CHAPTER 12
 
KNOWLEDGE

There is a segment of the religious community which attempts to discredit spiritual concepts or teachings which are unfamiliar to them by saying that they are too intellectual. These same people claim that by stressing the importance of understanding the different natures of God as revealed by His various names, we are making God too complicated. The argument which is put forth to sustain this view is that such teachings are not necessary for salvation, and are therefore wrong, or at the very least, not worth pursuing. 

In a sense, these critics are partially correct, and I emphasize the word 'partially.' Such depth of knowledge is not necessary for salvation of the Spirit (Eph.2:8 & Heb.10:14); however, salvation of the Soul is by faith (Ja.1:21 & I Pe.1:9), and faith comes from the Word of God (Ro.10:17), and that requires some level of understanding. Those individuals who attack an intellectual approach to the Scriptures generally fail to understand the concept of salvation for all three parts of man: Spirit, Soul, and Body (see chapter 5). 

If our knowledge or understanding of the Father (El Elyon) is linked to the salvation, or redemption of our physical body (being alive and remaining without first tasting death when Jesus returns- I Cor.15:51), then lack of such knowledge could be physically deadly. As we have seen in previous chapters, this is exactly what Ps.9:2&10, Dan.6:23 & 4:2, Ro.8:23-24, and Hosea 4:6 indicate. Remember, Ro.12:1-2 tells us to be transformed, ie. physically transfigured, by the renewing of our mind. 

Physically being with the Father, as Jesus was on the Mount of Transfiguration (I Pe.1:16-17 & Matt.17:2), is dependent upon the renewing of our mind. Our mind operates on knowledge just like a car runs on gas (review cha. 2&4). This is not mere mental assent, for we know that our "natural" mind leads to death. It is the mind which is controled by the Spirit, and which has been renewed that is life to our mortal body (Ro.8:6&11 and Col.1:21). However, this does not mean that the mind controled by Christ ceases all intellectual searching of the Scriptures. If it did, we would have no need for concordances or Hebrew/Greek Lexicons, let alone actually taking the time to search the Scriptures. 

Before we look at other Scriptures which establish El Elyon's concern for, and His relationship to our physical body, I would like to take a closer look at what it means to "know" God. The simple fact is, some things are harder to understand then others. Peter had no difficulty accepting this, for he tells us in I Pe.3:16 that Paul writes of things which are "hard to understand." He doesn't then tell us to ignore the difficult parts; but rather, he cautions us to be on guard lest we be misled. He then urges us to grow in grace and knowledge of God (I Pe.3: 18). Therefore, if something is difficult we should not ignore it, but seek even harder to understand it. This seeking should be in the form of both prayer (Col.1:9 & Ja.1:5) and study (II Tim.2:15 KJV). Prov.4:7 tells us "though it cost you all you have, get understanding" If you temporally put an idea on the shelf, don't forget to prayerfully pick it back up again (John 13:7). 

Some people have attempted to put the kiss of death on a concept which requires more then a limited knowledge of Scripture by equating it with the teachings of a group of men known collectively as 'Gnostics' (Gnosis is the Greek word from which we derive the word 'knowledge'). By implication these people would have you believe that anything deeper than that which is taught in the average adolescent Sunday school class is verging on Gnosticism, and is therefore to be avoided. 

In order for you to decide if what you have read in these last 11 chapters is Gnosticism, let's take a brief look at exactly what it is. Gnosticism is a term used to describe a 2nd century AD way of thinking which, while espousing a variety of notions, shared some basic beliefs. The common thread between them was that the creator of the universe (who may or may not be the supreme god) sends to earth a redeemer who gives a secret knowledge, or gnosis, by which mankind is saved. As far as Gnostics are concerned, it is this knowledge which saves, not the life, death, and resurrection of their 'redeemer' (who some say was the person we know as Jesus). It is also important to realize that this knowledge comes about primarily from an intellectual search, and is not something which is dependent upon either the Holy Spirit or your personal relationship with God. It is gained strictly through your five senses. 

One Gnostic teacher, Marcion (144 AD), said that the supreme god is known only through Jesus; whereas, the Old Testament prophets were inspired by the creator god who was a separate god from the father of Jesus. (Needless to say, there is a tremendous difference between saying that the nature of God which creates is but one portion of His total nature, and saying that the creator is a separate god from the supreme god.) 

Valentius (140 AD), perhaps the most famous gnostic thinker, said that the god we think of as the supreme god was actually the least of twelve separate gods known collectively as 'aeons.' This god was female and her name was Sophia. She prematurely gave birth to a son whose name was Ialdabroth, and he was the creator of our world. Ialdabroth claimed to be the supreme god, and there by misled mankind. The remaining eleven supreme gods sent Jesus to redeem mankind from Ialdabroth's folly. It was knowledge of Jesus' origin from the eleven aeons which saved mankind. 

A third gnostic teacher named Basilides taught that in the beginning there was nothing, not even god. Somehow this nonexistent god created a seed from which came a threefold sonship god. According to his philosophy, it is knowledge of this creating process that saves. As a group, these men did two basic things. First of all, they gave no credence to the sacrifice of Jesus. Secondly, they put all the emphasis on a secret knowledge which all men could obtain through the use of their intellectual faculties. 

While the word 'gnosticism' has been used accurately to describe a philosophy which WILL lead to separation from God. It is wrong to label as gnostic those Scripturally sound concepts which deal with topics other then initial salvation, simply because they may be difficult to grasp at first glance. If God did not want our mind and physical senses involved in some way and to some degree in His dealing with us, why did He give us a WRITTEN Bible? Why do we read and hear of testimony after testimony of people who say that God taught them to read by reading the Bible? Their mind had to be used. 

Lk24:45 says Jesus opened the disciple's minds so that they could understand the Scriptures. God tells us in Ps.119:130 that the Word gives understanding even to the simple minded. Notice that verse does not say that it makes the intelligent man simple minded. Rather, it tells us that the Word increases the ability of those with otherwise limited mental abilities. How many Christians do you know who run off, trying to save the world the week after they have gotten saved? Many times the results have been less then beneficial. They were not content to allow their changed lives to serve as their initial witness. They had to preach and teach. However, they were not aware of Prov.19:2 which says that it is "not good to have zeal without knowledge." 

Keeping this in mind, let us see what God says about gnosis, what it means to know God (both through the mind and through the Spirit), and how the two are interrelated. On one hand we have Paul's warning to Timothy to "turn away from ... the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge (gnosis), which some have professed, and in so doing have wandered from their faith" (parenthesis added I Tim.6:20-21). On the other hand, we have II Pe.1:8 which includes knowledge (gnosis) among the list of virtues which we are to make every effort to add to our faith. Along a similar vein we have Ro.1:20-21 telling us that while by nature man knows God, this knowedge is not sufficient (ginosko - a verb form of gnosis). At the same time we have Paul telling us that nothing can possibly compare with the surpassing "greatness of knowing (gnosis) Christ Jesus" (parenthesis added Phil.3:18). Gnosis is "understanding" and Ginosko is to "come to understand." While these are simplified definitions, they are the common thread between Strongs Concordance, Vine's Expository Dictionary of the New Testament, and both Thayer's and Bauer's Greek English Lexicon of the New Testament. The verses we have just read seem at first glance to be telling us two different things at the same time. 

If by nature we know God, and this is not enough, how can Paul say that nothing surpasses knowing Christ Jesus? I believe part of the answer lies in the fact that neither gnosis or ginosko tells us what this knowledge relates to, its source, or its depth. Worldly knowledge derived solely through the five senses such as that mentioned in Ro.1:20-21, and carried to extremes by the Gnostic teachers we looked at earlier, is not sufficient because it is misdirected. Remember, before we were born from above by the Spirit of God, we were enemies of God in our mind (Col.1:21). When it comes to our relation ship with God, misdirected knowledge is useless when it is derived from an unregenerated mind. 

Even satan's demons knew that Jesus is Son of the Most High God (Lk.8:28). Yet that knowledge, in and of itself, did them no good in their attempts to stop Him from carrying out His redemptive work. Part of the reason they could not stop Him is because they new nothing about the NATURE of the Most High, only the name by which that nature was revealed. They would have heard the name simply by listing to what the angel said to Mary in Lk.1:32. But that level of sensory knowledge by itself is not sufficient. I Cor.1:21 tells us that by means of its wisdom, the world will not truly know (ginosko) God (see also John 17:25, John 1:10 & I John 3:1). The world may know parts of God, but that knowledge is of little value. I Cor.2:8 tells us that it was satan's failure to 'gnosis,' or understand God's wisdom that caused him to crucify Jesus. You see, the simple fact that he knew Jesus was the Son of the Most High God was of no value because he failed to comprehend how that information fit into God's overall plan for mankind. Furthermore, he did not know how to relate that knowledge to God's way of acting. 

Heb.3:10 tells us that the Israelites "... have not known (gnosis) My ways; so I declared on oath in My anger, they shall never enter My rest" (parenthesis added). What you may not be aware of is that the 'rest' referred to in that verse is not peace of mind. Rather, it was a physical entering into the promised land without first having to taste death. Failure to understand, or to have knowledge of God's ways meant physical death to them. It is at this point that the relationship between gnosis, El Elyon, and physical immortality begins to come into focus. The quote we just saw in Heb.3:10 is taken from Ps.95:10. The Hebrew word for 'known' in that Old Testament Psalm is yahdag, and it is equivalent to the Greek verb ginsko (see Strong's Concordance # 3045). Dahgath is the Hebrew equivalent to the Greek noun gonsis (see # 1847 in Strong's wherein it is noted that it is derived from yahdag). 

In a very real sense we can say that the Israelites who perished were destroyed because of their failure to know God's ways. That is why God tells us in Hosea 4:6 that "My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge dahgath (and) because you have rejected knowledge (dahgath), I also rejected you as My priests" (parenthesis added). We know that Hosea knew of El Elyon (Hosea 4:7), and it would therefore appear that a link between knowledge and El Elyon seems to exist. 

That link is verified in Nu.24:16 wherein we see that it is from the Most High (El Elyon) that knowledge proceeds. Note also that Daniel knew God as El Elyon (Dan.4:2), and God gave him "knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning." That link is made ironclad for us in the New Testament wherein we are told that Jesus, from whom all wisdom and knowledge proceeds (Col.2:23), is Son of the Most High. In short, the totality of knowledge proceeds from the totality of God's revealed nature known as El Elyon. 

Just as it was not necessary to rely solely on Nu.24:16 to see that the source of all knowledge is the total revealed nature of God known as El Elyon, so also do we have additional verses which bring to light the relationship between our physical (body) salvation, and knowledge. Isa.5:13 says that God's people go into physical exile for lack of understanding (dahgath) and Prov.1:29-33 clearly states that those, who among other things, reject knowledge (dahgath) will die. This is not spiritual death either. The Hebrew word "kill" in that Proverb is harag, and is used over 166 times in the Old Testament. The other 165 times it is used, it means to physically kill. 

We must remember that God's gnosis is still hidden from the world. Therefore, in a way the Gnostics were right. There is a secret wisdom that is not readily discernable to everyone. Their error was in not recognizing that it is the Holy Spirit who guides us in the search for all truth (John 16:13), not our own mental ability. He is the one who searches the deeper things of God (I Cor. 2:10). Without the baptism of the Holy Spirit you cannot understand (ginosko) ALL that God has for us (I Cor.2:12 & 14), although there is no question that you CAN be saved (spirit & soul) without it (Acts 19:1-2). However, simply because this knowledge is hidden does not mean that God does not want us to find it. God tells us in Hosea 6:6, "I desire mercy not sacrifice and knowledge (dahgath) of God more than burnt offerings" (KJV -Some reference Bibles may indicate that the word knowledge in this verse should be viewed as "reverence"; however, dahgath is never translated as 'reverence' anywhere else.) Prov.2:3-5 tells us that if we will call, cry, look, and search - then we will understand the fear of the Lord and find the "knowledge" (dahgath) of God. 

As we have already seen, there is a definite relationship between the rejection of knowledge of El Elyon and physical destruction. However, the hidden knowledge of El Elyon, that is knowing more about the nature of God then His name alone, has a beautiful twofold benefit for us as well. One is present tense in nature, and the other is future tense. 

As we have seen before, Ps.91:1,9-10&14, Ps.9:2&10, and Dan.4:2 & 6:23 all reveal this present tense benefit as physical protection. The future benefit is also physical in nature, and it deals with immortality. Prov.24:14 begins to reveal it this way, "Know also that wisdom (yahdag) is sweet to your soul; IF you find it, there is a future HOPE for you, and your hope will not be cut off." (parenthesis and emphasis added) This future hope is revealed in Ro.8:23 wherein we read in part, "... we ourselves who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, THE REDEMPTION OF OUR BODIES. FOR IT IS IN THIS HOPE THAT WE ARE SAVED." (emphasis added) 

At the time this was written Paul wrote as though he were not expecting to die. He had not made his second trip back to Jerusalem where he subsequently allowed himself to come back under the mixture of law and grace that he first criticized in Gal.2:11-13 (see Chapter 10). In I Cor.15:51 he also revealed his hope that he was to be part of the group being referred to when he says "WE will not all sleep." (emphasis added) In Ro.13:11, while referring to the salvation -redemption - glorification of the physical body, he says that "... OUR salvation is nearer now then when we first believed." (emphasis added) 

In I Cor.2:7 we see that God's SECRET WISDOM, for which we must search, is DESTINED FOR OUR GLORY. The receiving of our transformed, or glorified body is a future hope for us. This transformation is dependent upon the renewing of our mind (Ro.8:23). It is not what you know that is important. It is who you know. However, who you know (ie. what portions of God's revealed nature you understand) is dependent upon what is revealed to you by His Spirit and through His Word. If it is by the Holy Spirit, it will not conflict with the Word; but you must know the Word in order to know whether or not there is a conflict. Therefore, WHO YOU KNOW AS GOD WILL TO A GREAT EXTENT, BE DEPENDENT UPON WHAT YOU KNOW OF HIM. It is our responsibility to add this knowledge to our faith (II Pe.3:5).It won't mysteriously be poured into your head. It is our duty to search the Scriptures (Prov.2:4). 

It is also important that gnosis not be scorned simply because its usual method of entering our soul is through our five senses. The miracles Jesus performed had as their prime purpose, the effect of showing people that the power of God was in Him (Mk.4:11). We are told to have nothing to do with the fruits of unrighteousness, but how else do you know what fruits a person is bearing unless you see their actions and hear their words? 

Lk.6:44 says that we will know (gnosis) these fruits by observing them. Finally, our recognition of the season in which our Lord Jesus Christ is to return is dependent upon our being able to use our senses to observe that which is happening around us. Mk.13:29 says that when we see the things spoken of coming to pass, we will ginosko that the time is near. Since one of Jesus' primary commands to us is to watch for His return, we must not treat with disdain the very knowledge we need in order to carry out that command (Mk.13:35). 

The Word we gain through knowledge must minister to us. The Word of Faith must become the Spirit of Faith (II Cor.4:13). The Word of Truth must become the Spirit of Truth (John 15:26). The Word of Holiness must become the Spirit of Holiness (Ro.1:4). Most importantly, the Word of Sonship must become the Spirit of Sonship (Ro.8:13). There is another aspect of knowledge which we must consider, and it ties in with the process of the Word becoming Spirit to us. This aspect is the ongoing nature of knowledge ie.its progression within us. 

We must seek God both through His word and by communion with the Holy Spirit. The Spirit must open the Word to us in order for it to be of value to us. Then we must push ahead with the search to gain fuller knowledge of God and His ways. We must have this fuller knowledge to be totally victorious in all realms - Spirit, Soul, and Body. The Greek word for 'fullness of knowledge' usually derived from study, or through the senses is epiginosko. The Greek word more closely related to 'fullness of knowledge' derived through the Holy Spirit is oida (Note, these are general definitions.) Many times the word oida, while referring to fullness of knowledge, does not limit this fullness to that which is derived directly from the Holy Spirit. In many ways, oida and epiginosko are synonyms. 

II Pe.1:3 says that God's "divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness THROUGH OUR KNOWLEDGE (epiginosko) OF HIM who called us by His own glory and goodness." (parenthesis and emphasis added) God has given us His Spirit that we may know (oida) that which God has given us (I Cor.2:12). We are not to spend our time attempting to gain perfect knowledge of things of the world (I Cor.2:2) 

Oida is derived from, and is so closely related to the Greek word eido (the word used in Revelations to describe John's vision, and from which we get our English word `video') that neither Strong's Concordance nor Wigram's Greek Concordance of the New Testament attempt to divide them. This is important because edio, which also denotes fullness of knowledge, is the word used by Jesus in Matt.22:29 when speaking to the Saducees. Therein he says, "You are error because you do not know (eido) the Scriptures or the power of God." We also are in error if we do not seek totally the fullness of knowledge of both God's Word, and His power. 

The power of God (dunamis) is what Jesus promised the disciples they would receive when the Holy Spirit came upon them in Acts 1:8). The power comes with, or after the baptism of the Holy Spirit, not before. You can know (gnosis) about the baptism and the power (ie. have a basic understanding of what it is), yet what is needed is epiginosko, or full knowledge and participation in it. The Holy Spirit and His power are here to lead us into all truth and knowledge. He is here to work on our mind. Unless our mind (soul) is completely renewed, our body will not be transformed prior to death because we will not fully know or fully understand as much of El Elyon as He has made available to us. We will not be spotless and without wrinkle. As has been said before, the demons knew of Him, but we are to know about Him. Then we are to act on what we know in order to serve Him as Sons and servants and thereby enter into His physical rest. 

Concerning our physical relationship with the Father, allow me to make the following observation. Jesus has been our Passover experience, having dealt with the salvation of our Spirit. The Holy Spirit is our Pentecost experience, which is the present tense salvation of our Soul. Being alive and remaining without first tasting death will be the ultimate Tabernacle experience with the Father (EL Elyon). 

In previous chapters we have seen that the physical bodies of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were protected by the Most High God. Jesus' physical body was transfigured by the Father on the Mount of Transfiguration. We have also seen that while this is hard to believe (accept), Melchizedek is declared to be living just as the Levitical priests are declared to be dead. Furthermore, while this may go against traditional teaching, I would ask you to consider that it was not the Holy Spirit that 'conceived' Jesus in the virgin Mary, but that it was the Father, the Most High God, who dealt with her physical body in order that she might then give birth. (Note, I do not mean by this that the Mormon heresy which says that Elohim inhabited a human body and came to earth and had sexual relations with Mary is correct. Such a teaching fails to separate the natures of Elohim and El Elyon and is totally non-Scriptural to boot.) 

We know that God is Spirit (John 4:24) and that He is Holy (Rev.4:8). Now, the Greek wording of Matt.1:20 which is translated " ... because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit," can just as easily, and correctly, be translated, "for that in her, begotten of the Spirit, is Holy." This rendering would more adequately explain what the angel was saying to Mary in Lk.1:35 when he said, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the child to be born will be called Holy, the Son of God." 

Mary was being told that the Holy Spirit would deal with her mind so that she would be able to accept and understand that which was going to happen to her. Remember, if you think getting pregnant before getting married was a 'no-no' in the 1950's, just imagine what it meant at that time. Under the law of Moses, Mary should have been stoned (Deut.22:21). It even took a direct act of God to convince Joseph to go through with the marriage (Matt.1:19). It was only after the Holy Spirit came upon her that the power or dunamis of the Most High God changed her physical body, thereby allowing her to give birth. 

Likewise, Lk.24:49 shows us that the disciples would be "... clothed with power (dunamis) from on high." (parenthesis added). The Greek word for 'high' used there is hupsos and I believe that it refers to from whom the power would originate as opposed to where it was coming from. The Holy Spirit knew the Greek language and if He were meaning that the power would come from heaven, it would seem that He most likely would have had Luke use the word ouranos (heaven) as he did 37 other times in his gospel. The baptism of the Holy Spirit and the receiving of power are two separate events, although they may occur together. In other words the power descending upon the person is always preceded by the receipt of the Holy Spirit.(note, Jesus was anointed with the "Holy Spirit and Power." Acts 10:38) 

According to Eph. 4:13, we are to come into the epiginosko (full knowledge) of Jesus. That is part of the maturity which leads to the fullness of Christ. This fullness of knowledge is not secret in the sense claimed by the Gnostics. However, it is not for the immature in the Lord either (Heb.5:13-14). Fullness of knowledge of the nature of the Most High God is part of maturity. As we discussed in Chapter 9, Christ is returning for a mature spotless Church (Eph.5:27 & I John 3:2). The timing of His return is up to the Father (Acts 1:7). While we cannot know that time, it would appear that maturity and knowledge are somehow intertwined with it. If indeed this is true, and God is revealing that to us now, we should act accordingly. Physical protection is related to our understanding of, and our trusting in El Elyon (Deut.6:23), and that trust is related to our knowledge of Him (Ps.9:2 & 10). 

Since it is to the saints of the Most High that the kingdoms of the world are turned over to (Dan.7:27), lack of knowledge could again cause immature believers to needlessly parish as happened in Hosea 4:6. While it is true we have a gracious and merciful God who some feel would not allow lazy believers to perish thereby 'rapturing' them before the great tribulation, II Pe. 1:2 says grace and peace come in abundance through the knowledge (epiginosko) of God. The vision of Dan.12:10 was sealed up until the time of the end. If this is the end time, and that vision is being revealed, we cannot ignore it. The wise will search for God's wisdom and knowledge, find it, and understand what God is revealing (Prov.2:2-12). The foolish will ignore it and die (Prov.9:13-18) 

Allow me to close with this thought. Maturing is a process. In the Parable of the Weeds (Matt.13:24-43) we are told that only the mature wheat plant will be able to survive the winnowing process. The immature plant will die. It will still be a wheat plant, but it will be a dead one. It will not be physically present when the harvest begins. It will not be alive to welcome the sower when He comes to reap his harvest. Likewise, the immature believer who is not in the process of maturing may very well fail to survive the weeding out process at the end of the age. He will still be a believer, but if this is the end of the age, he will enter the Father's presence only through death. 

The Israelites who left Egypt were supposed to have gone into the promised land. They failed to do so. The way was opened to them, but they refused to make the journey. They entered the Father's presence (heaven), but they had to die to get there. They failed to receive the fullness which God had for them here. God's covenant with man is and was 120 years (Gen.6:3). Yet the Israelites in the wilderness were dying after 70 - 80 years (Ps.90:10), why? They were under God's judgment! (Nu.14:34) They were "saved" in the sense that the sacrifice of atonement carried out each year covered their sins. They went to paradise when they died, but they had to die to get their. In the mean time, their bodies decayed in the wilderness because they had refused to act on God's Word (I Cor.10:5) 

Likewise, the way into the Holy of Holies has been made known to the 42nd generation overcoming, mature, Bride of Christ. The way was opened when Jesus died for us and the curtain separating the Ark of the Covenant from the middle court was torn in two. Ever since that time the Lord has been seeking an obedient generation who will trust in His Name and believe that it is indeed possible to overcome the giants in the land and "... become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ" (Eph4:13). However, each generation since Pentetcost has said that that was not possible this side of heaven. 

The overcomer knows that while no generation has yet walked in this level of spiritual maturity, it is possible. We have two choices. We can be like the majority of the Israelites in Nu.14:1-4 who refused to trust in the Lord. Or, like Joshua and Caleb we can commit to follow the Lord wholeheartedly (Deut.2:34-38). If this is the generation in which the Lord shall return, then like Joshua and Caleb we too may cross the Jordan on dry ground and enter God's promised land (His Presence) without first tasting physical death. 

As was true when Elisha witnessed Elijah being taken into God's presence after he also had crossed the Jordan on dry ground, many well meaning believers today who have seen God move in the past may be unwilling to initally accept what God is calling us into (see II Ki.2:8,11&15-18). However, as has always been true in the past, the truth of God's Word is not dependent upon the traditions of men. While the completion of the process is totally up to the Most High, the transformation process needs to begin now (Ro.12:2) Should Jesus tarry, then we will still have the opportunity to worship and serve Him here for the full term of His covenant with us knowing that it will not be cut short because of unbelief.