John 8:19 “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.”

Many people say they know God, or at least believe in Him, yet they choke on Jesus. Jesus Himself said it doesn’t work that way, and in his first letter John spells it out even more plainly: “No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.” (1 John 2:23) In Colossians 1:19, Paul puts the issue as the fullness of God having bodily form in Christ. Any way you look at it, the way to know God is to know Christ, and visa versa. This has been a pillar of Christian theology for almost 2000 years, but it leaves some people in the dark about the Holy Spirit. That actually is a non-problem, because He is spoken of in the Bible not only as the Holy Spirit, but also as the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ. Because we cannot see God physically, and only people 2000 years ago could see Jesus physically, the Holy Spirit reveals the totality of God to us. Those who exclude the full operation of the Holy Spirit from present times, saying that His gifts were just for the 1^st Century, are excluding understanding of the Father and Son as well. It is interesting that the Pentecostal movement was for many years deficient in academic theology. They were too busy experiencing God to study about Him! That is certainly being corrected today. I would say that it is impossible to have an adequate theology of God without an active experience of Him. I think that’s exactly what Jesus was saying to those with whom He was physically present.

I am not to disdain academic theology, but I must never divorce it from the active experience of and fellowship with God. I have seen so many people separated from each other and from the richness that God has for them by splitting theological hairs. It has been said that a man with an experience is never at the mercy of someone with a theory. That’s why people who are walking with God aren’t likely to believe in evolution. Having experienced Him, they know that the universe and everything in it exists by His will and action. I am not to limit my evangelism to intellectual arguments. That would get no results! Like Paul I need to present the living God who is holy and yet loves us enough to die for us. That transcends intellect!

Father thank You for Your incredibly gracious plan of salvation, revealing Yourself to Abraham and others, then sending Your Son to manifest You and take the penalty for our sin, and then pouring Your Spirit out on all who will believe. Help me not stop with less than the full package, either in my own understanding or in communicating the Gospel to others. May we as a church walk in full fellowship with and obedience to Father, Son, and Spirit, so that all of Your purposes for us may be fulfilled on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!