Jesus tells us two remarkable things about His sheep in the story of the Good Shepherd in John 10: “I know my own and my own know me” (verse 14).  In other words, He already knows those of us who are His, and He even knows we will respond to Him in faith and follow Him.  Jesus repeats this same thought later in this passage: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (verse 27).  Paul uses similar language in Galatians 4:9 to describe how we “have come to know God, or rather to be known by God” (italics added).  These two realities of God knowing us and our knowing Him always go together.

God tells us the amazing truth that He knows everyone who has ever lived personally and individually.  As our Creator, God knows each of us far better than we know ourselves—that is part of what it means for Him to be God. For example, Jesus tells us, “even the hairs of your head are all numbered” (Matthew 10:30). 

The Apostle Paul reminds us that God knows believers in a special way where our names are written down “in the book of life” (Philippians 4:3), or what John calls, “the Lamb’s book of life” (Revelation 21:27).  Paul also tells us that God “chose us in [Christ] before the foundation of the world” (Ephesians 1:4).  Regardless of how unknown and insignificant we might feel in this present world, the God who created us and redeemed us, knows us personally and intimately.

Such knowledge often comes as a surprise to us.  As human beings, we frequently make the mistake of thinking that everything revolves around us and our own thoughts and feelings.  We assume that God can’t know us, unless we already know Him.  But God tells us that it is really the other way around.  He knew us first.  He even knew us from eternity past—long before He created us or anything else in the world. 

God also tells us that it is because He first knew us, we can come to know Him.  Paul describes this process this way in Romans 8:29-30, “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.  And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.”  God’s plan of salvation begins with Him, and He is the One working it out in our lives, one step at a time. 

But God also involves us in the process of knowing Him.  Usually, our first experience of Him is as the God and Creator of this universe.  We realize, perhaps for the first time, that He is God, and as such, He is present and at work in every area of life.  We also soon discover that God Himself has already entered our world, both spiritually through His Spirit and physically through the incarnation and earthly life of His Son, Jesus Christ.  But there is more.  He calls us and invites us into a relationship with Himself, as we become aware of His claims on our lives and the gift of new life that is ours through Christ.

The lesson is clear: our knowing God begins with, and is dependent upon, His first knowing us.

The key truth for us here is that our awareness of God involves a personal relationship of fellowship and intimacy where He knows us and we can come to know Him.  Through His grace we can be born again and become His children.  May we never forget the joy and privilege of entering into a personal relationship with the God who created this entire universe and who also continues to govern it down to the smallest details of life. 

Knowing God begins with God, but thankfully, He works in such a way that the joys and blessings of a relationship with Him also impact the very depths of our beings.  In biblical language, He gives us a new heart—or what we could say is a new mindset or outlook on life.  All of life becomes different, because knowing Him changes us and makes us new.  Even our desires become new.  Paul explains it this way: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.  The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17).  The most amazing thing we can ever experience is coming to know Him as Father, Son, and Spirit.

Salvation is far more than our claiming an acquaintance with God or knowing certain facts about theology, or even about Jesus Christ and His earthly life—it involves God knowing us and making us one of His children.  Remember, our relationship with God always begins with Him as we experience the Spirit’s workings in our lives.  He works in such a way that He involves us in all the choices and decisions we make.  There are mysteries here to be sure, but may we never overlook the joys and wonders of how God is at work in our lives.

Questions:

(1) How should we respond to spiritual mysteries about God that are beyond our understanding—including such things as how predestination and human free will fit together?

(2) How does the reality that God knows believers even before we come to know Him give us fresh hope and encouragement in our relationship with Him?

(3) How does God’s role in drawing us to faith give us assurance of our salvation?

(4) How can we grow in our relationship with God and know Him more intimately?

(5) How does His knowing us from eternity past help us trust Him today in our daily lives?

(6) How can grow in our ability to trust God’s active and sovereign work in our lives when He allows difficult things in our lives?

(7) How does these truths impact how we share about Christ with others?