Knowing God Personally
God has a purpose and a plan for your life…more than anything else it is to know Him. This is your destiny! Please read these four steps.
God’s Perspective
God loves you and created you to know Him personally. He has a wonderful plan for your life.
God’s Love
“God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.” John 3:16
God’s Plan
“Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” (John 17:3)
What prevents us from knowing God personally?
Our Condition
People are sinful and separated from God, so we cannot know Him personally or experience His love and plan.
Man is Sinful
“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23
People were created to have fellowship with God; but, because of our own stubborn self-will, we chose to go our own independent way and fellowship with God was broken. This self-will, characterized by an attitude of active rebellion or passive indifference, is an evidence of what the Bible calls sin.
People are Separated
“The wages of sin is death.” [spiritual separation from God] Romans 6:23
This diagram illustrates that God is holy and people are sinful. A great gulf separates the two. The arrows illustrate that people are continually trying to reach God and establish the personal relationship with Him through our own efforts, such as a good life, philosophy, or religion – but we inevitably fail.
The third principle explains the only way to bridge this gulf…
God’s Response
Jesus Christ is God’s only provision for our sin. Through Him alone we can know God personally and experience God’s love and plan.
He Died in Our Place
“God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8
He Rose From the Dead
“Christ died for our sins…He was buried…He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures…He appeared to Peter, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred…” 1 Corinthians 15:3-6
He is the Only Way to God
“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me’.” John 14:6
This diagram illustrates that God has bridged the gulf that separates us from Him by sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross in our place to pay the penalty for our sins.
It is not enough just to know these truths…
Our Response
We must individually receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord; then we can know God personally and experience His love.
We Must Receive Christ
“As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.” John 1:12
We Receive Christ Through Faith
“By grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works that no one should boast.” Ephesians 2:8,9
When We Receive Christ, We Experience a New Birth
Read John 3:1-8
We Receive Christ by Personal Invitation
[Christ speaking] “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If any one hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him and he with Me.” Revelation 3:20
Receiving Christ involves turning to God from self (repentance) and trusting Christ to come into our lives to forgive us of our sins and to make us what He wants us to be. Just to agree intellectually that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that He died on the cross for our sins is not enough. Nor is it enough to have an emotional experience. We receive Jesus Christ by faith, as an act of our will.
These two circles represent two kinds of lives.
- Which circle best describes your life?
- Which circle would you like to have represent your life?
Begin a relationship with Jesus…
You Can Receive Christ Right Now by Faith Through Prayer
You can receive Christ right now. Remember that Jesus says, “I’m standing at the door and I’m knocking. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in.” Would you like to respond to his invitation? Here’s how.
God knows your heart and is not so concerned with your words as He is with the attitude of your heart. The following is a suggested prayer:
“Lord Jesus, I want to know You personally. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life and receive You as my Savior and Lord. Thank You for forgiving me of my sins and giving me eternal life. Take control of the throne of my life. Make me the kind of person You want me to be.”
Does this prayer express the desire of your heart?
If you sincerely asked Jesus into your life just now, then he has come into your life as he promised. You have begun a personal relationship with God.
What follows is a lifelong journey of change and growth as you get to know God better through Bible reading, prayer and interaction with other Christians.