(Jhn) 17:2-3, 8, 17-18 CJB “just as you gave him authority over all mankind, so that he might give eternal life to all those whom you have given him. And eternal life is this: to know you, the one true God, and him whom you sent, Yeshua the Messiah. because the words you gave me I have given to them, and they have received them. They have really come to know that I came from you, and they have come to trust that you sent me. Set them apart for holiness by means of the truth — your word is truth. Just as you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.”
Knowing the One True God is far more than believing God exists.
The demons know God exists. Satan knows exactly who Jesus is. Biblical faith goes beyond acknowledging facts about God. Eternal life is found in genuinely knowing the Father through His Son, Jesus Christ.
And when we truly know Him, it changes us.
Knowing the One True God Means Knowing Jesus
Jesus prayed that the Father had given Him authority over all humanity and authority to give eternal life.
That matters because the Jesus who saves is also the Lord before whom humanity will ultimately stand.
Our eternal destiny isn’t determined by whether we were good compared with other people. Sin has separated us from a holy God, and none of us can repair that separation ourselves.
We need a Savior.
God sent His Son. Jesus lived without sin, gave His life as the sacrifice for ours, shed His blood for the forgiveness of sins, and rose from the dead.
Therefore, knowing God requires knowing Jesus.
Jesus didn’t say eternal life is knowing about God.
He said eternal life is knowing God.
Receive the Word—and Be Changed by It
Notice what Jesus says next about His disciples: “The words you gave me I have given to them, and they have received them.”
Then Jesus prays: “Set them apart for holiness by means of the truth — your word is truth.”
There’s the progression.
We receive God’s Word, and God’s Word changes us.
We are justified by grace through faith in Christ—not through our obedience. Jesus alone purchased our pardon.
But the faith that receives Christ doesn’t leave a man unchanged.
Jesus prayed that His people would be set apart for holiness by God’s truth.
That means disobedience should increasingly give way to obedience.
Self-centered living should increasingly give way to surrender.
Our priorities should increasingly become God’s priorities.
Not because our obedience purchases eternal life, but because eternal life has been given to us in Christ.
Obedience doesn’t cause us to know God. Obedience increasingly characterizes the man who does.
Knowing God Means Being Sent by God
Then Jesus makes another remarkable statement: “Just as you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.”
We aren’t saved merely from something.
We are saved and sent.
Jesus was sent by the Father to accomplish the work of salvation—a work only He could accomplish.
Now Jesus sends His disciples into the world as witnesses to what He has accomplished.
We don’t become saviors.
We proclaim the Savior.
We tell people who Jesus is. We explain why He came. We call people to repentance and faith. Then we help those who believe learn to obey everything Jesus commanded.
That’s discipleship.
God’s plan isn’t for Christian men to receive eternal life and then spend the rest of our lives pursuing our own purposes, provision, comfort, and priorities.
We belong to Christ.
His truth shapes our character.
His Word directs our lives.
And His mission gives us purpose.
Run Today’s Play
Ask yourself three questions:
Do I know Jesus—or merely know about Jesus?
Where is God’s Word changing the way I live?
Who am I intentionally helping know Jesus?
Then do something concrete today.
Open God’s Word and identify one truth you need to obey. Then identify one person who needs to know Christ and intentionally move toward a Gospel conversation.
Men, knowing the One True God isn’t merely information that prepares us for heaven.
It is eternal life that begins changing us now.
Know Him. Receive His Word. Become more like His Son. Then go where Jesus sends you.