Are Knowledge and Sanctification inseparately connected?

Status
Not open for further replies.

InSlaveryToChrist

Puritan Board Junior
By knowledge here I mean both received natural and special revelation. Are both or either of those revelations inseparately connected with sanctification? It would seem obvious to me that natural revelation, in and of itself, has no effect on our sanctification, but may be a means of coming to special revelation. If both or either are inseparately connected with sanctification, is it of necessity (i.e., because it could not be otherwise = because it is contrary to the nature of God) or because God has freely made them so?

The personal bearing of these questions to myself makes me worried, because I perceive myself to be very lacking in love (although, ironically, very considerate of others in thought -- or so I think), yet I perceive God has given me great measure of essential knowledge. Yet, when I compare myself to other Christians, some being very lost in the main doctrines of the Bible, I feel greatly inferior to their love, and I'm forced to think, "Am I missing something very important about myself and/or God?"

Here is a verse that may relate to this discussion:

"And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing." (1 Cor. 13:2)

I'm not sure what is meant by "knowledge" and "faith" here. Concerning faith, I'm sure faith is inseparately connected with sanctification, and thus love also. This would have to mean faith in this text is not true, saving faith, but historical only.
 
Samuel, it's difficult to answer the question briefly because there are a number of distinctions that need to be made in order to set out the proper framework for an accurate answer.

When special revelation is connected to illumination (and when an illumined person sees natural revelation through the lens of special revelation) you can of course say that it is connected to sanctification. We are renewed in knowledge after the image of our Creator (Colossians 3:10), and that includes having the proper object of knowledge put before us. In this sense I think it is clear that they are necessarily connected.

However, there is not a one-to-one correspondence between speculative knowledge and practical holiness. The way it works is not that we come to a settled lapsarian position and therefore immediately triumph over our gluttonous tendencies. Knowledge puffs up; charity builds up. It is not that knowledge is bad, but understanding all mysteries is not the same thing as knowing God in the sense that makes people to be strong and do exploits.

The knowledge of God that transforms us is a practical knowledge that impinges on our outlook and sense of things. "Taste and see that the Lord is good." Many an humble saint who can't explain the catechism still has that practical apprehension: has tasted and seen, and been changed. To be a teacher one needs the speculative grasp as well as the practical; but not all saints are called to be teachers. It should not come as a surprise that in this sense also it is often the poor that God has chosen who are rich in faith. God can give to one great enlargement of heart where there is relatively little speculative knowledge, and vice versa.

But it is important to bear in mind that growth in grace is gradual, and that not every one is conducted in quite the same way. There is variety among those planted by the Lord spiritually, just as there is variety in the trees that he has made to spring up. Having a high esteem of the graces of others, and feeling your own shortcomings, is already a virtue. It is not that our feelings about our shortcomings are wrong - it's just that the alertness to know and bewail it is already a kind of virtue proper to sinful creatures. It is good to seek understanding, and to do so with the understanding that it is not an end in itself; only the knowledge of God, a personal rather than a merely propositional knowledge, is synonymous with holiness and eternal life.
 
Samuel, it's difficult to answer the question briefly because there are a number of distinctions that need to be made in order to set out the proper framework for an accurate answer.

When special revelation is connected to illumination (and when an illumined person sees natural revelation through the lens of special revelation) you can of course say that it is connected to sanctification. We are renewed in knowledge after the image of our Creator (Colossians 3:10), and that includes having the proper object of knowledge put before us. In this sense I think it is clear that they are necessarily connected.

However, there is not a one-to-one correspondence between speculative knowledge and practical holiness. The way it works is not that we come to a settled lapsarian position and therefore immediately triumph over our gluttonous tendencies. Knowledge puffs up; charity builds up. It is not that knowledge is bad, but understanding all mysteries is not the same thing as knowing God in the sense that makes people to be strong and do exploits.

The knowledge of God that transforms us is a practical knowledge that impinges on our outlook and sense of things. "Taste and see that the Lord is good." Many an humble saint who can't explain the catechism still has that practical apprehension: has tasted and seen, and been changed. To be a teacher one needs the speculative grasp as well as the practical; but not all saints are called to be teachers. It should not come as a surprise that in this sense also it is often the poor that God has chosen who are rich in faith. God can give to one great enlargement of heart where there is relatively little speculative knowledge, and vice versa.

But it is important to bear in mind that growth in grace is gradual, and that not every one is conducted in quite the same way. There is variety among those planted by the Lord spiritually, just as there is variety in the trees that he has made to spring up. Having a high esteem of the graces of others, and feeling your own shortcomings, is already a virtue. It is not that our feelings about our shortcomings are wrong - it's just that the alertness to know and bewail it is already a kind of virtue proper to sinful creatures. It is good to seek understanding, and to do so with the understanding that it is not an end in itself; only the knowledge of God, a personal rather than a merely propositional knowledge, is synonymous with holiness and eternal life.

Thank you, Ruben! That was very helpful as always. Something that I'm still not quite sure about is if receiving knowledge of God (not just any knowledge) immediately transforms us OR is simply a means of our transformation to Christ-likeness?
 
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

“The work of the Holy Ghost first begins in the understanding, and is carried on to the will, affections, and conversation, till there is a change of the whole man into the likeness of God, in knowledge, righteousness, and true holiness. Thus, to be godly, is to give up ourselves to God.” Matthew Henry from his comment on the above verse.

Proverbs 9:10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.” Jeremiah 9:23,24

Scripture tells us that so far as we understand and know/fear God, we will also shun evil/not be conformed to the world. This seems to be the crux of sanctification. Knowing God on the basis of our understanding (renewed minds) leads to sanctified lives (lives more akin to His holy/separated character).

So perhaps this is why it is possible, and not infrequently the case, that those with less eloquent understanding of certain theological doctrines, but greater personal knowledge of and a more intimate relationship with God, cannot do anything other than live as He lived/love as He loved.

Whilst vast knowledge about God and about the Gospel is nothing to be scoffed at for every born again believer should be a student of theology, yet it is knowledge of God, which comes through the more intimate and personal times of trials, prayer and childlike dependence upon Him, which tends to be the most productive.

That said, have you asked those closest to you how they perceive you? Not the easiest thing to do perhaps, but you might be being too hard on yourself. Either way, when the Scripture lists virtues, love often appears at the end of the list, almost as the glue which binds everything else together and without which the other virtues fail to wholly represent God.
Love isn’t something we can try to do is it? It is more a ‘being’ or rather a ‘Being’ than a ‘doing’ and in that regard I wonder if it finds itself at the end of the lists because it is something we naturally (or supernaturally) become as we mature in the faith? Knowledge has to be a part of that maturing, but it is by no means the whole and isn’t it often the case, that the more mature we become, the more we see our faults and bemoan our lack? That’s why fellowship is so vital. Not to massage egos, but to encourage one another in our sanctification (we often have blind spots insofar as our faults, but we can also be blind to the sanctifying, glorious work of God in us too) which primarily means glorifying God at work in His people.
 
Something that I'm still not quite sure about is if receiving knowledge of God (not just any knowledge) immediately transforms us OR is simply a means of our transformation to Christ-likeness?

The answer to that question, I think, probably depends on how one takes the word receiving. It typically takes a while to assimilate a truth and have it percolate through our thinking and feeling. So if you think of "receiving" as the moment of first hearing a truth, then I would not say that receiving knowledge of God is instantaneously transformative. Further complicating the matter is the reality that transformation is not always observable or conscious. Sometimes it takes a while for it to register that something has changed, and then it becomes difficult to identify the moment at which it changed. As with the growth of plants from seed, a lot of what takes place in our own growth in grace is under the surface.

But since the vision of God is instantaneously and dramatically transformative, I think it is undeniable that lesser manifestations of God also have a transformative impact, though it is more subtle. Certainly the manifestations of God given to Jacob, Moses, and Isaiah involved deep change. In ecclesiastical history one could think of Thomas Goodwin, to mention just one instance.
 
Last edited:
Something that I'm still not quite sure about is if receiving knowledge of God (not just any knowledge) immediately transforms us OR is simply a means of our transformation to Christ-likeness?

The answer to that question, I think, probably depends on how one takes the word receiving. It typically takes a while to assimilate a truth and have it percolate through our thinking and feeling. So if you think of "receiving" as the moment of first hearing a truth, then I would not say that receiving knowledge of God is instantaneously transformative. Further complicating the matter is the reality that transformation is not always observable or conscious. Sometimes it takes a while for it to register that something has changed, and then it becomes difficult to identify the moment at which at changed. As with the growth of plants from seed, a lot of what takes place in our own growth in grace is under the surface.

But since the vision of God is instantaneously and dramatically transformative, I think it is undeniable that lesser manifestations of God also have a transformative impact, though it is more subtle. Certainly the manifestations of God given to Jacob, Moses, and Isaiah involved deep change. In ecclesiastical history one could think of Thomas Goodwin, to mention just one instance.

Ruben,

what I mean by "receiving" is not just hearing, but also understanding (at a level that a finite creature is able to) what is said about God. So, when a person truly -- although not exhaustively -- hears and understands a truth about God, it is immediately transformative, right? To know God is life (John 17:3), and since God and His life is alien to sinners, by the knowledge of God a new lifely creature is born.
 
I just remembered some verses:

"Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law; yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart." (Psalms 119:34)

"When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul; Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee:" (Proverbs 2:10-11)

"When you walk, they will guide you; when you sleep, they will watch over you; when you awake, they will speak to you." (Proverbs 6:22)

I especially like the last one. I'm of the camp that believes we are accountable for what we think or do not just when we are awake, but also when we are asleep. When you have God's wisdom, it will protect you from all evil, it will guide you to learn more about God, and sanctify you till creaturely perfection.
 
Last edited:
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

“The work of the Holy Ghost first begins in the understanding, and is carried on to the will, affections, and conversation, till there is a change of the whole man into the likeness of God, in knowledge, righteousness, and true holiness. Thus, to be godly, is to give up ourselves to God.” Matthew Henry from his comment on the above verse.

Proverbs 9:10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.” Jeremiah 9:23,24

Scripture tells us that so far as we understand and know/fear God, we will also shun evil/not be conformed to the world. This seems to be the crux of sanctification. Knowing God on the basis of our understanding (renewed minds) leads to sanctified lives (lives more akin to His holy/separated character).

So perhaps this is why it is possible, and not infrequently the case, that those with less eloquent understanding of certain theological doctrines, but greater personal knowledge of and a more intimate relationship with God, cannot do anything other than live as He lived/love as He loved.

Whilst vast knowledge about God and about the Gospel is nothing to be scoffed at for every born again believer should be a student of theology, yet it is knowledge of God, which comes through the more intimate and personal times of trials, prayer and childlike dependence upon Him, which tends to be the most productive.

That said, have you asked those closest to you how they perceive you? Not the easiest thing to do perhaps, but you might be being too hard on yourself. Either way, when the Scripture lists virtues, love often appears at the end of the list, almost as the glue which binds everything else together and without which the other virtues fail to wholly represent God.
Love isn’t something we can try to do is it? It is more a ‘being’ or rather a ‘Being’ than a ‘doing’ and in that regard I wonder if it finds itself at the end of the lists because it is something we naturally (or supernaturally) become as we mature in the faith? Knowledge has to be a part of that maturing, but it is by no means the whole and isn’t it often the case, that the more mature we become, the more we see our faults and bemoan our lack? That’s why fellowship is so vital. Not to massage egos, but to encourage one another in our sanctification (we often have blind spots insofar as our faults, but we can also be blind to the sanctifying, glorious work of God in us too) which primarily means glorifying God at work in His people.

Hello, Jo-Anne!

Thank you for taking the time to write all of that! I remembered a lot of important things.
 
Ruben,

what I mean by "receiving" is not just hearing, but also understanding (at a level that a finite creature is able to) what is said about God. So, when a person truly -- although not exhaustively -- hears and understands a truth about God, it is immediately transformative, right? To know God is life (John 17:3), and since God and His life is alien to sinners, by the knowledge of God a new lifely creature is born.

Samuel, I think a believing apprehension (which includes understanding but also reception) of the revelation of God is immediately transformative. But I think putting it that way runs the risk of making it seem like knowledge and sanctification are a mathematical process where when you add 1 unit of knowledge of God's omnipotence, it transforms fear into quietness. And I don't think that is how things work.
For one thing, I don't actually know something in that transformative sense until the eyes of my understanding are enlightened (Ephesians 1:17,18), and this is something that God does individually, after conversion, for each believer. I need the strengthening of the Spirit in order to comprehend the the love of Christ (Ephesians 3:14-19).
For another thing, as noted previously, the transformation may be occurring in subterranean regions, and therefore not be observable by us for quite some time.
Finally, the influence of one aspect of truth on our souls may be quite unexpected. E.g., we might think that fear will be calmed by the thought of omnipotence, but in a particular case a grasp of longsuffering might be more relevant to dealing with fear.

All of that to say that the knowledge of God which is contained in Scripture and is brought home to us by the Spirit is powerfully transformative, but evaluating that in ourselves is not a straightforward process: the knowledge of God is not a discrete set of items which can be counted; sanctification is not like electric current, which can be measured. We can know some of our failings, enough to pray intelligently for grace to relieve them; but with regard to our own growth in grace, as with regard to the proper remedies for our corruptions, like Peter we must appeal to omniscience: "Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee."
 
Last edited:
Ruben,

what I mean by "receiving" is not just hearing, but also understanding (at a level that a finite creature is able to) what is said about God. So, when a person truly -- although not exhaustively -- hears and understands a truth about God, it is immediately transformative, right? To know God is life (John 17:3), and since God and His life is alien to sinners, by the knowledge of God a new lifely creature is born.

Samuel, I think a believing apprehension (which includes understanding but also reception) of the revelation of God is immediately transformative. But I think putting it that way runs the risk of making it seem like knowledge and sanctification are a mathematical process where when you add 1 unit of knowledge of God's omnipotence, it transforms fear into quietness. And I don't think that is how things work.
For one thing, I don't actually know something in that transformative sense until the eyes of my understanding are enlightened (Ephesians 1:17,18), and this is something that God does individually, after conversion, for each believer. I need the strengthening of the Spirit in order to comprehend the the love of Christ (Ephesians 3:14-19).
For another thing, as noted previously, the transformation may be occurring in subterranean regions, and therefore not be observable by us for quite some time.
Finally, the influence of one aspect of truth on our souls may be quite unexpected. E.g., we might think that fear will be calmed by the thought of omnipotence, but in a particular case a grasp of longsuffering might be more relevant to dealing with fear.

All of that to say that the knowledge of God which is contained in Scripture and is brought home to us by the Spirit is powerfully transformative, but evaluating that in ourselves is not a straightforward process: the knowledge of God is not a discrete set of items which can be counted; sanctification is not like electric current, which can be measured. We can know some of our failings, enough to pray intelligently for grace to relieve them; but with regard to our own growth in grace, as with regard to the proper remedies for our corruptions, like Peter we must appeal to omniscience: "Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee."

Ruben,

Thank you for this, and I understand that sanctification is not attained by merely increasing knowledge, but ultimately through our dependence on God. I understand there exists this vast complexity of things that makes up our sanctification. God works all things together for this end, so we can only be aware of so much.
 
Here's a couple verses in response to your original post 2 Corinthians 10:22, 1 Cor 13:6, 1 cor 8:1, 2 tim 2:15. Find the balance.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top