How to ‘Know’ Jesus
Bill Mowry
2 min read ⭑
Several years ago, I was honored to provide a testimonial for a friend’s retirement from the pastorate. Tyler and I had known each other for years. What would I say? I framed my remarks around this simple statement: “Knowing Tyler made me a better man and a better leader.”
Relational knowledge influences us; Tyler shaped my life in intentional and unintentional ways. Relational knowledge does more than change our thinking or add information; it shapes our interior lives.
Mamaz Alaei; Unsplash
Bible study shapes our interior lives by growing the “mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16) in us. The mind is typically thought of as the place of our thoughts, values and understanding. When we say that we’re of one mind with someone, we’re saying that we’re in common agreement around our shared values and understandings. Being of one mind also naturally means that we will act in similar or even predictable ways. When we know the mind of another, we can reasonably predict what is valuable to them and how they will act under certain circumstances. Whether it’s a friend or a spouse, time and study gives us familiarity with their thinking. So it is with the mind of Christ.
When Jesus called people to follow him, he intentionally planned to shape their interior lives as they partnered in life and ministry. We are partners with God when we’ve learned to read his mind, when we understand his ways. Maturity in Christ is securing the mind of Christ — the ability to “read” him as our life partner. This makes studying the Bible different from reading the Bible. Studying is not a casual glance at the text but a dedicated, in-depth look at the Scriptures to discover the ways of God.
“When our minds are shaped by the study of the Scriptures, we become friends who are close enough to naturally read and do his ways. When this happens, we imitate Jesus’ example.”
Living with the mind of Christ means living under his authority. We assume the quality of life that Jesus models: “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. . . . I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me” (John 5:19, 30, esv).
Our Father wants mature people who understand his ways and who naturally choose to follow those ways — to do his will. Spiritual maturity eliminates God as the micromanager or the “helicopter parent” who is always hovering over a child to ensure they make the right decision. When our minds are shaped by the study of the Scriptures, we become friends who are close enough to naturally read and do his ways. When this happens, we imitate Jesus’ example. Studying the Bible is all about relational knowledge, and relational knowledge shapes our internal lives.
Bill Mowry is a veteran Navigator staff member in Columbus, Ohio. He serves with The Navigators Church Ministries helping churches build disciplemaking cultures. His books include: The Ways of the Alongsider (Navpress), Walk with Me (Moody Publshing), The Ways of the Leader (NavPress) and Holding the Word (NavPress). He and his wife Peggy live at "above and beyond acres" — where they garden to create a little spot of beauty in a fallen world for people to sense God's goodness. You can reach Bill at alongsider.com.
Adapted from “Holding the Word” by Bill Mowry. Copyright © 2025. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers, a Division of Tyndale House Ministries.