Coming to Know Him
“I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding” (Philippians 1:9, NLT).
A true knowledge of Christ involves personal experience. Two considerations are helpful to understanding this proposition better. First, there is a type of knowledge of Christ that comes from the family we are born into, the society we live in, and the school or church we attend. But truly knowing Christ requires a personal experience with him.
Second, there is another type of knowledge of Christ that can be acquired through intellectual study, enabling one to discuss things about Christ, whether as an advocate or an opponent. This is sometimes called “head knowledge,” and anyone with sufficient intellectual abilities can achieve it. Their conclusions will also depend on where they are coming from and the attitude they bring to the study. Yet, truly knowing Christ in the way Scripture encourages requires a personal salvation experience with him.
Nevertheless, beyond this essential practical knowledge of Christ that comes through salvation, there is yet another type of knowledge that is important to Christian spiritual formation and development. It is the kind of knowledge that enables a proper understanding of the things of Christ. It cannot be achieved without a personal saving experience with Christ, but it only begins with that experience.
Scripture teaches that salvation is a gift accepted by faith through the operation of divine grace (Ephesians 2:8–9). But we are further exhorted, “giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge” (2 Peter 1:5). Virtue is moral excellence, whereby the believer bears the righteous fruits of repentance and salvation (Matthew 3:8; Galatians 5: 22–23). But as the passage indicates, we must go beyond faith and virtue to acquire knowledge, by which we “know the things that have been freely given to us by God” in Christ (1 Corinthians 2:12). It is through such knowledge that we obtain a better appreciation of our experience, identity, and responsibility in Christ, and the bigger picture, purpose, and scope of his redemptive work (Romans 8:19–25; Ephesians 1:15–21).
As the forgoing passages in Romans and Ephesians reveal (be sure to read and meditate on them), the redemptive work of Christ is an expansive affair, and we must come to know him in all his realities. This progressive understanding of our Savior through diligent study of the Scriptures and relevant works is essential to both our spiritual maturation and effective engagement in Christian ministry, evangelism, and missions. Paul wrote to Timothy, a model of Christian aspiration, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15, NKJV). We must attain competence in handling the Scriptures.
I have a joke that only seminary students will “make heaven,” to use a common expression. It is humor, yes, but one intended to communicate a message. It is meant to emphasize the importance of intentional, diligent, and broad study to the believer’s spiritual advancement. This becomes more urgent when we consider the many pitfalls, illusions, and other forces that conspire to derail our “pilgrim’s progress,” to borrow from the title of John Bunyan’s famous allegory of the Christian’s journey — a journey “from this world to that which is to come,” as the fuller title of the book adds.
Scripture highlights the spiritual stagnation that occurs when a believer falls short in the pursuit of biblical knowledge: “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food” (Hebrews 5:12; see also Hebrews 6:1–3).
The achievement of sound knowledge and understanding is truly important to our spiritual formation and highest approval by God. What is more? The rewards are immense! As the wise one said, “Wisdom is the principal thing; Therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding. Exalt her, and she will promote you; She will bring you honor, when you embrace her. She will place on your head an ornament of grace; A crown of glory she will deliver to you” (Proverbs 4:7–9).
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