Knowledge
Summary
The understanding and awareness of facts, truths, and principles, highly valued in Scripture as both a gift from God and a responsibility requiring wisdom in its application.
☩Knowledge of Good and Evil
The concept of knowledge first appears in Scripture with the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden. God prohibited Adam and Eve from eating its fruit, warning that in the day they ate from it they would surely die. The serpent's temptation centered on the promise that eating the fruit would make them "like God, knowing good and evil." After their disobedience, God acknowledged that "the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil." This narrative establishes knowledge as both a divine attribute and a potential danger when pursued apart from obedience to God.
☩The Value of Knowledge
Scripture presents knowledge as highly valuable when properly understood and applied. Solomon asked God for wisdom and knowledge to govern Israel, and God commended his request. The Proverbs repeatedly extol the pursuit of knowledge, stating that "by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches" and "a wise man is strong, and a man of knowledge increases power." The prophets lamented Israel's destruction "for lack of knowledge" and their rejection of the knowledge of God. Yet knowledge must be paired with wisdom and love, for "knowledge puffs up, but love builds up."
☩Knowledge of God
The supreme form of knowledge in Scripture is the knowledge of God Himself. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge," and to know Him is eternal life. This knowledge is not merely intellectual but relational—an intimate awareness of God's character and ways. Through the prophets, God promised a day when "the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea." Christ came to reveal the Father, and the apostles taught that growing in the knowledge of God produces godly character and fruitfulness.
Related Verses174 mentions
References
- 1.James Orr (ed.), "Knowledge," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. III (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).
- 2.James Hastings (ed.), "Knowledge," in Dictionary of the Apostolic Church, vol. I (T. & T. Clark, 1915–1918).
- 3.James Hastings (ed.), "Knowledge," in Dictionary of Christ and the Gospels, vol. I (T. & T. Clark, 1906–1908).
- 4.John McClintock and James Strong, "Knowledge," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. V (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).