ALL SHALL KNOW ME
From The HeartPublish date: 07/30/2000
For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. Because finding fault with them, He says: "Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah -- "not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the Lord. "For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. "None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. "For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more." Hebrews 8:7-12 NKJ
In this passage of scripture, Paul is quoting a prophetic word spoken by the prophet Jeremiah and recorded in Jeremiah 31:31-34. God is speaking to man and revealing the nature of the covenant that He is going to cut between Himself and us through the shed blood of Jesus. The old covenant did not change man’s basic problem. As far as God was concerned, the blood of bulls and goats covered their sin and they were counted as righteous, but their sin nature remained unchanged. This new covenant, when activated by believing in Jesus and receiving Him as Lord, would change the very nature of man. Something would take place on the inside of man – their spirit would be born-again and their sin nature would be transformed into the righteousness of God! Their sins would not just be covered - they would be removed and washed away.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 2 Corinthians
Man would no longer be simply counted righteous, but they would actually be righteous. They would have God’s Word engraved on their hearts. They would be motivated from the inside to serve God instead of from the outside. They would choose to serve God because they knew Him and they knew His voice. They did not need a prophet to tell them what God was saying, but God would reveal it to each one of them personally. Even our children can know God on a very personal level because He lives in them.
"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow
When you know the Lord, you know His voice. He writes His Word on your heart and then you need to allow Him to put His Word in your mind by meditating on the written Word of God. Meditating is more than just a passing glance or listening with half an ear, while you are thinking about something else. When you meditate on God’s word, you focus on it, you give it your full attention and you receive it as if He is speaking to you personally – because He is! When you know Him and His word, you will have no trouble distinguishing His voice from all the other voices that clamor for your attention. The devil, who masquerades as an angel of light, will not be able to fool you or deceive you because you know your good shepherd’s voice.
"And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. John 17:3 NKJ
And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment. Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us. I John 3:23-24 NKJ
The Spirit of God lives on the inside of every believer, from the least to the greatest and every believer can know Him in a real way. God does not have favorites, but some people just press in to know Him better. Even if you have only been saved a very short time, you know Him better than a theologian who knows the Bible, but who has not been born again! If He lives in you – you know Him!