Flourish in Knowledge

    God provided His word (through the Holy Spirit, 2 Peter 1:16-21) to chosen men who penned it; He preserved it over the millennia so that we could hear it and gain knowledge of the truth (Romans 10:17, 1 Timothy 2:4). God loves us that much!

    Consider that the very first instance of creation was the word of God being spoken into the darkness (Genesis 1:2-3), and because of His great, abounding, and continual love for us, His word continues to be spoken into the darkness to call people out of it and into His marvelous light (Isaiah 9:2, Acts 26:15-18, 1 Peter 2:9).

“For it is God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:6 NKJV)

    God does not want us to be content with knowledge of Him (Romans 1:20), He wants us to know Him (Hebrews 11:6); He wants us to continue to gain knowledge of Him through hearing/reading and obedience (Side note: It is in obedience that we learn of God’s wisdom, His faithfulness, and the truth of His promises of escape, comfort, peace, help, etc.). He wants us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds (renew means: change for the better, take on a new mind/mindset); He wants us to put on a new man that is “created according to God in true righteousness and holiness,” and that comes from learning Christ (Ephesians 4:17-23), so we can prove (to ourselves and to others around us) “what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:1-2), and so we can “always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks a reason for the hope that is in us” (1 Peter 3:15).

    When we don’t develop our knowledge of God, and come to truly know Him, we put ourselves at risk of being destroyed (Hosea 4:6). We may have a zeal for God, but if we don’t know His righteousness we are only living according to our own ideas (Romans 10:2-3). When we don’t develop our knowledge of God we are "shortsighted, even to blindness" and forget that we have been cleansed from our old sins (2 Peter 1:9), we remain children “unskilled in the word of righteousness” (Hebrews 5:13) and leave ourselves open to be “carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men” (Ephesians 4:13-14); we can become a roadblock (through our example, or lack thereof) for others who are in need of the knowledge of God (Luke 11:52), and we will not be able to help them as we should (Galatians 6:1, Hebrews 3:12-13; 5:12-14).

“You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.” (2 Peter 3:17-18 NKJV)

    Faith comes from hearing God’s word (Romans 10:17), and we are instructed in 2 Peter 1:5-11 to add “virtue” to our faith. Virtue is moral excellence, goodness – something that we cannot know without knowing God (consider Psalm 16:2, Mark 10:18), I believe that is why we are then told to add knowledge to our virtue, so we continue to learn from the very Source. Everything else on that list – self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love – are things that we can only learn from digging into God’s word, the Bible, and gaining knowledge of Him and His beloved Son.   

“Send out Your light and Your truth! Let them lead me; let them bring me to Your holy hill and to Your tabernacle.” (Psalm 43:3 NKJV)

    Let’s joy in our access to God’s word, open it, and study it daily! Don’t hold off saying, “One day,” let today be Day One. From wherever you are right now – BEGIN! Let's develop a love and an appreciation for God's word through continued study. And when others observe you reading the Bible you can proclaim, “God loves us this much! We can read His words! We can know His will! We can know the way home to Him!”

    Are you ready to flourish in knowledge?

You can do it! So can I!!