Knowing God as Savior

What does it really mean to know Jesus? Not simply to know about Him, but to know Him in a substantial, personal way?

In John 14, Jesus is speaking to His disciples after the Last Supper. They had seen Him heal the sick, feed the 5,000, and even raise people from the dead. They had spent significant time with Him, yet Jesus was still calling them from simply seeing the acts of Jesus into a relationship with Jesus. He wanted them to know Him.

That is at the heart of discipleship: growing and walking with Christ and knowing Christ in a substantial way. It is possible to go through the forms of church—the songs, prayers, Bible reading, devotion time, classes, and even baptism—and still miss what Jesus is calling us to. The goal isn't simply knowing more about Him. The goal is knowing Him.

1. How Are People Saved?

Jesus begins with a simple word in John 14:1: “Believe.” He says, “Believe in God, believe also in me.” But what does it mean to believe?

The word translated believe comes from the same root as the word faith. It carries the idea of trust, commitment, yielding, and following. Biblical belief is more than agreeing that Jesus was a real person who lived, died, and rose again. It is committing yourself to Him.

That distinction matters because Christianity can easily become an intellectual acknowledgment of historical facts. We can know the story of Jesus without actually yielding our lives to Jesus. We can walk through religious activities without ever making the commitment to follow Him.

Jesus says in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me.” Knowing the Father is connected to being connected to the Son. There must be a relational engagement with Jesus—a commitment, a belief, a following, a yieldedness.

The question, then, is not simply whether we have attended church, been baptized, joined a class, or prayed a prayer. Has there ever been a time when, as a sinner, we came to Christ, repented of our sins, and committed to follow Jesus?

2. Who Are Those Being Saved?

Jesus begins John 14 by saying, “Do not let your heart be troubled.” His disciples were troubled because they didn't understand what was happening. Jesus was talking about leaving them, and the gospel was difficult and confusing.

Yet Scripture repeatedly speaks to people who recognize their need. Those who are troubled in heart, those who feel the weight and guilt of sin, are the ones who recognize their need for Jesus.

The problem isn't simply what we do; the problem is rooted in who we are. We can try to turn over a new leaf again and again, only to discover that the problem isn't just the fruit of what we do, but the root of who we are.

That was true even for an eight-year-old boy who had grown up in church. He wasn't living a wild life, but one night he got out of bed, went into his parents' living room, and said, “I'm guilty. I need to get saved.” He had heard the gospel before, but that night he felt the weight of it. After hearing the gospel again, he trusted Jesus as his Savior—and remembered the feeling of the weight of sin being lifted.

Salvation is recognizing our need for Christ and trusting Him with our lives.

3. What Are We Saved To?

Perhaps one of the most important questions is what Jesus actually promises us in salvation.

It is easy to think of salvation as simply getting to heaven. But Jesus says in John 14:2–3 that He is preparing a place, and then He gives the greater promise: “I will come again and receive you to myself, that where I am, there you may be also.”

The promise isn't ultimately about a place. It is about a person.

Jesus isn't simply saving us to heaven. He is saving us to a relationship with Him.

There are many who want heaven but don't necessarily want Jesus. But Jesus says the purpose is that we may be with Him. Salvation is not about gaining heavenly real estate; it is about being received into relationship with the Savior.

That brings us back to the theme of knowing. In John 14:7, Jesus says, “If you had known me, you would have known my Father also.” The word know points beyond intellectual understanding to experiencing and walking with Him. Jesus isn't calling us merely to learn everything, memorize verses, attend church, or complete a spiritual checklist. He is calling us to experience fellowship with Him.

It is possible to be satisfied with the things of Christianity rather than satisfied with Christ Himself. We can read the Bible without seeing Jesus on the page. We can listen to Christian music without listening to Jesus. We can fellowship with His people without actually fellowshipping with Him.

The gospel is not simply historical assent to facts that happened 2,000 years ago. It is an invitation from the Savior of the world into a relationship of experiencing life with Him.

So the question is simple: Have you trusted Him? Have you yielded to Him? Have you committed to follow Him?

And for those who already know Him, the invitation remains the same: don't settle for simply knowing about Jesus. Know Him. Walk with Him. Experience Him. Abide in Him.

As the message comes back to these words: “I depend on you.” Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. The invitation isn't simply to know about Him, but to know Him.