The Knowing 1 - "Revelation Relationship"

Is “knowing Jesus” the same as having a “revelation as well as a relationship with Jesus”?

When talking about revelation - I am talking about a supernatural transferral of insight into “Who God is” that consequently affects every part of your tri-partite being¹ (body mind and spirit).

What does the Bible say about the difference between “knowing Who God is, in a purely historical and character sense” versus “knowing God in context of a personal Father son relationship”?

Is “knowing Who Jesus is” going to mean heaven for you? If you are uncertain whether “, just knowing” in itself, is enough; we could just ask Satan and his fallen angels...

Does this seem harsh? James, Jesus’ brother didn’t seem to think so.

James 2:19 (New Living Translation)

You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible: “...the devils also believe; the Arabic version reads, "the devils likewise so believe"; they believe the same truth; they know and believe there is but one God, and not many; and they know that the God of Israel is he; and that the Father, Son, and Spirit, are the one God; they know and believe him to be the most high God, whose servants the ministers of the Gospel are; and they know and believe that Jesus is the Holy One of God, the Son of God, and the Messiah, Acts 16:17.

And tremble; at the wrath of God, which they now feel, and at the thought of future torments, which they expect, Mark 5:7 and which is more than some men do; and yet these shall not be saved, their damnation is certain and inevitable, 2 Peter 2:4 wherefore it follows, that a bare historical faith will not profit, and cannot save any; a man may have all faith of this kind, and be damned; and therefore it is not to be boasted of, nor trusted to.”

(Read more - http://bible.cc/james/2-19.htm)

Who do you say Jesus is?

Matthew 16 (Amplified Bible)

13 Now when Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, Who do people say that the Son of Man is?

14 And they answered, Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.

15 He said to them, But who do you [yourselves] say that I am?

16 Simon Peter replied, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.

17 Then Jesus answered him, Blessed (happy, fortunate, and [d]to be envied) are you, Simon Bar-Jonah. For flesh and blood [men] have not revealed this to you, but My Father Who is in heaven.

18 And I tell you, you are Peter [Greek, Petros—a large piece of rock], and on this rock [Greek, petra—a huge rock like Gibraltar] I will build My church, and the gates of Hades (the powers of the [g]infernal region) shall [h]not overpower it [or be strong to its detriment or hold out against it].

Jesus had been teaching the 12 disciples (for 3 years) everything He could, in order for them to know Him, and to be able to plant churches and even to write the New Testament (by inspiration of the Holy Spirit). It stands to reason that they knew Who Jesus was. Why does Jesus then make such a big deal about Peter’s answer of His question?

The Word says “For flesh and blood [men] have not revealed this to you...”These words seem to hold a clue.

Who told you Who Jesus is? Your Sunday school teacher...? Your Parents...?

I thought I knew who Jesus was, until He revealed Himself to me and I realised that I had not known Him at al, despite my Christian upbringing.

A young pastor came to our house years ago; our children had seen a “ghost” in our house, and I had long suspected that we where not “alone” in our house. He first straitened out our thinking about the misconception of ghosts being dead people who didn’t somehow qualify for Heaven or Hell, and explained that it would always be either an angel or a demon.

He followed up his teaching by warning us against FEAR and also explaining how powerful the name of Jesus was. (Understand this - listening to someone talk about unseen things is a stretch, but backing up your “crazy talk” with some hardcore application is a whole different ballgame!)

Hebrews 11 - (Amplified Bible)

1 Now faith is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses].

2 For by [faith—trust and holy fervor born of faith] the men of old had divine testimony borne to them and obtained a good report.

3 By faith we understand that the worlds [during the successive ages] were framed (fashioned, put in order, and equipped for their intended purpose) by the word of God, so that what we see was not made out of things, which are visible.

The young pastor sat in our living room, and while drinking his cup of tea, he closed his eyes and in a gentle tone of voice said “Dear Jesus” (as a start of a prayer) he was no further than that when this demon manifested it’s voice, sounding like a dying, out of breath, wolf! Three puffs and the demon was never to be seen again.

It just hit me: “The power is in the Name”. His Name spoken from your mouth represents your level of faith that is stored in your spirit and soul.

What revelation backs up the Name Jesus when you say His name out loud?

What power is attached to your understanding of Christ?

This “knowing” resonates as a faith-drenched explosion, which rips the very air from the lungs of the enemy! Why do you think the devil has revived blasphemy to be such a big part of everyday speech? Even Christians use the acronym “OMG” that stands for “O my God”. Using God’s name in vain desensitises us to the All-consuming Fire that is stored up in a faith filled utterance of the NAME ABOVE ALL NAMES! I now knew, for a fact that you could stop a 10 ton - out of control truck, from slamming into a car, IF you have the power of pure faith attached to your utterance of the Name of Jesus.

Strait after this event, I left the house, so consumed by this revelation of Power in His Name, that I almost could not breath. I sat down on a step in our back garden, with my hands covering my eyes. Thinking, “I just saw the power of Jesus”. I took my hands away from my face and it seemed as though a TV screen appeared out of nowhere.

I had my first vision from God.

To be continued...

1. Man is a tri-partite being – spirit, soul and body. It is with his spirit that a man worships, and may contact God. The soul includes the conscious and subconscious minds, the realm of emotions and the will. Soul gives a man personality, self-awareness, rationality and natural feeling. (http://www.christian-faith.com/forjesus/spirit-soul-and-body-tripartite-nature-man)