Knowledge: “facts, information, and skills acquired by a person through experience or education”. Some specific knowledge is useful to many of us e.g. where can I buy gas for my car at the least expensive place? Some knowledge is useful to a few of us e.g. how is gasoline actually made at the refinery where I may work? Informational knowledge [i.e. facts] may be boring, interesting, or useful to the recipient of those facts depending upon his/her circumstances. How to sharpen a knife is useful and desirable information for a professional chef, meat cutter, hunter, etc. but may be irrelevant and boring information to some other disinterested person.
Knowledge may be interesting or informative but also may have little effect on a person’s character development. In other words, I may spend much time [and even money] taking academic courses and acquiring informational knowledge as a result, but such knowledge does not necessarily result in my character being changed for the better. In fact, some ‘knowledge’ is outright destructive to our character.
In Paul’s letter to the Christ followers in Ephesus, he prays for their acquisition of a certain kind of experiential knowledge: an ever-deeper and wider understanding of the love of Christ, which Paul says “surpasses [mere] knowledge” [Eph 3:19]. Stated differently, Paul wants the Ephesian believers to know in an experiential sense the many facets of the love of Christ, and knowing that love in more than an informational way, but rather in a personally transformational way: “that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God”. Surely, our being filled up to the ‘fullness of God’ would without doubt be a transformational experience! “There are many in Christendom today who have as clear an intellectual understanding of the person, work, and love of Christ for sinners as has the saint who enjoys the most intimate fellowship with Him; yet it does not kindle a single spark of love within them for Him” [‘Gleanings from Paul’ by Arthur W. Pink, pg. 174].
I have naively assumed for many years that the gradual accumulation of biblical knowledge and theological understanding would result in a more or less ‘automatic’ transformation of my character into greater conformity to that of the character of Christ. I have been profoundly disappointed in the lack of fulfillment of this expectation. My goal of becoming a more secure, pure, wise, and caring person has not materialized to the degree I honestly expected. Were my expectations unrealistic? Was my strategy defective, somehow off target? Were my efforts deficient? Maybe the answer is ‘yes’ to each of these potential causes, but I am more convinced now than ever that experiential knowledge of Christ is far more profound, more soul-jarring and character transforming than the accumulation of ‘head’ knowledge about Him.
In his first pastoral letter to Timothy, Paul says: “But the goal of our instruction is love, from a pure heart, and a good conscience and a sincere faith. For some men straying from these things have turned aside to fruitless discussions, wanting to be teachers of the law…” [I Tim 1: 6-7a]. Apparently, it is not difficult to have ‘fruitless discussions’ about spiritual matters, resulting in our straying from the goal of a pure heart of love-for God and others. The psalmist David records the Lord saying to him, “seek My Face” for David responds by saying: “When You said, ‘seek My Face’, my heart said to You, Your Face, O Lord, I shall seek” [Psalm 27:8].
Am I merely interested in becoming a wise, kind and ‘good’ person? These are wonderful character qualities of course, but is my heart genuinely seeking to know Christ more deeply and intimately? Has a ‘spark of love been kindled within me‘ that has ignited a growing, even ‘roaring’ fire of love for my Lord? Does my daily schedule clearly evidence that I long to spend time ‘seeking His face’? Am I merely on a journey accumulating informational knowledge about God, while missing out on accumulating character -transforming knowledge of Him? Am I seeking the kind of instruction of soul that helps fulfil the goal of developing within me ‘love from a pure heart, a good conscience and a sincere faith’?
Whose face am I seeking?
Whose face are you?
CJS
I hope I am seeking to trust the Lord more and more every day and to lay my burdens at his feet.. I will sure keep trying as this is the only way to my mind for inner peace. Thanks
Hi Curt,
Thanks once more for being honest about your self , thoughts and desires,you stir up the desire to love Christ and others and be conformed to the perfect image of our Lord.
With more of God”s grace that knowledge will turn to love For Jesus and others in lifes experiences. I have found in my own life I remember the experiences longer.