Value – Knowledge & Revelation

At Deep Rivers Church We Value Both Knowledge & Revelation

Head knowledge and heart knowledge are both important. One is taught by man through the Bible, the other is revealed by God through His Spirit. But they still rely on one another and build upon each other. 

Head knowledge is necessary in order to know who God is and what He asks of us. We need the instruction to know right from wrong. It’s essential. But Biblical knowledge and spiritual maturity are not the same thing. There are plenty of scholars who know the Bible as a text both forward and backward, but still aren’t walking in a saving relationship with Jesus. 

At Deep Rivers we study God’s revelation of Himself in the Scriptures. But we also intentionally pray for God’s revelation of Himself to us experientially. Our faith is both rational and realized. Both our hearts and our minds need to be supernaturally illuminated to His truth. 

This is why Paul wrote, “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened…” in Ephesians 1:18. He recognized that truth must be “enlightened” or revealed to us by God. That is also why he wrote in 1 Corinthians 2:4, “My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power.”

I suspect Paul knew that people who were talked into the kingdom could also be talked out of the kingdom. They needed to see something (power) to be convinced of the truth of the Gospel. I think the same is true for us today. We need to see and experience that God makes a difference in our lives along with having faith in the unseen. 

For the past couple of weeks, I have posted a daily “Nugget of Truth” each morning on our Facebook page and YouTube channel. It’s been fun, but there have been days when I thought to myself, “This isn’t a very ‘deep thought’ – I wonder if anyone will appreciate it?” 

That thinking shows that I still must feel some sort of pressure to share something “new” and “meaningful” and “challenging.” Because that’s what people want – more knowledge or some new special insight.

The “nuggets” are not really new or deep thoughts – but hopefully they are truths that can be realized in your heart. Because when a truth takes root in your heart, it actually makes life better.

Think of it this way: There’s only an 18-inch distance from your physical brain to your physical heart. But there can be a gap a mile wide between what you know is true and what you feel is true. Only God can reveal His truth in such a way to bridge that 18-inch gap. 

So as you read your Bible (and hopefully listen to the daily “nuggets”) pray that God Himself will reveal these truths to both your mind and your heart.