“GINOSKO”

"I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, children, because you know the Father."

1 John 2:13

One day, a woman who is a mother of two called my attention and asked for counsel. Her eldest child, a son, is behaving differently. He is becoming aggressive, argumentative, and flat-out rebellious—something that is out of his character. They had a serious argument, causing the child to pack up, move out of the house, and spend the night elsewhere.

So the mother, while trying to maintain her composure, finally burst into tears as she recounted her experience. She asked me for advice on how to deal with her precious child who is now entering his teens. I told her, “Thank you for your trust. But I would be lying if I told you that I know exactly how you feel because I don’t. While I’m a parent myself, I haven’t gone through an episode similar to yours. But I do understand the situation coming from your son’s perspective.”

In today’s verse, John continues his encouragement to his readers, addressing them as fathers, young men, and children, respectively. He states his purpose for writing each group. First, he tells the fathers that they “know Him who is from the beginning.” The fathers are spiritually mature in the church—leaders in the congregation. John uses the word “know” (Greek “ginosko”), which is relational, personal, intimate, and experiential knowledge. This word is different from another Greek word (“oida”), which is also rendered as “know” in English. “Oida” means “head knowledge,” an understanding obtained through observation.

The term “Him” can refer to both God the Father and God the Son; the distinction is not important to John as he understands they are equal in every sense. This knowledge carries the idea of eternity as he uses the term “from the beginning.” Since the fathers have an experiential knowledge of God, they know the importance of obeying God and the futility of loving the world (which he will discuss later in this passage).

Second, John reminds the young men that they have overcome the world. These are the people in the church who aren’t fully mature yet but have experienced overcoming sins and temptations (we’ll talk more about this tomorrow).

Third, John affirms the children, fresh converts in the Christian faith, that they do know the Father. John uses the same Greek word “ginosko” to describe the personal relationship these new believers have with God.

What do these three groups have in common? They are all in a relationship with God. Not only do they have an intellectual knowledge of His existence, but they are related to Him on a personal level.

Just as how I could only relate intellectually to the mother I spoke to, the same thing can be said of anyone who claims to know God but does not have an intimate, personal, experiential relationship with Him. He may know (oida) some doctrines or pieces of information about God, but if he does not have a personal relationship with Christ, he will not know (ginosko) Him.

Do you ginosko Christ?

Pursue the Savior today!