The Role Knowledge Plays in a Growing Relationship with God...

This week, we are looking at the issue of goals. And more specifically, we are looking at the issue of goals when it comes to a relationship with God. This can be especially difficult issue when it comes to the whole concept of spiritual growth and maturity. While we can use a tape measure and a scale to measure our physical growth, how do we measure our spiritual growth? What goals should followers of Jesus pursue and measure when it comes to spiritual maturity?

Yesterday, we saw Paul reveal for us that Christians act unchristian when we pursue knowledge over love. We discovered that the first thing that occurs when we pursue knowledge over love is that pursuing knowledge over love leads to arrogance. Today, just as it was 2000 years ago, there are many people who believe that it is what you know that matters; the more I know, the more I grow.

The true mark of a growing and maturing relationship with Jesus Christ, however, is a growing and maturing other-centered love for God and others. Our love for God and not our knowledge about God should be what motivates our behavior toward God and others. Christians act unchristian, however, when we are motivated by what we know about God, which ultimately results in spiritual pride instead of spiritual maturity.

Now a natural question that can arise is what role does knowledge play in a growing and maturing relationship with Christ? Is God O.K. with me remaining ignorant in terms of what I know about God as long as I love God? We see Paul answer this question for us in 1 Corinthians 8:4-6:

Therefore concerning the eating of things sacrificed to idols, we know that there is no such thing as an idol in the world, and that there is no God but one. For even if there are so-called gods whether in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords, yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him.

Paul answers the question as to the role that knowledge should play in a growing and maturing relationship with God by addressing the by the pot luck fellowships that were occurring at the temple which church members were attending. Paul begins by revealing for us the reality that how we live out our day to day lives as followers of God is always rooted in what we believe about God in terms of theology. Our beliefs about God will always impact and inform our decisions about how we live before God.

Paul then reveals the theology that should impact how we live our lives before God: “we know that there is no such thing as an idol in the world and that there is no God but one”. Paul is stating that the members of the church at Corinth comprehend and intellectually grasp the reality that an idol is a false god that does not really exist. The members of the church at Corinth have comprehended and grasped that there is really only one true God that exercises control over the affairs of the universe. Paul then explains that while there are many who believe that there are many gods and many transcendent beings, the members of the church at Corinth have come to comprehend and grasp who the true God is.

Paul then unpacks the timeless theology of the unchanging nature of the one true God by stating “there is one God the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him”. Paul here is reminding the members of the church of Corinth that everything comes from God the Father as our Creator and that we exist for His glory. God does not exist for our glory; we exist for God’s glory.

Paul continues by stating “and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things and we exist through Him”. Paul is reminding the members of the church that Jesus Christ is the eternal and unique son of God, who is large and in charge as the hands of creation that provides us the opportunity to exist in the relationship with God that we were created for through His life, death, and resurrection.

It is not that we should not pursue as a goal to know about God. Knowledge and love are not an either/or issue. The question that we need to ask is why do we pursue knowledge about God? What motivates us to want to know more about God?

Tomorrow, we will look at what happens when we pursue knowledge about God with the wrong motives in mind. We will also look at how pursuing knowledge over love can negatively impact those around us.