John 17
You are on a journey of knowing your Father. Jesus said something quite profound in John 17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.
The Greek word Know here is to know absolutely in depth
John 1:12,13 - But as many as received Him, He gave to them authority to become the children of God, to those who believe on His name, who were born, not of bloods, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but were born of God.
God plants His eternal life in us. We can’t manufacture it by ourselves. We have to be literally born (again) of God, not of flesh like the first natural birth, but of the Spirit, with God’s eternal life in us. The more we get to know God, the more His life in us grows, in a living cord- connection with Him. Our physical death is only an event that will happen along the way. Our eternal life will not start at that point – it started when God first planted His eternal Life in each of us, and will continue beyond the grave.
There is no other source of Life but God.
The whole passage of John 17: 1 – 11 is particularly full of keys to life.
He has authority over all flesh to give eternal life
He had at this point finished the work He was given to do
The work Jesus was talking about here was not the cross (which was God’s plan of Salvation), but the giving of the words of the Father that revealed the Father, keeping the disciples in the name, or revealed substance of the Father.
Jesus is praying here for us
He prays for our closeness with our Father and with Him Jesus – just as close as Jesus was while walking this earth.
We are not of the world so our Father keeps us from the evil of it, but doesn’t take us out of the world – not a monastic or hidden existence.
It is the conditions of and around relationship building with Him that are infused with His Life which IS Eternal Life.
The only normal existence in the Kingdom is seeking more of Jesus, welling up inside, abundantly blessing us, abundantly blessing all in His path – so dare to connect daily, dare to receive, dare to give Him away.
There’s more of Him than the whole race of man can use up. Dare to bless creation. Dare to bring peace.
Relationship with Jesus and our Father is dynamic and unreligious, always resulting in Eternal Life welling up on the inside of us. Dig in deep.
This is why gatherings where we minister the fiery love of God to each other can be life changing and why we crave for more. We get to know Him more deeply as we know His love for us in the various ways that impact us inside as we pray and receive – it might be peace, joy, comfort that reaches deep inside, healing of inner hurt, burdens will lift, or we may just feel more whole and able to stand than when we came in.
All these things grow and change with more time spent this way. Many of us carry confirmed hunger for more of this and actively pursue Him to know Him more in our daily walk as well.
Q – What are the keys to spirit connection that you have used this week? (Keys 1 Thessalonians 5:15 – 23; Philiipians 4:4-9; There are others. Try to discover yours.)
Listed below are some different keys that can help in our daily choices to be Kingdom people.
Some heart choice keys
Select - Choose to be Jesus Christ to the world and others instead of yourself.
Surrender - Daily surrender to Him
Submit - Submit to do His will in His ways instead of doing it my way
Surprise = Expect to be delightedly surprised by what He reveals
Surmount - Overcome difficulties by relying on Him to help push through them and so build spiritual muscle