13. KNOWLEDGE

DR. EARL PARVIN 12/3/22

When God created man and placed him in the Glorious Garden of Eden, He knew that the Man whom They [G. 1:26] created in Our own image, [Gen 1:27] would be able-- to name the animals [Gen 2:20], to investigate the inner workings of the Earth which He created to be inhabited [Is. 45:18], to discover the complexity & ordered minutia of the sub-atomic world [i.e. the Periodic Table of Elements & Table Elementary Particles] and to observe the beauty, majesty and programmed nature of the Grand Galactic Universe because God had placed man on Planet Earth located in the Milky Way Galaxy precisely positioned such that he could marvel at & explore the expanse of the finely tuned Universe which He created to be inhabited [Is.45:18]. He would also be tempted to seek to visit exotic places like: the Moon, Mars [In fact on 11/26/18 NASA’s Insight landed to explore the makeup of the planet] and dream of ‘Other Worlds’ & Aliens? But, note what Adam & Eve did not know.

God in His Infinite Wisdom knew the danger lurking in that ‘naturally inquisitive spirit’ of His human creation; therefore, He said to Adam, “you must not eat from the Tree of [the] KNOWLEDGE [of] {which is both} good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” [Gen 2:17 Note my modifications]. Knowledge becomes the ‘operative issue’ or emphasis. The pursuit of KNOWLEDGE will be either for ‘good or evil’ and ultimately man’s undoing.

There is an ominous sound to “certainly die”. Not just - die.

Aristotle noted in his Metaphysics that man was a creature “who desires understanding”. But there is something intrinsically dangerous about this pursuit of knowledge which could lead to an ultimate & untimely death. The Hebrew words [surely die] is a repetition of terms: the infinitive- ‘to die’ + future tense ‘will die’, which translates: ‘to die you will die”. If man did not learn to obey God, His maker & sustainer, he would set in motion that which would ultimately result in his destruction. Hosea explains the issue: “Because you have rejected knowledge, [of God] because you have ignored the law of your God…”. The “Danger”, in the pursuit of Knowledge, was man could potentially substitute ‘Knowledge’ =  [Natural Law of Evolution?] for God Himself, who thus becomes irrelevent. Consider the words of a prominent English Scientist [Stephen Hawking, now deceased] who said, “We can know the mind of God, if there was a God, but there isn’t. I am an Atheist”. Stephen goes on to suggest, “If we can find the “Unified Theory”, which explains the Universe in mathematical jargon, then what purpose for God?” This seems to be the position of most Secular Scientists… who are either Agnostics or Atheists… obviously not Biblical Creationists. One has written: “we have proven evolution, now if we can only figure out the puzzle of life from unlife”.

What is it about this Hebrew word for Knowledge, that God was concerned about? Is the pursuit of Knowledge evil in itself? No, Man is made in the image of God. God is Ultimate Knowledge. He is Omniscient [Job 37:16: Ro 11:33]. He has given man Knowledge [Ex 31:3]. He gave Solomon Knowledge to rule His people [II Ch 1:10]. The early craftsmen seem to have been endowed with Knowledge of the skill, for it didn’t take long for them to be doing marvels [1 Kings 7:14]. ”To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds” [Dnl 1:17].

The word Knowledge is used 130 times in Scripture. In the O.T. 86 X and half as many in N.T. Overwhelmingly it is used with reference to the importance of Knowing God [experientially] [Eph 1:17 [Gk. epiginosis]. The great danger is that the pursuit of increasing knowledge [Dn 12:4] is only wrong when it is used improperly by the Adamic Nature of man, to Abdicate God, by relegating Him to the trashbin of obsolescence. Israel was warned that they would be punished if they rejected the Knowledge of God and His Laws [Hosea 4:6]. Paul spoke of the danger of not “retaining the Knowledge of God” [Ro 1:28]. Paul also warned, “Knowledge can puff up” [I Cor 8:1]. I also note that Paul wrote in Ro 10:1-3  “Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. ² For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. ³ Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness”.

Therefore; it is necessary that,  ^“We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” [II Cor. 10:5].

The Christian is encouraged to “Grow in the grace and Knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ” [II P 3:18]. Paul wrote to the Colossians, “My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” [2:2-3]. He wrote to the Corinthians: “For in him you have been enriched in every way—with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge” [1 Cor. 1:5]. God has no problem with man exercising his inquisitive nature, for he is created in the image of God. However, man must learn to be obedient in his worship of the Creator, not his Creation [or himself!].

The 21^st C. is a perfect example of the things Israel did in neglecting God and then ignoring & ultimately rejecting God. Those who neglect History are destined to repeat it, someone has rightly said. The world’s youth are being almost uniformly taught Atheistic Evolution as Progressivism. It is surely the path of progressing to a Christ- less eternity without God in a place they will not like.

There is something about the Character of God which is so evident & obvious in His Creation that man’s Adamic Nature is not only able to recognize it, but also misinterpret it. That Characteristic I have labeled, God’s Mathematical Nature. Webster defines “Mathematical’ as, “Precise, Exact, Absolute & Certain”. The more one studies the totality of God’s Creation, the more obvious God’s “Mathematical Nature” becomes. God does nothing in a haphazard manner. Everything is specific, orderly, uniform & perfect as it appears. Yet, He, GOD can not be reduced to a mathematical formula and thus rejected!

Scientists talk about the “Dance of the Stars” or their ‘Musical Harmony’. All of nature can be catalogued. Much of Nature can be reduced to a “Mathematical Formula”. That which cannot is either Ignored or cast aside “to be discovered at a later date”. Science is indeed a “Work in Progress”. He has observed and labeled this characteristic of the nature of the Universe, “Natural Law”. His insatiable desire to unravel, quantify and reduce Mankind & the entire Universe[s] to Mathematical Formulas which he is passionately seeking to now UNIFY; therefore, making a Creative God totally unnecessary. In a word, science is seeking to ”Deify Natural Law” and Dethrone Elohim. Obviously this is the work of the Evil One which God well foreknew would take place; therefore, He sought in Mercy to warn Adam and Eve about hidden traps which Satan would be utilizing. ^“And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, ²⁶ and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will” [II T 2:24-26]

But; “When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it” [Gen 3:6]. {Obedient husband? Or distracted?}

It is amazing, even in their Perfect created state, even without an Adamic Nature, they had to learn obedience, as did Jesus [Heb. 5:8]. It does not come automatically or easily. Paul said, “by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil” [Heb 5:14]. He told Timothy, “train yourself to be godly” [I Tim 4:7].      [Gen 2:16]

During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the ONE who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered [Heb 5:7-8]. Recall that He was incarnate!

The result of Adam’s disobedience: And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing [which can be both] good and evil. [The Hebrew word ‘yada’ literally means, ‘experientially’] He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” Even so, God was not willing that man be eternally separated from Him, prepared a way of escape. He incarnated Himself in Christ to die on a cruel cross. Then, He [God] shall see of the travail of his [Jesus] soul, and shall be satisfied: by his [Jesus] knowledge shall my righteous servant [Jesus] justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities [Isaiah 53:11].

For the earth will be filled with the KNOWLEDGE of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. [Habakkuk 2:14].

Peter also reminds the believer that God’s “divine power has given everything we need for life and godliness through our Knowledge of Him Who called us…” [II P. 1:3] and we are to “Grow in the grace and Knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” [II P 3:18].

“…you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator” [Col.3:9-10.

Have you ever wondered what is the source of knowledge? Obviously God is that source: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,” [Proverbs 1:7] The word ‘Beginning’ in Hebrew is [rashith], the same word used in Gen. 1:1 “In the beginning Elohim…” God designed knowledge which man has been pursuing ever since. The Evolutionist seems to think it was no problem for knowledge to be added to the DNA to evolve a new Kind. But when they get around to deciphering the rest of DNA, The 95% once thought of as leftovers, they will find that God packed all the knowledge needed into that primal cell from which all of our Genomes have developed over the passage of time. The gaining of knowledge is simply figuring out what & how God designed as the Great Architect, His Son, the Builder accomplished. God said when He saw it, “Superb”, and under His breath: just as I planned it! [Gen.1:31].

The Psalmist  intones, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands,
² Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge [19:1-2].

A word about Artificial Intelligence may be appropriate here for numerous articles are intimating that there is a “Clear and Present Danger to Christianity from AI” [i.e. Al Metcalfe, Assist News, Aug. 2016]. He refers to “Chatbots which educate people”, and opines, “Soon the Bible will not be the cornerstone of Knowledge”. God not important? Oh yea? Think again.

 Interesting that he admitted what the cornerstone of knowledge is! THE BIBLE

I shall now create another document entitled: “The Folly of Sewing Fig Leaves for Coverings” [Gen 3:7].