Daily Devotion|Day 271
“As thou has given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou has given him. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou has sent” (John 17:2-3).
In John 17:1-26 Jesus prayed, not only for His Apostles, but also for all who would later believe in Him. This means Jesus thought of you, loved you and prayed for you long before you became born again. Our opening Scripture today is packed with divine truth. Let’s focus on the second part of the passage, i.e. John 17:3. We will talk about three points.
1. In verse 3 Jesus says that eternal life means to know the Father and Jesus Christ. From what Jesus said, it means eternal life is a knowledge issue. Notice that when Jesus speaks of the Father, He describes Him as “the only true God.” Jesus qualified His statement. This was important, because many things (or beings) can be described as ‘God.’ In other words, false ‘Gods’ (who are no gods at all) exist.
For Jesus, however, the Father is the only true God. This tells us that to gain eternal life, it is important which God you know. Your God has to be the God of Jesus Christ.
2. Additionally, eternal life means to know Jesus Christ whom the only true God has sent. This means believing that the only true God has a Son, and that He has sent the Son to save the world.
3. When the Bible talks about knowing the Father and Jesus, it means more than head knowledge. Everyone can have head knowledge about God or Jesus. Even demons ‘know’ God: “You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe – and tremble!” (James 2:19, NKJV).
Demons knew Jesus too. Not only that, they even confessed Him: “What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are – the Holy One of God!” (Mark 1:23-24).
If we have the same knowledge of God as demons do, we cannot be saved. We need more than that. Knowing God implies commitment and submission to Him. You show your knowledge of God by doing what He tells you. That is how you obtain eternal life.
John put it so well when he wrote,
“Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, ‘I know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him” (1 John 2:3-4).
Let’s walk in knowledge. Let’s walk in eternal life. Let’s obey the Father and His Son. Amen.
For further study: John 10:1-30
Higher-Self Realities 