Tag Archives: knowledge of God

Tree of Knowledge –Surpasses/Passeth Knowledge

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Ephesians 3: 19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God (KJV); made me realize that there is something “beyond” knowledge. I have said it before, “It is the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, not the tree of good and evil”.  The “knowledge” part is really important.  Use a search tool and look up knowledge in your favorite translation.  

I found Ephesians 3:19 and Jeremiah 10:14, 51:17.  In the KJV the verses in Jeremiah are practically the same – 14 Every man is brutish in his knowledge: every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them; the difference is “by his knowledge”.  In or by, the problem is the false knowledge of what God is like.  Eve chose knowledge and I believe Adam followed Eve because he thought she had something he did not have.  What if they had realized that the love and fellowship with the Father and the love of Christ (Tree of Eternal Life) was better than “just” knowledge? 

Adam and Eve, I believe, were very intelligent.  So, the Snake used the promise of knowledge to lure them into a horrible choice.  Being intelligent does not mean that you will use knowledge correctly.  In Proverbs 8 and 9, contrast Wisdom and Folly as two women who are calling for your attention.

The love of Christ surpasses or goes beyond knowledge. I know it helps you in your daily life.  The “fullness of God” is beyond knowledge and to have all of Him helping you will advance you in your endeavors.  (I will add that following Jesus and seeking Him is the key to that help.)

Oh, “brutish” in Jeremiah, according to Strong’s Concordance, means to consume by fire or EATING. Other translations use a variety of words to capture that thought. But a Mark’s loose translation would be-Every man is consumed by knowledge; then it list idols.

Bible Gateway was my search engine.

To Know God

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To have a greater knowledge of God you can always study more.  This will be a logos word where you can add to your understanding and become familiar with other people’s exploration into who God is and what He does.  Reading more books will also help to expand your knowledge of God.  In these studies you can pick the aspect of God you’re interested in and find many quality books and study-helps that will advance your understanding of God.

Then you could do the WWJD approach.  But here a good foundation in who Jesus is and what He did is required.   After all, if you are asking yourself what would Jesus do you should have read the Gospels several times so you can base your actions on the understanding you have.  One good thing here is if you keep doing it you will grow and change. (I read a post on Facebook recently that said using this approach you should not rule out overturning tables and beating people with a whip.)

I recommend doing what Psalm 46:10 says to do which is Be still and know that I AM God.  The term “be still” has several meanings and can be translated to be silent, be at rest, or to stand one’s ground.  But in Psalm 46:10 it means to be feeble, weakened, or faint.  The term “know” is yada and it means to know by observing, reflecting, or by experiencing something.

This leads back to the studying/experiencing God we talked about before.  There are logos and rhema words/experiences with God.  People who pursue God by just reading about Him will never have more than that and can, they lose that.  But when you have/get a rhema word from God you are changed, it has spoken to your heart and you will not be the same.  Now when this person gets the logos word they find new and deep truths about God and are eager to share them.  It is not easy to quiet yourself and be still but it is the way God suggested that you do it.

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