In Colossians 1:9-10, the Apostle Paul twice emphasizes the vital important of knowledge -- "knowledge of His will" and "increasing in the knowledge of God." In both cases the Greek word Paul uses is not gnosis, mere general knowledge, but epignosis: precise and correct knowledge; authentic knowledge; confirmed and tested knowledge; knowledge that conveys understanding -- not merely the accumulation of facts about Christ, but a true grasp of the significance of those facts.
By contrast, Romans 1:28 says that unbelievers do not even like to retain God in their knowledge. The sense of the original Greek is that the unbelieving mind has tested God against the false standard of human wisdom, and has declared that it rejects God -- "God doesn't meet my standards." And so, Paul says, God has given unbelievers over to a reprobate mind. In the original language, the sense is that God has given them over to the control of a mind that would not even meet the test of measuring up to the purpose for which a mind was meant.
Someone once said that a mind is a terrible thing to waste, and that's exactly what the unbeliever does by rejecting God. It's spiritual madness, and we see the evidence all around us.
Growing in knowledge of Jesus Christ and His Word is the Christian's stability in a world gone spiritually mad. It's the distinctive mark of the Christian, and the foundation of godly living. This knowledge, as Paul says in Philippians 3:10, must be our primary pursuit: "that I may know Him."
That's the focus of this week's broadcast as we continue our series, Christ Above All: Studies in Colossians.
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