Paul knew Jesus better than anyone we know of, even better than the Apostles who had known Jesus in the days He was here on earth in His physical body.
Some people look at Paul’s letters and they think of him as a “theologian” ; angry people think he was a “legalist” ; neither are true.
Paul’s letters express the truth – beliefs – faith that proceeds out of the heart of a person who REALLY knows Jesus Christ, in Spirit and Truth : he is an example of what knowing Jesus “looks like” , in word and deed : teaching and life-example.
Paul’s heart cry was “..That i might know Him..”
Who wants to know Jesus these days? And, how do we know that a person knows Jesus? Because they are “kindred spirits” to the Apostles, living as they lived, having the same character, and teaching exactly what they taught and preached. That’s the “reference point” by which we judge which “jesus” a person has : whether real or counterfeit.
Oh, many claim to know Jesus, and many claim to be like Him. Jesus gave us the Apostles as a reference point as to what knowing Jesus “looks like” in real life examples.
ian.
Ian Vincent 
January 10, 2008 at 1:16 pm
“Paul knew Jesus better than anyone we know of, even better than the Apostles”
“Paul’s heart cry was “..That i might know Him..””
These 2 truths say ALOT – that as much as Paul knew Jesus, he wanted to know Him MORE.
To to many today (and I’m sure throughout history) are content and “secure” in their depth of knowing Jesus; they stagnantly stay at the depth of relationship they are at just swimming in circles.
January 10, 2008 at 2:34 pm
Wow! and i never say “wow!” :) That’s true Walt. The one who yearns to know Jesus more, is the one who knows Him, and will increase in the knowledge of the Lord, eh.
January 10, 2008 at 7:49 pm
“The one who yearns to know Jesus more, is the one who knows Him, and will increase in the knowledge of the Lord, eh.”
Very Scriptural principle.
I would add to this not just an increase in the knowledge of The Lord, but also an increase in BECOMING like Jesus.
Our fruit and works; how we act and behave, is a direct result of our relationship (or lack there of) with Yahweh.
How many people profess to have a deep intimate relationship with God, but who’s fruit and works have very very little resemblance to Jesus or to the examples He gave us as to what a active relationship with Him looks like via His apostles.
But Ian, that is a very Scriptural principle you brought up in this – The deeper our KNOWING Jesus – the more we will look and act like the apostles in The Scriptures.
January 11, 2008 at 1:43 am
re: “I would add to this not just an increase in the knowledge of The Lord, but also an increase in BECOMING like Jesus.”
Yes brother. Just to clarify, “knowledge of the Lord” as a scriptural truth, does mean that one becomes like Him.
Bcos, if one has “knowledge” but not the holiness and character of God, then they know nothing, in reality, they have no knowledge.
This is why the paradigm of “theology” is an extra-Biblical concept : the notion that one can have knowledge of God as a distinct knowledge from being like Him.
Whatever “knowledge” of God a person has is only known by their character.
Thanks Walt for bringing the blog back to life!
ian.
January 11, 2008 at 5:39 am
I want to re-phrase this:
This is why the paradigm of “theology” is an extra-Biblical concept : the notion that one can have knowledge of God as a distinct / separate knowledge from being like Him.
Meaning that there cannot be two VALID types of knowledge : There is no valid theological “knowledge” of God that can be distinguished as something other than what a person “actually is” as a result of regeneration by the Spirit.
Simply, if the Truth is not IN a person, and that defines who they are, and how they live, then they have no knowledge of God.
Truth is a better way to think of these things than “theology” : our Lord and the Apostles always spoke in terms of the Truth, and the term “theology” didn’t arise until the church began sliding into apostasy. The delusion came that made a separation between what a person “knows” and what type of person they actually are.
ian.
January 11, 2008 at 5:54 am
Walt wrote: “How many people profess to have a deep intimate relationship with God, but who’s fruit and works have very very little resemblance to Jesus or to the examples He gave us as to what a active relationship with Him looks like via His apostles.
But Ian, that is a very Scriptural principle you brought up in this – The deeper our KNOWING Jesus – the more we will look and act like the apostles in The Scriptures.”
Just wanted to explain how this brief article came to me. It came to me in my spirit after i was contemplating the situation on Revivalschool with the anti-Bible crowd (too spiritual to speak or teach the scriptures).
There’s a bunch of them who have a deep aversion to the Bible. They suggest that i’m a pharisee for “pushing my interpretation of scripture onto others”, when i’m just presenting the NT scriptures, and it is the scriptural truth that rubs them up the wrong way, offends them.
So, my point is, they would really have been “rubbed the wrong way” if they had met Paul, Peter, John etc… bcos, according to the new definition of what a “pharisee” is, this crowd would have called the Apostles “pharisees”, for fearlessly teaching the truth, and calling sin what it is, and for their stand against all false teachers, false prophets and doctrines of demons.
The same accusations of “lacking love” would be hurled against the Apostles, if they were here today.
Therefore, when we read about the Apostle’s examples they set, it helps to keep us sane, as a reference point : that’s what knowing Jesus “looks like” …. it doesn’t look like Joel Osteen, …you name any celebrity… that’s not what knowing Jesus looks like.
ian.
January 18, 2008 at 12:52 pm
IMO it looks like this:
Livimng a life that is pleasing to Him as opposed to the world
Cricifying the flesh (a daily occurrence)
Running the risk of being mocked, downgraded and being a fool for His sake.
Loving what He loves
Hating what He hates
Following his commands
Doing His will
Loving His Word
Having a reverential fear of Him
Having faith in Him when the world around you is crumbling
Fellowshipping with Him and acknowledging Him in everything
Giving thanks to Him in good times and bad times
Knowing there is no other way – only Him
Holding onto His Truth through thick and thin
We might not know what He llooks like, but the Word of God tells us what He’s like and that He is the Son of God, and if we love Him we will follow His commands
He is sufficient