When I was a teenager in high school, my brother tricked me in a very mischievous way. When I wasn’t paying attention, he seized my cell phone and changed the name of his own contact to the name of a girl that I liked at the time. This resulted in a deceptive series of messages that I thought were originating from a girl that I liked, when actually they were being sent from my brother who was essentially sitting next to me in the same room. He watched me as my eyes lit up when I thought I was being pursued by my crush. He withheld information from me that allowed him to exert a level of control.
I suppose it’s moments like this why we come into agreement with the wise words from French philosopher Francis Bacon when he coined the term, “knowledge is power.”
I don’t disagree with Francis, but the Lord has brought revelation to my understanding of why knowledge is powerful, and more specifically what knowledge is powerful. You see, our world has conditioned us to believe that knowledge is information to store in our head. That aspect is true and proper, and yet it is an incomplete knowledge. There is another layer of knowledge that exists that is discovered through intimacy experienced in our heart.
The apostle Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 1:18, is that “the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you...”. There is a level of knowledge that goes beyond what we can store in our brain that invites us into the journey of experiencing knowledge with our hearts.
When I married my beautiful bride, Karissa, I began dreaming of becoming a father. I had a level of knowledge in my head that knew that this would be an enjoyable experience. I had thought about it relentlessly. Many people even told me that it’s an amazing time. I had much agreement already before even becoming a father that it was going to be awesome. I knew it with my mind, but nothing could have prepared me for the reality that came from seeing, hearing, and touching my firstborn for the first time. Through engaging physically, emotionally, and spiritually with that little human, what I once knew with my head, I now understood in a much more real and tangible way. What was once theoretical had become a rich and much deeper intimate revelation.
When referring to the verb “to know” the New Testament scriptures employ two primary greek words that get used most of the time in it’s usage. The first one is Oida. The second one is Ginōskō.
Oida refers to the knowledge of facts. You can know and adequately understand the function, purpose, or idea of something with Oida knowledge. The idea of Ginōskō, however, describes the kind of knowledge involved in building an intimate relationship with a person. In some circumstances, the context of ginōskō knowledge in the scriptures has to do with sexual relationships. It’s a level of understanding that head knowledge cannot adequately articulate until it’s experienced.
Ginōskō is the word Jesus chose to describe intimacy between himself and the Father as well as the relationship between himself as the Shepherd and his sheep. It’s personal and life-giving. It’s the difference of knowing about God’s peace, and actually experiencing his peace.
You can examine this distinction in light of 2 Corinthians 5:21. It say’s “God made him who knew no sin to become sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” This verse is not implying that Jesus had an unawareness of sin. Jesus knew what sin was full well, but he chose to have no relationship or personal experience with it.
As a youth pastor I spend much of my time with teenagers. They have more informational knowledge than an encyclopedia. They can recite information to me until my brain is melting. Many of them know much of the Bible and can tell you stories and significant people and dates from it. None of that is wrong. We need solid bible literacy in today’s cultural landscape. As good as it is, it’s incomplete without personal ginōskō revelation and knowledge of Jesus Christ. It’s not because the scriptures are insufficient. They are sufficient! It’s because facts about God are not sustaining young people when the fires and floods come. How can it be that we know so much about God, and yet anxiety, confusion, and depression are at all time highs?
Informational knowledge isolated apart from intimacy knowledge robs you of participating in Christ’s Kingdom with the power that comes with knowing the King. (1 Corinthians 4:20) James reminds us in his letter that even the demons believe and shudder. (2:17) Intimacy with the King, precedes impact in the Kingdom. Are you enjoying fellowship with God beyond just knowing intellectually that he cares for you? Are you allowing him to show you the depths of that truth? Are you taking time to listen to him and then treasuring everything he speaks?
There’s a lot of times where I settle for information about God instead of pursuing intimacy with God. Why? Because quickly storing information about God in my head is much easier than taking the time to get to know Him in relationship. Depending where you live, we even celebrate and applaud man for “knowing” much of what the scriptures say. It’s intimacy with Jesus that gives us courage to step out in faith. It’s intimacy with Jesus where he says he will produce fruit in our lives. It’s intimacy with Jesus that brings forth obedience and surrendered worship. Knowledge about God is important. We need not to lessen its role, but actually knowing God in a personal relationship is even more vital. The knowledge of our minds is meant to draw us deep into the knowledge of our hearts.
Are you willing to look foolish in the eyes of the world in order to pursue love-sick devotion to Jesus? It will cost you something. It has to. The thing is, on the other side, Jesus will show you that what seemed like such a great loss in the moment, pales in comparison to actually knowing Him. He is better! There is a cost of following after Jesus. If the Jesus you are following doesn’t cost you greatly, I would implore you to take a deep look if it’s actually Jesus you are following. He is worthy of being known personally, and his heart burns to know you. I’m longing for a generation that ultimately views not information, but intimacy as power!
For further reflection:
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out many demons and in your name perform many miracles? Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” - Matthew 7:21-23
