abraham's determination to serve god.
what does it mean to know god and jesus christ whom he hath sent? about two thousand years before jesus was born, there lived in a land called ur of the chaldees, a young man whose name was abram. abram seems to have been a very intelligent and serious-minded person. like many another good man in ancient and modern times, he strove to find out the true and living god. but it was very difficult to do so in abram's time, for most of abram's people had forsaken the worship of jehovah, and had turned to the worship of idols and graven images. this grieved abram very much. he determined that he would serve the true god; and that if necessary, he would move away from his father's house to a strange place, in order that he might worship as his conscience demanded. the priests who served the strange gods worshipped by abram's kindred, heard of abram's righteousness, and his refusal to worship the images of wood and stone and metal they had set up. they determined, therefore, to seize abram and to sacrifice him on the altar of elkanah.
god himself.
but abram had found a true friend. it was the true and living god himself. he delivered abram from the hands of the false priests, and the lord god said to abram, "i am the lord thy god; i dwell in heaven, the earth is my footstool; i stretch my hand over the sea, and it obeys my voice; i cause the wind and the fire to be my chariot; i say {22} to the mountains, depart hence, and behold, they are taken away by a whirlwind, in an instant, suddenly."
the god of abraham and of isaac and of jacob.
this was the true and living god, the god almighty, creator of the heavens and the earth and all that lives therein. in the midst of the worship of idols and graven images and strange gods of many lands, abram had learned to know god—that is, he had learned to recognize the true god, the living god of power. he was not confused. he did not mistake an image of stone for the true god.
afterwards abram's name was changed to abraham. he became the father of isaac, and the grandfather of jacob. these three men all served the true god. from them sprang the children of israel, all of whom learned also to worship the true god of heaven and earth. that is why he is often spoken of as the god of abraham, and of isaac, and of jacob.
the first commandment.
in the days of moses, god gave a commandment in these words, "thou shalt have no other gods before me." that commandment was still in force at the time of jesus, and is still in force today. of course, there are not many idols or graven images held up to worship today; but there are still many different kinds of god worshipped even in the christian world. to some, god is merely a spirit; to others, he is merely an influence, or a power; to others still, there is no real god, but the name is used merely to designate the forces of nature—and so on. naturally, we cannot gain eternal life through any such conceptions as these. like abraham we must learn to recognize the true and living god. we must not be deceived by false {23} doctrine. this is life eternal, to know—to recognize and to worship—the true god, the living god—of heaven and earth.
we know now the meaning of the first part of jesus's statement. we know what it means to know god. but what does it mean to know jesus christ, whom god sent?
what does it mean to know jesus christ?
two young men were sitting at luncheon one day in the dining-room of a students' club house. one of them was registered in the school of divinity of one of the oldest and largest universities in america, and was studying to become a minister. the other was preparing to become a teacher.
"do you believe that jesus was really the son of god, and the savior of the world?" asked the young teacher.
"i believe," replied the preacher—the would-be representative of jesus—deliberately, "that jesus was a great leader, a great teacher, a great philosopher—in every way a great man. but i do not believe that he was really the son of god, nor really the redeemer in the usually accepted sense."
it is necessary to understand god's plan.
had this young minister, who was preparing to preach the gospel of jesus christ, learned to know him? surely not. it is not enough merely to recognize the true and living god, and to distinguish him from the many false gods of the world. one must learn also to understand god's plan for the salvation of mankind, the first man, adam, was just like us. he did not {24} understand the plan of salvation until it was taught to him. one day, when he was offering sacrifice outside of the garden of eden, an angel appeared to him. the angel told adam many things about the fall, and sin, and death. these things we shall learn more about later. the important thing to learn now is this: because of the fall of adam and eve, it became necessary to send someone to the earth to lay down his life for the salvation of men.
the divine mission of jesus.
god selected our elder brother jesus, to perform this noble mission. he came to the earth—the only begotten of the father—and taught men, took their sins upon himself, and finally allowed his life to be taken to redeem mankind from the effects of the fall in the garden of eden. was jesus, then, merely a great leader, a great teacher, a great philosopher? he was all that, to be sure. but he was also more than that. he was—he is—the only begotten son of the father, the savior of the world. to know jesus christ whom god hath sent, is to accept the divine mission of jesus, to believe that he is really the christ. this is life eternal, to know the only true god, and jesus christ whom he hath sent.
a third step.
now we understand, in part, what it means to know god and jesus christ. but a third step is necessary before one can claim complete knowledge. if a man should claim to know the principles of the telephone, then should try to talk to someone at a distance without connecting the wires with the transmitting instrument, should you believe that he really knew what he claimed to know? would you not {25} rather think, "if this man understood and recognized the principles of the telephone, he would do what they require?"
what we would do if we had learned to know god and jesus.
it is just so in knowing god and jesus christ, his son. if we have really found the true god, and sincerely believe in the mission of jesus christ, we will surely do the things that they command us to do. indeed, we cannot claim a complete knowledge without doing god's will. once, when john the beloved was writing to some members of the church, he said to them, "hereby we do know that we know him (jesus christ), if we keep his commandments. he that saith, i know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. but whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of god perfected; hereby know we that we are in him."
the condition of eternal life.
now we may claim to have learned the conditions of eternal life. to know the true god is to recognize the god of abraham, and of isaac, and of jacob—the god of israel, and not to confuse him with any one of the many false gods worshipped in the world. to know jesus christ is to recognize him, and to accept him and believe in him as the savior of the world. to know god and jesus christ, is to keep the commandments they have given to man. it was the whole aim of jewish education to learn to know god and his commands, and how to keep them. it should be the aim of all education. only by knowing the true god and jesus christ, can we hope to enter the kingdom of god.
{26} "to us, there is but one god, the father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one lord, jesus christ, by whom are all things, and we by him."
it shall be our pleasure from now on to learn what jesus himself taught, that we may learn the better to know him and the father, and thus gain eternal life.
the references
abraham chs. 1,2. moses 5:1-11.
exodus 20:3. 1 john 2:3-5.
1 cor. 8:6.
the questions
1. what was the real problem that confronted abram in his search for god?
2. why is the true god called the god of abraham, and of isaac, and of jacob?
3. what is the first of the ten commandments?
4. how does it apply in this age?
5. what does it mean to know god?
6. what do men of the world often think of jesus?
7. why was jesus necessary in the plan of salvation?
8. what does it mean to know jesus christ?
9. what does it mean in full to know god and jesus christ whom he sent?
10. what should be an aim of all true education?
