For Christ’s Sake (2Co 12:10)

[Netchaplain]

As a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, I’ve found the worth of it all is in coming to the knowledge and understanding (got to have both) of God’s holiness, which to me has some to do with revealing His love for us. Though He knows most will not choose to desire it, His love and justification in all things is revealed in the fact that He must yet present what life is to all, which will stand as a witness against the unbelieving.

It’s my belief that seeing God’s holiness is learned first through the contrasting knowledge of good and evil. All inherently possess the general knowledge of what is right and wrong, as Adam understood from God’s command not to partake of the forbidden “tree” (Gen 2:16, 17). But the knowledge of right and wrong requires a more complete understanding, which is by way of contrasting good and evil; and good and evil is understood by contrasting God’s holiness with what is unholy, and this is where the understanding is learned.

If the two progenitors of mankind only knew right from wrong without the contrast of good and evil there would never be the most blessed knowledge of God’s holiness, as in knowing that evil is wrong and holiness is good. Therefore to me, it’s worth the entire universe, to be brought into this life with the opportunity to choose to know and love God by enduring the difficulty in possessing a sin nature—in order that I can know His love via His holiness.

The issue isn’t the presence of “the tree of knowledge of good and evil,” but the reason for its presence, which is to be willing to accept, that for me to know God’s holiness I must endure the sin nature, which nature of course God knew would be part of man’s essence; and my love to Him is not in wondering why the sin nature but understanding the worth of knowing Him and His holiness and love for me—because of the sin nature. Therefore, enduring “the old man” (sin nature) in accordance with the Word of God is my means of manifesting love to Him, which provides me with constant encouragement about Him!

 

[101G]

Addressing the OP. Good topic. I agree with a lot of what you said, but consider this. Evil is not "SIN", but taken out of Context, or it's control, (as you said, WITHOUT KNOWLEDGE), is can cause one to sin. see it's the LACK of KNOWLEDGE of something that can kill you.

understand God created EVIL for a reason. just like he created on a map the direction south in opposite to the direcftion north. now let me ask you something, if God gave you a map and said Go north 5 miles and turn east for 10 miles. and you had no knowledge of what is north and south or east, is North evil? or south?, or east? no.

but what if you was told or had the Knowledge of the direction North and South, and East, and West, but you had a map with no directions printed on it. how would you know where to go? but lets say you was told, or pointed out in a derection that says, North was this way. how would you know for sure that this is the "RIGHT" direction to go in? well if you had the KNOWLEDGE of South then you would know that the opposite direction is North. just like if you had the knowledge of a LIE, then you would know the opposit of a LIE is the TRUTH, only if you had the "KNOWLEDGE" of both.

so by having a South to opposite the North then one is sure of where they are heading. for if one only knew North, how could thay be sure that they are heading north unless they had the KNOWLEDGE of South to go by. the South in direction confirms the true direction of Noth that you're going in.

other word one needs BOTH to "KNOW" that they are headed in the RIGHT DIRECTION.

understand North, South, East, and West are only RAW DATA, it's what you do with this RAW DATA. there is nothing wrong with all the directions, but if God say Go Go north 5 miles and turn east for 10 miles. and you go north for 10 miles and turn west for 5 miles, who is at fault, God, the directions, N,E,W, or S, or you?.

having Knowledge is fine, but "UNDERSTANDING" or the use of that KNOWLEDGE is key. it's simple, God's "way", or your/our "way". for Jesus, God, is the "WAY" the TRUTH/GOOD, and the LIFE, it's your/our choice as to what we do with this KNOWLEDGE. obey or not. and as you said, we must LEARN. Learn of me said the Lord.

LIFE/NORTH is the opposite of DEATH/SOUTH. just something to think about.

I have this motto in the footer of my posts, "Where there is Knowledge, stay not Ignorant ".

PICJAG
101G The "Spiritual Saboteur"

ps, remember the devil is not sin, but EVIL. and the use of Evil, how one use it, can lead to the result of sin unto Death. as with Good, it is the result of how one use it, Life, unto eternal LIFE.

 

[Netchaplain]

Addressing the OP. Good topic. I agree with a lot of what you said, but consider this. Evil is not "SIN", but taken out of Context, or it's control, (as you said, WITHOUT KNOWLEDGE), is can cause one to sin. see it's the LACK of KNOWLEDGE of something that can kill you.

understand God created EVIL for a reason. just like he created on a map the direction south in opposite to the direcftion north. now let me ask you something, if God gave you a map and said Go north 5 miles and turn east for 10 miles. and you had no knowledge of what is north and south or east, is North evil? or south?, or east? no.

but what if you was told or had the Knowledge of the direction North and South, and East, and West, but you had a map with no directions printed on it. how would you know where to go? but lets say you was told, or pointed out in a derection that says, North was this way. how would you know for sure that this is the "RIGHT" direction to go in? well if you had the KNOWLEDGE of South then you would know that the opposite direction is North. just like if you had the knowledge of a LIE, then you would know the opposit of a LIE is the TRUTH, only if you had the "KNOWLEDGE" of both.

so by having a South to opposite the North then one is sure of where they are heading. for if one only knew North, how could thay be sure that they are heading north unless they had the KNOWLEDGE of South to go by. the South in direction confirms the true direction of Noth that you're going in.

other word one needs BOTH to "KNOW" that they are headed in the RIGHT DIRECTION.

understand North, South, East, and West are only RAW DATA, it's what you do with this RAW DATA. there is nothing wrong with all the directions, but if God say Go Go north 5 miles and turn east for 10 miles. and you go north for 10 miles and turn west for 5 miles, who is at fault, God, the directions, N,E,W, or S, or you?.

having Knowledge is fine, but "UNDERSTANDING" or the use of that KNOWLEDGE is key. it's simple, God's "way", or your/our "way". for Jesus, God, is the "WAY" the TRUTH/GOOD, and the LIFE, it's your/our choice as to what we do with this KNOWLEDGE. obey or not. and as you said, we must LEARN. Learn of me said the Lord.

LIFE/NORTH is the opposite of DEATH/SOUTH. just something to think about.

I have this motto in the footer of my posts, "Where there is Knowledge, stay not Ignorant ".

PICJAG
101G The "Spiritual Saboteur"

ps, remember the devil is not sin, but EVIL. and the use of Evil, how one use it, can lead to the result of sin unto Death. as with Good, it is the result of how one use it, Life, unto eternal LIFE.

Another spoiling of spiritual wickedness via manifesting God's goodness! Thanks for the comments and God bless! With the exception that I believe evil is sin, but that's just our understanding differently about it.

 

[101G]

If I may, this is a good topic, since you place this post in Christian Theology Forum, lets have some spiritual food in our theology for the book of beginning, Genesis, since we're on this Knowledge od Good and Evil. You made an UNDERSTATEMENT of the DAY, or Maybe the YEAR. listen to what you said,

It’s my belief that seeing God’s holiness is learned first through the contrasting knowledge of good and evil.

YOU hit that nail on the head. scripture, Genesis 2:5 "And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground."
understand where I'm coming from. notice the later part of the scripture, "and there was not a man to till the ground".
that word "till" is a metaphor or a figure of speech to "LEARN". follow me, why "Till the Ground, and what do LEARNING have anything to do with Tilling? answer, Genesis 1:9 "And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so."Genesis 1:10 "And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good."Genesis 1:11 "And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so."Genesis 1:12 "And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good."Genesis 1:13 "And the evening and the morning were the third day."

if you didn't get it here it is, WATCH THE RED INK. Genesis 2:4 "These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens,"Genesis 2:5 "And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground."Genesis 2:6 "But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground."Genesis 2:7 "And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul."

all KNOWLEDGE is "IN" the Ground. one more, Genesis 2:18 "And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him."Genesis 2:19 "And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof."

OK, all the plants and the animals came out out of the Ground as did Adam, EARTHLY, KNOWLEDGE, and heaven contain HEAVENLY, or DIVINE Knowledge. as the Lord Jesus said, John 3:12 "If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?". BINGO.

now lets put it together. KNOWLEDGE and UNDERSTANDING are in EARTHLY things, Pause, Romans 1:19 "Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them."
Romans 1:20 "For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:" BINGO, we must learn earthly thing so that we can LEARN Heavenly things. and Earthly things are in the EARTH, metaphorically speaking the WORLD. I had an Elder years ago, he's passed now, but he told me JUST THIS, "Your carnal life can teach you spiritul life some things", for the Carnal, "visible", came from the "invisible", Spiritual world. and God made it Good.

now back to the tilling. metaphor, tilling is usually associated with Manual Labor.... Work. now watch how God use the metaphor for tilling in scriptures, Hosea 10:13 "Ye have plowed wickedness, ye have reaped iniquity; ye have eaten the fruit of lies: because thou didst trust in thy way, in the multitude of thy mighty men."

NOW, is not "plowing", and "reaping" a "WORK".... (smile) ... BINGO. just as God said, "there was no MAN to "TILL" or Plowing, to (KNOW), or "REAP", to (UNDERSTAND), the wealth or Knowledge of God.

watch this metaphor, Proverbs 18:21 "Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof." WHAT FRUIT ARE WE EATING? THE FRUIT OF "LIFE"/GOOD, OR THE FRUIT OF "EVIL/DEATH.

now lets go back to Genesis, and see what the LORD God did, which is very intresting. Genesis 2:8 "And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed."
Genesis 2:9 "And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil."
Genesis 2:10 "And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads."
Genesis 2:11 "The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;"
Genesis 2:12 "And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone."
Genesis 2:13 "And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia."
Genesis 2:14 "And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates."
Genesis 2:15 "And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it."

Notice the end of verse 15 above, "to dress, and keep it". ... LEARN? to RETAIN or KNOW and UNDERSTAND" lets see,

Dress: according to Noah Webster's 1828 Dictionary of American English
1. To make straight or a straight line; to adjust to a right line. We have the primary sense in the military phrase, dress your ranks. Hence the sense, to put in order.
2. To adjust; to put in good order; as, to dress the beds of a garden. Sometimes, to till or cultivate. Gen 2. Deu 28.

now that's Noah Webster's dictionary. READ those DEFINITIONS again. to DRESS is to "till, or cultivate. what did Genesis 2 say, "there was no man to "till", or "cultivate" the ground... (smile), and everthing, (KNOWKEDGE), is in the "EARTH/GROUND. and heavenly or Divine KNOWLEDGE is in the Heavens.

now, "To make straight?" watch the bible, Isaiah 40:3 "The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God." and this was fulfilled in Matthew 3:3 "For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight."
STRAIGHT: H3474 יָשַׁר yashar (yaw-shar') v.
1. to be straight or even.
2. (figuratively) to be right, pleasant, prosperous.
3. (causatively) to make right, pleasant, prosperous.
[a primitive root]
KJV: direct, fit, seem good (meet), + please (will), be (esteem, go) right (on), bring (look, make, take the) straight (way), be upright(-ly).

and in the NT STRAIGHT: G2117 εὐθύς euthus (ev-thïs') adj.
1. straight.
2. (literally) level.
3. (figuratively) true.
4. (adverbially of time) at once.
[perhaps from G2095 and G5087]
KJV: anon, by and by, forthwith, immediately, straightway
Root(s): G2095, G5087

to be straight or upright is to be true, meaning GOOD.

NOW, "Keep it",
H8104 שָׁמַר shamar (shaw-mar') v.
1. (properly) to hedge about (as with thorns), i.e. guard.
2. (generally) to protect, attend to, etc.
[a primitive root]
KJV: beward, be circumspect, take heed (to self), keep(-er, self), mark, look narrowly, observe, preserve, regard, reserve, save (self), sure, (that lay) wait (for), watch(-man).

Proverbs 2:6 "For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding."
2 Peter 1:8 "For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ."

there is so much more to learn and undersatand.

but this will get you started if you seek more of God.

so just from your understatement of the Day, or for some the YEAR, (SMILE), have produce a wealth of information, and there is a lot more to get. so Netchaplain, thanks for the Christmas Gift today..... :) and May God contuine to richly bless you.

PICJAG
101G The "Spiritual Saboteur"

 

[Netchaplain]

[QUOTE="101G, post: 911486, member: 5023"so just from your understatement of the Day, or for some the YEAR, (SMILE), have produce a wealth of information, and there is a lot more to get. so Netchaplain, thanks for the Christmas Gift today..... :) and May God contuine to richly bless you.

PICJAG
101G The "Spiritual Saboteur"[/QUOTE]
Appreciate your comments and compliments. God bless!