We are creatures of \u201cknowledge.\u201d Our entire existence is shaped by what we know and how we know. According to the Bible, there is a regular, run-of-the-mill knowledge, and then there is a kind of knowledge that operates at a deeper, wider, higher level.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know that we all have knowledge (gnosis<\/i>). Knowledge (gnosis<\/i>) puffs up, but love edifies\u201d (1 Corinthians 8:1).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Paul wants us to understand that knowledge without love is worthless\u2014and worse than worthless, it makes us arrogant.<\/p>\n
In Ephesians 1, Paul prays that we will receive, \u201cthe spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge (epignosis<\/i>) of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened\u201d (Ephesians 1:17-18).<\/p>\n
Here he uses the Greek word for knowledge, gnosis,<\/i> with the prefix epi<\/i>, which is a grammatical amplifier. Epignosis<\/i> is deep knowledge, crucial knowledge, super knowledge. Later, in Ephesians 3:19, Paul prays that we will \u201cknow the love of Christ which passes knowledge (gnosis<\/i>).\u201d There is a knowing that surpasses all common knowledge. If you know the love of Christ, you are intelligent on an otherworldly level. Epignosis<\/i> isn\u2019t necessarily a greater quantity<\/i> of knowledge, but rather a higher quality<\/i> of knowledge that informs everything else you know.<\/p>\n
If you know the love of Christ, you are intelligent on an otherworldly level.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Jesus indicted the Pharisees because they had \u201ctaken away the key of knowledge (gnosis<\/i>)\u201d from the people (Luke 11:52), which He earlier identified as \u201cjustice and the love of God\u201d (verse 42). Think about what Jesus is saying. To know the \u201cjustice and the love of God\u201d is to possess \u201cthe key\u201d that unlocks all other knowledge. Knowing God experientially operates like a clarifying lens that helps us make sense out of everything else in life.<\/p>\n
Peter tells us that epignosis<\/i> exerts a transformative influence over us:<\/p>\n
\u201cGrace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge (epignosis<\/i>) of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge (epignosis<\/i>) 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\u201d (2 Peter 1:2-4).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Epignosis<\/i>\u2014the super knowledge of God\u2019s love\u2014is pretty powerful. It is the means by which grace and peace multiply in our lives. Through it we become partakers of the divine character and escape the corruption that pervades our world and causes so much pain.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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