Flourish in Knowledge: From Knowing of God to Knowing God

    My Mom was a nurse, so we grew up being comfortable with medical terms and we were more familiar with the pharmaceutical names of over-the-counter medicines than with their popular brand names. When people would remark about my supposed medical knowledge, I would joke and say, “I only know enough to scare myself.” I had not studied medicine, nor pursued any training in the medical field; I only knew what I had heard from my Mom. I knew enough of the medical terms and conditions that I recognized them when I heard them, I sometimes knew what they meant, but that’s where my knowledge ended, I didn’t always know what could be done for those conditions, nor did I know enough to offer any real information or comfort to myself or anyone else dealing with them.

    We can be like that with God and His word. We can be familiar with terms because we’ve heard them all our lives, but not really know what they mean or how to explain them to others (consider Hebrews 5:12-13). We can be content with whatever our parents have told us, and never develop our own faith and understanding. Some have only learned enough to be scared of God but have not sought more knowledge to better understand God and His great love for His creation. Others have only learned enough to allow them to carry on in whatever path they choose with what they deem a clear conscience, “because as long as I’m a good person, God’s grace will take care of the rest.”

    At some point in our life we may have stopped gaining knowledge because we went away to school, started a career, met a man and got married; simply put, our time and focus shifted. Yes, we may hold on to the basics but end up struggling in our day to day because although we know that God exists, we are oblivious to His promises of help in times of need (Philippians 4:6-8, Hebrews 4:16, 1 Corinthians 10:13, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4).

    Consider Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 1:15-21. Paul wanted the Ephesian brethren to grow in knowledge of God, so that they would know…

…the hope of His calling. God calls us through the gospel (2 Thessalonians 2:13-14), and hopes we will hear (Romans 10:17), believe (Mark 16:15-16), and obey (Matthew 7:21-23, also think on Ephesians 1:4, 2:10).

…the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints. We are God’s inheritance (think on Deuteronomy 32:9, Psalm 33:12). God is looking forward to receiving the saints to Himself when Jesus presents us faultless to Him; there will be exceeding joy (Jude 24-25)!  

…the exceeding greatness of His power toward those who believe. God can revive us (Ephesians 2:1-10), He can strengthen us (Ephesians 6:10), and just as He raised up Jesus (Ephesians 1:19-23), He can raise us up on the Last Day (1 Corinthians 6:14, Philippians 3:20-21)!  

    We all may know about the “armour of God” (Ephesians 6:10-18) – many Sunday school classes spend time on it – but without further knowledge they are simply words on the page and do us no good. We are told to put on the whole armour of God, and that can only be done when we grow in our knowledge of each piece:

We need to know the truth (John 8:31-32, 16:13-15) in order to gird our waist (protect our innermost parts) with it.

We need to know God’s righteousness (Matthew 6:33, Romans 1:16-17) to wear it as a breastplate (guarding our vital parts, e.g. our heart)

We need to know the gospel of peace to shod our feet and walk in it (Romans 5:1, Ephesians 2:14-18)

We need to develop a faith (through learning and application, Hebrews 11) to shield ourselves from the devils attempts to harm us (2 Timothy 3:16-17, James 4:7, 1 Corinthians 10:17)

We need to know the value of salvation to know how important the helmet is that will guard our mind from impure pursuits.

We need to know the word of God (“the sword of the Spirit”) in order to know how to properly wield it/use it (consider Hebrews 4:12, 5:14, 1 Peter 3:15)

    Take time this week to read the whole of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians – a little bit each day, as the Lord wills. Don’t be content with what knowledge you have – great treasures of wisdom and knowledge are at your fingertips! Pray for knowledge and understanding, and then open your Bible each day and read carefully to gain it. Read and apply – a little bit each day – develop your appetite for it (Matthew 5:6, Isaiah 55:1-3, 5) – and grow toward flourishing in a knowledge that is beneficial to both you and those who see/hear you (1 Timothy 4:12-13, 15-16). Grow from simply knowing of God to truly knowing God! Keep learning, keep applying, and keep growing (Hebrews 5:12-14)!

You can do it! So can I!! 

Flourish in Knowledge of God’s Righteousness

    We can be just as guilty as the Israelites in Paul’s day, who had “a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God.” (Romans 10:2-3). The Israelites wanted to keep the Law (the Old Covenant or the Law of Moses), they wanted to stick with what they knew, and they refused to hear the gospel of Christ. They knew of God and obeyed His commandments in their own habitual way; they had heard Him (and listened to His instructions) only up to a point but would go no further. They were content with what they held to and refused to look further at the Scriptures (the books of our Old Testament, which they would have had access to), unlike the Bereans who came to faith after searching the Scriptures daily to find out if the things the apostle Paul taught were accurate (Acts 17:11-12).

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”” (Romans 1:16-17 NKJV) 

    We can reach a level of “knowledge” and stop learning. We can feel our “goodness” is acceptable and our attendance at church services is enough that “we’re okay.” We can fall into the habit of rarely opening our Bibles throughout the week, sometimes not even at church services. We can say that what we know is enough, but if what we know is not God’s righteousness – and we are not growing in our knowledge of Him and His Word – then we are simply making up our own righteousness and fooling ourselves into thinking that it is acceptable to God.

    When we don’t know – or grow – in knowledge of God and His righteousness we can lead others astray…

…in being complacent about God and His will (Proverbs 1:32-33, Revelation 3:15-16, Matthew 24:42, 1 Peter 5:8)

…in being wrong about God and His will (Acts 8:14-24, 13:45, 14:1-2)

…in being a roadblock to their understanding (Galatians 2:11-13, Luke 11:52, Hebrews 5:12-13)

    And we will become weak ourselves – read and consider Hebrews 5:12-14 – how will we know what is truly good and what is evil if we do not develop toward consuming “solid food” and exercise our senses by applying what we learn? We, too, can become like those in Romans 1:18-22, who knew God but “did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful” We, too, can become “futile in our thoughts,” our “foolish hearts” can darken, and we can think ourselves wise, but become fools.

    When we become satisfied with what we know and stop searching the treasures of wisdom and knowledge found in God the Father and Jesus the Son (Colossians 2:2-3, Psalm 119:161b-162), content with our own form of righteousness,  than our prayers may soon become rote and our attendance and attention may become mechanical – because our heart won’t be in them.  

    Let’s not let that happen! Let’s use the time that God has blessed us with this day to gain more knowledge of Him – begin reading the Psalms or the epistle to the Ephesians, and really think on what you read! Let that knowledge motivate you to grow in understanding, as you humbly acknowledge His wisdom, and submit to His righteousness!

 You can do it! So can I!! 

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!!