Scriptural Text
“He pressed them, “And how about you? Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter said, “You’re the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus came back, “God bless you, Simon, son of Jonah! You didn’t get that answer out of books or from teachers. My Father in heaven, God himself, let you in on this secret of who I really am. And now I’m going to tell you who you are, really are. You are Peter, a rock. This is the rock on which I will put together my church, a church so expansive with energy that not even the gates of hell will be able to keep it out. “And that’s not all. You will have complete and free access to God’s kingdom, keys to open any and every door: no more barriers between heaven and earth, earth and heaven. A yes on earth is yes in heaven. A no on earth is no in heaven.”
Matthew 16:15-19 MSG
The true revelation knowledge about Christ brings us to the true revelational knowledge of self.
Peter had the revelation about the identity of Christ and Jesus thereafter gave Peter his own true identity as the rock
Know more about Christ
“And this, so that I may know Him [experientially, becoming more thoroughly acquainted with Him, understanding the remarkable wonders of His Person more completely] and [in that same way experience] the power of His resurrection [which overflows and is active in believers], and [that I may share] the fellowship of His sufferings, by being continually conformed [inwardly into His likeness even] to His death [dying as He did];”
Philippians 3:10 AMP
Knowing Christ is the supreme knowledge that we must all crave to have
“Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake, I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ
Philippians 3:8
Knowing Christ is experiential knowledge.
It is not head knowledge.
You can read and read about Christ and not get to experience who He is actually.
Knowing Christ is knowing the following about Him
1. His personality and person
in Matthew 16:13-17, Jesus asked His disciples who they thought He was. Following Him without knowing Him will deprive the believer of a most awesome experience and the manifestation of their true self
Philippians 2:5-9 shows Jesus as humble, obedient, never after fame, always pleasing the father person.
John 1:1-3 introduces Him as the Word and that same word lives in every believer
2. His principles
Knowing the person of Jesus is not a complete knowledge of Him. His principles are important discoveries that will help us to truly reflect Him. These are the commandments He left for us to follow which He also gave us an example by following them
“This is My commandment, that you love and unselfishly seek the best for one another, just as I have loved you.”
John 15:12 AMP
“In fact, you were called to live this way, because Christ also suffered in your place, leaving you his example for you to follow. He never sinned and he never spoke deceitfully.”
1 Peter 2:21-22 TPT
He asked us to learn from His principles and way of life
“Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
Matthew 11:29 NLT
His principles help us t focus more on the outcome of our walk with Him
“We look away from the natural realm and we focus our attention and expectation onto Jesus who birthed faith within us and who leads us forward into faith’s perfection. His example is this: Because his heart was focused on the joy of knowing that you would be his, he endured the agony of the cross and conquered its humiliation, and now sits exalted at the right hand of the throne of God!”
Hebrews 12:2 TPT
3. His expectations
His expectation is absolute follower-ship
“Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to follow Me [as My disciple], he must deny himself [set aside selfish interests], and take up his cross [expressing a willingness to endure whatever may come] and follow Me [believing in Me, conforming to My example in living and, if need be, suffering or perhaps dying because of faith in Me].”
Matthew 16:24 AMP
4. His power
It is important to know the magnitude of His power. Have you ever pondered on what His power can help us achieve? Philippians 4:13 says that He has the power to strengthen us to do all that He has asked us to do
The scope and extent
His power is over all the powers of the enemy Luke 10:19
It covers heaven and earth Matt 28:18
5. His might
Philippians 2:9-11
His might incudes a name that is above every other name
Every knee must bow to Him
He is Lord overall
6. His love and saving grace
What does His love do?
“For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.”
Luke 19:10 NLT
The extent of His love Jer 31:3
“Long ago the Lord said to Israel: “I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love, I have drawn you to myself.”
Jeremiah 31:3 NLT
So if you want to grow in in the knowledge of Christ according to Ephesians 1:17-21 you must grow in knowing and experiencing His mighty power which performs miracles like saving the lost soul, healing the sick, raising the dead, deliverance from the powers of darkness, protection from harm.
These signs follow those who know and believe Christ. Mark 16:15-16
When you start to experience it then you can be more confident in Him and trust Him more that is you can know what He can do and trust Him to do more.
2 Peter 3:18
You need to know more, grow in the knowledge of Christ
Prophet Habakkuk in Hab 3:2 asked for the repeat of God's mighty deeds as one who has heard of the fame of the Lord before and who wants to experience the same
Knowing Jesus also involves Knowing His names
THE NAMES OF JESUS
The lamb of God/the propitiation of sin
The Saviour
Christ: the anointed one
Messiah
The Word of God
The light of the world
The bread of life
The way the truth and the life
The resurrection and life
The good Shepherd
The Door of the sheep
The true vine
Redeemer
Deliverer
The king of the Jews
Wonderful
Counsellor
Mighty God
Everlasting father
Prince of peace
Emmanuel
The Branch
The Lion of the tribe of Judah
The Root of Jesse
The Son of Man
The Son of God/the only begotten of the father
The seed of the woman
Shiloh Genesis 49:10
The fourth man in the fire
The alpha and omega, the first and the last
The author and the finisher of our faith Heb 12:2
Who was, who is and is to come
The ruler of the kings of the earth
The Amen, True and faithful witness
Firstborn among the dead
The beginning of God’s creation
The Almighty
The ever-living one Rev 1
The one who holds the seven stars
The one with the sharp two-edged sword
The one who has the keys of David
The head of the church
The chief cornerstone
The bridegroom
The King of Kings
The Lord of lords
Our High Priest
The mediator/advocate
The reconciler/peacemaker
The coming King
Pray for the church
⁃ That we may grow in the knowledge
⁃ That we may experience more of His power
⁃ Col 1:9-10
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