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Knowledge and Understanding
And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding. Jeremiah, Chapter 3, Verse 15.
Knowledge without understanding is unfruitful. Albert Einstein once said “Any fool can know—the point is to understand.” The Apostle Paul said “Knowledge alone puffs up (makes one prideful).” I knew a minister once who was very intelligent. He probably possessed more knowledge than anyone I ever knew personally. He could quote scripture after scripture, however his understanding of what he was quoting was sometimes unproductive and ineffectual. Knowledge without understanding profits no one. Knowledge can be accumulated by anyone. However, godly understanding and wisdom can and will only come by Holy Spirit revelation and inspiration.
I am inclined to believe that many Christians are being fed an improper diet of the Word of God by carnally minded preachers who THINK they “know the truth.” They are feeding their congregations with a diet of carnally induced knowledge which leaves them with a lack of wisdom and understanding. The Bible tells us to “KNOW those who labor among us.” Preachers are responsible for what they teach and preach and will give an account for what they have fed to their congregations. Believers are responsible for what they believe. It is the responsibility of every individual to make sure what they believe is the truth.
I read a quote from someone who said “the greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, but the illusion of knowledge.” In the Church the “illusion” of knowledge can and will be more counterproductive than no knowledge at all. If knowledge is not based upon the truth, it is carnally inspired. Carnally inspired knowledge in the Church is demonically inspirited and caters to the physical senses. We cannot gain any spiritual understanding from knowledge which is inspired by deception and illusion.
Many doctrines are misinterpreted and misrepresented by ministers in the Church who are not fully rooted and grounded in faith. When THEIR characterization of the truth is misunderstood, they tend to teach the people a gospel which has no power to transform them into the image of Christ. When people are not fed a proper diet of TRUTH, they become disillusioned and many of them fall by the wayside.
There are many ministers who do not believe or accept the “entire Bible” as truth. They pick and choose what THEY believe. They will only preach what THEY believe to be true in the Bible. In doing so they are leaving their congregations without the “whole counsel of God.” Unfortunately, this causes the people not to excel beyond and above the “novice” stage of Christianity. Many of those people will end up falling by the wayside. If you find yourself in a church where the “whole truth” is not being taught, you may want to pray and ask the Lord what you should do. If you find yourself in a church where social justice doctrines are more important than a relationship with Christ, you need to find another church.
Jeremiah said God would send pastors to His people who would teach them knowledge AND understanding, yet, the “entire truth” is hard to find in many churches. Does that mean that all people in those Churches are insincere about their relationship with God? NO, it does not. It does mean, however, that many pastors are misinformed and/or misinterpret what the scripture is saying. Because their understanding is unfruitful, they deliver messages THEY believe is true to their congregations. Inexplicitly their congregations will become saddled with partial truths and false doctrines which will keep them confused and in bondage in many areas of their lives.
Study to show yourselves approved unto God, a workman that needeth not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 2 Timothy, Chapter 2, Verse 15.
The word “dividing” in the above scripture comes from the Greek word “orthopodeo” which means to “expound or handle.” The term, “rightly dividing” means to “correctly expound or handle” the Word of God. The Lord told me many of His ministers are handling His Word deceitfully. In other words, they were “adulterating” the Word of God. They were compromising the Word of God for their own gain by misinterpreting and misrepresenting the truth to their congregations. I wrote more about this tragedy in Chapter 13 of this book.
Paul told Timothy we must each study for OURSELVES if we wish to find ourselves with God’s “stamp of approval” on our life. Studying the Word for ourselves is one of the “keys to knowledge.” When others approach us with questions regarding our faith, we will then be able to respond to them with the truth. I have written about the “key of knowledge” in Chapter 8 of this book.
When we have the “knowledge of the truth” we will be able to share the truth with others and convince them our faith is real. If we have been diligent in our studies, we will always have answers to the questions others may have regarding our faith in God and love for Him. Knowledge is the key to giving a powerful testimony of our faith in Christ. Our testimony may lead others to the saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ if we are able to convince them Christ is real.
When we rightly divide the Word of truth, we will find the true Christ and the TRUTH found only in the Word of God. The eyes of our understanding will be enlightened and we will become rooted and grounded in the “love of Christ.” We will be able to comprehend “what is the breadth, the length, the depth and the height of His love which the Bible tells us surpasses all knowledge and understanding.” When we become “filled with His love,” we will find ourselves “filled with His fullness.” (Ephesians, 3:19).
As I was writing this book the Lord gave my wife a vision. She said: “In the vision I saw a man dressed in a robe with a mitre (headdress worn by priests) on his head. He walked out of a building surrounded by a high porch. When he stepped out of the building onto the porch, a throng of people stood before him. He was carrying a Bible in his hand. He looked over the crowd then began tearing out pages from the Bible. He tore the pages out of the Bible page by page, and gave only one page to each person in the sea of people which stood before him. The people were desperately reaching out and grabbing for a page. As the people read both sides of the page which they had been given, they seemed to become confused and perplexed. The expressions on their faces began to change as they read the front and back of the page. After reading the page which each of them had been given, they lacked any knowledge whatsoever to understand what was written on the page. They all looked at each other making gestures like “Do you understand what this means? What does this mean? What are we supposed to do with this? We do not understand it?” They were all perplexed and could not understand the meaning of the scriptures they found on the page in their hands. One page did not give them ALL the information they needed. Suddenly they took the page which each one had been given and threw them into the air and went on about their business. The pages began to float slowly to the ground and were trampled underfoot by the crowd.
God is not the God of Confusion, but of peace. When and if we become confused, we will lack peace. Thus, confusion will rule and reign in our hearts. The people in the vision were confused because they were not getting the “whole truth.” They were desperate for help, but the man handing out the pages failed to give them what they needed. One page of the Bible gave them very little knowledge of the truth they were desperately seeking. Their understanding was fruitless because they had not been given the entire picture. The little knowledge which was given them only confused them more. When people are not exposed to the “whole counsel of God,” they will continue to remain in darkness and bondage.
A little knowledge is as useless as no knowledge at all. We cannot fully understand the Word of God if we are only exposed to one doctrine or just a small portion of a doctrine. When we only receive bits and pieces of information, the information we receive will be worthless and of no value to us. It is like trying to put a puzzle together with half of the pieces missing. When half the pieces are missing, we will only see half the picture.
We will not have faith if we do not understand that faith WORKS according to certain principles found in the Bible. The knowledge which we need to stand firm in our faith cannot be gained by “occasionally” reading only one or two pages in the Bible. We will be unable to increase our faith if we do not understand how our faith can be increased. One scripture in the Bible may give us the definition of faith. Another scripture on another page in the Bible may tell us how to increase our faith. However, without the “full knowledge of the truth,” our understanding will remain unfruitful. We must seek the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, if we are going to be victorious warriors for Christ.
Line must be upon line, and precept upon precept, before we will be able to understand the “knowledge of the truth.” (Isaiah, 28:10). When knowledge and truth have been adulterated and diminished, people will continue to remain carnally minded. When all the dots have not been connected, the narrative of God’s Word becomes disjointed and unrecognizable as truth.
Many ministers in churches today are not teaching the entire Bible which is resulting in a lack of knowledge and understanding among their congregations. When people fail to understand what they are hearing, they will cast aside doctrine as being unproductive and useless to them.
Every “jot and tittle” in the Bible must be weighed and rightly divided by those who seek to find and understand the truth. Truth is the only thing which can and will rescue and free people from bondage. If ministers are not sincere, the message they bring will be unprofitable and of no affect to their congregations.
Witnesses in a Court of Law are required to place their right hand on a Bible. They are required to “swear” before God and man that the testimony they are about to give is “the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.” As Christians, we are all called to be “witnesses of the truth.” In many churches today the ministers lay their hands on the Bible, open it, and read one or two scriptures. However, when they begin to expound on what they have just read instead of clarifying what is the truth, they pervert and adulterate the Gospel to their congregations.
In a court room, many people which have been called to testify have been known to lie on the witness stand by giving false testimony. In the Church where truth, and only truth, should be told, many ministers lie and subvert the truth of the Bible in order to propagate and promote their own agendas. Some ministers subvert the Gospel on purpose. Others do it out of ignorance. They all can be assured that “justice” will prevail when they stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ.
As men and women of God, we must ask ourselves “What does God think about how we handle HIS Word? Are we withholding the “key of knowledge” to our congregations? Are we preaching the truth?” If we are preaching the truth, people will be accepting Christ, growing in grace and mercy, and being set free from the bondage of sin. If people in congregations continue to remain in bondage, it is very likely that ministers are not serving them with a balanced diet of the Word of God.
There are many ministers today who are doing a powerful and outstanding work for the Lord. For all those ministers, I say to them “Amen” and “God’s Speed.” It is not my desire to criticize or condemn ministers. However, I am required to speak the truth to those who are disgracing themselves by teaching false and imperfect doctrines to those who God has placed in their care. As ministers of the Gospel we will be judged for what we teach our congregations. If we are failing to preach the truth, we will be judged more harshly than those who are listening to and believing our fables. According to the Bible we will receive the “greater condemnation” if we have handled the Word of God deceitfully. (James, 3:1).
Once I read a story about a mother who fed her children a steady diet of meat, thinking meat was the “most nutritious” food they could eat. One day after reading a book about nutrition, she gained the knowledge that she needed to feed her children a mixture of many different types of food. The children had not been getting all the vitamins and minerals which they needed to fuel their bodies from only eating meat. Thus, they were becoming sickly and weak. She changed what she had been feeding her children and began to feed them a balanced diet. In a short time they became stronger and much healthier.
A diet of the entire “Bread of Life” will make God’s people spiritual healthy. Unless we have a proper diet of the Word of God, we will become spiritually sick and anemic. The Word of God is our “bread” and our “meat.” As ministers of the Gospel we cannot pick and choose what we want to feed to the sheep. Paul said many people in the Church were weak and sick, and many died prematurely. They were weak and sick, and many died prematurely because they had not “discerned (rightly divided)” the Word of God correctly. (1 Corinthians, 11:27-31)
When people fail to partake of the entire Word of God, or when the Word is taken out of context, it makes for a weak, sick and powerless Church. The Word of God is made “of no effect” when the traditions of men and false interpretations of scripture are promoted. Jesus called the Church to be “THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD.” The Bible tells us we are the “salt” which will make a difference in the World. If the Church fails to be seasoned properly, it will not be effective in promoting the Light of the Gospel to unbelievers.
When the “whole truth” is preached in the Church, the BODY will become edified and unified in faith. The Church will finally grow up into “a perfect man (Christ), unto the measure of His fullness.” (Read Ephesians, 3:11-16).
THEN THE LORD ANSWERED JOB OUT OF THE WHIRLWIND, AND SAID, “WHO IS THIS THAT DARKENTH COUNSEL BY WORDS WITHOUT KNOWLEDGE?” Job, Chapter 38, Verses 1-2.