Introduction
As a believer, you might have heard about God from a pastor, a preacher or you might have read it from a portion of the Bible or some other material. You might possibly have some facts about God, but facts about God are irrelevant. The most important thing is your unending personal relationship with God and your commitment to Him and His course.
Knowing God Intimately
“But whatever things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. But no, rather, I also count all things to be loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them to be dung, so that I may win Christ and be found in Him; not having my own righteousness, which is of the Law, but through the faith of Christ, the righteousness of God by faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable to His death” (Php 3:7-10)
According to Paul, the most important thing in life, as a believer, is to know God and to know Him intimately. One may quit jobs, friends, and relationships for the excellency of Christ. First-hand knowledge of God changes one´s perception and his/her view about God and life in general. Because God revealed Himself to Paul personally at his conversion (Acts 22:6-21), he never went back but he was willing to sacrifice His life for the sake of Christ. With this experience and conviction, Paul indicates that no one or nothing shall be able to separate them from the love of God (Rom 8:35-37). He adds that he is persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers that be, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate them from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom 8:38-39). Such are the attitudes of those who have the first-hand knowledge of God.
The Samaritans Believed in Jesus Christ
The Samaritans, after having come out to see Jesus and to hear from Him, tell the woman who informed them about the Messiah, that “Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world” (Joh 4:39-42 KJV). This explains that the Samarians, though were invited by a friend or a family member, could now testify individually, that, they are now believers because they have received personal testimonies from listening to the Christ. All believers need to have a personal experience and relationship with Christ if they could stand put in their salvation and in their new life.
Many believers have been in their churches for far too long but they have no personal knowledge of the Messiah. They think that salvation is the same as belonging to a congregation or a denomination. This lack of personal knowledge of Christ Jesus makes them light-weight, and they are tossed to and fro by any wind of doctrine (Eph 4:14). They cannot defend the reason for their faith. They only go to church regularly but they are devoid of personal knowledge of Christ Jesus. These personal experiences do not necessarily have to be the same as Paul had because the apostles of Christ did not have the same revelation and experience of Christ. Paul had to be struck down as mentioned in Acts 22 but the other disciples did not go through the same experience. God reveals Himself uniquely to every believer in one way or other. Such a revelation must conform to the word of God which forms the foundation of the Christian faith.
The early disciples were able to endure pain, hardship, and humiliations because of their first-hand knowledge of God. People who have received genuine knowledge of are determined to follow Christ till the end, and they are ready to pay the cost no matter what. A Christian without personal knowledge of God is more likely to deny the one true God.
Conclusion
First-hand knowledge of Christ Jesus is needed for all believers to stand the test of time. Each believer should be able to tell the reason for their faith in Christ Jesus. Christians should not anchor their faith on men but on God, and they should study His word to discover Him for themselves.
Prayer: May the Almighty God reveal Himself to us all so that we shall have a personal relationship with Him and know Him more intimately. In the name of Jesus Christ. AMEN!