C.A.C SUNDAY SCHOOL MANUAL FOR , APRIL 10, 2022 UNIT TWO, LESSON SIX : TOPIC – GOD’S KNOWLEDGE VERSUS CARNAL KNOWLEDGE

When you have the fear of God in you, you follow His teachings, and obey His commands. You avoid displeasing Him. You stay away from acts that will inflict harm upon yourself and other people. Then, you will realise that these are good and right, and that is wisdom that will give you life.

A. THE BEGINNING OF WISDOM (Prov. 1:7)

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction (v. 7)

i. Solomon’s teaching on true and godly wisdom (knowledge in practice), begins with the fear of the Lord. What does that mean?

ii. The fear of the Lord refers to having a deep reverence and awe for God’s sovereignty, power and authority that leads one to love Him. This differs from the way we fear many bad things (e.g. crime, disasters, terrorists, demons and Satan) (cf. 1 Jn. 4:18). It is not the terrifying and paralyzing fear — fear gone wrong (cf. Matt. 25:25; Rev. 21:8).

iii. This fear makes the believers to love and trust the loving God, specially. It makes one to be in reverent awe of His justice and holiness that cause Him to judge sin, thus making one to hate what God hates — sin (Deut. 9:19; Psa. 76:7-8; Heb. 10:31).

iv. When we fear Lord, we are more ready to obey His Word, grow in sanctification (cf. Psa. 19:9; Prov. 3:7; 8:13; 16:6), worshipping Him whole-heartedly (Psa. 22:23,25), and giving us humble confidence in Him (1 Jn. 4:18).

v. Only those who have this kind of fear would God volunteer His knowledge to (cf. Job. 28:28; Prov. 2:5). None can ever be accurately wise, if he never begins with God, the Fountain of knowledge (Prov. 2:6). Of course, none can gain the knowledge of God and His things by refusing to fear the Lord (cf. Jas. 1:5,6).

vi. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the wisdom of God. Read more about Him in the Holy Bible. Listen to the preachers who know Him better. Learn His ways, and follow His teachings. Believe in, and love Him. Be a humble and God-fearing person. These will certainly give you the key to the treasures of Knowledge – God’s Knowledge.

For wisdom is a defense as money is a defense, but the excellence of knowledge is that wisdom gives life to those who have it (Eccl. 7:12).

i. Prov. 15:14a: The heart of him who has understanding… This is the heart of him who fears the Lord, because the heart is the centre of relationship with the Lord (cf. 23:36). What is the condition of your heart in relation to Jesus Christ?

ii. v. 14: Unlike the fool, the heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge. Having had the fear of the Lord, the godly heart seeks God’s knowledge enshrined in His Word (Ezr. 7:10; Prov. 1:1ff), knowing that it is suicidal to do otherwise (Psa. 119:155).

iii. Eccl. 7:12: You can get anything by either wisdom or money, but being wise has many advantages (TLB). Being wise, here, refers to the application of the godly knowledge – knowledge with good sense (v. 12b CEV).

iv. …the excellence of knowledge… shows that knowledge is advantageous. We are talking of the excellence of knowledge (v. 12b AMP). It is superior to everything else, and must therefore be pursued with passion. The same passion that made Apostle Paul to see all the knowledge he had earlier acquired as nothing until He met with and gained Christ and His knowledge (Phil. 3:3ff).

v. …the excellence of (this) knowledge is that wisdom (proper application of the knowledge of Christ garnered) gives life to those who have it (those who fear the Lord and pursue His knowledge). It shields and preserves the life of him who has it (AMP); will lead you to life (CEV). The advantage of wisdom is that it gives life to those who have it (GWT). Never joke with this surpassing knowledge of Christ.

vi. Do your best to get the knowledge of God. Free yourself from foolishness, arrogance, pride, envy, hatred, selfishness, and all the things that hinder wisdom from entering your body, mind, heart and soul. Let the pure knowledge of God dwell in you.

1. To know Christ means to have a personal relationship with Him through faith. Christianity is Christ, while Salvation is knowing Him personally.

2. Knowing Christ brings life to those who know Him. Don’t joke wit Him!

1. The natural or carnal knowledge defers from that of God. Explain.

2. Those who do not interact well with the Bible cannot know the God of the Bible and the blessings hidden in the Bible?

Carnal knowledge:

1. It kills spiritually

2. It disagrees with God’s

3. It doesn’t know God

4. It is natural; not divine

5. It trusts in its own efforts

6. It never desires the Word of God.

7. It can never lead to, or experience the abundant and fruitful Christian life.

God’s knowledge:

* It is opposite to all carnal knowledge

* Finally, God’s knowledge gives life in abundance.

* The Bible is the spoken Word of God. It all talks about God, the beginning, and what the end will look like. Bible is the only authentic book that revealed God to man totally. The moment you don’t read about an author, all you hear about the author is speculations, which is prone to fake or false profile about the person. What you don’t know, you don’t know.

* Interacting with the Word of God, the Bible, will help you to know about God of the the Bible. Read, meditate, observe and do according to all that is written in it, then, you shall be PROSPEROUS and have GOOD success (Jos. 1:8). There are blessings hidden in the Word of God. …but the people that know their God shall be strong and do exploits (Dan. 11:32).

* If you want to know about God, if you want GOOD success, if you want to do exploit, study His Word (the Bible), the only manual that will help you to live according to God’s will, giving you His knowledge and helping you to make heaven.

LIFE APPRECIATION

When the irrefutable, undeniable and incontrovertible knowledge of God, revealed from heaven is rejected, the great and terrible wrath of God is revealed against the godless. Since they don’t see the expediency of acknowledging the truth of God in their knowledge and endeavours, God also gives them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done — stupid things. Man is indeed without excuse. Seek God’s knowledge and apply it to your daily living, accordingly, to make the world around you a better place.

To tap into God’s knowledge, we must diligently study God’s Word (2 Tim. 2:15), meditate on the Word, pray for wisdom, seek it with all our hearts, and walk in the Spirit. God desires to gives His wisdom to His children. Are we willing to be led by that wisdom? May the just concluded lesson not stand to condemn us on the last day. Amen.

Mon. 4: Can The Flesh Really Succeed? (2 Cor. 10:2,3)

Tue. 5: Counter Carnal Knowledge With God’s (2 Cor. 10:4)

Wed. 6: Counter Those Countering God’s Knowledge (2 Cor. 10:5)

Thur. 7: Can The Disobedient Go Unpunished? (2 Cor. 10:6)

Fri. 8: Check If You Are In Christ (2 Cor. 10:7)

Sat. 9: Christ Should Make You Proud, Always (2 Cor. 10:8)