Knowledge is Power
Knowledge is Power or at least that is what Reading Rainbow and even this catchy clip form School House Rock, developed by our great late Uncle Dorough taught us!
One could argue that much of the distention that we experience in our world today is rooted in the desire to express one’s knowledge, or to be blunt, pride. Theologically, this is considered imperialism. Although imperialism is defined as a forceful imputation of a states or country’s policies over another territory, to put it candidly, “my way is what I believe is the best way, and I am going to force you in to believing it and living it.” Knowledge is an incredible attribute, but we must understand that knowledge can exist without wisdom, but wisdom cannot exist without knowledge.
The life offered to mankind through a relationship with God is an endless source of wisdom and knowledge, but our bent, where we get this wrong, is when we continually take God out of everything we do, seek obtain our own knowledge formed through life experiences and feelings, and impute that knowledge from our very narrow experience on to each other. Tragically, we will at times call this “love” or worse yet find passages of scripture that sound similar and use them as a weapon as an attempt to control or condemn.
If this has happened to you, let me say, I’m sorry, very sorry. There is nothing that can be more confusing and damaging that saying one thing, especially in the name of Jesus Christ, but experiencing something that deep in our spirit that tells us something isn’t right.
The call to follow Jesus will challenge every motive we may have, and he flat our tells us we must die to who we are in order to experience true life, real life, sustainable life, impactful life. Following Jesus will cost us our life all of our own knowledge, but in exchange we will access to an endless supply of wisdom.
Matthew 16:25. “For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.” Signed: Jesus…
The Bible has much to say about knowledge, but this knowledge is less about knowing a subject matter and more about knowing Jesus. It is through knowing him that we may know the true source of life. Although maybe not the best analogy, it’s like reading the last chapter of a book or knowing the ending of a movie before starting from the beginning in order that the unfolding of the entire story makes sense as we journey through it. Knowing Jesus and understanding our purpose in his great plan, changes everything.
As a Jesus follower, what do we do then with passages such as Colossians 3:10 that states we are to “put on” the new self which is being renewed in the knowledge of it’s creator? Or Ephesians 4:22-24 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
God is by no means a controlling God, no matter what your theology says. He wouldn’t. He wants true worshipers. Don’t you only want relationships with people who genuinely choose to be in your life?
But a time is coming, and even now has arrived, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. John 4:23
Furthermore, 2 Peter 1:3 again reveals what is available to us simply through “knowledge” of who Jesus is. “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.”
There are many other passages that bring into clarity the fact that a born-again believer is brand new creation, washed clean through the purification of the blood of Jesus, not lacking anything. This is the rub we have with our own understanding and knowledge according to what the Bible says. Statements about mankind having the identity of a sinner or being deceitfully wicked, even after a commitment to give one’s entire life to Jesus, flood the arguments in and outside of churches and determine much of our own motives of evangelism and discipleship efforts.
The scriptures make it clear that a blood bought, born again Jesus follower has been purified from the inside out and spiritually has been restored to his/her original state of being. It is then only through the knowledge of this spiritual reality that our minds begin to understand this and get on board. Neurological pathways are recreated and our desperate need to know God and to be known by God completely makes sense.
Knowledge is still power, but it’s not human reasoning knowledge that is the source of power, it’s through the knowledge of Jesus Christ himself that can flip our entire world upside down.
What Jesus has done to restore what was lost, the heavenly gifts and attributes that are available to us, and the profound life full of knowledge and wisdom that is at our fingertips is ours if we can allow our theology to get there. The purpose of humanity exists to be the same as it was in Eden. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” Genesis 1:28
Our purpose, my purpose, your purpose has always been to be representatives of God’s good, wise, knowledgeable character and to bring forth life in everything we set our hands to fulfill the glorification of God’s good name.
It’s only through knowing the King of Kings that we can truly know ourselves-another Upside-Down Kingdom attribute…and then more we get to know him, the more revered he becomes to us. When Paul wrote to the Philippians Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God which worketh in you both to will and to work, for his good pleasure.—Php 2:12-13 he was describing the deeply loyal and loving response to God’s love that compels us to live in such ways that honor, pursue, and glorify his good, good name.
Salvation is the gift of eternal life with God found only through the receiving of the purification of our hearts by means of the blood of a perfect sacrifice found in Jesus Christ. Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6. Someone who doesn’t believe in God, has walked away from the faith, or has a hard time wrestling with portions of scripture may tend to think much of this is crazy talk. I can understand that. I would challenge you though, and ask if you have given a sincere effort to seek out Jesus? Jesus Christ, the word, the way, the rock, the living water, the bread of life, the redeemer, the healer, the tree of life, the one who was, is and is to come? Have you opened your heart to allowing any pain to be revealed so that healing can be fostered and clarity to see things as there can happen? Have you laid aside the responsibility of knowing scripture to fall only on a pastor, priest, professor, and given Jesus an opportunity reveal himself truly as he is to you?
I’m going to let those questions just settle, and say that this is a larger foundation to lay in order to get the some tricky passages in the Bible.
If it’s true that only through knowing Jesus, that we find true knowledge then what did Jesus mean when he said “Truly I tell you, I did not know you?” Although throughout scripture there is multiple times that Jesus makes this statement, the two most recognizable accounts are in Matthew 7 and Matthew 25.
Matthew 7:21-23
Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’
Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness!’
These groundbreaking statements came after the most profound message ever given, or what many know of as the Sermon on the Mount. This message brings to life the intrinsic design found in the creation of a heart that is designed to bear the image of God. This is the written word of the revelation of the Law and the prophets. Even today, this message pierces the ears and hearts of anyone who crosses it’s path and makes clear any false motives that may be within us and as Jesus is working his way through his closing statements, he is saying that many will do things that seemingly are for him, but their hearts, or our hearts, are motivated to do these things for other reasons.
This type of “knowing” is part of our original design and we first learn about it in Genesis 4:1 when Adam knew Eve. Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten a man with the help of the LORD.” Some translations even say “had relations” with his wife Eve. The word picture of “knowing” in this context is at the deepest, most intimate level. It is a depth of love that connects two people in ways that nothing else can. It is physical, emotional, and spiritual all at the same time and it is so sacred that our devotion should be to protect and honor it at all costs.
There is a statement made by Jesus recorded in Matthew 25 about knowing or being known, but this account may be a bit more challenging to understand and appears to have the opposite connotation than Genesis 4:1 of Adam knowing Eve. Matthew 25:1-13
Let’s dig in…
“Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. “Five of them were foolish, and five were prudent. “For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the prudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps. “Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep. “But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ “Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. “The foolish said to the prudent, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ “But the prudent answered, ‘No, there will not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ “And while they were going away to make the purchase, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was shut. “Later the other virgins also came, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open up for us.’ “But he answered, ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you.’ “Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.
Here we have ten virgins, a bridegroom, and lamps with oil. We see that half of them seemed to get it right, and half didn’t. Who got it wrong and how did it happen?
Let’s back up in Matthew and look at another account where a statement like this is made and see if we can find a commonality.
Matthew 7:21-23
Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’
Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness!’
In this earlier recording found in Matthew 7, we may tend to see this account like someone who is further down the disciple journey, maybe someone who has followed Jesus for some time now and is doing the work of the Kingdom of God while the later account found in Matthew 25 could possibly be someone younger. Someone who has yet to marry and kept themselves pure for marriage. Either way, some of them got it right and some didn’t.
To consecrate oneself is to make a conscious decision to be completely dedicated through time, talents, and treasures, to following a way of thinking or living. In other words, to be completely set apart. The Bible is a story of covenant relationships. Covenant relationships require a conscious decision of two parties to be completely dedicated to each other, mind, body, and spirit. God is a covenant keeping God, but we see that there are unconditional covenants, as in the faithfulness of God, his patience, abounding in love, those that define the character of God. But we also see conditional covenants, those that require action from both parties.
When Jesus begins the Sermon on the Mount and begins with “Blessed are those…” the word blessed is translated from makários which means “God extending his benefits”. To put it plainly, when we commit ourselves wholly to God, we experience the profound benefits of being part of his family. It requires our commitment first, but this is also where we find ourselves stuck. We often will abuse grace and say that being fully committed in all areas of life is legalistic and we serve a God of grace and often quote Ephesians 2:8-9. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. To which I cannot argue that there was an incredible amount of grace that has been lavished upon both you and I over our lives. The selfish, self-seeking decisions we make as humans have created to state of depravity many of us experience today, but it’s not a license to keep living as though we have no knowledge of this beautiful gift either.
What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Romans 6:1-2
If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Hebrews 10:26-27
From the very beginning, God has simply been asking for our heart. All of it. And it’s that simple, truly.
Everything in our lives flows from that commitment or lack thereof and what we experience in life is hinged on how close or how far from God we are. We could never save ourselves, simply because we don’t have the power to wash away our own sins, only God can do that, but we can stay fully committed and live completely in the new identity that the blood of Jesus has offered us. "I was lost, but now am found, I was a sinner, but he now calls me a saint, I was a prodigal, but now I am a son or daughter."
If your theology believes that the Bible teaches a literal “new heaven and new earth” upon the coming age and a rapture of souls when Jesus appears with vengeance, thunder, and fire to right all wrongs, then one will be motivated to get as many people “saved” as possible. We will have conversations and sermons that are focused on reminding a person that they are a deceitful sinner, and they have a choice to choose Jesus or burn forever in a lake of fire never being quenched.
If your theology believes that the Bible begins with Eden and ends with Eden in a “renewed heaven and earth”, we begin to see and understand the faithful remanent of God as divine representatives of God’s kingdom here on Earth living in ways that express God’s character and power through submittance of his spirit.
I submit to you Jesus’s statements…
Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. John 5:9
If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” John 14:7
Following Jesus doesn’t simply mean believing in Jesus. Even satan would be considered a Christian if that was the case. It means to know him deeply, be known by him, do as he did, and know and live out his teachings. Jesus was our example of a faithful remnant and now as we see in 2 Peter, simply through knowing Jesus, we have the same opportunity that the original priestly representatives, Adam and Eve, to live as representatives of God’s ambassadors to the rest of the world. “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.” 2 Peter 1:3
That was a long journey to get back to Matthew 7 and Matthew 25, but a necessary one. I commend you if you’ve made it this far, but foundations are integral. The ten “virgins” in this parable are the pure and undefiled children of God, washed clean by the blood of Jesus. They are representatives of those who have committed their lives to the Lord and have received forgiveness of their sins.
“as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” Psalm 103:12
“Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. Isaiah 1:18
The virgins are also those who have chosen to “consecrate” themselves, to set themselves apart from the ways of the world. It’s a cognitive decision to be completely committed to knowing God and to be known by God. This does not mean sin will not happen in our lives, but no longer do we identify as a sinner just as much as we do not identify with any allegiances except Christ as King, in any area of life.
The lamps in this parable represent the Torah. Check out the passages below.
Your word (Torah) is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. Psalm 119:105
For this command (Torah) is a lamp, this teaching is a light, and correction and instruction are the way to life, Proverbs 6:23
Proverbs 3
My son, do not forget my teaching, (Torah)
but let your heart keep my commandments; for they will add length to your days, years and peace to your life. Never let loving devotion or faithfulness leave you; bind them around your neck,
write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will find favor and high regard
in the sight of God and man.
“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” John 14:15
What we see here is a clear line in the sand of knowing about Jesus and knowing Jesus. Jesus encompasses everything that is good, perfect, righteous, and holy and we learn more of who he is by not simply experiential means, but through the written word.
John 1:1-5
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
If the lamp is the Torah, and the Torah is the righteousness of life found in written form authored by Jesus Christ, then could it be that the oil in our lamps is not simply the knowledge of the Word, but a representation of the condition of our hearts to not simply be hearers of the word, but also doers as stated in James 1:22? Pondering this question also leads us to Jesus’ parable of the condition of the soil that the seeds fall on found in Matthew 13. “But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” Matthew 13:23
The ”dealers” of the law could simply mean those who teach. The virgins who kept their “lamps lit” could be charger those who didn’t to “go back and learn about this man Jesus!” but the reality is, they already had that chance in their life to put forth this kind of loving devotion to God, but time ran out.
There is a lot to consider here, and I don’t believe creating too many grey areas is proper hermeneutics, so I want to be cautious of presenting variables, but what we do know is clear is that God is seeking a reciprocal relationship with his most favored creation, mankind. Life ebbs and flows, and our plans can change in an instant.
In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps.
Proverbs 16:9
I was for a long time enamored with the hippy movement of the 60’s and 70’s, a revolt of the many wars America embarked in and a direct response to the controversial Vietnam war. I found myself with a “hippy heart” for many years. “It’s all about love, maaaaan!” It is all about love, man, but man’s love and God’s love can be quite different. As much as I love hippies, ya’ll swung the pendulum way too far to the other side! The God of the Bible is a God of order not chaos, peace not confusion. His law, or Torah, is not legalistic, but a representation of his good order and incredible love that sets himself apart from any other deity or false God and his children are called and created to be a direct representation of that goodness. For many of us, we have an acute knowledge of how we lived completely contrary to this design and are humbly away that the opportunity to represent the King of Kings, to be adopted into this family, makes absolutely no sense, but to squander this amazing grace would also be false humility.
I’ll leave you with Revelation 22:14
“Blessed (“God extending his benefits”. Definition added) are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city.
Today, child of God, let us consider if we know Jesus as scripture says, “Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” John 7:38.
Only then can we find ourselves known by God. He will not force us into a devoted relationship, but he jealously longs to have it with us. At the end, it still may come down to whether we have spent our time seeking to know him or to simply be benefited by him. God knows our motives. The question is have we allowed God to reveal to us our motives? Today, let us consider the gift we have in his word and the reality that there isn’t a storm in life that can take us under if rooted in the solid, unshakable foundation of his character that is deeply embedded in our hearts through his word. We, if the mantle of ministry and the cross of our old lives are picked up, have an incredibly easy and powerful yolk to bear as divine representatives of such a powerfully subversive Kingdom that can uproot the deceptive powers of this world and draw others into the family they were designed for.
Let us choose today to be led by the lighted lamp of the Word, with jars full of heavenly anointed oil in elated, patient anticipation of the bridegroom. The one who was, is, and is to come. The gift we can give today is worship with our lives while still not having all the answers. This won’t be available to us once all is revealed. Each moment of our day is an opportunity to live the reality of a redeemed life.
“May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.” Psalm 19:14
