In the garden God created and placed Adam and Eve there to become man and wife. They were joined together to be one in their relationship, but they hadn’t known each other yet. Don’t get me wrong, Adam certainly knew who Eve was. Some people humorously say that Adam saw Eve and said “Whoa Man!”, because she was so beautiful, thus calling her woman.
But Adam had not yet ‘known’ Eve in the intimate sense.
A husband and wife marry at the altar, but it’s not until they arrive at their honeymoon suite that they really know each other. Between the time a couple meets and their relationship progresses do they really begin to know each other intimately.
We meet new people all the time and establish friendships as we continue to fellowship with them again and again. Eventually the friendship becomes intimate in a spiritual sense. This kind of intimacy is what I believe God wants for his family. To be close. To learn to trust one another. To grow together, To become one in love. To ‘know’ each other.
{photo credit by Sisterlisa}
Jesus often rebuked the Pharisees and the scenarios between them is not often discussed in some churches, but as a former legalist I have come to pay closer attention to the words he spoke to them and their cultural history as leaders in their religious communities.
Ezekiel 34 gives us a vivid picture of how upset God was with the pastors for the way they were treating the people and even neglecting them. These shepherds were known by God, He appointed them to their place of leadership among the people to take care of them. Several generations later Jesus describes the kingdom of heaven which he was bringing to earth.
Luke 17:20And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: 21Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you. (KJV)
Knowing that the kingdom of God is already within us, we can then begin to see many of his teachings clearer. He continues on in his 3 1/2 year journey to tell people who can “go there” and who “can’t enter therein”.
It’s within us.
Matthew 10 gives us the picture of the rich man who wants to enter the kingdom of God, but Jesus challenges him with giving up his riches first. We know that we do not enter eternity based on our works, for the bible reveals to us it is not by works, so no one can boast. Jesus is speaking to the rich man about the kingdom that is already within him. Because materialism gets in the way of us being able to ‘see’ this kingdom and live out the reality of it in our human lives.
His response after the rich man departed from him astonished even the disciples.
Matthew 10: 23And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” 24And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God!” (ESV)
There’s an intimacy that is present among people who enter one another’s homes, when we dine together, when we celebrate together. We know each other, but it is through spiritual intimacy that we really begin to know one another. When one of us goes through a storm in life, it is then that we see what each other is ‘made of’.
God is all knowing. He knows every hair on our head and knew us in our mother’s womb. In fact we were created in Christ before the foundation of the world. God definitely knows us all.
{photo credit by Sisterlisa}
But does He have intimacy with us yet? Have we entered into the kingdom life yet?
I can meet you at the cafe each week for fellowship, but until you come to my home and dine with me, you may not begin to really know me yet. Jesus entered many homes on his missionary journey to earth. He dined with people, lounged with them in their homes, rejoiced with them, and even grieved with them. Jesus even knew the thoughts of the people, even the thoughts of the Pharisees. He knew and does know all of us. But he speaks of another kind of ‘knowing’ in our relationship with him.
Matthew 7: 21“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
I don’t believe Jesus was speaking about the after life in this passage. The entire chapter of Matthew 7 is about how to live in this life, read it thoroughly, I believe this chapter is about how to live in the kingdom life, now.
He said ‘I never knew you’, but he certainly does know us. Perhaps he is speaking about the intimacy and depth of knowing people.
Have you ever said to someone whose heart changed in a negative way and you said, “I don’t know you anymore. Who are you?” But you DO know them. It’s a figure of speech. The bible is filled with types, shadows, poetic language, and figures of speech.
In Matthew 7 he speaks of a beam of wood sticking out of your eye, the opening of a door, a gate, wolves who have fruit from their limbs, not knowing people, and a house built upon a rock.
These are not literal teachings, they are spiritual teachings with poetic figurative language.
The kingdom is within you.
God always knows who we are. How can the Creator not literally know His own creation?
He knows us, but He wants to really ‘know’ us.
We are the Bride and Jesus is our Groom, but has the journey brought us into the tent of being known by our Groom?
There’s an intimacy in ‘knowing’ Jesus and Him ‘knowing’ us. This happens in the kingdom and we’re all there seated with him in those ‘heavenly places’, we just might have a beam in our eye that inhibits our vision of the reality. It is possible we keep bumping into the post because the beam disrupts us being able to see the narrow opening of the gate. In addition to that there are wolves all around making it even more difficult to see the kingdom. It’s the house upon the rock, it shall not be moved. The house will not move from where it is, no need to go looking here or there to find it.
It’s within you.
Do not fear Jesus telling you that you can’t be with him and Father. The after life is something full of mystery, a surprise being prepared for us to some day see. But there is a Now Jesus that we can know. We can live the kingdom life while we are here on earth. It’s such a fabulous gift that I pray we don’t waste. He loves you and because of what he has done, his finished work on the cross, the gate is left open for all who would like to enter, We can enter freely.
{photo credit by Mike Davis}
