Knowledge and Knowledge

FAITHFUL " Yea, if a man have all knowledge, he may yet be nothing, and so, consequently, be no child of God (I Cor 13:2). When Christ said, 'Do you know all these things?' and the disciples had answered, 'Yes,' He addeth, 'Blessed are ye, if ye do them.' He doth not lay the blessing in the knowing of them, but in the doing of them. For there is a knowledge that is not attended with doing: 'He that knoweth his master's will, and doeth it not.' 

A man may know like an angel, and yet be no Christian; therefore your sign of it is not true. Indeed, to know is a thing that pleaseth talkers and boasters; but to do is that which pleaseth God. Not that the heart can be good without knowledge, for without that the heart is naught. There is, therefore, knowledge and knowledge - knowledge that resteth in the bare speculation of things, and knowledge that is accompanied with the grace of faith and love, which puts upon a man upon doing even the will of God from the heart: the first of these will serve the talker; but without the other, the true Christian is not content."

Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan (1628-1688)

Faithful talks about two types of knowledge: the superficial one and the real one. The one with superficial knowledge is like a Pharisee, who may give unto God abundant praise adorned with fanciful embellishment from an empty heart, because the knowledge is deemed exclusive from application in real life. An ex-mentor of mine said that it is important to let youths understand and appreciate that God's Word is real and keenly intertwined with our lives. "Application", he said. I find this a very important truth, that it is best we turn superficial knowledge (when/if we have it) into real wisdom while we are young, as Ps 90:12 and Eccl 12:1 teach of the need to use time profitably. Superficial knowledge can be springboard for a person to go either one of the two near-extremities: emotionalism (as seemingly encountered by numerous friends) or self-righteousness (personal experience).


Emotionalism: I feel God


God is a spirit, and so we need to worship with our hearts (John 4:24), which is important for the soul (ref Prov 4:23). This is a really wonderful requirement because the Holy Spirit is able to work within us: worshipping the Lord gives us joy, seeking solace from God gives us peace and sharing frustration with God gives patience. We can boldly say we are the children of God and are participants of the mutual love-ship between God and us. Pure rituals of any kind as a substitute for this requirement to offer our heart (and its emotions) to God just will not work because it will divorce the very need for our hearts to be involved when we are in fellowship with God.

Yet some given too much emphasis on the emotional aspect, claiming that feelings are all that is in our relationship with God. Worship sessions are highly charged, but followed by an afterward sleeping pose in preparation for the sermon. Daily experiences are seen to involve supernatural/miraculous elements, and sometimes some claim that they have visions of God, the casual attitude and its credibility of which John MacArthur questions because of the people's intrinsic utter fear and respect when God, the Almighty and the Holy One, appeared to them in the Bible. When emotional involvement with our Lord becomes emotionalistic involvement, I think it can be dangerous that one's overemphasis on the abstract can be used to deceive and blind himself from the stains on his spiritual garment, when God wants us to persevere in the process of sanctification. Some claim they do not go to church, do not have their daily spiritual Quiet Time bread, do not see the need to cut off smoking and incessant clubbing, alongside other behaviours that God clearly expressed His abomination for in His Word, with emotionalistic defences that only set up barbed wires on the path to being closer with Him. If we have such knowledge of sensitive, emotional experiences that is only used to prevent ourselves from doing the things He actually wants us to, this knowledge becomes superficial and barren.

Self-Righteousness: I know God better than they do


Then here's the other extreme: studying so diligently and knowing God's Word so well that some uphold their own Pharisaic knowledge as being superior over others' faith. While well-equipped on the Biblical knowledge, these fervent students run their own ships into the rocks of arrogance and pride, which easily leads to self-righteousness and a consequent judgement of others from a self-assumed moral vantage point. As in James 4, God resists the proud, people who are unwilling to submit themselves under God's will. Going to this other extreme defeats the purpose of discovering God's revelation to us through His Word.

I'm reminded of Jesus' parable of the tax collector and the Pharisee (Luke 18:9-14). The Pharisee chose to pray aloud in the public so that people may see his piety and praise Him. 'God, I thank you, that I am not like the rest of men, extortioners, unrighteous, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week. I give tithes of all that I get.’ For the one who is convinced of his righteousness and thus despises others, Jesus says that he will be 'abased' (AKJV). When our Lord said that our righteousness must exceed that of the Pharisees (Matt 5:20), He meant to exceed the superficial knowledge, that which is purely applicable to the head and filtered away from the heart.

Finding the Balance --> Real knowledge

Real knowledge is God's wisdom, a treasure map that Christians seek so as to know God's will. Faithful says that real knowledge is knowledge accompanied by the 'grace of faith and love', resulting in the application of it 'from the heart'. In this way, the two extremities are avoided and we can find ourselves being a Christian with committed passion and diligent and thirst to know Him through His Word. As the Singaporean version of the saying goes, 'Whoa, can kill two birds with one stone leh, like buy one get one free', Christian love and duty, emotions and logic can come together. God's Word is alive and is thus fully applicable to our everyday lives. It won't make do that one is greatly emotionalistic but doesn't apply God's teachings in his life; it won't make do also, if he puts himself on the altar for being able to ritualistically practise God's teachings, overlooking the importance of the heart. In Matthew 6-7, Jesus illustrated the balance well: neither the law nor the heart are lesser than each other (5:17, 22, 28, 44, 6:18). Therefore, in having real knowledge, God's wisdom, is to apply what is learnt, with the heart and the head.

I know I didn't talk about the body. But here's another picture to sum it all up teehee!