BECOMING INTIMATELY ACQUAINTED WITH JESUS CHRIST The Truth
“THE BIBLE IS WHERE I MEET YOU, MY HEART IS WHERE I GREET YOU”
In a previous blog, we talked about the differences between the two words ‘Knowledge or Knowing’ in the Bible:
Eido – to learn by using the senses, learn by observation, to interview, inspect, to study, process information.
Ginosko – become known of, intimate, to understand, to experience or have an encounter with, heart to heart intimacy, like a husband and wife.
In our previous blog, we also discovered our brother, Paul’s greatest quest in his heart, found in Philippians 3:5-10 to become more Intimately Acquainted with his Lord Jesus Christ. Even though Paul was an intelligent and perfect man according to the law yet he still had a deep longing in his heart and soul for experiencing more of Christ.
Early church Believers didn’t have Bibles and many of them couldn’t read. So, our brother, Peter, encouraged them in 2 Peter 3:18 in the Amplified version of the Bible:
Grow in Grace and in the Knowledge (Ginosko, your intimate relationship) of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Over the course of our blogs, we will examine several facets of our beautiful and awesome Lord Jesus Christ as I share with you how I became Intimately Acquainted with Him over my 40-year journey so far.
THE TRUTH
John 1:14 is the first time we discover Jesus the Christ, the Word of God, draping Himself in human flesh, coming to earth to live with us. He is the ABSOLUTE REALITY OF LIFE! Everything else outside of Him exists in time is passing and fleeting. (Scriptures used are taken from the Amplified Version of the Bible)
John 1:14 – And the Word (Christ) became flesh, and lived among us; and we [actually] saw His glory, glory as belongs to the [One and] only begotten Son of the Father, [the Son who is truly unique, the only One of His kind, who is] FULL OF GRACE AND TRUTH (absolutely free of deception).
John 14:6 – Jesus said to him, “I am the [only] Way [to God] and THE [real] TRUTH and the [real] Life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
John 8:32 – And you will know THE TRUTH [regarding salvation], and THE TRUTH will set you free [from the penalty of sin].”
Eidos
As a child, I grew up very religious; going to church, paying my tithes but living and doing as I pleased. I got baptized when I was eight-years-old because I was told God would be pleased with me but I didn’t have any knowledge of how to know the Lord or what it meant to be saved.
I gave my heart to Jesus when I was 20, July 26, 1979. However, I was saved in a different religious sect. We were very sincere in our dedication to the Lord but it was all law (rule) based. However, one thing I learned that was essential to my spiritual growth was Eidos. I loved studying and reading the Bible. I bought a Strong’s Concordance to understand the Hebrew and Greek meaning of the Bible. I also had a Vine’s Dictionary, a book on the customs of the Bible, and prayed to ask the Holy Spirit to teach and guide me as I studied His word.
I Peter 2:2 – Like newborn babies long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may be nurtured and grow in respect to salvation [its ultimate fulfillment].
But being so focused on the fear of not pleasing God, it was difficult to truly focus on being free in my relationship with Him. I was confused about what the Lord Jesus was really like; I didn’t know… JESUS THE LIVING WORD, THE TRUTH. I learned a lot about:
- The do’s and don’ts of how I dressed,
- The God in the sky I need to break through in prayer to touch Him,
- The God who will punish me when I sinned,
- The God who keeps score of my sins,
- The God who is well-pleased with my service to Him and to others (the performer),
- The God who will punish me if I didn’t pay my tithes… and so much more.
Ginosko
Living with fear in my mind and heart, hindered me from knowing and experiencing my Lord Jesus, THE TRUTH… THE GOD WHO CANNOT LIE AND EVERYTHING HE SAYS IS TRUE! Discovering who He really is and who I really am has taken time. My Lord has been so patient and long-suffering with me over the years. Because I had been used and abused by so many authority figures in my life, only His LOVE could tear down my walls of fear in order to trust Him. But He knew me! He knew once I discovered JESUS CHRIST THE TRUTH, I would be totally committed and sold out to Him.
My first true introduction to THE TRUTH came in a little book written by Watchman Nee, called ‘Release of the Spirit.’ It was given to me by one of our spiritual leaders, Mother Esther, in 1982. The awesome thing about this is, we were in a very legalistic fellowship group, yet, the book was filled with life and freedom for my soul. The book pointed me to the Life of Christ within me who longs to talk with me and hear my heart. It was the seed the Lord placed in my heart that created a longing in my heart for more than just Eidos, knowledge of Him but Ginosko, intimacy with Him.
As a child I have always had vivid dreams. Once I had a dream of going to a circus and a man stood over a round tank of dirt. He had a shovel in his hand and said to me and others, “If you dig in this ground, you can find some amazing things.” Everyone walked away but me. I took the shovel and began to dig. Out of the ground came rubies, pearls, and diamonds… I was rich! Then I woke up. Jesus told me to read the parable of the Pearl of Great Price. He was teaching me about the Kingdom of God within me, where Jesus, my Father, and The Holy Spirit lived. He said all I had to do was turn inwardly to them and all my needs would be met in them, the treasure within me! Over the years, Jesus watered that seed by the writings of so many of my brothers and sisters in Christ over the centuries. The writing of my brother, Watchman Nee Release of the Spirit, changed my life forever! From that day forward, as I journaled, I wrote, Dear Jesus, Good Morning Jesus, then Dear Papa, Good Morning Papa as my Lord made our Father so real to me. As I wrote, I listened to hear His heart as I poured my heart out to Him and He has revealed His amazing Love and Life to me. I have learned to turn to the Lord within me 24 hours a day. I NOW KNOW WHAT IT FEELS LIKE TO LOVE AND BE LOVED BY THE TRINITY OF THE UNIVERSE; AMAZING… SIMPLY AMAZING!
Jesus is THE TRUTH! He wil NEVER