Do you Believe in God or do you KNOW Him?
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The story begins on a mountain in Samaria, a region most Jewish people avoided like the plague in Jesus' day. Jesus, however, didn't share this prejudice. The Gospel of John tells us that Jesus had to go through Samaria. He arrived at a town called Saikar, tired from his journey, and sat down by a well while his disciples went for food. A Samaritan woman came to draw water during the hottest part of the day, probably to avoid distress and whispers of the other women who came in the cool morning hours. You see, her life was complicated. She had five husbands and was now living with a man who wasn't her husband.
The shame of her situation likely drove her to the solitary water gathering routine. Jesus spoke to her, breaking every social norm of the day. Jewish men didn't speak to Samaritan women in public. It just wasn't done. But Jesus asked her for a drink, starting a conversation that would change everything for her. After some back and forth about Jews and Samaritans, Jesus told her, "If you knew the gift of God and who is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water." The conversation continued with Jesus revealing his supernatural knowledge of her complicated marital history and the woman realizing this was no ordinary Jewish traveler.
I know the Messiah is coming, she said. When he comes, he will explain everything to us. Then Jesus declared, I, the one speaking to you, I am he. The woman was so moved by this encounter that she left her water jar, the very reason she'd come to the well, and ran back to town. And here's where the story takes an important turn for our topic today. John 4:39 tells us, "Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony. He told me everything I ever did."
Belief. They believed because of what someone else told them. But the story doesn't end there. The town's people were so intrigued that they asked Jesus to stay with them and he remained for 2 days. In John 4:41-42 records this transformation. And because of his words, many more became believers. They said to the woman, "We no longer believe just because of what you said.
Now we have heard for ourselves and we know that this man really is the savior of the world." Did you catch that? We no longer believe just because of what you said. Now we know. These Samaritans had moved from secondhand belief to firsthand knowledge. This distinction between believing and knowing is crucial for our faith journey. Belief is the starting line, not the finish.
It's where we begin, but not where we're meant to stay. Think about it like this. Belief is looking at an airplane and intellectually accepting that it can fly. You've seen footage of planes flying. You might even understand the basic principles of aerodynamics. You believe that airplanes can transport people safely through the sky. But knowing, knowing is buckling yourself into the seat, feeling the rumble of the engines, and trusting your life to that aircraft as it lifts off the ground.
Belief says, "That plane can fly." Knowing says, "I'm willing to get on it." The Bible actually speaks to this distinction directly in John 17:3. During Jesus' prayer before his arrest, he says, "Now this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God in Jesus Christ whom you have sent." He doesn't say that they believe in you, but that they know you. There's an intimacy, a relationship, a firsthand experience implied in knowing that goes beyond intellectual ascent. James, the brother of Jesus, writes in his letter about the limitations of mere belief.
In James 21:19, he says, "You believe that there is one God." Good. Even the demons believe that. And shudder. Clearly, there must be something more than just belief if even demons can achieve that level of faith. So, how do we move from belief to knowing? Let's go back to our airplane analogy for a moment.
How do you move from believing planes can fly to knowing they can fly? Well, you got to get on one. You have to take that somewhat frightening first step onto the aircraft. Find your seat, buckle up, and entrust yourself to the pilot, the plane, and the principles of flight. The first time is often the scariest. Your hands might grip the armrest during takeoff. Every unusual sound might spike your anxiety.
But after you land safely at your destination, something changes. The next flight isn't quite so terrifying. And after several successful flights, you may you might even become comfortable enough to fall asleep during takeoff. What changed? The plane didn't change. Principles of flight didn't change. You did.
You changed. Your knowledge grew through experience. The same is true in our walk with God. Moving from belief to knowing requires experience. It means taking risks, stepping out in faith, and then witnessing God's faithfulness firsthand. Think about Peter in Matthew 14. Jesus invited him to walk on water.
Peter believed Jesus could do it. He saw Jesus walking on the waves with his own eyes. But to know Jesus' power personally, Peter had to swing his legs over the side of the boat and put his feet on the surface of the lake. For a few glorious moments before doubt crept in, Peter knew the experience of walking on water with Jesus. Many of us stay in the boat our whole lives. We believe Jesus can do miraculous things. We believe he can transform lives.
We believe he answers prayers, but we're reluctant to step out onto the water ourselves to put our belief to the test where we might come to know his power personally. Moving from belief to knowing requires vulnerability. It means praying prayers that can be answered or seemingly unanswered. It means stepping out in obedience even when we're scared. It means serving others even when it's inconvenient. It means living as if God's promises are true, not just nice ideas. In the Psalms, David writes, "Taste and see that the Lord is good.
Blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. Psalm 34:8. Notice he doesn't say, "Believe and accept that the Lord is good." He says, "Taste and see." There's an experiential quality to faith that goes beyond intellectual ascent. So many of us have been taught that Christianity is primarily about believing the right things. And certainly correct belief does matter.
Paul writes to the Romans that if you declare with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:9. Belief is the essential starting point. Nothing wrong with that. But Jesus wants us to move beyond that starting point into relationship, into experience, into knowing. After all, when Jesus summarized the greatest commandment, he said, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind and all your strength." Mark 12:30.
That's a full person engagement with God, not just mental agreement with certain facts about God. When a person first comes to faith, there are many things that they believe about God intellectually that they hadn't yet experienced personally. They believe God answers prayers, but haven't yet had the experience of praying for something specific and seeing God provide in a way that couldn't possibly be coincidence. They believe God can give peace that passes understanding, but haven't yet experienced that supernatural calm in the midst of a crisis. It was only as they began living out their faith, sometimes stumbling, sometimes succeeding, that these beliefs became knowledge. The first time I saw God provide exactly what I needed at exactly the right moment in an amazing and unexpected way, something shifted in my heart. It wasn't just an article of faith anymore.
It was something I knew to be true because I had experienced it. And here's the beautiful thing. Each experience of God's faithfulness makes the next step of faith a little easier. Just like those airplane flights where the first one is terrifying, but the 10th one is routine, our walk with God becomes less about anxious hoping and more about confident trust as we accumulate experiences of his goodness. In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul prays that they would know this love that surpasses knowledge. Ephesians 3:19. Now, it sounds paradoxical, right?
How can you know something that surpasses knowledge? But that's exactly what happens when we move from belief to actual knowing. We enter a realm of relationship with God that goes beyond the intellectual understanding and into direct experience. The Apostle John writing in his first letter says, "We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands." 1 John 2:3. Notice the progression there. We know that we know.
And how do we know? Through obedience. Through putting our faith into action and experiencing results. Of course, not all our experiences with God will be mountaintop moments. Sometimes we experience his presence in the valley of the shadow of death as David describes in Psalm 23.
Sometimes the knowing comes through suffering as Paul suggests when he writes to the Philippians about wanting to know Christ. Yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings. Philippians 3:10. But whether in joy or sorrow, the invitation remains the same. Move beyond belief into knowing. So where are you on this journey? Are you still at the stage of believing that the plane can fly or have you boarded the aircraft?
Have you tasted and seen that the Lord is good? Or are you still just accepting it as a statement of faith? There's no judgment here. Not at all. We're all at different points in the journey. And belief itself is a gift from God, a critical first step. So if that's where you are, that's great.
If you're at the belief stage, celebrate that. Jesus told Thomas, "Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." John 20:29. Belief without evidence is precious to God. But don't stay there. Take the next step.
Look for opportunities to put your faith into action to experience God's faithfulness firsthand. Maybe that means finally praying for that thing that you've been afraid to ask for. Maybe it means obeying that nudge you felt to serve somewhere or to speak to somebody. Maybe it means confessing that sin you've been holding on to or extending forgiveness to that person who hurt you. Whatever it is, take the step from believing God can work to knowing he will work as you obey. If you've already experienced God's faithfulness firsthand, if you've already moved into knowing in some areas, remember that faith is a journey, not a destination. There are always new areas where belief can deepen into knowledge, always new dimensions of God's character to experience.
Paul near the end of his life wrote to Timothy, "I know whom I have believed and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day." 2 Timothy 1:12. Paul's journey had taken him from belief to knowing, from intellectual acceptance to bone deep confidence, and his testimony encourages us to pursue the same trajectory.
The writer of Hebrews defines faith as confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1. As our faith journey progresses, that confidence grows stronger. That assurance becomes firmer because our experiences confirm what our beliefs suggest. We become like those Samaritans who could say, "We no longer believe just because of what someone told us. Now, we know for ourselves, I want to encourage you today, wherever you are in your faith journey. If you're just beginning to believe, that's a beautiful place to be.
Jesus said, "Even faith as small as a mustard seed can move mountains in Matthew 17:20." But don't stay there. Take that mustard seed and plant it. Water it with prayer, fertilize it with obedience, watch it grow into a knowing that can weather any storm.
And if you've been walking with God for decades, ask yourself, "Am I still growing in knowledge of him? Am I still having new experiences of his faithfulness? Or have I settled into a comfortable belief that never ventures into the exhilarating, sometimes frightening realm of knowing?" The beauty of our faith is that there's always more to discover, always deeper waters to wait into, always new aspects of God's character to experience. As Paul wrote in Ephesians 1:17, "We can continually pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation so that you may know him better." Just like those Samaritans who move from believing the woman's testimony to knowing Jesus for themselves, the invitation to cross that barrier extends to each of us. We can move from accepting what others tell us about God to experiencing him directly.
We can progress from believing that the plane can fly to soaring through the heavens ourselves. It will take courage. It will take vulnerability. It will take obedience. But the journey from belief to knowing is the adventure of a lifetime. An adventure that doesn't end with this life, but continues into eternity. As Jesus prayed, "Now this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God in Jesus Christ whom you have sent."
John 17:3. Eternal life isn't just about duration. It's about a quality of relationship, a depth of knowing that begins now and extends forever. So today, what step will you take to move from belief to knowing? What risk of faith is God inviting you to embrace? What obedience is he calling you toward that might open the door to deeper experience of his presence? Whatever it is, remember that you're not alone.
Just as Jesus walked alongside Peter on the water, he walks alongside you. And even if, like Peter, you start to sink, his hand is always extended to lift you up again. The journey from belief to knowing isn't a straight line. There will be setbacks and detours, moments of doubt, and confusion. The Bible is full of this, especially in the Gospels. But each step taken in faith, each experience of God's faithfulness builds a foundation of knowing that can withstand any storm. So keep believing and keep moving beyond belief into knowing.
Let this be our prayer. Aba Father, thank you that you've invited us not just to believe in you from a distance, but to know you personally. Thank you for meeting us where we are, whether we're just beginning to believe or have walked with you for years. Give us the courage to move beyond intellectual belief into personal experience. Help us to taste and see that you are good. When fear holds us back, remind us of your perfect love that casts out fear. When doubts cloud our vision, bring to mind the ways you've been faithful in the past.
And most of all, deepen our relationship with you so that we might say with confidence, not just I believe, but I know in Jesus name. Amen. [Music]
