To Know God

A week ago, last Sunday, I gave a lesson in Young Women's about the Godhead.  I wrote on the board this scripture: 

 "And this is life eternal, that they might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent."  John 17:3 

I didn't have time to expound, but if I did, I would have liked to have switched the words around on the board from "life eternal" to "eternal life".  They are interchangeable, you see, because as we come to know God, our Father, and Jesus Christ, we can experience "eternal life" right here, right now.  We don't need to wait until heaven. 

Now, this next part, I is something I have thought deeply about.   What does it mean to know?  Webster's Dictionary defines it as follows: 

The third definition of know is used in the Bible to define the sacred intimate relationship between a man and woman.  Could this have meaning in the scripture, "And this is life eternal that they might know Thee..."?  I think it could.  There is great spiritual symbolism in the intimate nature of the husband and wife relationship. (See Ephesians 5:31) 

 Elder Jeffery R. Holland gave a beautiful speech on this topic years ago and is one of my all-time favorites, "Of Souls, Symbols, and Sacraments"  He said, "As delicate as it is to mention in such a setting, I nevertheless trust your maturity to understand that physiologically we are created as men and women to fit together in such a union. In this ultimate physical expression of one man and one woman they are as nearly and as literally 'one' as two separate physical bodies can ever be." 

(see my post Water and Rock)

In the physical sense and with the biblical definition of "know", there truly is no other union that is more perfect in the flesh.  So, I would conclude that in the context of "knowing God", this spiritual context, means knowing Him is much more than recognizing Him, it's more than confessing him, more than understanding and perceiving Him.  Yes, it goes so much deeper, "to know God" is to truly love Him, to have our spirit unite with His Spirit and be one in the most perfect union possible, because He is perfect. (John 17:22-23) It means His will is our will, His heart is our heart, His mind is our mind. 

 "These are moments when we quite literally unite our will with God's will, our spirit with His spirit, where communion through the veil becomes very real. At such moments we not only acknowledge His divinity, but we quite literally take something of that divinity to ourselves." - Jeffrey R. Holland

-Alicia