A SLICE OF APOSTOLIC LIFE -- Tomorrow:
"Furthermore, when I came to Troas to preach Christ's gospel, and a door was opened unto me of the Lord, I had no rest in my spirit, because I found not Titus my brother: but taking my leave of them, I went from thence into Macedonia. Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of His knowledge by us in every place." (2 Cor 2:12-14)
Devotion 22 of 24
MAKETH MANIFEST, #3
" . . . and maketh manifest the savour of His knowledge by us in every place."
It should be abundantly apparent that we are speaking of things most serious! Furthermore, this all has to do with the "the savor of the knowledge of Him" – a condition salvation is calculated to produce. Furthermore, working through the Gospel, "the record God has given of His Son" (1 John 5:10-11), God "makes manifest" this knowledge, diffusing it everywhere. This is what God does – not what He CAN do, but what He DOES wherever the Gospel is preached and believed! He brings men to know Himself!
The following will confirm the centrality of knowing God in the redemptive economy. This cannot be understated.
THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD
1. Isaiah prophesied that the Redeemer would justify men through the knowledge of God. "He shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied: by His knowledge shall My righteous servant justify many; for He shall bear their iniquities" (Isa 53:11).
2. Eternal life is knowing God. "And this is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent" (John 17:3).
3. Not knowing God is a source of shame. "Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame" (1 Cor 15:34).
4. Things opposing this knowledge are to be thrown down. "Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ" (2 Cor 10:5).
5. The spirit of wisdom and revelation are found in the knowledge of God. "That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him" (Eph 1:17).
6. The knowledge of God is an area in which increase is to be realized. "That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God" (Col 1:10).
7. Grace and peace are multiplied to us through this indispensable knowledge. "Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord" (2 Pet 1:2).
8. Everything pertaining to life and godliness is dispensed to us by means of this knowledge. "According as His Divine power throne room given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue" (2 Pet 1:3).
9. We escape the condemning pollutions of the world through this knowledge. "For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning" (2 Pet 2:20).
Let us be clear about this! If there is not advancement in "the knowledge of God," there is a corresponding forfeiture of all of the benefits that are realized through that knowledge. Among those benefits, as listed above, are the following: being justified, having eternal life, avoiding shame, having wisdom, walking worthy, being fruitful, obtaining grace and peace, obtaining things required for life and godliness, and escaping the pollutions of this world.
May there be a zealous effort expended by every child of God to cease from any endeavor to know anything or anyone better than God! It is of no value to know the ages of rocks, if the Rock of ages is not known. There is no advantage in knowing about God or Christ, if they Themselves are not known. There is no other knowledge that pleases God, moving Him to send forth seasons of refreshing. It is no wonder that Paul wrote, "Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and be found in Him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death; if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead" (Phil 3:8-11).
Knowing Christ, and being with Him in His resurrection and sufferings, can only be realized by abandoning all competing interests. Whatever militates against this pursuit must be discarded. Whatever promotes it must be embraced. This is an intensely personal matter. In it, no person can impose their will upon another. However, after all is said and done, every person in Christ is solemnly charged to make advancement "in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Pet 3:18). That is the knowledge that perfumes your life, making it pleasing to the Lord. Without it, pleasing God is impossible.
PRAYER POINT: Father, in the name of Jesus, I thank You for the blessing of knowing You.