WISDOM FOR LIVING DEVOTIONAL
DECEMBER 15, 2020
TOPIC: INCREASING IN THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD
 BY T. O. BANSO
“Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord” (2 Peter 1:2 New King James Version).
In your walk with God, you should continue to increase in your knowledge of Him. The more you walk with Him, the more of Him you should know. The more you learn from Him, the more your knowledge and understanding of Him should be. I am not saying knowing about God more but knowing God more.
God said in Exodus 6:3, “I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as God Almighty, though I did not reveal my name, the LORD, to them” (New Living Translation). We can only know of God what He reveals to us per time. That is why we should not be satisfied only with having a relationship with Him but have continuous fellowship with Him.
In Colossians 1:10, the apostle Paul prayed for the church at Colosse that they might increase in the knowledge of God. Earlier in verse 9, he said he had not ceased to pray for them that they might be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. Also, Paul prayed for the Ephesians that they might grow in their knowledge of God (Ephesians 1:17). Â
Furthermore, the apostle Peter prayed for the church at large: “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord” (2 Peter 1:2 New King James Version).  The New Living Translation renders the verse thus: “May God bless you with his special favor and wonderful peace as you come to know Jesus, our God and Lord, better and better.”
In 2 Peter 3:18, he prayed a similar prayer that the church would grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. This is a very powerful prayer and I pray the same for you. But I want to limit myself in this message to the aspect of the knowledge of God. May you grow and increase in the knowledge of God and our Lord Jesus Christ. May you know Jesus, our God and Lord, better and better.
In his pastoral letter, the apostle John said, “And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life” (1 John 5:20 New King James Version).  Do you know Him? Are you increasing in your knowledge of Him?
In John 9, the man born blind that Jesus healed was asked by those who knew him how he was healed. He said, “A Man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to the pool of Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed, and I received sight” (verse 11 New King James Version).  Take note of that phrase: A man called Jesus. That was a measure of knowledge, and he was correct. Jesus was the Son of man but that was not all about Him.
Later, when the Pharisees asked him what he had to say about the person who opened his eyes, he said, “He is a prophet” (verse 17 New King James Version). That was a higher knowledge.  Moses had prophesied that the LORD would raise up for the Israelites a Prophet like him from their midst  (Deuteronomy 18:15). That was a reference to the Messiah, Jesus Christ. The man was right but that was still not all about the Man who healed him.
When the Pharisees were trying to make the man believe that Jesus was a sinner, he replied them, showing his increasing knowledge or revelation of the person of Jesus: “Why, this is a marvelous thing, that you do not know where He is from; yet He has opened my eyes! Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him. Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind. If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing” (John 9:30-33 New King James Version).
The Pharisees were angry and cast the man out. Jesus heard about it and found him. He had a conversation with the man and revealed Himself to him. He confessed his faith in Jesus as the Son of God and worshipped Him. His knowledge had increased (verses 35-38).
Don’t only claim to be a Christian. Don’t imply that you know enough of God. Increase in your knowledge of God and his Son.  Romans 11:33 says, “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!” (New King James Version). The knowledge of God is inexhaustible; it’s great. God is too deep for anyone to think he knows enough of Him. We have so much to learn from Him and of Him.
After many years of walking with Jesus, the apostle Paul prayed that he might know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, he might attain to the resurrection from the dead (Philippians 3:10-11).
Seek more knowledge of God. Increase in your knowledge of God as you fellowship with Him in His Word, in prayer, in worship, and in obedience to Him.
The apostle Peter said in 2 Peter 1:5-7 says giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness,  to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. He adds in verse 8, “For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (New King James Version).
May you increase in the knowledge of God and our Lord Jesus Christ.
TAKE ACTION!
If you are not born again, you need to give your life to Jesus now. I urge you to take the following steps: *Admit you are a sinner and you cannot save yourself and repent of your sins. *Confess Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. *Renounce your past way of life – your relationship with the devil and his works. *Invite Jesus into your life. *As a mark of seriousness to mature in the faith, start attending a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church. There they will teach you how to grow in the Kingdom of God.
Kindly say this prayer now: O Lord God, I come unto you today. I know I am a sinner and I cannot save myself. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross to save me and resurrected the third day. I repent of my sins and confess Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. I surrender my life to Jesus now and invite Him into my heart. By this prayer, I know I am saved. Thank you, Jesus, for saving me and making me a child of God.
I believe you have said this prayer from your heart. Congratulations! You will need to join a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church in your area where they will teach you how to live your new life in Christ Jesus. I pray that you flourish like the palm tree and grow like the cedar of Lebanon. May you grow into Christ in all things and become all God wants you to be. I will be glad to hear from you. The LORD be with you.
PRAYER POINTS: Father, help me to increase the knowledge of You and our Lord Jesus Christ. Â Holy Spirit, reveal God to me more and more. Let me know Him better and better.
(For over 300 in-depth and powerful messages by T.O. Banso, visit www.cedarministry.org).
T. O. Banso is the President, Cedar Ministry International, Abuja, Nigeria.
Phone No: +2348155744752, +2348033113523
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Email: cedarministryintl@yahoo.com,
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