Faith and knowledge/s
Faith and knowledge/s
Because we know in more ways than one
Pre
In the next article, we will read about how the apostolic community of the New Covenant has received new knowledge. How God has touched them in this area, how God has opened their eyes and how this will result, affect our age that will lead all believers = the Church into the age of discernment.
I.
In general, the apostles used to say: "knowledge" when they mention the teaching of the Word, the Gospel, and the acquired knowledge.
1 Timothy 2:3-4
...This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.Ezek 18:23; 2 Pet 3:9;
...This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
In this light, they warn against false doctrines or trends, here e.g. Gnosticism:
1 Timothy 6:20-21
O Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you. Avoid the irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called “knowledge,” {gnosys} for by professing it some have swerved from the faith.
O Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you. Avoid the irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called “knowledge,” {gnosys} for by professing it some have swerved from the faith.
Knowledge has moral consequences, both in individual and communal life:
Rom 15:14
I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another...
I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another...
Col 2:1-2
I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ...
I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ...
II.
The latter idea already links "knowledge" with "knowledge of God".
Knowing God is the key to life. We can navigate the Scriptures with earthly and intellectual knowledge, but it is the person of God, and more specifically his holy Spirit, that brings us from inner understanding to inner knowledge: intimate communion with God.
Knowing God is the key to life. We can navigate the Scriptures with earthly and intellectual knowledge, but it is the person of God, and more specifically his holy Spirit, that brings us from inner understanding to inner knowledge: intimate communion with God.
1John 2:3-6
And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.
And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.
1 John 2:5-6
..whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him:Jn 13:35 whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked. John 13:15;1 Peter 2:21;
..whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him:
It is seldom said that Judaism does not share this knowledge of God possessed by Christians. The apostles engaged in open confrontations over this, often culminating in physical abuse. Meanwhile: Their devotion and love did not prevent them from holding fast to the New Covenant and sharing the message with the Jewish nation:
Rom 10:1-2
Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.→Acts 22:3; Rom 9:31; Gal 4:17;
Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.
In contrast, the apostolic heart actively supports the believer's growth through doctrine (i.e., the epistles) once they already have The Knowledge of God.
Right doctrine is important if it is grounded in a holy spirit. It is interesting that it is not the "intellectual" Apostle Paul, but John, who writes these:
Right doctrine is important if it is grounded in a holy spirit. It is interesting that it is not the "intellectual" Apostle Paul, but John, who writes these:
1 John 2:13-15
I write to you, children,
because you know the Father.
I write to you, fathers,
because you know s him who is from the beginning.
I write to you, young men,
because you are strong,
and the word of God abides in you,
and you have overcome the evil one.
I write to you, children,
because you know the Father.
I write to you, fathers,
because you know s him who is from the beginning.
I write to you, young men,
because you are strong,
and the word of God abides in you,
and you have overcome the evil one.
And Paul, who is our very wise brother, writes:
Philippians 3:8-9
I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ..Isa 53:11; Jer 9:23-24; John 17:3; Col 2:2;
I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ..
2 Cor 2:14-15
...thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishingCol 1:27;
...thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing
III.
Finally, I would like to point out one of the very decisive, fundamental base of the apostolic authority, the way in which the apostolic person sees, lives and practices both knowledge and imparts it in everything.
2Cor 11:6
Even if I am unskilled in speaking, I am not so in knowledge; indeed, in every way we have made this plain to you in all things.
Even if I am unskilled in speaking, I am not so in knowledge; indeed, in every way we have made this plain to you in all things.
Therefore, we must warn all who live and act in the so-called "charismatic movement" or in the "conservative culture" of the historic churches that there are several / various kinds of knowledge of Christ, none of which is negligible, and that they work together in the work of the Holy Spirit. If there is no unity, like this, in the life of the believing community, then the spirituality, i.e. The holiness of the spirit, is questionable!
1Cor 12:8-9
To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit... etc.
To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit... etc.
Then after this exposition comes "the Hymn of Love" where it is explicitly described:
1Cor 13:2.8-11
2.. if I have a prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
...
As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.
2.. if I have a prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
...
As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.
We must therefore encourage everyone to leave the underage lifestyle and respect and love their fellow brother or sister. Respect the gifts and calling within. Love the person.
Sum
To sum up, the new Covenant community has moved beyond the world of doctrines and conditional ties, stepped into the active Kingdom. ...With the arrival of Jesus Christ, the Word became flesh and dwelt among them, (Jn 1:14) they could see its light and its glory - salvation was no longer a theory but a reality. Incarnate message / communication.
Yeshua, the "salvation of God", Himself promised the Holy Spirit, He Himself opened the eyes of the disciples. He Himself ascended into Heaven and by sending the Spirit the Church could enter into this penultimate age we are in.
From the work of the apostles it is evident that they were in full union with the knowledge of God, both in a natural practical way and in a supernatural way.
If we cultivate this, we not only cultivate the various gifts, but we also build each other up in every dimension and so cultivate the whole divine plan.
Yeshua, the "salvation of God", Himself promised the Holy Spirit, He Himself opened the eyes of the disciples. He Himself ascended into Heaven and by sending the Spirit the Church could enter into this penultimate age we are in.
From the work of the apostles it is evident that they were in full union with the knowledge of God, both in a natural practical way and in a supernatural way.
If we cultivate this, we not only cultivate the various gifts, but we also build each other up in every dimension and so cultivate the whole divine plan.
So the Heb 8:8-11 is being fulfilled:
“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, Jer 31:31-34
not like the covenant that I made with their fathers... {but like this:}
I will put my laws into their minds,
and write them on their hearts,
and I will be their God,
and they shall be my people.
And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.”Jer 31:33; Zak 8:8;
not like the covenant that I made with their fathers... {but like this:}
I will put my laws into their minds,
and write them on their hearts,
and I will be their God,
and they shall be my people.
And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.”
Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Related articles:
Unmatured life vs. Grace:
- The end of the Law
- Two different eras
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Unmatured life vs. Grace:
- The end of the Law
- Two different eras
- The Divine Path of Teaching
- 3 weak segments..
HU
