Knowing Jesus Better

“Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.” — Colossians 3:11 (KJV)

Moody’s next chapter is about how much Jesus wants to be to us. He begins with a striking sentence: “Christ is all to us that we make Him to be.” Some Christians, he says, “have a very small Saviour”, because they won’t let him do great things in their lives.

First and most important, Jesus is our Saviour from sin. The angel told Joseph to call him Jesus, “for he shall save his people from their sins.” Moody notices the word: “He did not come to save us in our sins, but from our sins.”

Then Moody says there are three ways of knowing a person. Some you only know by hearsay. Some you have met once and know slightly. Some you have known for years and know well. People know Jesus in these three ways too: some only know about him from history, some have a slight personal acquaintance, and some long, like Paul, to “know him, and the power of his resurrection”.

Moody says: “The more we know of Christ the more we shall love Him, and the better we shall serve Him.”

He also says Jesus is more than a rescuer. “I might save a man from drowning,” he says, but then not be able to do anything else for him. Jesus is different. When God rescued Israel from Egypt, he didn’t just save them from death on the night of the Passover; he also led them out of slavery. In the same way, Jesus doesn’t just forgive us and leave us stuck in our bad habits.

“No; He has come to deliver us, and to give us victory over our evil tempers, our passions, and our lusts.”

Moody’s advice for anyone stuck in a sin is simple: “go on to know Christ more intimately.” The answer to besetting sins isn’t just trying harder. It’s getting to know Jesus better.

Where are you on Moody’s three levels? Do you know Jesus only by hearsay, slightly, or well? Wherever you are, you can know him more.

One thing to do this week: choose one way to get to know Jesus better this week: read a Gospel passage each day, spend ten minutes in prayer, or talk with an older Christian about how they know him. At the end of the week, write down one new thing you learned about him.