(1) Knowledge vs. Knowing

I remember when I was in college, doing two major papers of important historical figures. One was on Christopher Columbus, “The Dark Side of Discovery.” The other was on J. Edger Hoover, “Did J. Edgar Hoover Abuse His Power for Personal Gain?”

I did a great deal of research and reading about these two men. I got to know quite a bit about them. Most of what I discovered is now forgotten; all but my personal assessment of these two men. The title of the first reveals my opinion of Christopher Columbus and my answer to the question posed by the second was a pretty confident “yes.” But this matters little.

What does matter is what this illustrates. I can learn a lot of facts about a person and even draw conclusions and do character judgements of them. But this does not mean I really know them. In fact, if I had known them personally, I suspect my opinion might differ, even significantly. On top of this is the reality that knowledge of facts doesn’t stick in our minds or in our psyche. We forget facts about a person if that is all there is to our relationship. When it becomes personal and truly interactive, the facts take on more of a reality to us. The facts grow to be a fuller, personal, and experiential knowledge. Instead of knowing about the person, we actually know them.

We will soon begin a factual study of the character of God. And, it is vitally critical that we get the facts straight based on scripture. But this factual study must not remain at the fact level. It must become real and personal. Fact must become familiarity and familial. Jesus said: "This is eternal life that they might know You (God)", and "know" there means experience. There is a difference between knowing about something and experiencing something.

Let me put this in other, theological terms. Theologians have debated the nature of the Word of God and how it is to be viewed. Some say it is propositional, meaning that it is truth given in propositions or principles that are objective in nature. Others say that the Bible is personal and is meant simply to influence and impact people and does so differently with each person. Perhaps the proper view of scripture needs to take both the propositional and personal concepts into account.

We must affirm that the Bible contains timeless moral absolutes as well as timeless principles which are to be followed across cultural and chronological boundaries. The Bible is propositional. It is propositional in that it contains objective truth and universal principles. But, the Bible is meant by God to be personal as well. It is personal in that God gave these propositional truths with a view toward revealing Himself to man in order to transform our lives and to have personal relationship and fellowship. God never meant for His Word to only impart knowledge. He designed it to change lives.

Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise. (Matthew 7:24 NLT)

But don't just listen to God's word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. (James 1:22 NLT)

If you obey my decrees and my regulations, you will find life through them. I am the LORD. (Leviticus 18:5 NLT)

Some might argue that this simply amounts to a pragmatic approach to scripture. It is not. Pragmatism would say that scripture is good and applicable to life if it works. So, when scripture says a husband is to love his wife as Christ loved that Church, and that a wife is to submit to her husband, the pragmatist might say, this doesn’t work for me, you don’t know my spouse.

The propositional yet personal approach to scripture says that the propositional truths of scripture must be put into practice irregardless of the difficulty due to our circumstances. Scripture must change our thinking and life, not the other way around. Proposition always trumps.

So as we study propositional truth related to the goodness and greatness of God, we must assure that we get the facts straight by careful study of the Word of God. But, we must not stop there. These truths must transform our thinking and our lives. We must go from knowing about God to knowing God . . . personally . . . practically . . . intimately . . . transformatively.
 
Soli Deo Gloria

Next:  (2)  Can We Really Know God?