Do I Need to Know All That?
I was at a theological seminar earlier this year. As commonly happens in such forums, we had been discussing various scholarly works — code word for books, academic papers, articles, and such. At one point, I asked the seminar leader a question, and in answering, he recommended yet another book for further information. I muttered to a colleague sitting next to me, “How many books do we need to read to know God?”
At that naughty moment, I was essentially exhibiting something that is often found among believers. It is not always spoken but may be expressed in another way, such as a general attitude. It is the tendency to downplay the relevance of knowledge or intellectual study and engagement to the Christian life. Like, “That’s merely head knowledge,” or “I don’t need to read or know all that to serve God or get to heaven.”
Admittedly, there is a type of theological study that is purely academic, with little or no practical relevance, and can even be counterproductive to spiritual well-being. But an attitude that generally repels knowledge and intellectual development in the Christian life can also be dangerous and come back to bite.
Isn’t it curious that when it comes to other issues like taking on a second job to pay for a mortgage, finance a car, or acquire something else we desire, we may be quick to confess, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13, NKJV)? If there is something that Christ longs to strengthen his disciples for, it is for us to “desire [and experience] the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious” (1 Peter 2:2–3; see also John 16:12–13). His desire is for us to be “filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding…and increasing in the knowledge of God” (Colossians 1:9–10).
There is the hazard of becoming so occupied with all sorts of Christian “service” that we neglect this crucial need for our intellectual development. Christian service is definitely important and an indicator of authentic faith (e.g., Galatians 5:13; James 1:27). But it can also get to where, as in the case of Martha, the Lord had to awaken her with a rap on the shoulder, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed” (Luke 10:41–42). As the passage reveals, the critical need that Martha was dangerously missing was personal spiritual growth through intentional learning from the Lord (see Proverbs 4:7–9).
It is true that the Christian life is one of faith (Romans 1:17; Hebrews 11:6). This faith is the conviction of the reality of God, his revelation in Jesus Christ for our reconciliation to himself, and the usefulness of Scripture for spiritual guidance. Faith is our spiritual lifeblood, and we receive it through the operation of God’s grace (Ephesians 2:8–9; Titus 2:11–12).
Nevertheless, our faith is not an end in itself. It is a starting point and motivation to greater things in Christ through sound instruction in the Word (Matthew 13:52; 2 Timothy 3:16–17). This is why Scripture urges, “But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge” (2 Peter 1:5). Faith should be a launching pad toward acquiring sound Christian knowledge. Paul also wrote to Timothy, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). Notice how Peter and Paul recommend intentional effort in the pursuit of Christian knowledge in the two references here.
It was the failure of the Hebrew Christians to progress to acquiring robust faith-based knowledge that caused the apostle to admonish them, “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). They had been complacent about their Christian education and were becoming “ineffective and unproductive in [their] knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (see 2 Peter 1:8, NIV).
So, yes, we need to know “all that.” In my next article, we will consider why we need this knowledge. Suffice it to say here that it gives us clarity, stability, and direction, enabling engagement in worthwhile Christian service. The apostolic prayer for all the faithful in Christ is that God “may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints” (Ephesians 1:18, NKJV).
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