Does God Know You—Or Does He Know Who You Were Created to Be?

One of the most sobering statements Jesus ever made is found in Matthew 7:23:

"And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." (KJV)

At first glance, that statement seems confusing.

How could the all-knowing God say He never knew someone? Doesn't God know everyone?

Doesn't He know every thought, every action, and every moment of our lives?

The answer is yes.

Scripture makes it clear that God knows every person He has created.

David wrote that God formed him in his mother's womb, saw his unformed body, and knew every day of his life before one of them came to be. God is never surprised by our choices or unaware of our existence.

So what did Jesus mean?

God Knows You Completely

Before we ever took our first breath, God already knew us.

He designed us with purpose.

He created us with gifts.

He placed a calling on our lives.

We are not accidents. Every life has value because every life was intentionally created by God.

Jeremiah records God's words:

"Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee..." (Jeremiah 1:5, KJV)

God's knowledge of us is not simply intellectual. He created us with intention and purpose long before anyone else knew our names.

More Than Information—Relationship

Throughout the Bible, the word "know" often carries a much deeper meaning than simply being aware of someone.

It speaks of intimacy.

Relationship.

Covenant.

Recognition.

When Jesus says, "I never knew you," He is not saying, "I don't know who you are."

Rather, He is saying, "You never entered into the relationship I created you for."

These were people who claimed to do religious works. They prophesied. They cast out demons. They performed miracles.

Yet they never truly surrendered to Christ.

Outward activity had replaced inward transformation.

Becoming Who God Created You to Be

This is where many believers miss something beautiful.

God doesn't simply save us from sin.

He restores us to His original design.

The Christian life is not about becoming someone God can finally love.

It is about becoming the person He always intended us to become.

Paul writes that we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God prepared beforehand for us to walk in.

That means God already sees the masterpiece He is creating.

Every step of obedience is another step toward the person He designed you to be.

Every act of repentance removes another layer of what sin tried to make you.

Every moment of surrender allows Christ to be formed more fully within you.

Sin Distorts Identity

The enemy wants us to believe that our failures define us.

God says something entirely different.

Our sin may describe where we have been, but it does not define who we were created to be.

Peter denied Jesus.

Moses was a murderer.

David committed adultery.

Paul persecuted the church.

Yet God transformed each of them into someone completely different.

Their past was not their identity.

God's purpose was.

When we walk apart from God, we are living beneath the identity He designed for us.

But through Christ, we are continually being renewed into His image.

The Invitation Is Still Open

The goal of the Christian life is not merely to avoid hell.

It is to know Christ and be known by Him in the relationship He has always desired.

Jesus doesn't call us into religion.

He calls us into transformation.

He calls us into becoming who we were always meant to be.

One day, every one of us will stand before Him.

The greatest words we could ever hear are not simply that He recognizes our existence, but that He recognizes the relationship we cultivated with Him.

That relationship changes everything.

Final Thoughts

God has always known your name.

He has always known your story.

He has always known your failures.

But He has also always known the person He created you to become.

Don't settle for living beneath that calling.

Walk with Him daily.

Allow Him to shape your character.

Let Him transform your heart.

The more we surrender to Christ, the more we become the person He envisioned when He first formed us.

That is the life we were created to live.

Pastor Scott