I Never Knew You

 

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’”

— Matthew 7:21–23

I recently saw a post on social media that made a statement along the lines of, “If you know the Lord, you will be saved.”

I responded with Matthew 7:23, and someone replied—paraphrasing—“So, you’re saying the Lord isn’t all-knowing?”

No. That completely misses the meaning of the word know in this passage.

There are different ways we use the word know even in everyday conversation.

I “know” a lot of people. I know they exist. I recognize their names. I may know what they look like or know certain facts about them.

But that is very different from saying that I truly know someone.

In Matthew 7:23, the Greek word translated “knew” comes from ginōskō. The word can mean to know, come to know, recognize, understand, or become acquainted with someone or something. Depending on the context, it can describe knowledge that comes through personal acquaintance and relationship.

And context is crucial here.

Jesus obviously knows who these people are. He knows what they have done. He knows what they claim to have done in His name. His statement, “I never knew you,” cannot mean, “I was unaware of your existence.”

It is relational.

These people knew enough about Jesus to call Him “Lord.” They knew His name. They even claimed to have prophesied, cast out demons, and performed mighty works in His name.

Yet Jesus says:

“I never knew you.”

That should make us stop and think.

Apparently, it is possible to know Christian language, participate in religious activity, perform impressive works, and even profess Jesus as “Lord” while never truly belonging to Him.

That is what makes this passage so sobering.

The issue is not whether Jesus possesses information about us. Of course He does. The issue is whether we are His.

There is a tremendous difference between knowing about Christ and knowing Christ.

And Matthew 7 reminds us that outward profession—even an impressive outward profession—is not the same thing as genuine saving faith.

This is also one reason word studies can be helpful when reading Scripture. Our English word know can represent several Greek words and can carry different shades of meaning depending upon its context.

But we should never isolate a Greek word from the passage surrounding it. The context ultimately determines what the writer means.

And in Matthew 7:23, the context is devastatingly clear:

These people could say His name.

They could call Him Lord.

They could point to their works.

But they could not say that they belonged to Him.

Jesus never knew them as His own.

That is a far more serious matter than simply knowing whether He exists.