I had an opportunity to visit my daughter, Rachel, while I was in Seattle. She is stationed at the Whidbey Island Navel Air Station. Here she is with the kind of jets that fly in her squadron. She will be going back to deployment in a few months.
She’s a great woman, nearly 20, and growing up too fast. If you think of it, please pray for her. She is holding Christian values in a very tough world. I already miss her.
that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding. Colossians 1:9 NASB
Knowledge – One of the Greek words for knowledge is gnosis. There was an ancient sect called the Gnostics. They believed in secret knowledge. Both of these words, gnosis and Gnostic have made their way into English. They now mean mystical religious beliefs. In fact, there are still secret knowledge religions around today – religions that are based entirely on the concept that knowledge is power. But the Bible does not teach that knowledge is power. The Bible teaches that wisdom is power and knowledge is the means to gain wisdom. Wisdom does not come from Man’s reason but from God’s revelation. That doesn’t mean that we abandon reason and opt for “the Spirit told me.” God uses the rational capacity given to men to bring about understanding and action. But reason is not the final arbiter of truth. It does a man no good at all to be filled with knowledge if it does not lead him to wisdom, spiritual understanding and action. All the degrees on the wall can’t make a man into the character of Christ – and those degrees can’t rid a man of his guilt either. I know.
The word in this verse has a little Greek prefix added to it. Here it is epignosis. This tiny word epi adds intensity. It makes the idea stronger. Paul is not saying that he prays for the believer to be filled with knowledge. He is saying that he prays for the believer to be stuffed full. He prays that this knowledge will overflow. He prays that the dam of your mind will break under all that you learn of God. He wants you to be completely saturated so that every fiber of your being is drenched with God’s wisdom and understanding. That’s how you will know what God has in mind for you.
How will you experience this extra knowledge? Well, if you’re part of the first century rabbinic worldview, you discover all the extra that God has in mind by doing what He says. That’s right, understanding follows obedience. To know the will of the Father is to first do what He asks right now. Greek education offers information so that you can pass the exam at the end of the course. God asks for obedience so that you can stay in the class today. Greek thinking focuses on the goal, the end of the information. Hebrew focuses on the path, the next step in the right direction.
So what kind of knowledge are you seeking? God’s will is right in front of your face, in that next tiny, tiny thing that you need to do. It’s much easier to always look over the horizon at the final objective. “Over the horizon” vision means we don’t have to pay attention to those tiny obstacles at our feet. But then we usually trip, don’t we?
Topical Index: knowledge, epignosis, Colossians 1:9, reason
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