I am investing a lot of time trying to learn Spanish. But it seems I am only getting information. My head is filled with enough words and verb conjugations to sink the Spanish armada. But there is a Grand Canyon sized gap between the alphabet soup in my head and coherent sentences. I feel like I have not ‘learned’ anything yet. All this information hasn't become knowledge. Spanish is not ‘real’ for me.
Paul spoke of this phenomenon on one occasion, describing people who were “always learning but never coming to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Tim. 3:7), distinguishing between ‘learning’ and ‘knowing.’ Since there are many Scriptures admonishing us to grow in knowledge (2 Peter 3:18), we must answer the question: how does learning become ‘real’ knowledge? I think it’s the same way we learn a language. By reading, studying, memorizing, and practicing, Spanish will become real to me. And as I think it and speak it, I will become fluent. You could say I will be a new me—something different from what I was before.
Applying this principle to the Bible, it is also apparent that our learning turns into knowledge when it becomes ‘real’ or ‘true’ for us. As we read, study, meditate, and practice what we are learning, it becomes ‘real knowledge.’ And we become something different from what we were before. And we become fluent in speaking "truth." Is there a disparity between your learning and your knowing?
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