Knowing God by Experience

In Ephesians 3, the apostle Paul writes a powerful prayer that deserves to be meditated on by everyone. He asks the heavenly Father to strengthen the members of the Church of Ephesus, so that they may, above all, “know the love of Christ, which surpasses all knowledge” (v.19).

This word “to know," in Greek ginosko, is also used to describe the intimate relationship of sharing between a man and a woman. It is also used in Matthew 1:25 when it is said that Joseph did not “know Mary until she had borne a son”.

Personally, I didn't marry my wife just to get a marriage certificate. I'm not interested in the paper, the social status, or the object of the ring itself... What really matters to me is the experience I can either have with or give to my wife. It's experiencing healthy emotional and sexual intimacy under God's covenant. It's about laughing, crying, and building together. That she can be my confidante, my best friend, the mother of my children, and that together we can share the life Jesus has to offer. So the idea of marriage doesn't appeal to me if I can't live it.

My friend, the same is true of our relationship with the Lord. We must not stop at the simple concept that God wants to make Himself “known” to us. God is not an intellectual notion, but a Person. Jesus can and must be experienced. I'm not talking here about some mystical, exotic practice that bears no fruit, but about real communion with Christ, who is alive in us (Col 1:27)! In John 6:25, Jesus says that He is the bread of life. Bread is meant to be eaten, savored, consumed. Life, for its part, is meant to be lived. Thus, we can truly have a living relationship with the Lord who desires to make Himself known to us through experience.

Ask the Holy Spirit, with your childlike heart, to reveal to you Jesus Christ of Nazareth—the one who walked this earth some 2,000 years ago is the same one who now sits at the right hand of the Father, surrounded by glory.

To help you, you can play this song in the background: "Jesus Culture" – Holy Spirit

Jean-Luc Trachsel