The Knew You

I must acknowledge Pastor Steven Furtick, of Elevation Church, for the basis of this blog's content comes from a sermon he preached called Do The New You. In the teaching, Pastor Furtick referenced the following passage from the book of Jeremiah:

Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, and before you were born, I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations." Then I said, "Ah, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth." But the Lord said to me, "Do not say, 'I am only a youth'; for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the Lord." Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the Lord said to me, "Behold, I have put my words in your mouth." Jeremiah 1:4-9

God knows you. He created you. God knew you before you knew you. God loves you.

In the sermon, Pastor focused on how we so often miss the boat and even make room for sin in our lives because when we err, our fallback is to declare we are just doing what we do (i.e., being ourselves, the way we are). How can we break the destructive cycle of "authenticating" our natural, corrupted tendencies at every failure? We must change our focus to the new creation we were created to be. Paul's letter to the Ephesians contained the supporting scripture for the encouraged transformation. As Paul states, "But that is not the way you learned Christ! assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness." Ephesians 4:20-24 

Later in this New Year's series, Pastor Furtick may teach on the below subject. If he does, I encourage you to view his sermon as it is likely to hold much deeper truths than revealed here. But for me, the matter of the "knew" was much more compelling than the idea of the "new" in the context of … well, me. The proclamation the Lord makes to Jeremiah is incredible. God knew Jeremiah before the prophet began his physical existence here on earth. We understand that we are eternal beings. We are clear on the everlasting life to come. We may even be aware that we were chosen by God before the foundations of the world (Ephesians 1:4)

But the truth that we were not only created but also known before we were ordered in human form is lavishly magnificent! We could errantly pass over this idea of God knowing us because He knows everything. Instead, let's dive deep into what is being said in this verse. First, we must realize that although God speaks to Jeremiah in this instance, God's declaration could be directed toward any of us. God knew us before we were born - every one of us. It is equally vital to understand that this reference to God's knowing is not limited to some passing acknowledgment of Jeremiah's future existence. Likewise, the statement that the Lord knew you is not immaterial. It does not reference knowledge of purely superficial aspects. 

The knowledge being referenced in the book of Jeremiah is "יְדַעְתִּיךָ" (y'da'tikha) in Hebrew. It is knowing at a personal level. It is intimately knowing and being familiar with the innermost things. It is a level of communion where secrets cannot be kept, and all matters are laid open. God knew us! He knew how we were, our very core essence before we were born. This word "knew" could even be defined as "having experience with." God related to us before we were formed for human existence. 

So why is this important? Well, you have forgotten you from before your birth. You have no idea what you were like. You can't remember those experiences and your relationship with the God who created you before forming you in the womb. But God does remember. He knew you and continues to know you as you were and as you are intended to be. As Steven Furtick put it, "how you were created to be." In this human expedition, it is much too easy for us to view ourselves through the corrupted lens of sin. We only know ourselves as the one in the mirror with a long list of failures and many times of turning away from that which God commanded. But not God. He knew you. He knew me, and now our Lord views us in the light of a Savior who died for us because He knew us. Jesus' sacrifice and triumph over death and sin not only saved our souls from eternal damnation, but He also purchased our redemption so that which we were, that which we were created to be, might once again become what we are.

And for further fabulous news - we don't have to wait until we pass from human existence to become what we were created to be. Our Lord became one of us so we might be like Him right here on earth. Don't wait. Do not fall into the trap of viewing the corrupt you! You are free to be the you God knew!