When God made Adam and Eve, placing them in the Garden of Eden, they experienced a relationship with God and received life from him. When they fell into sin, they became separated from the life of God and that led to depravity (Eph 4:18-19) and eventually to death and eternal separation from God.

Jesus gives eternal life to those who believe in him (John 3:16). Eternal life is knowing God (John 17:3) and that is Man’s highest pleasure, to experience the relationship between Creator and Creation. God desires a loving relationship with us (Hos 6:6, GNB) and the way to enter into this relationship is through Jesus (John 14:6).

Jesus died for the sake of the whole world (1 John 2:2), which makes Christianity a ‘done’-centered faith, about all that Jesus did for our sake. It is more than a set of rules, a series of ceremonies, championing a cause or joining a group. It is more than just a feeling, even though in a relationship our emotions will be affected.

The devil seeks to distract us from the simplicity of devotion to Christ (2 Cor 11:3). If we are more devoted to Christian activities than Christ himself, we will end up angry with God and bitter with other people (Luke 10:40). Bad fruit arises when the devotion is directed to anything other than Jesus. Christian activities are meant to enrich our relationship with Jesus and to help us experience Christ together as a community.

There are doctrines and facts to believe, for example, that Jesus was born of a virgin (Mat 1:18-25), lived a sinless life (I Pet 2:22), was crucified for sinners (Rom 5:8), rose again from the dead (Luke 24:5-6), ascended into heaven (Acts 1:11), and is coming again (I The 4:16). But it is not enough to receive facts; we are to receive a person, because Jesus himself is the truth (John 14:6). God wants us to receive and believe in Jesus (John 1:12), to experience that God is good (Psa 34:8).

We are to know God and not fall back onto only knowing principles, because that leads to slavery (Gal 4:8). God desires that we experience the gospel not only with words but also along with power, the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction (1 The 1:5). It takes the Holy Spirit to turn information into conviction that changes lives. Paul was mightily used by God to birth churches, perform miracles and write most of the New Testament, and in spite of experiencing so much of God’s working in his life he’s heart’s desire was still to know and experience Christ (Phi 3:10) more. May that be the desire of our hearts too!

Points to Ponder:

1. How would you describe your relationship with Christ at this point of your spiritual journey?
2. Is there anything that may have distracted you from the simplicity of devotion to Christ?

God has covenanted with us to protect us (Psa 121:5) and we enjoy that protection when we have a close relationship with him. We are to be so close to God that we can find refuge in the shadow of his wings (Psa 57:1). Jesus mission was to restore the relationship between God and Man, the relationship that was broken by sin. He even defined eternal life as relationship, as knowing God (John 17:3). Knowing God is something praiseworthy in God’s eyes, better than riches, wisdom or strength (Jer 9:23-24).

God sees his people loving and knowing him as the opposite of religious works such as sacrifices and burnt offerings (Hosea 6:6) or observing special days, months, seasons and years (Gal 4:8-10). The Pharisees were an example of choosing religion over relationship. They memorized the Torah and knew biblical truths, but they rejected Jesus even though he himself was the truth (John 14:6). They had no love even though love is the summary of God’s truth (Gal 5:14). Religion’s attitude of sticking to the letter while ignoring the Spirit will lead to death (2 Cor 3:6).

Religion is when we agree with a truth in our head (information) and not encounter Christ in our heart (revelation). When that happens we have knowledge that puffs up rather than love that builds up (1 Cor 8:1). When we encounter Christ, we not only know that he has forgiven us, we are also able to forgive others (Eph 4:32). We know we have revelation of our righteousness in Christ when we are able to not only confess our righteousness in Christ (Rom 10:10), but also live it in our lives (1 The 2:10). And it is relationship, encountering Jesus, that will turn information into revelation. And that is the work of the Holy Spirit, because we are unable to figure God out by ourselves (1 Cor 2:12-14). People usually reject spiritual truth because it does not agree with their reasoning, but spiritual matters are discerned spiritually.

Only the Holy Spirit can cause truths to be perceived in our hearts, which bring forth divine experiences in our lives. The devil seeks to deceive us from the simplicity and pleasure of this divine relationship (2 Cor 11:3). Because of our relationship with Jesus, all God’s promises are ‘yes’ for us (2 Cor 1:20), and we can access all we need for life and godliness through knowing God (2 Pet 1:3). Knowing God brings us wisdom (Pro 9:10) and that gives us long life (Pro 9:11) that is satisfying (Psa 91:16). Jesus came to restore our relationship with God, and we receive our full rights as sons (Gal 4:5) by receiving Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour (John 1:12).

Points to Ponder:

1. What is the difference between Information and revelation? And how does this relate to the difference between religion and relationship?
2. How does one discern whether a truth he knows is an information or revelation? And what transforms information to revelation in our lives?
3. Share with the group one area of your life that you would want to receive greater revelation and to experience breakthroughs and success in.