The Paradox of Knowledge
1 Corinthians 2 And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. 2 For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 3 I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. 4 And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
Spiritual Wisdom
6 However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. 7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, 8 which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 But as it is written:
“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”
If I have knowledge and do not know God; then I have only knowledge. But knowledge is changeable. If I have knowledge, and that knowledge points me to God, then I have the knowledge of God, but if I don't know God, I have only the knowledge of God. But if I have the knowledge of God and know Him, then I no longer need to know that which points me to Him.
If the books do not speak about God or do not lead me to know Him, then that knowledge is pointless.
We are told that in the last days, knowledge will increase.
Daniel 12:4
4 “But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.”
The result in the pursuit of knowledge will increase the level of wickedness upon the earth, where wickedness, is the abject denial and rejection of God.
YHVH’s words to Daniel declared that only the wise will understand.
10 Many shall be purified, made white, and refined, but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand.
Understanding comes to those who seek to attain wisdom, and furthermore the knowledge of God. However, when we believe we have attained it, we will find out that it is, after all, a paradox.
The paradox.
‘Knowledge leads us to the paradox, and the paradox is that what we need to know is nothing. Only God!
The quest of the human is to regain the knowledge of how to return back to the place of exile - the garden of God. It will drive him to the end of the earth, literally, and even then he shall not find it by any means, because it cannot be acquired by just knowledge itself.
It is beyond his reach. What is happening is that his pursuit is leading him to attain what the serpent suggested - to become like God. The trans-humanist agenda seeks to provide the means for man to attain his own garden and eternal state, and thus, we see the subtle moves of changing his pursuit of God to the pursuit of the cosmic conscience.
Thus, this route will lead him only to the calamity to come, — and sooner than he thinks.
We are told to study the word.
2 Timothy 2:15
“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
Learning the scriptures leads a man in instruction, gives him the understanding of righteousness and pushes him forward to perfection. It can do all these things, but what about salvation. We can have every theological degree going but without the knowledge of God through wisdom, we are not yet saved.
We can understand, nuance of language, cultural context, reason, and prophecy, but without the intimacy required by God to walk with Him, it is all head knowledge.
Yeshua is the Word of God that became manifest upon the earth. He speaks of God; points to Him, testifies of Him, declares Him, and reveals Him. And so the Word came that we may know Him and have life.
Ultimately the gaining of knowledge will lead to death in both worlds. God will dwell with those who seek Him, and remove Himself from those who wish to seek themselves.
Intellectual knowledge can only produce more intellectual knowledge, but it is wisdom that produces the knowledge of God. The book of Proverbs instructs the disciple to push for the acquisition of wisdom because wisdom is the beginning and the end; knowledge lies between.
It was through wisdom that God made the universe. Prov 3:19.
Wisdom defines the route that must be followed when one seeks to be disciplined in finding the knowledge of God.
The scripture tells us to ‘Ask and it shall be given, Seek and we will find, knock and the door shall be open to you.
In a brief attempt to unpack this scripture, we find that we are admonished to: ask and seek for wisdom, in order to know God, or enter into His house. This is bridal language and alludes to the intimacy of knowledge that only a bride and groom can have on their wedding night and throughout their lives. Thus wisdom, asks for itself.
The passage also constructs for us the pathway to salvation, which is also the pathway in becoming the bride.
As wisdom and knowledge belong to no one individual, but is the unifying act that joins all those who seek it, the wise will therefore be the chosen and furnished company that God has set aside for Himself.
Now, if a man needed water for his family, and he found a fresh stream that he could access, would he keep the water for himself? Of course not. Thus the liquidity of wisdom is shared among all for the purpose of unifying the body throughout the ages.
The attaining of wisdom is not an exercise. It is attained for the sole purpose of knowing God.
Prov 3
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil
In the above passage, we must refrain from human understanding and wisdom. We submit to God as humble disciples so that He may teach us His ways.
In Prov 1
5 let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance—
6 for understanding proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise.
7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
This opening statement to the book of Proverbs, tells us the purpose for attaining our sisters, ‘wisdom and understanding’ (Ch7v4), and that the foolish are those who have become wicked by rejecting instruction.
The ‘Fear of the Lord’ is for us to understand. It applies to Him as supreme judge, who passes the sentence of life and death over the soul and the spirit and alludes to loss of salvation. In this, we are thus fearful of His judgment.
1: 20 Out in the open wisdom calls aloud, she raises her voice in the public square;
21 on top of the wall she cries out, at the city gate she makes her speech:
22 “How long will you who are simple love your simple ways? How long will mockers delight in mockery and fools hate knowledge?
23 Repent at my rebuke! Then I will pour out my thoughts to you, I will make known to you my teachings.
We forget that we are supposed to walk in all wisdom and knowledge. Instead, we often cruise through our faith by just thinking that reading the Bible is enough. The Word of God is the power of God unto salvation. (Romans 1:14-17) there is more to it than just attaining theological knowledge.
Having pursued knowledge and wisdom, the bride now purified, is accepted by God as His wife. The one unique creation now transformed in totality is to be as He is. She has now earned the right to stand in the place created for her, and she will rule and reign with all wisdom with her Husband. She will know what he knows and when she speaks, it will be as if God is speaking because His thoughts have been poured out over her.
The pursuit of the knowledge of the carnal world will bring upon it its own calamity because it will create a ever-increasing chasm between man and God.
Wisdom shows us the righteous path, the route back to the place from which we were expelled. We can then knock upon the door of the garden and prove what we have attained. Wisdom and understanding will stand as witnesses with us as we make the entrance.
The Goal for the Trans-Human
Through its combined knowledge and clever cunning, man has created an exponential system by means of technologies, to extrapolate and gather phenomenal amounts of data. Its hope is to create new beings that no longer need to be dependent on each other and on God. In this future world where God is surplus to requirements, we become what was suggested by the serpent to the first human beings - gods, just like God Himself.
We can join together in the sharing of knowledge in order to become a solidarity and having shifted into this new non-biological form, we can push forward in transcending into the ultimate being that can exist forever in a self-maintained existence - the continuum.
Having left our old and depleted world we now live beyond the realm of the heavens.
Whoops! Screeeeetch! Emergency stop!
So what’s the problem? Can anyone see the elephant in the room?
The result is that the spirit of man is removed. The Spirit of God in His image cannot inhabit such a place. As many will have died, sacrificing their lives to make the transition, their eternity is lost completely. The continuum will still exist within the realms of the physical, though it may be invisible.
The ownership of the spirit of man belongs to the Lord and that is why we should fear Him.
The reward of the wise is a garland of grace and the crown of splendour. Prov CH3 13-18.
That was a good meal!
Have you ever noticed that sometimes after a hearty meal, you feel tired and perhaps find the need to rest? You see this a lot in the animal kingdom. They were designed this way but a life of eating and resting for a human leads to one of lethargy and fatness and other combined maladies.
I have come to understand that the scriptures must not be consumed in large amounts either. We can expose language, social and cultural idioms, and unravel meaning and context. None of that is guaranteed to give us wisdom. All of that is intelligent analysis.
How can we savour and appreciate the nuances of taste within its offering?
The knowledge of God cannot be consumed in a single loaf. It must be partaken of and enjoyed slice by slice.
God has given us a lifetime to enjoy the many meals He presents to us. All of them are to prepare us for the banquet to come.
We must therefore understand, that the various plates of delights are given for our survival. They energise us to do the works we are called to do. Part of the work of God in us is to give us wisdom so that we may know Him and Him only.
When I was a child, we used to write letters to pen friends. They would often be people we would never get the chance to meet because distance was prohibitive. Letters would be sent all over the world. Sometimes the letters would continue into later life and sometimes journeys would be arranged to put flesh upon our paper friends. All of that has changed now. We use different means to communicate. This said, we cannot deny the fact that unless we meet each other in person, and despite having the written knowledge of each other written down, complete knowledge will evade us.
We can treat the scriptures like this. We have the knowledge of God in them, but making contact with Him is denied as long as we keep wisdom out of the equation. Walking along the road with, and listening to her voice, will join the two of us together.
Push on toward one mind
Philippians 3: 7 But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. 8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; 10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11 if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.
Pressing Toward the Goal 12 Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have [d]apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
15 Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. 16 Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind.