active rebellion or
passive indifference, is an evidence of what the Bible calls sin.
Man is Separated
"The wages of sin is death" [spiritual separation from God] (Romans 6:23).
"...(Those) who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord
Jesus...will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the
presence of the Lord..." (2 Thessalonians 1:8,9)
This diagram illustrates that God is holy and man is sinful. A great gulf
separates the two. The arrows illustrate that man is continually trying to
reach God and establish the personal relationship with Him through his own
efforts, such as a good life, philosophy, or religion - but he inevitably
fails.
The third principle explains the only way to bridge this gulf...
3. Jesus Christ is God's
only provision for
man's sin. Through Him alone we can know God personally and experience God's
love.
He Died in Our Place
"God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners,
Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).
He Rose From the Dead
"Christ died for our sins...He was buried...He was raised on the third day
according to the Scriptures...He appeared to Peter, then to the twelve. After
that He appeared to more than five hundred..." (1
Corinthians 15:3-6).
He is the Only Way to God
"Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to
the Father, but through Me'" (John 14:6).
This diagram illustrates that God has bridged the gulf that separates us from
Him by sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross in our place to pay
the penalty for our sins.
It is not enough just to know these truths...
4. We must individually
receive Jesus Christ
as Savior and Lord; then we can know God personally and experience His love.
We Must Receive Christ
"As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God,
even to those who believe in His name" (John 1:12)
We Receive Christ Through Faith
"By grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is
the gift of God; not as a result of works that no one should boast" (Ephesians
2:8,9).
When We Receive Christ, We Experience a New Birth
(Read John
3:1-8.)
We Receive Christ by Personal Invitation
[Christ speaking] "Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any one hears My
voice and opens the door, I will come in to him" (Revelation 3:20).
Receiving Christ involves turning to God from self (repentance) and trusting
Christ to come into our lives to forgive us of our sins and to make us what He
wants us to be. Just to agree intellectually that Jesus Christ is the Son of
God and that He died on the cross for our sins is not enough. Nor is it enough
to have an emotional experience. We receive Jesus Christ by faith, as an act of
our will.
These two circles represent two kinds of lives:
Which circle best represents your life?
Which circle would you like to have represent your life?
The following explains how you can receive Christ:
You can receive Christ right now through prayer!
(Prayer is talking with God)
God knows your heart and is not so concerned with your words as He is with the
attitude of your heart. The following is a suggested prayer:
"Lord Jesus, I want to know You personally. Thank You for dying on the cross for
my sins. I open the door of my life and receive You as my Savior and Lord.
Thank You for forgiving me of my sins and giving me eternal life. Take control
of the driver's seat of my life. Make me the kind of person You want me to be."
Does this prayer express the desire of your heart?
If it does, pray this prayer right now, and Christ will come into your life, as
He promised.
How to Know That Christ Is in Your Life
Did you receive Christ into your life? According to His promise in
Revelation 3:20, where is Christ right now in relation to you? Christ
said that He would come into your life and be your friend so you can know Him
personally. Would He mislead you? On what authority do you know that God has
answered your prayer? (The trustworthiness of God Himself and His Word.)
The Bible Promises Eternal Life to All Who Receive Christ
"The witness is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in
His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God
does not have the life. These things I have written to you who believe in the
name of the Son of God, in order that you may know that you have eternal life"
(1 John 5:11-13).
Thank God often that Christ is in your life and that He will never leave you (Hebrews
13:5). You can know on the basis of His promise that Christ lives in
you and that you have eternal life from the very moment you invite Him in. He
will not deceive you.
The moment you received Christ by faith, as an act of your will, many things
happened, including the following:
-
Christ came into your life (Revelation
3:20 and
Colossians 1:27).
-
Your sins were forgiven (Colossians
1:14).
-
You became a child of God (John
1:12).
-
You received eternal life (John
5:24).
-
You began the great adventure for which God created you (John
10:10;
2 Corinthians 5:17 and
1 Thessalonians 5:18).
Can you think of anything more wonderful that could happen to you than entering
into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ? Would you like to thank God in
prayer right now for what He has done for you? By thanking God, you demonstrate
your faith.
We want to hear from you if you made this choice to follow Christ. If you made
have any questions or have made this decision, please feel free to
contact us here.