Becoming the Empty Cup: Formed by the Knowledge of Christ
Edited directly from the sermon transcript of Matthew Miller’s message at Highland Hills Church of Christ on March 29, 2026. Adapted for length and readability while preserving his voice and message.
There is a story in Rules for a Knight about a father preparing for battle. He does not know whether he will see his children again, so he writes down what he wants them to know. One lesson comes from his own youth, when he was making poor choices and drifting without purpose. He went to his grandfather, a respected knight, and began pouring out everything that was in his head.
His grandfather offered him tea. As he filled the cup, the young man told him when to stop. But the grandfather kept pouring until tea spilled across the table and onto the floor. The overflowing cup, he explained, was a picture of the young man’s life: so full of conflicting thoughts and habits that he had no room to receive what he needed. The empty cup was where he had to begin.
We live in an age of unprecedented information. Messages, advertising, the latest expert, the news cycle, wars, legislation, and tragedies keep coming. The answers arrive with a few clicks, and the content never ends. I once told a professor I was trying to stay on top of all the information coming out. He laughed: “Good luck.”
We can be so full that, like that cup, we spill all over the place. We aren’t open or receptive. Sometimes we know a great deal of Bible information—the stories, the doctrines, the right words—yet inwardly feel discouraged and unchanged at the depth we are seeking.
Why does knowing more not necessarily lead to living differently?
In this series, we began with Psalm 1 and being planted beside streams that nourish us through seasons of abundance and seasons of famine. We considered prayer as a relationship with God and an openness to his agenda. We looked at worship, because we become what we worship: what receives our attention, time, energy, and resources.
Idols demand much and deliver little. They can give us a sense of accomplishment or progress, but they cannot give us the life we need. So what fuels real spiritual transformation?
Like the empty cup, we need to become receptive to the knowledge of Christ. Peter addresses this in 2 Peter 1:1–4. He writes to those who share a precious faith through the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ. He speaks of grace and peace multiplied through knowing God and Jesus, and of divine power giving us everything we need for life and godliness.
Transformation begins with a deep, lived knowledge of Christ: as he reveals himself in his word and as we walk by his Spirit.
Peter begins with identity. He identifies these believers with himself through the faith they have received. We see this pattern throughout the letters. Paul often reminds people that they once lived one way, but now they belong to Christ. They were dead in their sins; now they are alive in him.
Our identity rests in the work Jesus accomplished on the cross. He forgave our sins and changed who we are. Spiritual formation begins with the one to whom we belong. Whom are we worshiping? With whom do we identify?
Peter then says that grace and peace are multiplied through the knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord. Pay attention to that word “knowledge.” Repeated words help us recognize what a biblical writer wants us to notice. In John, we repeatedly encounter believing. In Philippians, we encounter joy and rejoicing. Here Peter keeps returning to knowing.
He is showing us that the growth we seek comes from knowing Christ. Its source is God’s divine power. Through that power, he has given us everything that pertains to life and godliness. The power that we see in the resurrection supplies the life he calls us to live.
This knowledge goes deeper than intellectual awareness. We tend to say we know a lot because we possess a lot of facts. We are filled with information about whatever interests us or happens to be in the news. But Peter is speaking of relational, experiential knowing. We know God as we walk with the truth he has given us.
That knowing is cultivated through Scripture and Spirit-led obedience: walking with him, doing what he calls us to do, drawing on the grace we have received through the cross. We are transformed by knowing Christ himself.
I could tell you quite a few facts about Ireland and Scotland because I find them fascinating. But I have never been there. I would love to go. What is the difference between reading books about a place and living there for years? Knowledge means something different in those two situations.
It is easy to be satisfied with book facts about Jesus. Facts are where we begin, but transformation comes through being with him.
Peter also speaks of God’s great and precious promises. These promises shape our hope, anchor our identity, and direct our obedience. Think again of the tree in Psalm 1. The promises are like streams feeding and sustaining its roots.
After Jesus’s resurrection and ascension, what gave the early church hope? They trusted what he had promised to do. That trust helped make them such a dynamic people. The resurrection and the outpouring of the Spirit work in our hearts through his promises, forming us and filling our minds with truth, beauty, and goodness.
Then Peter says something remarkable: through these promises, we become “partakers of the divine nature.” What does that mean? Are we becoming God?
Think about a cold, hard piece of iron placed into a forge. As it remains in the heat, it becomes hot, soft, and malleable. It is still iron, yet it begins taking on qualities of the fire. It can be shaped.
Or think of a wax seal on an envelope. I love a real wax seal. Someone has taken the time to melt the wax and press an image into it. It remains wax, but it now bears that image.
As we spend time with God, we become more and more formed and imprinted with his image. Sometimes the best thing we can do is sit around and “waste time” with God.
How do we experience that transformation? We begin by letting go of what clutters our hearts and minds. That requires submission. We turn it over to Jesus again and again. Even when letting go is difficult, we can come to him and say, “Help me.” Remember the man who said, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief.”
As we become the empty cup, we begin to be filled with what God has said. We engage with Scripture regularly. That doesn’t have to mean five hours of reading, or even a set number of minutes. It means meaningful engagement with what God is saying.
Some of my most powerful times in the word have involved reading a couple of verses and turning them over in my mind for a week, letting them remain and do their work.
As we read, we can ask: Where is God at work here? What is he revealing about Jesus? How is he forming his people? How is he inviting me to follow?
Sometimes we recognize the truth of that invitation while feeling unready to act on it. That is where faith comes in: walking with the Spirit and practicing obedience as we become aware of what God is doing.
Anchor yourself in his promises. Sit with them. Spend time with God. As you become receptive to the pouring out of his Spirit, a transformed life begins to become a reality.
What is holding back your growth? Have you settled for knowing things about Jesus when he is inviting you to know him? Your brothers and sisters can walk alongside you as you take that step.
True life begins with knowing Christ. We can lay down the things that have been filling and forming us, receive what he gives, and follow him in faith.
