ETERNAL LIFE IF KNOWING GOD
JOHN 17:3 | “And this is the way to have eternal life – to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth.”In John 17, often called the “High Priestly Prayer”, Jesus lifts His eyes toward heaven and reveals the deepest longing of His heart; that His followers would truly know God. Not merely know about Him, but live in a deep, personal, and transformative relationship with the Father through the Son.
Eternal life is not just a distant reward after death. It is a present reality grounded in relationship. It begins the moment a person comes to know God through faith in Jesus Christ. This knowing is not intellectual alone; it is relational and experiential. It involves trust, love, and ongoing fellowship.
When Jesus says, “this is eternal life”, He defines life itself in terms of relationship. Life apart from God is death, no matter how full it may seem. But life in Christ is eternal, because it draws from the source of all life – the one true living God. Our understanding of salvation affirms this relational reality. We believe that by grace, through faith, we are justified, and adopted into God’s family, and invited to walk daily in His presence.
But the journey does not end there. God calls us not only to forgiveness but also to holiness. A full surrender of the heart that allows the Holy Spirit to cleanse, empower, and perfect love within us. This sanctifying grace deepens our knowledge of God. The more we yield to His spirit, the more we experience His nature within us. Holiness, then, is not about reaching moral perfection but a growing intimacy with the One who is holy.
John 17:3 reminds us that eternal life is knowing God through Jesus Christ. This means our faith is not centered on rules or rituals, but on a relationship. The holy life flows from knowing Him – His character, His will, and His heart. When we know Him, obedience becomes joy, and love becomes our natural response.
In practical terms, this calls us to daily communion with God, spending time in prayer, reading the Word, worship and service to others. It also calls us to live out this relationship in community, reflecting God’s love in our words and actions. The world around us longs to see a genuine love lived out in lives full of grace and truth.
To know God through Christ is to enter into a relationship that transforms everything – our priorities, desires and our destiny. This is the very heart of the gospel; that we may know Him, be made like Him and to live with Him forever. Let me leave you with these words that are printed on a sign in my office, “Jesus loves me this I know. Knowing Jesus, this I love.”
