Since Jesus is the way God speaks to us (Hebrews 1:2), one cannot know God unless he knows Jesus.
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).
And this is the testimony [words of a witness], that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life (1 John 5:11-12).
The apostle Paul (another witness of the risen Christ) tells us that “knowing Christ” sums up the purpose of life.
Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing [greater] worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish [waste, trash], in order that I may gain Christ … that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death … (Philippians 3:8,10).
Now you know why this course is called Knowing Jesus. We come to know Jesus by believing in Him as the Son of God. We move beyond knowing about Jesus, to knowing Him as both our Lord and our Friend. In that relationship we share His life, which means that we live forever. This is what Jesus said as He prayed to the Father:
And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent (John 17:3).
Because Jesus has been raised, we believe His promise that we too will be raised from death (Philippians 3:11,21). Yet we do not have to wait until then to know Jesus. And we do not have to wait to enjoy the spiritual life He gives (1 John 5:13). He continues to live now, ruling at the Father’s side, and meeting our needs. He promises His followers,
“And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).
Are you ready to become His follower, His true “disciple”? If you believe in Him as the Son of God, and if you will turn away from sinful living, you are ready. After Peter gave the evidences for Jesus as “Lord and Christ,” the people asked, “What shall we do?” Peter replied,
“Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit ” (Acts 2:38).
“Repent” means to change, to decide to leave your old life and begin a new life with Jesus. “Be baptized” means to be dipped in water for the purpose of coming to Jesus for forgiveness. There are many baptisms invented by men. But Scripture teaches us all to receive “one baptism,” which places us “into Christ” and “into His death” (Ephesians 4, Romans 6). In this baptism we share His death, burial, and resurrection.
We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4).
In this new life, we continue to know Jesus by walking each day in His light (John 8:12,31; 1 John 1:7-9; 2:5-6). Nothing in your life is more important than learning more about faith, repentance, baptism, and living with Jesus. All human life is short and uncertain. That is why, whatever is happening in your life, you should “take hold of the eternal life to which you were called” immediately (1 Timothy 6:12).