KNOWING CHRIST

 Pastor Eduardo preached:

KNOWING CHRIST

1- KNOWLEDGE WITHOUT TRANSFORMATION

 There are people who knew Jesus up close, even in an intimate way, and never got to prove his transforming power. A clear example of this is Judas Iscariot, who, after spending years walking with Christ, still betrayed him. John declared in his gospel that Judas was a thief and stole what was thrown in the bag (John 12: 6); and this information demonstrates that he was never actually transformed.

Someone can come to know a great deal about Christ without ever having known Christ! Evangelical churches are full of religious people, who have been well taught how to be a “good Christian”, but who do not manifest any transformation in their lives! They are always the same, and there is no evidence of genuine change. This is due to the lack of revelation that accompanies a true experience with Christ.

When Paul wrote to Timothy, his son in the faith, he spoke about some people who were living an “untransformed” life:

 "They are always learning, and they never manage to reach the full knowledge of the truth." (2 Timothy 3.7)

2- THE BROTHERS OF JESUS

 Another example of knowledge without transformation (according to the flesh) can be seen in the brothers of Jesus. Many of us have difficulty seeing this because of the Catholic heritage we have received that Mary was always a virgin, but this is not the biblical teaching. God's Word declares that Joseph and Mary were not physically involved until Jesus was born. See what the Holy Scripture says:

 “And Joseph, awakening from his dream, did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him, and received his wife, and did not know her until he gave birth to his son, the firstborn; and gave him the name of Jesus ”. (Matthew 1:24,25)

Another biblical text mentions the names of the brothers of Jesus: “Isn't this the carpenter, son of Mary and brother of James, and of Joseph, of Judas, and of Simon? And are not your sisters here with us? And they were scandalized in him ”. (Mark 6.3)

3- REVELATION

Death is an intruder in human experience and is therefore not accepted. Man's greatest desire is to live. To have life he is able to do anything, pay any price, make any sacrifice. "What will I do to inherit eternal life?" Is the desperate cry of the human heart.

"And this is eternal life: that they may know you, only one true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you sent" (St. John 17: 3).

You see? The secret of eternal life is not only to know a body of doctrines or to accept a particular Church. The secret is the knowledge of a person: the wonderful person that is Jesus Christ. True Christianity is a relationship of two people: the human being and Christ. What matters most in our spiritual experience is not what we believe but who we believe in.