Knowing and …Knowing
Word choice is an important aspect of speaking and writing.
If I say, “walk,” it might make any number of pictures in your mind. But, what happens when I use a word like “stroll” or “stride?” How about “amble” or “strut?” “Pace” or “march?” All have the idea of covering ground by putting one foot in front of the other, but each has its own flavor and speed, intention and purpose.
People God used to write down His words were not exempt, and those scholars trusted with the work of translating the original Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic into other languages have to pay attention to the words they choose to communicate God’s thoughts to us in syllables we can grasp. Peter, the Apostle most known for having his foot in his mouth, wrote a couple letters to scattered believers during the reign of Nero. Reading one of them this week, I noticed that the translators chose the word knowledge five times in the first eight verses (seven in the three short chapters). Greek (the original language of the New Testament) has at least a couple different words for knowledge. Being the curious student I am, I wondered if Peter used the same word in each circumstance.
Nope. Different words. One can be used to describe the kind of knowing that comes through science or by divine insight, as in “I knew you’d love the pink flower,” or “I knew you needed to hear this word of affirmation or challenge.” Another is more relationally live: “I know my husband; he and I are intimately acquainted.” There are other words that just mean “grasps the information,” but these are not that one. Reading or hearing information about God is very different from knowing Him experientially and intimately, as gaining facts from the Bible is very different from the Holy Spirit opening our minds to what we read.
The intimate acquaintance with and experience of God are what multiplies grace and peace to us, they are what provides us with the what-for to live lives like Jesus. Time spent in the Bible gives us the knowing that we have some say-so about. We can increase our knowledge of Him by study and research, The Holy Spirit provides the divine insight kind of knowing that prompts us to encourage or inspire someone else.
We need all these kinds of knowledge: info from the Book, insight from the Spirit and intimacy with God Himself. Each has a certain kind of richness. Each is insufficient without the others.
Without the information, we cannot tell whose voice we may be “hearing.” Without the insight from the Spirit, we cannot get the meaning of the information, and without the intimate acquaintance, there is no life. That’s why I read Scripture, listen for the insights of the Spirit and commit all I am to
Following Jesus every day in the everyday,
Christi
P.S. You might check out this song about Walking by Faith.
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