Does it Matter?
Let us examine the question of whether this matters. Does it matter who is our God? Do we need to know? There might be a spectrum of answers to the question of whether it matters if we know the true God. On one end of the spectrum, some might say it doesn’t matter, so we don’t ever need to tell anyone. Another might say, it is nice to know, we could tell others, but in the end it doesn’t really matter. Others, it is important, we should tell others, but it isn’t eternal life. Yet, others may say, this is important, we should tell others, to know the Father, the only true God is eternal life. Hopefully we can look at different questions, that might help focus in on how much this matters. What did Jesus say? What do all the scriptures say?
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It doesn’t matter, we don’t need to tell anyone.
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It is nice to know, we could tell others, but in the end it doesn’t matter.
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It is important, we should tell others, but it isn’t eternal life.
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It is important, we should tell others, this is eternal life.
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What did Jesus Say?
John 17:3
First let us see if there are any scriptures where Jesus says we must know God. The first and most explicit verse is found in John 17.
Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, 2 as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”John 17: 1-3 NKJV
This is powerful. Out of Jesus’ own mouth, he declares:
“Father, … and this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”
John 17: 1a, 3 NKJV
So according to Jesus, eternal life is to know:
The Father, the only true God
Jesus Christ, whom You sent
Jesus in the same sentence mentions the Father as the only true God and himself as the Christ. That eternal life is to know each of them. On just this verse alone, it would be enough to trust Jesus and say that this indeed is important. That this is eternal life, to know them both, as they are, the Father as the only true God and Jesus as the Christ, sent by the only true God.
John 5:24
Another verse where Jesus speaks about this is John 5:24,
“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.”
John 5:24 NKJV
We can be assured, according to Jesus, everlasting life is to:
Hear his words
Believe in Him who sent Jesus
Jesus declares that to know the one who sent him has everlasting life. So who sent Jesus? Well we just read in John 17:3, that the Father, the only true God sent Jesus.
that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”
John 17: 3b NKJV
Thus, the only true God sent Jesus, and this is the one we are to believe in to have everlasting life mentioned in John 5:24.
This is now the second time Jesus mentions eternal life or everlasting life in context of knowing or believing in the Father, the only true God.
John 4:21-24
In John 4, Jesus meets a Samaritan woman. They discuss much, but eventually she asks Jesus about where is the best place to worship, for the Samaritans worshipped in one place and the Jews worshipped in Jerusalem. Jesus’ answer is very interesting.
Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
John 4:21-24 NKJV
In verse 22, Jesus mentions salvation in the context of knowing the one they worship,
“You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews.”
John 4:22 NKJV
Again, in the context of knowing the one they worship Jesus mentions salvation.
So he says to her, you don’t know the one you worship, but WE know the one WE worship, for salvation is of the Jews. It should be noted that Jesus includes himself as one of those who worships.
But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
John 4:23-24 NKJV
Jesus is so clear, God must be worshipped in spirit and truth. This is mentioned in the same context where he just told the Samaritan woman she didn’t know who she worshipped, but that they did know who they worshipped. So this concept of truth is associated with knowing the one you worship. That salvation is tied to knowing who you worship, that God MUST be worshipped in truth. Not a lie, not a deception, but known and in truth.
This would seem to align perfectly with Jesus’ statements in John 17:3 and John 5:24. Thus, this is the third time Jesus mentions eternal life, everlasting life, or salvation in the context of knowing the only true God, the one who sent him, the one we worship in truth.
Jesus’ Position
It would seem that in at least 3 different places, Jesus mentions that to know the Father, the only true God, the one who sent him, the one we worship is eternal life, everlasting life, or salvation.
As Jesus prays to the Father, he establishes that eternal life is to know the Father, the only true God, the One who sent him.
“And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God”
John 17:3a NKJV
Jesus also mentions that to believe in the One who sent him is everlasting life
“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life”
John 5:24a NKJV
Jesus declares that they know who they worship, that salvation is of the Jews, that God must be worshipped in spirit and truth.
“You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews… 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
John 4:22, 24 NKJV
Thus, it would seem that Jesus’ position is that knowing God is important. That we must know the One we worship. That He must be worshipped in truth. That we must believe and know the Father, the only true God, the One who sent Jesus.
Yet, this may bring to mind many questions. Do we worship the same God? Are most close enough? I thought we only had to know about Jesus? There are so many good people, do they really need to know? How can there be so many that are deceived?
These are good questions. Hopefully these can be addressed in the coming sections. However, we cannot leave the words of Jesus. They are so clear. We should not depart from them, they should guide all of our understanding of all the scriptures. He is the beloved son that God sent, we should hear him.
And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!”
Luke 9:35 NKJV
Do we worship the same God?
At first glance it may appear that those who believe in a triune god worship the true God as well. That we all worship the same God. We all use a lot of the same vernacular, “lord”, “God”, “Yahweh/YHVH”, “Jesus”, “Christ”, “son of God”, “Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob”, “the God of Israel”, and many other terms. In fact, if you talk with another who believes in a triune god, they may appear to believe as you do. They may say, “I believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God.” Amen. However, the question of whether we worship the same God, can be very simple. We should just ask them.
If you ask someone who their god is…their own words will dictate this. We don’t need to get very sophisticated. We can simply ask, “Who is your god?” If they say, “Jesus”, “Father, son and holy spirit”, “God is three in one”, “God is three persons in one essence”, or anything else like this, then they have made it clear. They have told you who they worship as god.
The simple question then becomes, “Is that the true God?” The short answer, “No”.
According to Jesus, the only true God is the Father, the one who sent him. (John 17:3, John 5:24)
“Father, … and this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God”
John 17: 1, 3 NKJV
2) According to Jesus, he came in the name of the Father, the only God (John 5:43)
I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive. 44 How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God?
John 5:43-44 NKJV
3) According to Jesus, the Father is his God (John 20:17)
“I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.”
John 20:17 NKJV
4) According to Jesus, the Father is our God (John 20:17)
“I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.”
John 20:17 NKJV
5) According to Jesus, God is one (Mark 12:29)
Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.’ ”
Mark 12:29 NKJV
So based on Jesus’ words, we can know, that the only true God is the Father. That the Father is his God. That the Father is our God. That our God is one.
Going back to the simple question, we don’t have to make it complicated. Jesus says it clearly for us. Therefore, if anyone says their god is anyone or anything other than the Father, the God Jesus declared, then they have professed a different god.
This brings to mind the words of David,
“…for your own mouth has testified against you…”
2 Samuel 1:16 NKJV
We follow the God of Jesus, the God Jesus proclaimed. This God is not one that needs to be constructed. He does not need years of seminary, or a PhD to be understood. Even children can articulate Him correctly. Jesus was clear, we should be clear. If someone is unsure of who their God is, then they are unsure. They then do not know the God they worship, as Jesus told the Samaritan in John 4: 21-24. But if they are sure, and profess a different god, we should believe them, that is the god they worship.
Any god other than the only true God is a false god. There is only one who is God, there is no other.
“I am the LORD, and there is no other; There is no God besides Me.”
Isaiah 45:5 NKJV
“Now see that I, even I, am He, And there is no God besides Me”
Deuteronomy 32:39 NKJV
“26…how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? 27 He is not the God of the dead…” Mark 12: 26-27 NKJV
Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one…’ ”… 32 So the scribe said to Him, “Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He.”
Mark 12: 29, 32 NKJV
Same God?
If the above still wasn’t conclusive, here is one more thought.
If you asked a Jewish Rabbi, a unitarian, (believes one is God), whether the triune god is the same God they worship, they would say no.
If you asked a Muslim Imam or teacher, a unitarian, (believes one is God), whether the triune god is the same God they worship, they would say no.
If you asked a trinitarian pastor, (believes God is three, Father, son, and holy spirit), whether we worship the same God, they likely would say no.
It seems we are the only group, unitarian Christians (believe one is God), that might say those who worship a triune god also worship the same God as we do. Yet we would never say we worship a triune god. Somewhat paradoxical.Nobody has their theology perfect, right? Can we really know God? Are they close enough?
Do We Need a Perfect Theology?
No one here is saying a perfect theology. One doesn’t need to go to seminary to know God. The difference between god as a collection of three persons (Position 1) versus God as one, the Father (Position 2), is very straightforward. A child can understand the difference. In fact, a child can likely understand the Father as the only true God and Jesus as the son of God very simply.
However, a child likely cannot articulate or understand (Position 1):
Jesus is the son of God, yet also God himself
Jesus is the only begotten son of God, yet also the eternally begotten God
Jesus claims to have a God, but is also one of three members who are also the only God
God is a He, but really They are God, the Father, the son, and the holy spirit.
We have unfortunately made this very confusing. Yet, the truth is very straight forward. A child can articulate and understand (Position 2):
The Father is the only true God
Jesus is the son of God
God is one
A perfect theology, only really applies to Position 1. That requires years of learning, seminary, a PhD, and additional books to compliment the Bible to be understood. The concept of a perfect theology is fairly meaningless with Position 2. You can be told in one minute and understand Position 2. It is simple to grasp and simple to say. Again, a perfect theology really has no place with Position 2, you either know God or you don’t.
Now this should not be confused with knowing everything about God. There is a big difference in understanding everything about God and knowing God. Indeed, there is so much to God that we will never know,
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD.
9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts.
Isaiah 55:8-9 NKJV
God chooses His words very precisely. He declared that His thoughts or ideas are higher than ours. Amen. That His ways or plans or actions are higher than ours. Amen. In every way He is higher and greater than we are. So does this mean we cannot really know God?
Can We Know God?
Previously, is He saying that you cannot “know” Him? No, He isn’t. In fact, God declares through the same prophet Isaiah,
“You are My witnesses,” says the LORD,
“And My servant whom I have chosen,
That you may know and believe Me, And understand that I am He.
Before Me there was no God formed,
Nor shall there be after Me.”
Isaiah 43:10 NKJV
God seems to clearly state that we can know and believe Him. That we can understand that “I am He” and there was no God before Him, nor any God after Him. God does NOT say “that you may know and believe Us”. God does NOT say, “and understand that We are They.”
According to God, we should be able to know God as He, “I am He”. We can know God. And know enough to know that God is a He, not They.
This is far from a perfect theology. This is a very simple statement. We can know God, “that you may know and believe Me, and understand that I am He”. God also says through the prophet Jeremiah,
No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD.
Jeremiah 31:34 NKJV
Once more, we can know God.
In the new testament, we find Paul in Acts 17: 22-31, addressing the Greek philosophers at the Areopagus. They had an inscription, “TO THE UNKNOWN GOD”. He begins to preach to them about God. They did not know God, but Paul wants them to seek Him and to find Him. Let us look at Acts 17, starting at verse 23, some will be omitted for space and clarity but it is encouraged to open a Bible here and read along:
“Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you…so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us… Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, 31 because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.”
Acts 17:23-31 NKJV
Paul says that he did not want them to continue without knowing this God, so he proclaimed Him to them. That they might grope for Him and FIND Him. That these times of ignorance God overlooked but will judge the world by the man whom he ordained and raised from the dead, Jesus. We are to know God and repent.
In the gospel of John, chapter 4, we find Jesus telling the Samaritan woman that they know what they worship.
“You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews.”
John 4:22 NKJV
So according to Jesus, they, the Jews, including himself, knew what they worshipped. Therefore, once more, we can know the God we worship.
Close Enough?
Though someone may profess to worship a triune god, are they close enough? If they mention the Father as one of those that they worship as God, is it close enough to say they still “know” the true God?
Well, let us take another look at John 4 and Jesus’ discussion with the Samaritan woman. We discussed this previously but will go into some more depth here. For some quick context, the Samaritans were previously of the Jewish people, but had been taken captive by the Assyrians. The Assyrians intermingled the captured Jews with other pagan people. The Samaritans eventually adopted many of the customs, beliefs, and gods of those other people. Thus, the Samaritans knew about the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but had also come to accept other gods. Thus, they would worship other gods along with the only true God.
Now during the discussion of Jesus and the Samaritan women, they discuss much, but eventually she asks Jesus about where is the best place to worship, for the Samaritans worshipped in one place and the Jews worshipped in Jerusalem. Jesus’ answer is very interesting.
Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
John 4:21-24 NKJV
This first verse should really jump out. Jesus mentions that the hour is coming when they will no longer worship the Father on that mountain or in Jerusalem. Jesus seems to acknowledge that they know about the Father, that the Father is the One they have previously intended to worship.
Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father.”
John 4:21 NKJV
But right after acknowledging that the Samaritans intend to worship the Father, Jesus continues in verse 22, Jesus says,
Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know”
John 4:21-22 NKJV
Many of us would likely ask, “I thought she worshipped the Father?” How can Jesus say she doesn’t know the One she worships? Well, this is likely due to the fact that Samaritans had many gods. So in addition to the true God, the Father, they also worshipped other gods. If we worship anyone else as God or a god, other than the only true God, then according to Jesus, we do not know who we worship. This would seem to directly apply to those who worship a triune god. Though they may worship the Father as god, they also worship the son as god, and the holy spirit as god. That even though the Father, the only God says,
“I am the LORD, and there is no other; There is no God besides Me.”
Isaiah 45:5 NKJV
“Now see that I, even I, am He, And there is no God besides Me”
Deuteronomy 32:39 NKJV
They still worship another, or other members as god.
So in accordance with Jesus’ perfect words to the Samaritan woman, it would seem reasonable to say that anyone who worships anyone or anything else as god, even if they also worship the Father as God, does not know what they worship. He alone is God. There is no other. He is not one God among other gods. He is not a collection. He is not one among many.
“I am the LORD, and there is no other; There is no God besides Me.”
Isaiah 45:5 NKJV
This is not said in anger or arrogance. If Jesus could factually tell the Samaritan woman that they did NOT know the one they worshipped, but that they (the Jews) knew who they worshipped, then so should we. We should not be ashamed of our lord Jesus’ words. He knows exactly what it means to know God. To know the one we worship. Thus, this should motivate us to tell others the truth, so that they can worship God in spirit and truth.
“God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
John 4:24 NKJV
So not the same God, what does that mean?
Affirmatives
If they worship a different god, then what does that mean? Well, there are a couple of ways to approach this. We have already covered the affirmatives. The affirmatives are the affirmations of scripture that tell us what we should do. How we must “know” God and worship Him in spirit and “truth”. Jesus tells us this is eternal life (John 17:3), everlasting life (John 5:24), and salvation (John 4:21-24). This should be enough to establish that this is essential, a must, this should encourage what we should do. However, another way to look at this is the negatives. This next section will expand on the negatives of worshipping a different god.
Negatives
The negatives are the “bad” of worshipping a different god. We have already established that the Father is the only true God. Thus, if one worships anyone or anything other than the only true God, they are worshipping a false god. Worship of a false god is idolatry. Idolatry is a sin.
And God spoke all these words, saying:
2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.”
3 “You shall have no other gods before Me.”
Exodus 20: 1-3 NKJV (The ten commandments)
Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, 7 in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them.
Colossians 3: 5-7 NKJV
Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.
1 John 5:21 NKJV
We are not to continue in sin, if we continue in sin, like idolatry, we will not inherit the kingdom of God. Let us see where Paul states this plainly,
Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?
Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.
1 Corinthians 6:9-10 NKJV
We may ask, “Is it really idolatry?” The simple answer is yes. Though we may think of an idol as being constructed out of wood, we should note that the triune god is still constructed, just in a different way. One cannot simply point to one verse that says “the Father, son, and holy spirit are God”, nor “they are God”, nor “we are God”, nor “God is three”. Thus, this false god is not found in the scriptures. Instead, the triune god is constructed from pieces of scripture here and there, and glued together with the traditions of men. Not one verse ever explicitly states this false god, but rather one must take each piece and put them together to form this collection of persons that make up the essence that is their false god. This false god has been passed down for centuries, as an unquestionable tradition that one must accept in place of the only true God.
Therefore, the continuation of worship of this false god, is not just idolatry. It also prevents us from worshipping the only true God, who is worthy to be praised.
For the LORD is great and greatly to be praised;
He is to be feared above all gods.
5 For all the gods of the peoples are idols,
But the LORD made the heavens.
Psalm 96: 4-5 NKJV
This verse is so clear. The LORD, YHVH, the only true God, is greatly to be praised, all the gods of the peoples are idols.
Thus, it isn’t that we just commit idolatry when we worship a false god, but we deprive the only true God of the worship He deserves. It deprives us of the blessings of worshiping the true God. May this never be so.
And God spoke all these words, saying:
2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.”
3 “You shall have no other gods before Me.”
Exodus 20: 1-3 NKJV (The ten commandments)
"For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God”
Exodus 20: 5 NKJV
Aren’t there verses that say we just need to know Jesus?
Only Jesus?
We cannot ignore all the verses we just read that clearly state we must know God. Jesus himself said this. He said if we love him we will keep his words.
“If you love Me, keep My commandments.”
John 14:15 NKJV
Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word…”
John 14:23 NKJV
“teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you”
Matthew 28:20 NKJV
So we must not discard ANY of his words, just because we want to keep things simple.
We should look at some verses to explore this idea. Does one verse negate other verses? If we find one verse can we ignore others? Let us take a look at verse 1.
Verse 1:
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
John 3:16 NKJV
Many might be inclined to say that John 3:16 proves we only need to believe in Jesus to have everlasting life. However, let us look at verse 2.
Verse 2:
“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life…”
John 5:24 NKJV
In this verse, Jesus is clearly saying that we must hear his words and believe in Him who sent him to have everlasting life. So does Verse 1 negate Verse 2? Does Verse 1 override Verse 2 and make it of no effect? No. Jesus said them both. They should both be taken as truth, together. Let us look at verse 3.
Verse 3:
“And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”
John 17:3 NKJV
Here Jesus says that eternal life is to know You, the only true God, which is the Father (see John 17:1). That eternal life is to know Jesus Christ, whom You have sent. In one sentence Jesus claims we need to know both of them for eternal life. This would seem to bring together Verse 1 (John 3:16) and Verse 2 (John 5:24). Also notice how Verse 3 mentions “whom You have sent” and Verse 2 “in Him who sent Me”, that to believe and know this One is eternal life. How Verse 3 reveals this One, which is the Father, the only true God, who sent Jesus. Once again, we cannot ignore one verse over another. When we take them all, they are actually all in agreement. One may have more than another, but that doesn’t mean they contradict each other. No, they build and compliment each other, they are in agreement. They should all be taken together.
Therefore, it should be clear that we cannot just take verses that say we need to know Jesus as “proof” that we do NOT need to know the Father, the only true God. When there are plenty of verses, out of Jesus’ own mouth, that say we also need to know the Father, the only true God. That He must be worshipped in spirit and truth.
To Know Jesus the Christ, the son of God
Here we will take a quick look at the verses that mention knowing Jesus for eternal life. Hopefully we can see how much depth is in each one, that they have more meaning then they might seem to have at first glance.
Verse 1 (again):
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
John 3:16 NKJV
This verse was mentioned already. Often used to say we only need to know Jesus. However, if we look at the verse, it first mentions God. “For God so loved the world”, it also mentions Jesus as “His only begotten Son”. So in this single verse, it is actually mentioning God and that it defines Jesus as God’s begotten son. This it is defining Jesus by Jesus’ relationship to God. So to say we don’t need to know God, would be very confusing? Jesus is the son of who then? Could we be confused about who God is and still know Jesus? Say we thought God was Zeus, that would make Jesus the son of Zeus. Is that the true Jesus? Is Jesus the son of a triune God? No, he is the son of the Father, the only true God. Furthermore, we cannot disregard the words of Jesus from before, that we must know the only true God.
Let us look at another verse that is often used to say we only need to know Jesus.
Verse 4:
that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
Romans 10:9 NKJV
Once more, this verse also mentions God. Paul also says, “believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead”. So how can we say that we don’t need to know God? Then who raised Jesus from the dead? We must also believe that God raised Jesus from the dead. Can we believe that Zeus raised Jesus from the dead? I don’t think so. Again, we cannot disregard the words of Jesus from before, that we must know the only true God.
Let us look at one more verse that is often used to say we only need to know Jesus.
Verse 5:
but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.
John 20:31 NKJV
Here John is saying that he wrote the gospel of John so that we would believe on Jesus the Christ, the son of God, so that we would have life. Somewhat of a tangent, but we should notice that He didn’t say so we would know Jesus as God. Anyways, once again, Jesus is defined by his relationship to God. Jesus is the son of God. If we have God wrong, we end up with the wrong son of God.
Furthermore, let us look at what “Christ” means. We so often hear Jesus Christ or Jesus the Christ or Christ Jesus. But what does that actually mean? Christ is a translation for Messiah. This is a Hebrew word that means “anointed” or the “anointed one”. It has always been understood that this is the promised one, the anointed of God.
The kings of the earth set themselves,
And the rulers take counsel together,
Against the LORD and against His Anointed
Psalm 2:2 NKJV
Here in Psalm 2:2, the Hebrew word for “Anointed” is “Messiah”. The LORD (YHVH/YAHWEH) and against His messiah. So the title Messiah always denotes that he, Jesus, is the anointed of God, the LORD, YHVH, YAHWEH.
He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Peter answered and said, “The Christ of God.”
Luke 9:20 NKJV
Once more, Luke is quoting Peter as describing Jesus as the Christ of God. This Christ which is translated as Messiah, which means “anointed” could then read, the “anointed” of God. Again, Peter’s profession of who Jesus is, the Christ of God, is defined by Jesus’ relationship to God. So if we have the wrong God, we have the wrong Jesus.
Designations of Jesus
This last section will attempt to emphasize all the ways in which Jesus is described and how they are defined by his relationship to God. How so many of Jesus’ titles are in relation to God. That they are given meaning by how they relate to God. It should give us pause, that God’s word sought to describe Jesus so often by his relationship to God. That to say we don’t need to know God would seem foreign to the scriptures and foreign to the way in which everyone in the scriptures described Jesus. Let us take a look at a list of titles for Jesus:
Christ of God (Luke 9:20)
Son of God (John 10:36)
Gift of God (John 4:10)
Lamb of God (John 1:36)
Word of God (Rev 19:13)
Servant of God (Acts 3:13)
Raised from the dead by God (Acts 5:30)
Sits at the right hand of God (Mark 16:19)
To know Jesus without knowing God would seem paradoxical. Again, Jesus’ very position is defined by God, Jesus is the the Christ of God, the son of God, the gift of God, the lamb of God, the word of God, raised from the dead by God, and sits at the right hand of God. If we have the wrong God, we end up with the wrong Jesus. For example, if we said that God was Zeus, the Father, who reigns on mount Olympus. Then Jesus is the son of Zeus, the Christ of Zeus, the lamb of Zeus, etc. This is not the true Jesus, he is the son of the living God, he was glorified by the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Acts 3:13. He was raised from the dead by the God of their fathers, Acts 5:30. That is the true Jesus.
Though it may seem hyperbolic to use this example, it is only to illustrate the point. If one says that God is anyone but the true God, the Father, then they have a false god. Thus, insert said “false god” after each title of Jesus, which gives you the wrong Jesus.
These designations have meaning, they are not just obscure words. To call Jesus the Messiah means something specific. We can’t just make it mean whatever. All of these positions of Jesus are in relation to God.
This should be enough to show that to believe in Jesus Christ, we must have a basic knowledge about what that title of Christ means. That the true Jesus’ position is determined by God. So if we don’t know God or have the wrong God, we end up with the wrong Jesus.
So Can We Just Know Jesus and not God?
Not according to Jesus, we need to take all of his words. They are all in agreement, they do not contradict each other, but build and compliment each other. So we cannot just take one line of Jesus’ or Paul’s and say we are good, we cannot ignore the rest of scripture and Jesus’ words.
Furthermore, it gets hard to say we know Jesus the Christ, the son of God, when we have the wrong God or don’t know God at all. Jesus is defined by his relationship to God. So many of his titles, the ones we are told we must believe about him to have eternal life, are in relationship to God.
But some of them have done miracles…
This is a great question. How can some who professes a triune god also do miracles in the name of Jesus? Does that mean they are accepted and welcomed by God and Jesus? On the surface this would seem to be a reasonable assumption. However, let us look at a few verses which should refute this idea.
Matthew 7:21-23
Let us take a look at a very sobering warning from Jesus in Matthew 7.
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’”
Matthew 7:21-23 NKJV
Notice verse 21 says not all who call me “lord” (which means “master”) will enter the kingdom of heaven. So this right here would refute the idea that all who call on the name of the lord Jesus are saved. According to Jesus, this is not the case, in fact, Jesus says but those who do the will of my Father in heaven. We must also do the will of his Father. We can hardly say we do the Father’s will if we don’t know the Father. Who is the Father? Jesus’ God, our God, (John 20:17) the only true God (John 17:3). So here in this first verse is a lot but the following verses directly address the idea of doing miracles in the name of Jesus.
The last 2 verses here are very important. Jesus would seem to directly refute the idea that those who call him lord and who do miracles in his name are accepted by him.
22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’”
Matthew 7:22-23 NKJV
Notice how these people will tell Jesus that they prophesied, cast out demons, and did other wonders in his name. That in the name of Jesus they prophesied, cast out demons, and did wonders. Yet, Jesus says he never knew them. Jesus doesn’t say, “You liars, you never did those things.” No, rather, Jesus just says that he never knew them, that they should depart, that they practice lawlessness.
So straight out of Jesus’ mouth, we have that miracles done in the name of Jesus are not proof one is accepted by Jesus and God.
Matthew 24:24-25
Here is another place where Jesus warns of those who will do great wonders yet not be those of Jesus or of God.
“For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you beforehand.”
Matthew 24:24-25 NKJV
Once more, Jesus gives a warning that near the end their will be those who perform great signs and wonders to deceive. These deceptions will be so great and spectacular that Jesus warns, “to deceive, if possible, even the elect.” That these will be so convincing that if possible even those of God might be deceived. These are not cheap magic tricks, these will truly be deceptive wonders and signs. Yet, they are not of God, not of the truth. Jesus describes these people here as “false” christs and “false” prophets.
Therefore, Jesus again has warned that we cannot just believe that others are of God and Jesus because they do miracles, signs, and wonders. Miracles are not enough to establish truth.
John 11:49-53
This scripture is a little more subtle. The gist is that a high priest is given a prophecy concerning Jesus (he prophesied which is a gift from God) and yet he was seeking to kill Jesus. Let us take a look.
And one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all, 50 nor do you consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish.” 51 Now this he did not say on his own authority; but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, 52 and not for that nation only, but also that He would gather together in one the children of God who were scattered abroad.
53 Then, from that day on, they plotted to put Him to death.
John 11:49-53 NKJV
Though this high priest did not believe in Jesus. Though this high priest sought to kill Jesus, the son of God. Despite all of this, God still gave this high priest a prophecy. A prophetic word of what would happen concerning Jesus, how he would die for the nation and others, the children of God. The high priest misunderstood what it meant, but God gave him this word nonetheless. The gift of prophecy is a gift from God, yet this in no way established that this high priest was of God or His son Jesus. No, this man was against God and his beloved son Jesus. He and others rejected Jesus and were plotting to put Jesus to death.
Thus, once more, miracles, signs and prophetic words cannot be used to establish that one is of God and of Jesus.
In conclusion, these three scriptures should be enough to reject this idea. We cannot solely rely on miracles as evidence one is of God.
But they are good people, they mean well, they desire to know God and Jesus…
I genuinely believe that so many people truly desire to know and worship God in truth, that they desire to serve and please God and His son Jesus, but that they are just lost, deceived. It is so tragic. This should be all the more motivation for those with the truth to tell others, so that they can come and worship God in spirit and truth. That they can come to know the only true God and His beloved son Jesus.
This is true whether they are Muslims, Jews, trinitarians, buddhists, atheists, and others. Anyone who does not know the only true God and his beloved son Jesus should be told the truth. They deserve to be told. That they can have eternal life. That they can worship the Father, God, in spirit and truth. For God must be worshipped in spirit and truth.
This brings to mind the words of Jesus
“Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.”
Matthew 15:14 NKJV
Most have come to a false belief because they listened and trusted someone they loved who was also deceived. If you love someone and they love you, it is very reasonable to assume they want what is best for you. In fact, they think they are doing what is best for you. They think they are sharing the truth. Hence the blind leading the blind. If they saw, they wouldn’t lead others astray but are lost, and thus, leading others astray as well.
We should not be upset by this. Instead, we should remember that most of us were in ignorance as well. That we were lost. That we needed to hear the truth. So in the same manner we should tell others.
Even if others seem to persecute us for telling the truth of God and his son Jesus. They may in fact be one of the next great apostles. For instance, Paul was persecuting the church, hunting them down, traveling from city to city to throw them in jail, consenting to their deaths. He was zealous for God, but was deceived. He didn’t believe that Jesus was in fact the Christ, God’s beloved son. And yet, once Jesus spoke to him and showed him the truth on the road to Damascus. Paul eventually became one of the greatest apostles. Therefore, those who push back the hardest may eventually be the greatest advocates of the truth. We never know.
Thus, we shouldn’t confuse the idea that saying “one doesn’t know the truth” means that “one is evil and has bad intentions”. These are not the same. Again, I believe so many mean well, that they believe with all their heart what they say. However, this doesn’t make it true. It also doesn’t make them “evil with wicked intentions”. It just means they need to hear the truth. That we should be faithful to tell them the truth.
If I didn’t know, I hope someone would tell me.But there are so many people that believe in a false God…
This was a particularly difficult question for me. “How can so many people believe in a false God?”
It really made me question whether God was one, the Father, the only true God. Or was God actually three persons in one essence? How could so many people be wrong? People have spent their entire lives dedicated to this, how can so many be wrong for so many hundreds of years? I would think a sane person should struggle with this. That a rationale person should wrestle with this huge question. How can so many, well intentioned people, worship a false God? It might cause us to doubt the truth. Yet, the entirety of scripture is in agreement, from the prophets, to Jesus, to the apostles, to God Himself. They all say the same, that God is one, the Father, the God of Jesus, our God, the only true God. God is so good to give us His word and the words of His son Jesus, so we could be sure of this. This should give us assurance against doubting the truth. Truth isn’t defined by the majority, truth is true regardless of how many believe.
How many will be saved?
However, it doesn’t ease the tension of “how could so many people be deceived and worship a false God?” To get a solid answer, let us look to the words of Jesus.
Then one said to Him, “Lord, are there few who are saved?”
And He said to them, “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able.”
Luke 13:23-24 NKJV
Jesus is asked if few are saved. Tragically, Jesus is confirming that many will seek to enter but will not be able. It isn’t that many won’t want to enter. No, many will seek to enter, but will not be able. This is really heavy and saddening.
In another place Jesus says,
“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”
Matthew 7:13-14 NKJV
Once more, Jesus is saying the same thing. That many will find the way that leads to destruction, for many go in by it. Yet, few will find the way that leads to life.
There could be no higher testimony than the words of God’s son Jesus. In Luke 13:23-24, he confirms that many will seek to be saved but will not be able. Again, in Matthew 7:13-14, he explicitly confirms that those who are saved will be few. That those who will find destruction will be many.
How Few is a Few?
This should settle the question that there will be more that find destruction than are saved. However, there still might be an issue of just how many are actually being saved. It would seem that there are so few who actually hold to the true God and His beloved son Jesus. This would mean that this few are truly very very few. So few, it might in fact cause one to question again whether this could be true.
To establish how common it was that so very few actually followed God, let us look to some scriptures. We can be sure that these are true and not just speculation. That this question, “can a few really mean a very few, like almost no one”, should be resolved by these scriptures. They should give us assurance that a few, can truly mean a few. Not millions, but truly only a few. However, make no mistake, people from the time of Jesus have always held to this truth, they have just been such a persecuted minority that we often do not hear from them.
Noah
Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God. 10 And Noah begot three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.
Genesis 6: 9-12 NKJV
In the time of Noah, he was the only one on the entire planet who walked with God. The only one God spared. God destroyed all the rest of mankind, with the exception of one man’s family.
This is likely the most stark contrast of a minority. There can’t be any smaller “few” than one. The rest of the entire world was opposed to God, corrupted, with the exception of one man.
This should give validity to the idea that “yes, a few can really be just a few”.
It should also establish that God indeed is a just God, and may condemn the majority, even if that majority is a very great majority, like the entire world except one man’s family.
Elijah
And Elijah came to all the people, and said, “How long will you falter between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.”
But the people answered him not a word.
22 Then Elijah said to the people, “I alone am left a prophet of the LORD; but Baal’s prophets are four hundred and fifty men.
1 Kings 18: 21-22 NKJV
The story of Elijah is a great one. We should notice here how he is the only one representing the true God, YHVH, the LORD. The king has his many prophets of Baal, 450 men. There are also the people of Israel, who “answer him not a word”. Poor Elijah is all by himself here representing the true God to the people of God, before the king of God’s people, and yet he is alone. This should definitely establish that even in a place where people should know and worship the true God, there may only be one who speaks up for the true God. That the establishment, the king and his prophets may not worship the true God and that the people may be silent.
Elijah’s story gets even more interesting. Let us look further on, Elijah is being hunted down by the queen. He is hiding and feels all alone. He cries out to God, saying that he is the only one who still follow Him. God eventually tells Elijah that there are also 7000 that are His and have not worshipped Baal.
14 And he said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; because the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.”
15 Then the LORD said to him: “…18 Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.”
1 Kings 19: 14, 15, 18 NKJV
It should be noted, that though there were 7000, Elijah didn’t know about them. They weren’t there when he proclaimed the true God to the people before the king on mount Carmel, the first verses we covered (1 Kings 18:21-22). This should be startling, again the few may be so few that we don’t even know about each other. That there may be only one who stands for the true God.
Furthermore, though we often hear sermons about how Elijah should take comfort in the other 7000, let us put that number in perspective. During king David’s reign, he numbered the people of Israel and Judah, it was 1.3 million fighting men, so this is well over 1.3 million total people even after God’s plague (2 Samuel 24). This was generations before Elijah, so the population of God’s people would have likely been much larger. Yet, for simplicity, let us just kept the population the same, so 1.3 million people. So those 7,000 out of the 1,300,000 of God’s people, would only be 0.005, that is 0.5%. So less than 1% of God’s “people”, actually still followed Him and didn’t follow after a false god like Baal. That is incredible! Only about 0.5%, not even 1% of His own people followed Him. This is a conservative estimate, it likely would have been even less. This doesn’t even include all the rest of the people on the planet. This is just from God’s own people. If we took the rest of the world’s population, this percentage would be even smaller. For emphasis, we don’t usually measure something smaller than a percentage, so this is staggering.
Thus, this should once more establish that those who follow the true God, are in fact often a very very small minority. Furthermore, that at times, there might be only one who stands for the true God.
Sodom
Then he said, “Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak but once more: Suppose ten should be found there?”
And He said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of ten.” 33 So the LORD went His way as soon as He had finished speaking with Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place.
Genesis 18: 32-33 NKJV
In the time of Sodom and Gomorrah. There is an exchange between Abraham and YHVH. God essentially says that if there are even just 10 righteous people in the city He would spare it. Yet, we know that God did not, thus God did not even find but 10 righteous people in the entire city. It was only Lot and his family that God choose to spare. This is another example of those who follow God being truly a small minority.
Conclusion
These scriptures should help show that a few can really be just a few. That there are many times in the scriptures where those who follow the true God are a very very few, like sometimes just one.
Who are we to say they don’t have eternal life…
We didn’t say it. Jesus did. The scriptures say this. God himself says this. We tell them this out of love, again, we covered this in part 1. The “why”, should always be out of love for God, that He demonstrated His love for the world, that while we were sinners He sent His son. The default state is death, we are already condemned. We all need to come to know God.
Remember how Paul said, in Acts 17, how these times of ignorance God has overlooked but the time has now come that we should come to Him, grope for Him.
“Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you…so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us… Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, 31 because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.”
Acts 17:23-31 NKJV
This isn’t to say that we go around telling people they are doomed. No! We tell them the truth, so that they may be saved. So we shouldn’t go around pointing to people and saying, “you don’t have eternal life” and “you don’t” and “you over there”. That doesn’t sound like something done in love. However, when asked about eternal life and knowing God, we can factually, calmly, in love, state what Jesus and the rest of the scriptures say. It really isn’t our place to go around determining who is actually saved and not, we can simply say what Jesus said:
“and this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”
John 17: 3 NKJV
We don’t need to wrestle with whether one believes it or not, that isn’t our place. We tell them who the only true God is, their own mouths will either justify or condemn them. Who do they profess as the God they worship? If it is the only true God, awesome, if not, then we have told them, tried to show them. There is really no point in trying to determine whether one does or doesn’t. We just show them the truth, quote scripture in love and truth, God will do the rest. As Paul says in the scriptures,
So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.
1 Corinthians 3:7 NKJV
Furthermore, today one may not believe but a year from now they might. Let the judgement lie with God and His son, we are only messengers. We are to imitate Jesus, how he was faithful to say all that God gave him to say, in love, to the point of death. As it says in John,
“For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. 50 And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.”
John 12: 49-50 NKJV
“But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God.”
John 8:40 NKJV
So we don’t say these things on our own authority, but on the authority of the one who sent Jesus. What we are saying is what Jesus said. Jesus was faithful to say the words which he received from God to give to others. That Jesus said these despite people seeking to kill him. May we be faithful to follow the example of our lord Jesus the Christ, the son of the living God.