What "Knowing You (All I Once Held Dear)" means
Graham Kendrick wrote this song in 1993, and it remains one of the most scripturally faithful modern hymns produced in the twentieth century. The opening verse is not influenced by Philippians 3:7-10. It is, phrase by phrase, a paraphrase of it: "all I once held dear, built my life upon, all this world reveres, and wars to own" is Paul's "whatever was to my profit I now consider loss." The song does not decorate the text. It inhabits it.
Male key is G, which places the song in a comfortable, mid-range speaking register, fitting for a lyric that is essentially a spoken prayer set to melody. Female key is E. At 76 bpm in 4/4, the tempo is meditative without being dirge-like. There is still forward movement, but the pace gives each phrase space to be heard and meant.
The primary scripture frame is Philippians 3:7-10, the passage where Paul calls his own achievements "rubbish" in comparison to knowing Christ. The song centers on the word "knowing" in John 17:3's definition of eternal life: "that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent." The refrain, "knowing you, Jesus," is not a sentimental expression of affection. It is the definition of eternal life sung back to the one who defined it. The transition into the bridge, which holds together the power of the resurrection and the fellowship of suffering, completes the full arc of Pauline theology without cutting either element.
What this song does in a room
The retreat is two days in. The teaching has been on surrender and the cost of discipleship, the kind of content that requires something of a person rather than just offering comfort. The room has been quiet in a productive way, the quiet of people actually thinking rather than disengaging.
When this song begins in that context, something specific happens: the congregation is given language for the inward transaction the teaching has been naming. "All I once held dear" is a phrase that requires the singer to think about what that actually is. For some people in the room it is status in the church. For others it is the carefully constructed identity that comes from spiritual achievement or theological precision or ministry reputation. The song names all of it without specifying any of it, which means each person fills it in themselves.
The refrain brings the room to the same place regardless of what they each named in the verses: "knowing you, Jesus." That convergence, from varied personal inventories to a common declaration, is what the song does at its best.
What this song is saying about God
The song's implicit claim about God is that knowing him is categorically different from and better than anything else that could be known or achieved. This is a specific theological move, not a generic call to personal relationship. Kendrick is following Paul's argument that the things counted as gain, religious status, moral achievement, doctrinal precision, are not neutral categories that can be added to the knowledge of Christ. They become, in Paul's terms, loss in comparison.
The song applies this logic to worship itself: spiritual experience, religious achievement, even the feeling of nearness to God can become competitors to simple intimacy with the crucified and risen Lord if they are mistaken for the thing itself rather than the path to it.
John 17:3 is the pivot: "this is eternal life, that they know you." Eternal life in this text is not primarily a duration (life that goes on forever) but a quality (life that consists in knowing the only true God). The song is not just singing about the feeling of relationship with Jesus. It is singing about the substance of what life in him is: knowing him.
The bridge holds the cross and the resurrection together. "Power of his resurrection, fellowship of sharing in his sufferings" comes directly from Philippians 3:10 and refuses to let the congregation have one without the other. Glory and cross, resurrection power and suffering: both are part of knowing Jesus. That refusal of easy triumphalism is the song's most honest theological moment.
Scriptural backbone
Philippians 3:7-10 "But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him... I want to know Christ, yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings." The song's direct source. Reading this passage aloud before singing is not optional if the congregation is to understand what they are declaring.
John 17:3 "Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent." Eternal life defined as knowing God, not as a destination but as the substance of life itself. The refrain sings this definition back to Jesus.
Matthew 13:44-46 "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field." The parable behind Paul's logic and the song's surrender posture. Letting go of what is held dear is not loss in this frame; it is the transaction for something of incomparable worth.
Psalm 73:25-26 "Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." The song's emotional register, desire for God alone, finds its biblical antecedent here.
How to use it in a service
This song is built for discipleship and renewal contexts: retreats, commissioning services, mid-week gatherings, and services specifically organized around lordship or surrender. It is not a broad-audience opener. It requires a congregation that is ready to mean what it is singing.
Read Philippians 3:7-10 aloud before leading the song. Not as a transition filler, but as a two-minute pause where the congregation sits with Paul's words before singing them. This is one of the few songs where the scripture reading before it is not optional for the lyric to land correctly.
Teach the congregation to sing the chorus slowly and deliberately. The refrain is a declaration of intent and should be led that way. A leader who rushes through "knowing you, Jesus" as though it is a hook rather than a vow loses the song's entire point.
Works powerfully as a response song at the end of a sermon on lordship, surrender, or the parable of the pearl of great price. Avoid using it as a general worship opener in a Sunday morning service designed for a broad mixed audience. It will be sung without engagement by anyone who has not yet wrestled with what the verse is asking them to set aside.
Things to watch for as the worship leader
Male key G, female key E. In G, the song sits squarely in the mid-range, which suits a reflective lyric delivered with pastoral weight rather than vocal performance. In E, female voices have comfortable access to the melodic line through all three verses without reaching.
At 76 bpm, the tempo is slow enough to invite drift but fast enough to maintain forward motion. The verse groove is understated, and the common error is to add rhythmic motion in the piano or guitar that clutters the melodic line. Less is consistently better here. The song's reflective depth is the content; the arrangement should be nearly invisible.
The bridge ("power of his resurrection, fellowship of sharing in his sufferings") is where tempo management matters most. Leaders sometimes slow down for the bridge as a devotional instinct, which can work, but only if it is intentional and consistent. An unintentional deceleration in the bridge followed by a return to tempo for the final chorus breaks the room's sense of the song's arc.
Watch for congregations singing the chorus as though it is the easiest part of the song. The refrain is actually the hardest part, because it is the declaration that everything in the verse has been working toward. Lead it with weight rather than relief.
A note for the team behind you (techs, vocalists, band)
Keyboard is the primary instrument and should stay in a clean piano or organ tone rather than anything rhythmically busy. A simple electric guitar with light delay in the chorus adds texture without taking over. In retreat or small-group settings, acoustic guitar and piano alone are often the most effective configuration. The verse arrangement should be sparse. One accompaniment instrument, one or two voices. The congregation needs to hear themselves singing this lyric, not feel supported into participation.