More Than Knowing About God

“So that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.” — Colossians 1:10 (NASB 1995)

Everybody knows what a hammer is. You can look at it and say, “That is a hammer. You use it to drive a nail.” But that does not mean you know how to use one.

When you have had a hammer in your hand every day, you know the feel of it. I once had another man accidentally trade hammers with me on a job site. They were the same kind and the same weight, but as soon as I picked his up, I knew: “This is not my hammer.” He did not believe me at first, but I knew because it did not feel right in my hand.

That is the difference between knowing what something is and knowing it through experience.

And church, there is a difference between knowing about God and truly knowing God.

The New Testament uses the Greek word epignōsis to describe a true, precise knowledge. It is not just information stored in your head. It is a relational knowledge that grows as you walk with God, trust Him in the hard seasons, repent when you fall, spend time in His Word, serve His people, and experience His faithfulness for yourself.

Epignōsis is knowledge that changes the knower.

Paul prayed in Colossians 1 that the church would be filled with this knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding. Why? So they could win a Bible trivia contest? So they could use bigger theological words? No. He prayed for them to know God so that their walk would change.

Here is the cycle Paul gives us:

The more I truly know Christ, the more my walk changes. The more my walk changes, the more my life pleases God. The more my life pleases God, the more fruit I bear. And the more fruit I bear, the more I truly know Him.

Then we go around again. Knowing Him changes my walk. My changed walk pleases Him. A life that pleases Him bears fruit. And as I see Him working through that fruit, I know Him more.

Now, who is the fruit for? Have you ever seen an apple tree eat an apple? Has a grapevine ever eaten the grape? The one bearing the fruit does not produce it for itself. The fruit is for somebody else.

The love, patience, gentleness, kindness, goodness, and compassion God produces in your life are not just there to make you look spiritual. They are there so you can help somebody, hold somebody up, sit with somebody in a dark moment, and show somebody Jesus. That is what it means for us to be loving people to the Kingdom.

Church, we can collect sermons, Bible studies, conference notes, and books and still never let truth change us. We can be always learning and never come to the true knowledge of the truth. If what we are learning is not becoming transforming in our lives, then it is only information.

I do not want to be the same tomorrow. I am thankful beyond words that Jesus saved me, but I am not content to say, “Well, I am saved, so I am finished.” We are called to grow up in Christ and to bear fruit.

Whether today is your first day walking with Jesus or you have walked with Him for twenty years, the prayer is the same: tomorrow, be one step closer. Go one step deeper. Know Him more—and let knowing Him change the way you live.

Reflection

1. Am I growing in personal knowledge of God, or only gathering information about Him?

2. What part of my daily walk is God currently seeking to change?

3. Who could be helped by the fruit God is producing in my life?

Prayer

Father, fill me with the true knowledge of Your will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding. Do not let what I learn about You stay only in my head. Let it change my walk. Let my walk please You, and let my life bear fruit that helps somebody else see Jesus. Wherever I am today, draw me one step closer and one step deeper tomorrow. In Jesus’ name, amen.