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
认识上帝是我们的盟约之友
约翰福音 15:9 我爱你们，正如父爱我一样，你们要常在我的爱里。
约翰福音 17:3 认识你 -独一的真神，并且认识你所差来的耶稣基督，这就是永生。
认识神和仅仅知道关于神有着很大的区别。如果我们只是知道关于神的信息，或许能够了解一些祂的品格，但这仅仅是二手信息，难以让我们对此有真实的信心。然而，就像人与人之间的关系一样，当我们真正认识神时，我们可以凭借个人经历来见证祂的品格。我们会知道祂信守祂的话语，是可靠且信实的，因为我们已经在自己的生命中亲身经历了这一切。
我们在大卫和歌利亚的故事中看到了这一点。以色列人知道关于神的信息，但当他们看到歌利亚时仍然充满恐惧。相比之下，大卫却真正认识神，因为他年轻时经历了神的信实——神曾拯救他脱离熊和狮子的攻击。他确信，这位同样信守与以色列立约的神，必会拯救他们脱离歌利亚的威胁，即使歌利亚看起来极其骇人。同样，如果我们阅读圣经，行出真理，并经历神的同在时，我们也会真正认识神。
约翰福音 15:13 人为朋友舍命，人的爱心没有比这个大的。
如果神没有吝惜祂自己的儿子，而是为我们众人将祂交出来，岂不更会把所有的恩典都赐给我们吗？祂已经将最宝贵、最好的赐给了我们，这就是神对我们—祂的朋友—的爱。这种友谊是立约的友谊。因此，我们对神信实的确信，根基就在于祂与我们所立的约。
在旧约中，神与亚伯拉罕立约，通过执行立约仪式，流血并宰杀牲畜来确立这一盟约。盟约约是不能破坏的，否则将遭受彻底毁灭的惩罚—像仪式中的动物一样被杀死并诅咒。盟约之友将确保他代代相传地履行盟约义务。为了成就律法并履行亚伯拉罕之约，神差遣弥赛亚耶稣基督，成为我们的永恒朋友，并同样流血以救赎我们脱离罪恶和不义。
当我们明白神不会违背祂的应许，并且知道祂甚至没有留下自己的儿子不给我们，而是为我们众人将祂交出来时，我们就能真正认识神，安然在祂的信实中，充满喜乐与平安。无论我们面临什么挑战或承受怎样的重担，我们都可以完全确信，神必定带领我们走过，因为祂是我们的盟约朋友。
讲章系列：上帝的朋友
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