Faith through experiential knowledge of God

bearbear · 12-30-2014, 02:54 PM

In John 17:3, Jesus says eternal life is to know God. The verb "know" (ginosko) implies knowing a person through direct experience and not just knowing facts about a person. Here's a commentary that goes into more detail:

http://www.bibletools.org/index.cfm/...eVerseID/26763

In the LCs it seems like there was a lot of emphasis on head knowledge about God and his word. After all, what separated us from other Christians was access to special knowledge about "recovered" truths concerning Christ and the Church. Implications behind stressing doctrines related to God's economy and "processed triune God" meant that it was very important to know the science behind how God worked, thereby subconsciously de-emphasizing the value of knowing God personally.

Yet while intellectual knowledge and Witness Lee's theology was put on a pedestal, to be fair, the LCs also encouraged everyone to pursue a personal relationship with God. I wonder if those of us who have held onto our faith despite difficult experiences in the LC did so not just because of head knowledge and knowing facts about Jesus but because of direct personal experiences in relationship with the Lord.

I've come to the realization that faith and "knowing God" are directly related. After all, can you ever doubt the existence of someone you know personally? There are many seemingly convincing voices in the world telling us that Jesus was not who he said he was and the God of the bible is not real. What keeps a person anchored in their faith especially when they've gone through incredible suffering inflicted by experiences in the LC?

At the same time, the LCs may have burdened many with so many meetings, conferences, trainings, HWMR/life study readings and serving that many may not have had the time or energy to spend personal time with Jesus. It also seems there was not much of a emphasis to encourage brothers and sisters to not only seek God in prayer, but to listen and hear his voice. A relationship has to have communication in both directions and not just one. Instead it seems many were pressured to listen to other voices such as Witness Lee's and to spam God with unidirectional "O Lord Jesus"es while awaiting the divine dispensing that was to follow, without realizing that God was indeed waiting by the door all along, waiting for us to invite him in to have conversation and fellowship.

Perhaps we can open this thread to testimonies of those who have experiences of answered prayers and personal relationship with Jesus during and post LC and how it has anchored their faith.

John 10:27
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.

12-30-2014, 02:54 PM	#1
bearbear Member Join Date: May 2012 Posts: 734	Faith through experiential knowledge of God In John 17:3, Jesus says eternal life is to know God. The verb "know" (ginosko) implies knowing a person through direct experience and not just knowing facts about a person. Here's a commentary that goes into more detail: http://www.bibletools.org/index.cfm/...eVerseID/26763 In the LCs it seems like there was a lot of emphasis on head knowledge about God and his word. After all, what separated us from other Christians was access to special knowledge about "recovered" truths concerning Christ and the Church. Implications behind stressing doctrines related to God's economy and "processed triune God" meant that it was very important to know the science behind how God worked, thereby subconsciously de-emphasizing the value of knowing God personally. Yet while intellectual knowledge and Witness Lee's theology was put on a pedestal, to be fair, the LCs also encouraged everyone to pursue a personal relationship with God. I wonder if those of us who have held onto our faith despite difficult experiences in the LC did so not just because of head knowledge and knowing facts about Jesus but because of direct personal experiences in relationship with the Lord. I've come to the realization that faith and "knowing God" are directly related. After all, can you ever doubt the existence of someone you know personally? There are many seemingly convincing voices in the world telling us that Jesus was not who he said he was and the God of the bible is not real. What keeps a person anchored in their faith especially when they've gone through incredible suffering inflicted by experiences in the LC? At the same time, the LCs may have burdened many with so many meetings, conferences, trainings, HWMR/life study readings and serving that many may not have had the time or energy to spend personal time with Jesus. It also seems there was not much of a emphasis to encourage brothers and sisters to not only seek God in prayer, but to listen and hear his voice. A relationship has to have communication in both directions and not just one. Instead it seems many were pressured to listen to other voices such as Witness Lee's and to spam God with unidirectional "O Lord Jesus"es while awaiting the divine dispensing that was to follow, without realizing that God was indeed waiting by the door all along, waiting for us to invite him in to have conversation and fellowship. Perhaps we can open this thread to testimonies of those who have experiences of answered prayers and personal relationship with Jesus during and post LC and how it has anchored their faith. John 10:27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. __________________ 1 John 4:9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.