Knowing Him - The Master Key

John 14:26 (NLT)
But when the Father sends the Counsellor as my representative--and by the Counsellor I mean the Holy Spirit--he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I myself have told you.

If the Holy Spirit is such an important person in the life's of a Christian, then the question below is one asked by many Christians (...and by non-Christians alike).

If the Holy Spirit is in me, why then do I not see God's favours and the power of the Holy Spirit manifest in my life (or in the life of a Christian)?

The answer to this question may well be found in 2 Peter 1:2-11 - Growing in the Knowledge of God, specifically 2 Peter 1:2-4(NLT)

2 May God bless you with his special favor [grace] and wonderful peace as you come to know Jesus, our God and Jesus our Lord, better and better.
3 As we know Jesus better, his divine power gives us everything we need for living a godly life. He has called us to receive his own glory and goodness!
4 And by that same mighty power, he has given us all of his rich and wonderful promises. He has promised that you will escape the decadence all around you caused by evil desires and that you will share in his divine nature.

In order to unlock God's favour and the divine power of the Holy Spirit in your lives, the key is an increased knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord. Afterall, the Holy Spirit was given to us all, to teach and remind us of everything that Jesus himself has told us (John 14:26).

Of course, for the Holy Spirit to remind you and me, suggest that there was something about God or Jesus already within us, to remind us about. This we do have when we first accepted Jesus as our Lord and Saviour. But as the knowledge of God and Jesus increases, there is more for the Holy Spirit to work with, for us.

With this increase in the knowledge of who God and Jesus is, for me, comes a growing intimacy in my relationship with God, for I now know Him better. That is the master-key. Not the knowledge of God and Jesus, in itself, but the intimacy that comes with the increasing knowledge of who God and Jesus our Lord, is.

An analogy to this, is you standing at the edge of the Grand Canyon, looking down into this big majestic hole in the ground, and saying ....I've seen it and know what the Grand Canyon looks like. How majestic it looks.

However, do you know the Grand Canyon, USA? To really know the Grand Canyon, you will have to ride a donkey down to the bottom of the canyon, canoe down its rivers and rapids, sleep under the open night sky, see the animals and plant or the people who lives in the canyon and calls it home. Until then, you have only seen the Grand Canyon but not know the Grand Canyon.

You could substitue the Grand Canyon with the Ayers Rock, Australia. I've been told that there is more to it, than just a big rock in the middle of nowhere. One of these days, I'll make a trip to visit it.

It is the same with your knowledge and relationship of God and Jesus. When you do come to know God, a revelation of who He is, you will also find His grace and peace.


But why Jesus? Hebrew 1:3 (NLT) tells us that .....

3 The Son reflects God's own glory, and everything about him represents God exactly. He sustains the universe by the mighty power of his command. After he died to cleanse us from the stain of sin, he sat down in the place of honour at the right hand of the majestic God of heaven.

I believe that as you know Jesus more and more, you will begin to see Jesus in you more and more and with that, share in His divine nature. Grace and peace is very much a reflection of God's nature as is His power.

I also believe that as you come to know Jesus in a new manner, the power of the Holy Spirit will flow in that area of your lives too. So endeavour to know Jesus as your:

• Saviour - (Luke 2:11, 1 Peter 2:24)
• Baptiser of the Holy Spirit - (Matthew 3:11)
• Defender - (Isaiah 51:22, Proverb 22:23)
• Healer - (1 Peter 2:24)
• Wonderful Counsellor - (Isaiah 9:6)
• Prince of Peace - (Isaiah 9:6, John 14:27)
• Law Giver and Judge - (James 4:12)
• Advocate - (Hebrew 9:24)
• Resurrection and the life - (John 11:25)

The list above is not the complete list. This you will come to realise as you pursue him. Neither is the above to say that it is the sequence or order of knowing Him. Jesus will meet you where your needs are. For some will know Him as the Healer before knowing Him as the Saviour. For some it is enough just to know that God loves him or her, with such faith that the power of the Holy Spirit flows or manifest in them or through them.

Knowledge of God and Jesus is gained not only from the Word but from the Holy Spirit revelation or conviction of who God and Jesus is. For many, this is how they came to accept Jesus Christ as their Saviour.

Therefore, as important as it may be to read the Word of God from the Holy Bible, for the life of a Christian to grow, it is not the only way to an increased knowledge of God and Jesus .....but is essential in ensuring that the basis/foundation of our knowledge of who God is, is based on His written Word. Reading the Holy Bible (at least to me) is also the quickest way to knowing Him, the Master Key.