Page 10 - Masters Sample Courses

15.3 What is knowledge?

The word knowledge in the Bible denotes an understanding, a recognition, or an
acknowledgment. To “know” something is to perceive it or to be aware of it. The ancient
Greeks had many words for the English word “know,” each expressing the level or degree upon
which a person knows something. The strongest of the words is ginosko, which means a
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knowledge which has personally been experienced or realized. This type of knowledge
carries the idea of a deeper appreciation of something or a relationship with someone. The
Bible is clear that the knowledge (experiencing) of God is the most valuable knowledge a human being
can possess.

Kenneth Samples discussed a biblical view of knowledge in his book, A World of Difference. He are his
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main points about knowledge:

1) Extreme skepticism is self-defeating. Like the universal denial of truth, extreme skepticism with
regard to knowledge is self-defeating and therefore false. The skeptic’s reasoning (‘one cannot know’)
backfires for surely, he at least claims to know that he doesn’t know – an assertion which is self-
referentially incoherent or absurd.

2) Knowledge is possible with God as its source and foundation. The Bible indicates that human beings
can attain genuine knowledge of God, the self, and the world (Ps. 19:1-4, Acts 17:27-28, Rom. 1:18-
21). The Creator sustains the universe and the mind and sensory organs of man in such a way that they
correspond with each other and him. Because man is created in God’s image, human beings can trust in
the reliability of the basic process of knowing.

3) Knowledge is directly connected to God’s revelatory acts. God’s general and special revelation make
knowledge available. In other words, people can come to ‘know’ through exercising their God-given
rational capacities, through empirical observation.

4) Knowledge is properly justified true belief. 1) Knowledge involves belief. It is a necessary part of
knowing, for no one can know something unless he believes it. 2) A person can only know things that are
true. An individual can think she knows something to be true but, in fact, be wrong. 3) A person can
believe something to be true, that is in fact true, but it wouldn’t constitute knowledge if it lacks proper
justification. Knowledge involves some form of confirmation or evidence.

5) Human knowledge is limited and affected by sin. 1) Human beings, though quite well-endowed
intellectually by way of bearing God’s image, are nevertheless finite creatures by nature. As a result,
unlike God, they have limitations with regard to knowledge and rational comprehension in the essence
of their being. 2) Human reason has been negatively affected by sin. To some degree sin impairs human
intelligence and rationality. (However, sin does not affect the laws of logic or of correct reasoning.)

Human knowledge, apart from God, is flawed. The Bible also refers to it as worthless because it isn’t
tempered by love (1 Corinthians 13:2). The knowledge man possesses tends to make one proud.
“Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up” (1 Corinthians 8:1). Therefore, the pursuit of knowledge for its
own sake, without seeking God, is foolishness. “Then I applied myself to the understanding of wisdom . .

1 https://sweeterthanhoneyministry.com/2016/02/25/greek-words-for-know-in-the-new-testament/
2 https://reformedreader.wordpress.com/2015/08/26/a-christian-view-of-knowledge-k-samples/