How to Know Jesus Personally and Intimately
The biblical basis for knowing Jesus personally and intimately is rooted in several key scriptures. Philippians 3:10 expresses the apostle Paul's desire "to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to Him in His death" [1]. This verse highlights the experiential nature of knowing Christ, which goes beyond mere intellectual understanding. According to the Tyndale House commentary, "to know Christ" means that a person knows and is accepted by God, and experiences the mighty power that raised Him from the dead [7].
The concept of knowing Jesus is also linked to the Hebrew idea of knowing, which encompasses experience and intimacy. In John 17:3, Jesus prays that his followers may know the Father, and the Tyndale House commentary notes that this knowing involves love for God and obedience to Him [3]. The historic Christian tradition has generally understood this knowing as a personal and relational experience.
Different Christian traditions have interpreted the nature of this knowing in various ways. The Catholic Scholastic tradition, represented by Thomas Aquinas, emphasizes the infused knowledge of Christ's soul, which is seen as a unique and superior form of knowledge [6, 8]. In contrast, Protestant and Reformed traditions tend to focus on the personal and experiential aspects of knowing Christ, as seen in the commentaries on Philippians 3:10 [4, 7].
Practically, knowing Jesus personally and intimately involves a deepening relationship with Him, characterized by love, obedience, and a sharing in His sufferings [5, 7]. The believer's life is made complete when it is filled with the fullness of life and power by the presence of Christ within, as noted in Ephesians 3:19 [9]. The tradition has counseled believers to cultivate this relationship through prayer, scripture reading, and a willingness to suffer with Christ.
One common pitfall in pursuing a personal knowledge of Jesus is to reduce it to a mere intellectual or emotional experience. The biblical emphasis is on a relational and transformative knowing, which involves a conformity to Christ's image and a sharing in His life and death [7, 10].
The ultimate goal of knowing Jesus personally and intimately is to see Him face to face, as described in Revelation 22:4. This vision is not just a future hope, but a present reality that is experienced in part through faith and intimacy with Christ [2].
Sources
- Philippians “Philippians 3:10 (BSB) — I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to Him in His death,”
- Revelation (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Revelation 22:4: see his face--revealed in divine glory, in Christ Jesus. They shall see and know Him with intuitive knowledge of Him, even as they are known by Him (Co1 13:9-12), and face to face. Compare Ti1 6:16, with Joh 14:9. God the Father can only be seen in Christ. in--Greek, "on their foreheads." Not only shall they personally and in secret (Rev 3:17) know their sonship, but they shall be known as sons of God to all the citizens of the new Jerusalem, so that the free flow of mutual love among the members of Christ's family will not be checked by suspicio”
- John (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on John 17:3: 17:3 to know you: The Hebrew idea of knowing encompassed experience and intimacy, which for Christians means love for God and obedience to him. • sent to earth: Jesus originated in heaven and was returning there (17:5), so he exercises divine authority as the agent of God.”
- Philippians (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Philippians 3:10: That I may know him--experimentally. The aim of the "righteousness" just mentioned. This verse resumes, and more fully explains, "the excellency of the knowledge of Christ" (Phi 3:8). To know HIM is more than merely to know a doctrine about Him. Believers are brought not only to redemption, but to the Redeemer Himself. the power of his resurrection--assuring believers of their justification (Rom 4:25; Co1 15:17), and raising them up spiritually with Him, by virtue of their identification with Him in this, as in all the acts of His redeeming work”
- John (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on John 10:14: I am the good shepherd,.... See Gill on Joh 10:11. And know my sheep; so as to call them all by their names: Christ has an universal, special, distinct, and exact knowledge of all his sheep, as they are the choice of his Father, as his Father's gift to him; and as his own purchase; he bears an affectionate love to them, and takes special care of them; indulges them with intimate communion with himself; and owns and acknowledges them as his, both here and hereafter: and I am known of mine; not in a general way, as devils and external professors may know him, but wit”
- theology (Catholic (Scholastic)) “Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Third Part (Tertia Pars), Of the Acquired or Empiric Knowledge of Christ's Soul, Art. 4: Article: Whether Christ received knowledge from the angels? I answer that, Since the human soul is midway between spiritual substances and corporeal things, it is perfected naturally in two ways. First by knowledge received from sensible things; secondly, by knowledge imprinted or infused by the illumination of spiritual substances. Now in both these ways the soul of Christ was perfected; first by empirical knowledge of sensible things, for which there is no need of angelic ligh”
- Philippians (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Philippians 3:10: 3:10 to know Christ: In knowing him, a person knows and is accepted by God (cp. 3:7-8; John 1:12-13; 17:3). • Believers experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead, both now and in eternity (see Rom 6:4-14; 8:10-11; Col 3:1-4). • to suffer with him, sharing in his death: Joined to Christ, a believer has the privilege of experiencing his life and death (see Phil 1:29; 2 Cor 4:10-12; Col 1:24; 1 Pet 4:13-16).”
- theology (Catholic (Scholastic)) “Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Third Part (Tertia Pars), Of the Knowledge Imprinted or Infused on the Soul of Christ, Art. 4: Article: Whether in Christ this knowledge was greater than the knowledge of the angels? I answer that, The knowledge imprinted on Christ's soul may be looked at in two ways: First, as regards what it has from the inflowing cause; secondly, as regards what it has from the subject receiving it. Now with regard to the first, the knowledge imprinted upon the soul of Christ was more excellent than the knowledge of the angels, both in the number of things known and in the certain”
- Ephesians (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Ephesians 3:19: 3:19 May you experience (literally know) the love of Christ: The whole Christian life is based on the experience and personal knowledge of God’s grace and love in Jesus Christ (see Rom 12:1). • it is too great to understand fully: Christ’s love is much greater than ordinary human love (see Rom 5:6-8). • The believer’s life is made complete when it is filled with all the fullness of life and power by the presence of Christ within (see Eph 1:23; Gal 2:20; Col 1:27). The believer then is conformed to his image and reflects God (see Eph 4:14, 24; 5:1-2; Rom 8:29; 2”
- Phil (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Phil 3:10: 3:10 to know Christ: In knowing him, a person knows and is accepted by God (cp. 3:7-8; John 1:12-13; 17:3). • Believers experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead, both now and in eternity (see Rom 6:4-14; 8:10-11; Col 3:1-4). • to suffer with him, sharing in his death: Joined to Christ, a believer has the privilege of experiencing his life and death (see Phil 1:29; 2 Cor 4:10-12; Col 1:24; 1 Pet 4:13-16).”