As we continue our series about characteristics we are to add to our faith, we now turn our attention to knowledge. In the previous lesson, we discussed moral excellence or virtue, which is a moral goodness that can be seen by others. If we want to continue to grow in that quality, we must know what is good and right.
“Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:5-8).
What Is Knowledge?
The Greek word (gnosis),* as it is commonly used in the New Testament, refers to the knowledge of spiritual truth. It is something that is acquired through learning and investigation. When Peter spoke of adding knowledge to our faith, he was referring to the understanding or enlightenment that is acquired from others and through personal diligence and observation.
What Knowledge Looks Like WITHOUT Faith
In order to have knowledge without faith, one will seek to gain knowledge without going to the proper source – the word of God. The word of God is truth (Psalm 119:160; John 17:17). Therefore, the one who lacks faith will “always [be] learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Timothy 3:7). In turn, this “learning” will lead him further away from God. Paul warned Timothy, “Guard what has been entrusted to you, avoiding worldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called ‘knowledge’ which some have professed and thus gone astray from the faith” (1 Timothy 6:20-21). The wisdom of the world does not acknowledge God (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:21), so the more someone gains knowledge apart from faith, the further they move away from God.
At the same time, it is possible for one to start with the word of God (the source of real knowledge and truth) but not benefit from it. This happened with the Israelites, who were led out of Egypt and were given the law of God. The Hebrew writer said, “For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard” (Hebrews 4:2). Knowing what is right without being committed to faithful service will lead to arrogance (cf. 1 Corinthians 8:1) and results in a dead faith (James 2:17). We must be “doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves” (James 1:22).
What Knowledge Looks Like WITH Faith
Remember, faith is the foundation, and “faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). In our pursuit of knowledge, it must be rooted in God’s word.
The reason why adding knowledge begins with the word of God is because of our attitude toward His word, which is based on faith. God’s word is true, as Jesus stated in His prayer to the Father, “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth” (John 17:17). When we study the Scriptures, we are learning from that which is “inspired by God” (2 Timothy 3:16), which literally means it was breathed out by God. Since “God…cannot lie” (Titus 1:2), we must recognize that the word which came from Him is true.
By faith, we also recognize that God’s word is better than the word of man. God declared through the prophet Isaiah, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways… For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9). There is nothing man could come up with that would surpass or improve the word of God revealed in the Scriptures.
Therefore, when we derive knowledge from God’s word, we will surpass those who reject God’s word for the wisdom of the world. The psalmist said, “I have more insight than all my teachers, for Your testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the aged, because I have observed Your precepts” (Psalm 119:99-100). It should be expected that one who has been trained to teach or has lived many years will have a wealth of knowledge to pass on to others. While that is typically true, no secular instruction or personal experience can compare with the knowledge we gain by learning from the word that has been handed down to us by the creator of the universe.
However, knowledge with faith is fundamentally practical, not just academic. James wrote, “But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does” (James 1:22-25). The hearer may be a learner, but not all are doers. Those who fail to put the word of God into practice have a dead faith (James 2:17, 26). When one has a living faith, he will do what the Scriptures teach.
How to Add Knowledge to Our Faith
Again, to add knowledge to our faith, we go to the word since it is the source of faith (Romans 10:17).
This starts with an attitude of humility. James said, “In humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls” (James 1:21). We have to recognize that we do not know everything; otherwise, we will have no incentive to pay attention to what the word of God says.
We also need to listen to those who are teaching the word of God. When He gave the parable of the sower, Jesus said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear” (Luke 8:8). We need to be like the “noble-minded” Bereans who “received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so” (Acts 17:11). They were commended because they were eager to listen to Paul, while also being careful to check what he was saying to make sure it harmonized with the standard of truth – the word of God. That brings us to the next point…
We must diligently study the word of God for ourselves. Paul told Timothy, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). No matter what others say, we have a responsibility to believe, accept, and practice what is right. Others may help us gain knowledge as they teach the word of God in truth, but ultimately, we need to make sure we are learning what we should.
As we gain knowledge of God’s word, we need to move beyond the elementary principles to a deeper understanding of His will. The Hebrew writer rebuked the brethren because they had “need again for someone to teach [them] the elementary principles of the oracles of God” (Hebrews 5:12). We should eventually leave “the elementary teaching about the Christ” – not in the sense of abandoning it, but building upon it – and “press on to maturity” (Hebrews 6:1). We must continue to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18). This is something we must do throughout our lives and not ever think we have reached a point that we know “enough” of God’s word.
Conclusion
If we want to grow in our faith, we must increase our knowledge of the word of God. We do this by listening, studying, learning, and applying the teachings of Scripture so that we can follow those things that God wants us to do and be.
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* The Gnostics were a group that believed they had “special” knowledge, and that salvation was not from sin, but from ignorance. They also taught that Jesus could not have come in the flesh because they believed that the flesh was inherently corrupt. John warned about these false teachers who “do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh” (2 John 7).
