Two Types of Knowledge

There is a type of knowledge that is doctrinal, theological and instructive, and there is a type of knowledge that is born out of a revelation of God. Both are known as "truth," both produce a certain type of person, and both are accepted as "Christianity."

You can be certain that God wants us to have right doctrines, but we must never content ourselves with merely the accumulation of correct knowledge. For this knowledge often remains just a file of religious facts; where the Word of God is viewed more as a museum than a power plant.

When we halt our spiritual ascent toward God at the plateau of doctrinal knowledge, we become people who never really change. Instead, our old nature simply pretends to be new. The longer we settle for just head knowledge, our Christianity begins to degenerate into a religious spirit.

It takes God to change our stubborn, rebellious natures. And our mighty God does not want us to fake our Christianity. He wants you to be real, where the knowledge of your head becomes the reality of your heart. You see, truth, in God's view, is more than doctrines. It is reality.

The difference between mere doctrinal truth and revelation truth is that, with doctrinal truth the heart of a man may be deceitful, lustful and arrogant yet still maintain a theologically true opinion of God.

The Pharisees had, more or less, a theologically true opinion of God, but Jesus said inwardly they were full of "robbery and self-indulgence" (Matt. 23:25). Outwardly, they looked holy, but all they had was religious flesh. Inwardly, they were false.

David knew God. He visited the tent of God, where he worshiped and prayed. In fact, even after he sinned with Bathesheba he continued the outer form of his relationship, but his heart was from far from God. When he repented, he reverently acknowledged of God, "Thou dost desire truth in the innermost being" (Psalms 51:6).

Doctrinal truth has an illusion about itself: the illusion is that knowledge is the same thing as righteousness. It is not. We all know people who are fault-finders, critical and gossips, yet they are capable of maintaining all the proper doctrines about love. When they speak ill of people they do so with boldness, feeling like they are serving God.

What these people have, is called "religious flesh." On the other hand, truth that comes by revelation always produces change; it always leaves us less sure of our selves, more dependant upon God, and more loving toward others.

To topple the old ways of thinking, God must penetrate and remove the arrogance that guards our ignorance. We must be broken of self-confidence and become God-confident. To break us, God must confront us.