Do you Really Know?
“For him who knew no sin he made to be sin on our behalf; so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21 WEB)
How do you truly know something you have never personally experienced?
In the verse above, the word “know” is “ginóskó” in the original Greek, which means to know especially through personal experience.
The same word is used for sexual relations between a man and woman, as seen in Mary’s words:
“Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”” (Luke 1:34 NKJV)
Jesus knew no sin—He never personally had the experience of committing sin or of desiring to sin.
Mentally, and in His spirit, Jesus recognized what sin was objectively and from a distance, like a judge convicting a criminal, but He was never personally acquainted with it.
Along similar lines, when you say “Yes, I already know that,” in response to your pastor’s sermon in church, do you truly know it? You know it when you are actually applying it, and not just having heard it before.
For example, I thought I knew how to take care of a child by attending antenatal classes and reading books, but when my daughter was born, all that head knowledge was thrown out the window, and I had to learn from scratch by experience. Now I can truly say I know how to care for a child—because I have done it and personally experienced it for four years.
Do you know God’s word? You know it if you are a doer of His word. Only if you believe it in your heart. Then the word will become profitable for you, when it is mixed with faith—like a seed that has been watered. Dormant power becoming activated.
“But be doers of the word, and not only hearers, deluding your own selves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man looking at his natural face in a mirror; for he sees himself, and goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of freedom, and continues, not being a hearer who forgets, but a doer of the work, this man will be blessed in what he does.” (James 1:22-25 WEB)
Do you know that you are the righteousness of God? Not just knowing in your mind, but actually believing in your heart that because you are in Christ, you have received His righteousness as a gift. Now God’s favor is upon you and every blessing is yours to receive because you get to enjoy what Jesus deserves.
You can easily tell whether you believe it by checking if you are trying to become more righteous through your works. Are you trying to atone for your sins by doing more ‘holy’ things, hoping that it will restore your relationship with God, so that He won’t be angry with you? Your words, and especially your corresponding actions, reveal what you know in your heart.
If there is one important thing for you, a born-again believer, to know, it is that you have become the righteousness of God in Christ!
Today is the last day to download my new eBook “Silencing the Serpent” for FREE! Knowing that you are righteous in Christ is one powerful way to silence the serpent and emerge victorious in spiritual warfare. Download the eBook at the following link, and please, if you want to partner with this ministry in the important work of proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ, you can also become a patron on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/posts/43632778
