’This is eternal life, that they may know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent.’

To know God and Jesus Christ; that is eternal life.  That is all the eternal life which any of us will ever have, my friends.  Unless our Lord’s words are not complete and perfect, and do not tell us the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, about eternal life, that is all the eternal life any one will ever have; and we must make up our minds to be content therewith.

To which some will answer, almost angrily, ’Of course.  The way to obtain eternal life is to know God and Jesus Christ; for if we do not, we cannot obtain it.’

What words are these, my friends? what rash words are these, which men thrust into Scripture out of their own carnal conceits, as if they could improve upon the speech of the Son of Man Himself?  He says, not that to know God is the way to eternal life:  but rather that eternal life is the way to know God.  He does not say, This is to know God and Jesus Christ, in order that they may have eternal life.  Whatever He says, He does not say that.  Nay, more, if we are to be very exact (and can we be too exact?) with the Lord’s words, He says, that ’This is eternal life, in order that they may know God and Jesus Christ.’  Not that we are to know God that we may obtain eternal life, but that we must have eternal life in order that we may know God; that eternal life is the means, and the knowledge of God the end and purpose for which eternal life is given us.  However this may be, at least He says what the noble collect which we repeat every Sunday says, ’That our eternal life stands in the knowledge of God,’ depends on it, and will fall without it.

‘That we may know God.’  Not merely that we may know doctrines about salvation, and the ways of winning God’s favour, and turning away His vengeance; not merely to know what God has done ages ago, or may do ages hence, for us:  but to know God Himself; to know His person, His likeness, His character; and what He is, and what He does, now and always; to know His righteousness, His goodness, His truth, His love, His mercy, His strength, His willingness and mightiness to save; in a word, what the Bible calls His glory; and therefore to admire and delight in Him utterly.  That is what our eternal life stands in; that is why God has given to us eternal life in His Son, that we may know that.  Oh, believe your Saviour simply, like little children, and enter into the joy of your Lord.  Acquaint yourselves with God, and be at peace.

To know God; and also to know Jesus Christ whom He has sent.  For St. John, when he tells us that God has already given to us eternal life, says also, that this life is in His Son.  To know the Son of God, in whom the Father is well pleased, because He is His perfect Son; His exact likeness, the likeness of that glory of His, and the express image of that person and character of His, which I described to