KNOWLEDGE and REVELATION

      Knowledge is the product of the mind’s labors of absorbing facts and the learning and memorizing the symbols of words that have no meaning in and of themselves. We attach all meaning to these facts and words. Remember PRINCIPLE FOUR: FACTS, EXPERIENCES AND THINGS HAVE NO MEANING—THEY CAN ONLY SUGGEST MEANINGS.


     We actually are the god of our own world! The bubble world in which we live is truly the world of our own knowledge, the world of our own making.  How is this working out? The poor, the weak, the down-trodden, the broken in body and spirit see more clearly than the rich, the beautiful, the famous, the intellectual, the healthy and the self-disciplined because they have come to realize that being god-like does not work out well. This realization can lead to revelation.


 What is the difference between knowledge and revelation?


     There are two significant words in the Greek language for knowledge: “Gnosis”[1] and “Oida.”[2] Sometimes these words seem to be used interchangeably, yet they have distinct differences in their concepts of the realities these symbols represent. “Gnosis” slightly favors the mere head knowledge of the thing, whereas, “Oida” slightly favors the experience, the realization of the reality of the thing.  For example: anyone can “gnosis” another person just as our driver’s license knows: knowing height, weight, eye and hair color and date of birth. No one would ever suggest that knowing these facts about anyone would in any way mean that we really know “oida” them in any intimate and meaningful way. Through years of friendship one can get to “oida” another person. A policeman holding your driver’s license can “gnosis” you in moments.
      In the same way feeding from the tree of knowledge will never enable us to get to know God in an intimate and meaningful way. We might learn much about God, but we can never gain the personal knowledge “OF” God. The knowledge attained “ABOUT” God better represents “gnosis” and the personal knowledge “OF” God better represents “oida.”
      The ONLY way to learn “OF” God is to be in God’s PRESENCE, reading God's WORD and listening to God's VOICE. In God’s presence and through God's word we can hear God’s voice and begin to see God’s mighty outstretched arm in all aspects of our lives. Notice the subtle difference in just three words “obey his voice” in the following portion of scripture.

“And when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God has driven you, and return to the Lord your God, you and your children, and obey his voice in all that I command you today, with all your heart and with all your soul, then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have mercy on you, and he will gather you again from all the peoples where the Lord your God has scattered you.” (Deuteronomy 30:1–3, ESV)

      The emphasis in this passage is on the hearing and obeying God’s voice where a presence is both assumed and necessary. Moses spent most of his time in God’s presence in the tent of meeting where the SHEKINAH (shinning presence) of God dwelt.
      Why is this so important? Let us now try to put this in perspective. Feeding on the tree of knowledge will only increase data about God. With that data Adam’s spirit within us all will attempt to “DO” the right thing (obey) in our own power and strength—further separating ourselves from the power and strength and presence of God. Man will only know the strength and power and life of man. Feeding at the tree of life, that is, remaining at the very presence of God, we can hear God’s voice and know the power of God’s very life and strength within us—vitally connecting us with the presence of the living God. This is revelation!


This is true obedience!


     The revelation[3] of God in and through us is God's great purpose and plan for the children of God:

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.  For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing (apocalypse) of the sons of God.  Romans 8:18–19 (ESV)

But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. 1 Peter 4:13–14 (ESV)

      These verses denote a personal presence of God within us, the children of God, revealed through our present troubles and sufferings. If we the child of God continue to feed from the TREE of LIFE, God's beauty, strength, power and presence will be revealed through us! This is personal. This is intimate! This is true knowledge!

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. Romans 8:28–29 (ESV)

      Although these verses do not specifically use the word "apocalypse" (reveal or revelation), they clearly state the grand purpose of God the Father, which is to conform all of His children into the image (likeness) of His Son. This is our end state. In other words, we are destined to reveal God's beauty more and more until "until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge[4] of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ" Ephesians 4:13 (ESV) 

     If one's purpose in the study of theology is the pursuit of knowledge then God's power and presence will be forfeited. Theology in and of itself often fails at the task of getting to “oida” God. If the knowledge “ABOUT” God “gnosis” is the goal, then the intimacy of God’s presence will never be realized. WHY? Because this effort is feeding from the tree of knowledge still and not feeding from the tree of life! Remember: feeding from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil IS what separated us from the LIVING GOD!

      May the beauty of God's presence be REVEALED in us all!


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[1]   γνῶσις (gnōsis); from 1097; a knowing, knowledge:—knowing(1), knowledge(27), understanding way(1).
[2]   οἶδα (oida); perf. of 1491a; to have seen or perceived, hence to know:—appreciate(1), aware(3), become learned(1), conscious*(1), having a knowledge(1), knew(16), knew … about(1), know(216), know about(1), know how(9), knowing(36), known(4), known about(1), knows(15), knows how(1), realize(1), realizing(2), recognize(3), unaware*(1), understand(5), understanding(1).
[3]   ἀποκαλύπτω apokaluptō; to uncover, reveal:—reveal(5), revealed(20), revelation is made (NASB Dictionaries)
[4]    ἐπιγινώσκω epiginōskō; from 1909 and 1097; to know exactly, to recognize:—acknowledge(1), ascertain(2), aware(2), find(1), found(2), fully known(1), know(7), know fully(1), known(2), knows(1), learned(3), perceiving(1), realized(1), recognize(5), recognized(6), recognizing(1), take note(1), taking note(1), understand(3), understood(1), well-known(1). 1922. ἐπίγνωσις epignōsis; from 1921; recognition, knowledge:—acknowledge*(1), knowledge(14), real knowledge(1), true knowledge(4). NASB Dictionaries