No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. 1 Corinthians 2:11 (NLT)
No one likes a know-it-all.
Well, as a teacher, I actually do love it, in part, when a student knows all the answers. But when only one person is answering all the questions, I usually ask that student to give the others a chance. I need to see if anyone else knows the information. Do the rest not know, or do they just need a little more time? Are they just shy about answering out loud? Often people know more than they let on. Perhaps they don’t want to come off like a know-it-all.
Indeed the apostle Paul made the point over and over in the book of First Corinthians that we should not be prideful about our knowledge. If I have knowledge but not love, “I am nothing,” (13:2). Love is much more important because it edifies, whereas knowledge puffs up (8:1).
But is this to say that knowledge doesn’t matter? In Hosea 4:1-2 (NLT), the prophet said:
O people of Israel!
The LORD has brought charges against you, saying:
“There is no faithfulness, no kindness,
no knowledge of God in your land.
You make vows and break them;
you kill and steal and commit adultery.
There is violence everywhere—
one murder after another.
God’s complaint was really with the priests who were supposed to be teaching the law to the people. Notice what happened when they failed to do that job. For lack of knowledge of God and His will, the people descended into wickedness.
Would love have fixed the problem?
I think we would have to say yes, but why was their love for God and for their neighbor diminished? It seems to be for lack of knowledge.
You see, it is possible to have knowledge without love, and Paul says that’s no good. But it is NOT possible to love correctly without knowledge. Oh we can have feelings of love toward this person or that person; but without knowledge, that love becomes subject to our own selfish whims.
There can be knowledge without love, but we cannot love correctly without knowledge.
There’s no getting around it. People must be taught. Children naturally feel love, but they are also naturally selfish. They must be taught— to be honest, to share, to refrain from violence. As adults, we need to be taught too, and frequently reminded.
When we claim love and give up serious study of God’s word, we are making a grave mistake.
I understand that the Bible is a big book and can be intimidating. Someone who picks it up and starts trying to read it straight through may give up in boredom as early as Genesis 5. But this is a marathon, not a sprint. Long-time Christians should not be content with only a handful of verses at their command. They should have at least a basic command of the sections of the Bible and its historical timeline; of the themes of key books; of all the topics that Jesus addressed; of all the instructions of the epistles. This takes very consistent study that dives deeper over time. Without it, we are doomed to view God through the lens of our own opinions.
Because the only alternative to serious consistent Bible study is to guess. To assume. To draw our own conclusions from the few verses we know well. But this does not produce knowledge. It amounts to “lack of knowledge,” and Hosea tells us where that will lead. Continuing with the context from above, God said in Hosea 4:6 (NKJV), “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.”
If we truly love God, we will want to know what He has revealed to us, and we will want to know it well. It’s not about being a know-it-all to impress the Teacher or one another. It’s just part of how we walk worthy.
..that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. Colossians 1:10
Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for revealing Your will to us so that we can know how You want us to live. Help us to be committed to increasing in knowledge of You through your holy word. Enable us by Your Holy Spirit to live it out in love, and over time may it shape us into the image of Your Son. In His name we pray, Amen.
Related Reading:
Walk Worthy 