Do You Know Jesus—or Do You Just Know a Lot About Him?

What 1 John 2 says about knowing Jesus-and why information alone is not the same thing.

By Pastor John Erickson

I enjoy listening to comedians. Specials, interviews, podcasts-I've spent enough time listening that I start to feel like I know some of them.

I once ran into a comedian I recognized at Walmart in Lakewood. I went over and told him I was a fan. He wasn't especially famous, and I don't think being recognized in a Lakewood Walmart was what he expected that day. His face said something like, 'Uhhh…hey.' And I realized something pretty funny about the interaction.

I knew a great deal about this man's life. I knew stories about his family, his work, and things he'd shared on podcasts. But he had absolutely no idea who I was.

I knew about him.

I did not actually know him.

And I wonder sometimes if that's how we approach Jesus.

Knowing Facts and Knowing a Person Are Different

You can learn a lot of Bible stories. You can memorize verses, study theology, attend church, and know exactly what Christians are supposed to say in a conversation.

Those aren't bad things. Scripture matters. Learning matters.

But there's a difference between knowing information about God and sharing a relationship with him.

John addresses that difference in 1 John. He writes to people who claim to know God, and he starts asking what that relationship actually looks like.

It's a challenging question because it moves beyond what we can explain and into how we live.

It's one thing to know that Jesus taught his followers to love enemies. It's another thing to pray for someone who has hurt you.

It's one thing to understand that Jesus said the greatest should become a servant. It's another thing to serve when nobody notices or says thank you.

John Gives Us a Way to Examine Our Lives

In 1 John 2:3-6, John says that knowing God is connected to keeping his commands and walking as Jesus did.

At first that can sound like a pretty intimidating checklist. Do everything Jesus did, or you don't belong.

But read it alongside what John has already said in chapter 1. He openly acknowledges that believers still sin, and he points them toward confession and forgiveness.

So this cannot mean that knowing God produces instant perfection.

It means a real relationship with Jesus begins changing a person.

That's true of other relationships, isn't it? Spend enough time with someone and you pick up some of their habits. Hang out with people who love football and suddenly you know more about football than you expected. Spend time with people who work out and you may eventually find yourself talking about protein and lifting weights.

Who we spend time with shapes us.

John wants to know whether our relationship with Jesus is shaping us too.

The Most Obvious Sign Is Love

Here's where John gets uncomfortably specific.

He keeps bringing the conversation back to loving other people.

We might wish he'd give us a different measurement. Something easier to track. Number of chapters read. Minutes spent in prayer. How many religious books are on our shelves.

Instead, John says that anyone who claims to be in the light while hating a brother or sister is still in darkness (1 John 2:9).

In other words, your treatment of other people tells a story about your relationship with God.

Not just people you like. Not just people who agree with you. Not just people who make your life easier.

Jesus tells a story about a Samaritan who helps an injured man when religious people pass by. Part of the shock is that the hero belongs to a group Jesus' original audience was conditioned to distrust.

The question isn't merely, "Do I believe the right things?" It's, "What happens to my love when I encounter someone I would rather avoid?"

Love Doesn't Mean You Stop Having Boundaries

We should say something important here.

Loving somebody doesn't require pretending harmful behavior is acceptable. It doesn't mean remaining in an abusive situation, allowing manipulation, or removing every healthy boundary.

Jesus loved people without agreeing with everything they did. He spoke truth, challenged injustice, and refused to use people.

What John is describing is a transformed posture toward others-a willingness to seek their good rather than making hatred, contempt, or indifference our default setting.

That's hard work. And it doesn't happen simply because we decide to try a little harder for fifteen minutes.

It grows as we stay close to Jesus.

Relationship Changes What Comes Naturally

As a relationship with Jesus grows, we can begin noticing changes. Something that used to make us furious may have less control over us. We may become concerned about someone we once would have ignored.

And we think, That's interesting. Something is changing.

Not because I've suddenly become an impressive Christian. I've still got plenty of growing to do.

But because the Spirit keeps working through an ongoing relationship with Jesus.

This is why I don't want Christianity reduced to knowing the correct answers. The answers are meant to lead us to someone.

And knowing that someone changes us from the inside out.

Ask a Different Question

Maybe instead of asking only, "How much do I know about Jesus?" we should ask, "What part of my life looks more like Jesus because I know him?"

Am I becoming quicker to listen? Slower to judge? More generous? More truthful? More willing to reconcile when it's possible?

You don't need to have all those answers today. Transformation is a process, and we stumble along the way.

But if your faith is mostly information, let this be an invitation to go deeper.

Spend time with Jesus in Scripture and prayer. Follow him in the ordinary parts of your day. Let other believers know the real you. Pay attention to how you treat people.

There is a world of difference between being able to describe Jesus and becoming more like him.

John wants us to experience the second.