{"id":121,"date":"2025-01-27T01:25:32","date_gmt":"2025-01-27T01:25:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/markwilkinson.ca\/pillar\/?p=121"},"modified":"2025-02-16T20:35:05","modified_gmt":"2025-02-16T20:35:05","slug":"good-knowledge-leads-to-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/markwilkinson.ca\/pillar\/2025\/01\/27\/good-knowledge-leads-to-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Good Knowledge Leads to Life"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Knowledge of good can never lead to death, but only life. We die because of lack of knowledge. Our eyes are open knowing good and evil, but if our eye focuses on good knowledge we will avoid the evil eye focus of evil knowledge seeking for selfish ends. On the other hand, responding to what our ears hear leads to blind faith and following when sight and knowledge is not used. Faith(trust) comes from hearing(responding) and hearing from the word(containing knowledge) of God. Our eyes move but our ears do not. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil gives us sight and experience of good and evil and the choice of what to look at and what purpose to seek.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This perspective draws on profound biblical principles, tying together the relationship between sight, hearing, knowledge, and faith. Let\u2019s examine key points within this framework:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"1-knowledge-and-life-vs-death\">1.&nbsp;<strong>Knowledge and Life vs. Death<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>Hosea 4:6<\/em>: \u201cMy people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.\u201d<br>This verse affirms that ignorance of God\u2019s will and truth leads to spiritual death, while knowledge rooted in God fosters life and growth.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The\u00a0<em>tree of the knowledge of good and evil<\/em>\u00a0introduced both awareness and the burden of choice. Misusing this knowledge by focusing on evil leads to death (Genesis 2:17), but when knowledge is used to discern and pursue good, it aligns with life (Proverbs 3:18).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"2-the-role-of-vision-eyes\">2.&nbsp;<strong>The Role of Vision (Eyes)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The eyes represent perception and intentional focus.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>Matthew 6:22-23<\/em>: \u201cThe eye is the lamp of the body\u2026 If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light.\u201d<br>Fixing our gaze on good knowledge leads to spiritual clarity and life, while an \u201cevil eye\u201d (selfish or corrupt focus) darkens our understanding and leads to sin.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The\u00a0<em>choice<\/em>\u00a0lies in what we focus on\u2014whether to dwell on good knowledge, which edifies, or evil knowledge, which corrupts.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"3-the-role-of-hearing-ears\">3.&nbsp;<strong>The Role of Hearing (Ears)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Hearing symbolizes receptivity and obedience, but without discernment, it can lead to blind following.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>Romans 10:17<\/em>: \u201cFaith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.\u201d<br>True faith arises when hearing is informed by God\u2019s Word, leading to trust based on knowledge and understanding, not mere blind obedience.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ears are stationary, signifying the need for intentional listening and discernment. Hearing God\u2019s Word offers guidance, but it must harmonize with the light gained through spiritual sight.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"4-faith-and-knowledge-together\">4.&nbsp;<strong>Faith and Knowledge Together<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Faith (trust) and knowledge are not opposites but complement each other:<br>&#8211;&nbsp;<em>2 Peter 1:5-7<\/em>: \u201cAdd to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge\u2026\u201d<br>Faith provides a foundation of trust in God, while knowledge sharpens discernment, helping believers to focus on what is good and avoid the path of evil.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Without knowledge, faith can become blind and misdirected, leading to spiritual stagnation. Conversely, knowledge without faith can lead to arrogance or despair.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"5-the-tree-of-knowledge-as-a-symbol-of-choice\">5.&nbsp;<strong>The Tree of Knowledge as a Symbol of Choice<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The\u00a0<em>tree of the knowledge of good and evil<\/em>\u00a0gave humans the ability to discern and choose between good and evil. This capacity is essential for moral responsibility.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>God desires that we use this knowledge to choose good (Deuteronomy 30:19), reflecting His character of love and truth.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>By focusing on good knowledge and rejecting the \u201cevil eye,\u201d we align our will with God\u2019s, allowing His Spirit to guide our sight and choices.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"conclusion\">Conclusion<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>To truly live, we must seek and focus on knowledge that leads to good, informed by God\u2019s Word. This focus on life-giving knowledge illuminates our path, while blind faith without discernment or pursuing selfish ends leads to destruction. Through prayer, Scripture, and the Spirit, we can keep our eyes on the light and walk by faith with understanding.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Knowledge of good can never lead to death, but only life. We die because of lack of knowledge. Our eyes are open knowing good and evil, but if our eye focuses on good knowledge we will avoid the evil eye focus of evil knowledge seeking for selfish ends. On the other hand, responding to what [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[99,95],"tags":[82,83,12],"class_list":["post-121","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-knowledge-of-truth","category-life-and-death","tag-good","tag-knowledge","tag-life"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/markwilkinson.ca\/pillar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/markwilkinson.ca\/pillar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/markwilkinson.ca\/pillar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/markwilkinson.ca\/pillar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/markwilkinson.ca\/pillar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=121"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/markwilkinson.ca\/pillar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":126,"href":"https:\/\/markwilkinson.ca\/pillar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121\/revisions\/126"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/markwilkinson.ca\/pillar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=121"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/markwilkinson.ca\/pillar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=121"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/markwilkinson.ca\/pillar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=121"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}