Knowledge is Power!

2 Peter 1:3- “as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. NKJV

We can all mark significant times in our lives. I know I can! My high school years were a turning point in my life. I was hungry to know God. As just a casual reader of the Bible I saw many inconsistencies in the lives of those around me, and what the Bible said. As a matter of fact, I asked a pastor about these inconsistencies and he told me that the Bible wasn’t to be understood. I was so sad that day to hear a minister of the gospel say such a thing! But I walked into my Sunday School class of 6 and 7 years old students and declared to them: I believe the God of the Bible can be known, in spite of what others may say!

I know now that I spoke by the Spirit of God! On the inside of me was a desire to know God, and He quickened my spirit and confirmed that truth to my heart. My desire, even today, is to know my God!

Peter wrote about us having a knowledge of God.

For His divine power has bestowed on us [absolutely] everything necessary for [a dynamic spiritual] life and godliness, through true and personal knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. 2 Peter 1:3 – AMP

Knowing God, in a personal way, through Jesus, causes Him to bestow on us everything that we need for life and godliness. His power is released is in our life, in a concerted effort to assist us in knowing Him, life, and godliness.

In Ephesians, Paul wrote:

[I always pray] that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may grant you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation [that gives you a deep and personal and intimate insight] into the true knowledge of Him [for we know the Father through the Son]. Ephesians 1:17 – AMP

Paul reiterates that the knowledge we have about God, the deep and personal insight into who God is, is as a result of knowing His Son Jesus. Hear what Jesus said to His disciples about this matter:

Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father and then we will be satisfied.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you for so long a time, and you do not know Me yet, Philip, nor recognize clearly who I am? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father?’ John 14:8-9 – AMP

To truly know God, you must know Jesus! To know Jesus is to know the Father!

God revealed Himself in the Old Testament, but only to a few. David knew God in a personal way, for God’s Spirit never left him. But it wasn’t until Jesus came that we were given an opportunity to truly know God. He made God alive to common people. He uprooted spiritual hypocrisy and pretentiousness. He demonstrated God’s love for us, and allowed us to see His nature in a way that had never been demonstrated before. Then He reconciled us to God through His blood, satisfying, once and for all, God’s requirement for sin.

Paul prayed that we would grow in the knowledge of God. It’s not just enough to know that God loves us and will save us, but it’s important to know as much about Him as we can learn:

Colossians 1:10 – that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God…NKJV

Paul knew that his ability to accomplish so much for God, was done because of his knowledge of God. These epistles that he wrote, helps us to understand God and the life we can have in Him. That knowledge gives us the power to live a life fully pleasing to Him. It enables us to walk worthy of our Lord. We must know our God!

Peter echoed these words of growing in the knowledge of God, when he wrote:

But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen. 2 Peter 3:18 – NKJV

Why? Because knowledge is power! When our adversary lies to us about our God, the more we know about God, the more we can refute his lies! When people knock on your door to share a different gospel with you, you can silence their heresy with your knowledge of God. When the circumstances of life try to overwhelm you, your knowledge of God will keep you grounded and sane.

Some Christians are content to be ignorant. Paul said that he wrote his epistles so that we wouldn’t be ignorant concerning things pertaining to God. (We know these and many other writings are called the word of God; written so that we wouldn’t be ignorant!). Hosea wrote that we perish (go to hell?) because of a lack of knowledge. Don’t allow laziness to keep you from pursuing more knowledge of God. The enemy knows that the more you know about God, the easier it is to recognize and stop him! This alone is a great reason to know God.

But a greater, more important reason to know God, is because He is God. Haven’t you heard it said: It’s not what you know, but who you know? Well, that’s even more true in relationship to God. When we know Him, we know all that we need to know, because knowledge of Him, is power! Wonderful Jesus!