Knowing God as our Covenant Friend
ICS Daily Devotions
John 15:9 (NKJV) As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.
John 17:3 (NKJV) And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.
There is a big difference between knowing God and knowing of God. If we just know of God, we might know something about His character, but it is only second-hand information, and we cannot be confident in it. However, as with people, when we truly know God, we can vouch for His character from a place of personal experience. We will know that He is faithful to His Word, dependable and faithful because we have seen it in our lives.
We see this play out exactly it in the story of David and Goliath. The Israelites knew of God but were fearful when they saw Goliath. On the other hand, David knew God because he had experienced His faithfulness when God delivered him from the bear and the lion in his youth. He was confident that the same God would honour His covenant with Israel and deliver them from Goliath despite his intimidating size. Likewise, we will know God if we read the Bible, walk out the truth, and experience Him daily.
John 15:13 (NJKV) Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friend
If God did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also give us all things when He has given us His best and most precious? That’s the extent of God love for us—His friends. This kind of friendship is covenantal friendship. Therefore, the foundation of our conviction in God’s faithfulness is covenantal.
In the Old Testament, God made His covenant with Abraham by going through the covenant ritual where blood was shed and animals were slayed. A covenant cannot be broken but by penalty of total destruction—killed and cursed like the animals in the ritual. The covenant friend will ensure that he watches over the covenant obligations for all generations. In fulfilment of the Law and of the Abrahamic Covenant, God brought forth the Messiah, Jesus Christ, to be our lifelong friend and to similarly shed blood to redeem us from our sins and unrighteousness.
When we comprehend that God does not break His promises and know that He did not even spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, we can truly know God and abide in His faithfulness with joy and peace. No matter what challenges we face or hardships we are burdened with, we can be utterly confident that God will see us through because He is our covenant friend.
Sermon Series： Friends of God
