Do I know God through Christ?

In John 17 the Lord Jesus prays for the glory of God. The first and fifth verses contain essence of His petition:

John 17:1 When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, 2 since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. 4 I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.

Verses 2-4 basically show why God the Father will answer the prayer of God the Son. There is so much that can be said about John 17 and these opening verses, I only scratched the surface in two recent sermons:

Introduction to John 17 Sermon here

John 17:1-5 Sermon here

There is such profound depth contained in John 17 which has led me to believe it is the greatest chapter in the bible. The first five verses touch on the mutual glory of God the Son and God the Father, the co-eternality of the Father and the Son, the exaltation of the Son, sovereign election, and how we may have eternal life. That's just the first five verses! I want to emphazise a couple reasons why the content of John 17 is so important for me as a believer:

1. John 17:1-5 touches on various biblical themes which teach a deep reality about my personal salvation

- I am a believer in God through Christ entirely based on the GRACE (undeserved favor shown to me, a sinner, who deserves God's wrath) of God

-I am a lover of God because of what Christ accomplished as ordained by God the Father, not because I have mustered love for God from within myself.

- My salvation, my eternal life, is based on a long settled agreement between the Father and the Son, not because of something I have done to gain such favor with God.

Therefore:

- My security for now and eternity is based on the sure delight of God for the Son.

- My security for now and eternity is based on the accomplishment of God’s will by Jesus.

- My security for now and eternity is one of the chief ways God has chosen to glorify Himself


2. While containing profound doctrinal depth in John 17:1-5, verse 3 displays a beautiful simplicity about the basis for eternal life.

- I know God by knowing Christ.

- For all the depth of the doctrine and theological insight i gain from this passage, I should not miss the simplicity of the gospel message as Jesus says it:

John 17:3 And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

"Am I Elect?", "Who are the Elect?", aren't really the most important questions I can ask.

Do I know God through Christ? This is the question I must ask and answer (by God's grace, of course)!

It is true- only God's Elect will come to know God through Christ, so answering the question "Am I Elect"? can only be done by answering "Do I know God through Christ"?