BLOG POST 3 · 5 min read
‘I Never Knew You’ — The Most Sobering Words in Scripture
Why Jesus will say these words to religious, active, miracle-working believers — and what you can do right now to make sure He never says them to you
Tags: Matthew 7 · Kingdom Readiness · Intimacy with God · Chayil · Ginosko
There is a passage in the Sermon on the Mount that most preachers rush past. It is too uncomfortable to sit with for long. It asks a question that most believers are not prepared to answer.
Read it slowly.
Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ Matthew 7:21-23 NKJV
Many. Not a few. Not the obvious sinners. Many — people who prophesied, who cast out demons, who performed miracles — will hear the words: I never knew you.
Who Is Jesus Talking About?
This is one of the most important questions in Scripture. Because this passage is not describing atheists. It is not describing people who rejected God. It is describing people who were active in ministry — who prophesied in His name, cast out demons in His name, and performed wonders in His name.
They were not secret. They were not passive. They were busy. They were religious. They were gifted. They were doing things FOR God.
And Jesus said: I never knew you.
The Greek Word That Changes Everything
The word Jesus used for ‘knew’ is the Greek word GINOSKO. And this is not casual acquaintance. This is not knowing someone’s name or knowing about someone from a distance.
Ginosko is the deepest form of intimate, experiential knowledge. It is the same word used in Luke 1:34 when Mary said to the angel ‘I do not know a man’ — meaning she had not been physically intimate with anyone. It is the word used for the most personal, close, experiential knowing that exists.
Jesus was not saying these people lacked activity. He was saying they lacked intimacy.
They were doing kingdom work without kingdom relationship. They were producing fruit without being rooted in the vine. They had the gifts — but not the Groom.
Activity vs. Intimacy
This is the central tension that every believer must resolve. Because it is entirely possible to be busy doing things for God while never truly knowing God. To prophesy without prayer. To cast out demons without devotion. To perform miracles without intimacy.
The church has produced an entire generation of believers who are highly active and deeply unfamiliar with the Person they claim to serve. They know doctrine. They know church culture. They know how to perform in ministry settings.
But in the quiet — in the private places, in the midnight hours — they do not know Him. And He does not know them in the ginosko sense.
And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. John 17:3 NKJV
Eternal life is defined here not as a destination but as a relationship. To know God. Not to know about Him. Not to serve Him from a distance. To KNOW Him — ginosko. Intimately. Personally. Experientially.
What Does Knowing God Look Like?
Knowing God looks like worship as a state of being rather than an activity. It looks like submission to His Lordship in the daily decisions of your life, not just in the pulpit. It looks like the Fear of the Lord — the deep reverential awe that shapes everything you do when no one is watching.
It looks like a history with God. Not just a testimony about what He did years ago, but a living, growing, daily relationship where you encounter Him, hear Him, and are changed by what you hear.
The 40 Elements of Kingdom Readiness are built around this question: are you doing kingdom work from a place of kingdom relationship? Or are you running on gifting without oil?
The great reversal of Matthew 7 is not that these people were rejected for their sins. It is that they were rejected for their substitution — they substituted activity for intimacy, and performance for presence.
The Good News
Here is what makes this passage not a verdict but an invitation: Jesus told us in advance. He did not have to. He could have waited until that day to make the announcement. Instead He gave us this passage so that we could examine ourselves NOW, while there is still time to cultivate the intimacy that produces the oil.
The assessment is not designed to condemn you. It is designed to show you the truth — so you can do something about it before the midnight cry comes.
The question is not whether you have been busy for God. The question is whether He knows you. And whether you know Him.
Do not let your activity become a substitute for your intimacy. The gifts may open doors. But only the relationship will keep you inside when the door closes.
Take the 40 Elements Kingdom Readiness Assessment and discover whether your intimacy scores match your activity scores. The assessment was designed to show you the difference.
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