I call it an excursus but really it’s getting to the main point while going around everything I wanted to talk about and probably will discuss anyway. I love theology. So much so that it often times becomes an idol for me. I love to think and wrestle with concepts, theories and ideas as they pertain to God. I believe that God works in his creation and with his people to make himself know, more specifically showing his glorious attributes. I get this from the first chapter of Romans and the book of Exodus, but you can see it everywhere. So it makes sense to me that if God wishes to make himself known, we should work to know him.
Not only this, but I would argue that the more we know God and his purposes in creation and our own lives, the more we are compelled to live for him. There is reason why Paul prays that the churches will grow in knowledge; the reason is that true knowledge produces action. If we say we know God, but don’t act according to that knowledge, we don’t really know God. 1 John says that if we say we know God and continue in sin we don’t really know him. But something must come before our growing in knowledge. That thing is the main point which I will try and articulate now.
The main point of this series on theology is that repentance comes before knowledge. In the epistle that we call 1 Corinthians, Paul tells the church there that he wishes that he could address them as adults and feed them with meat (Deeper teachings about God), but he can’t because they are acting like babies and still need milk (The elementary teachings). WE HAVE TO GROW UP IN OUR FAITH! And to do that we must repent of our worldliness. But what does this mean? In the situation in Corinth the believers were grumbling with each other and they were playing favorites with which teacher’s they liked the best. They were prideful and were using the gifts God had given them for the purpose of building up the church to exalt themselves. So they were prideful. They loved things and the perceived power or position that came with them, namely their spiritual gifts. They were still acting as the world acts. Jesus tells us that the rulers of the world lord their power over other people, but it is not to be that way with us. We are all equal in position with differing roles. We are a body.
Just as the church in Corinth was acting as the world and not in accordance with the grace and call of God, so are we. The reason we as a church are so theologically weak, is because we love the world more than we love God. And our theological lacking shows in how we live. We look like the world because we don’t know God. We will spend hours if not weeks trying to figure out how we can make more money or have more possessions, but we won’t spend 5 minutes learning the scriptures. Why? Because we don’t see it as important. We, just like the Corinthian church, are seeking power and position. Knowledge and understanding are not valued in our culture, and like wise it is not valued in the Church. So instead of seeking to know the Lord, we seek money and position. We want to be exalted, instead of exalting God.
THIS HAS TO STOP. We are a body and it is necessary that we grow in the knowledge of the Lord, so that we will live in accordance with his word and his will. This is what pleases God. Not our house, not our checking account. Our unabashed devotion to Jesus Christ and his Gospel is what pleases God. So let’s stop acting like the world and grow in the knowledge of the Lord.
-Mitchell
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