Nehemiah 5:14-7:73 / 1 Corinthians 8 / Psalm 33:1-11 / Proverbs 21:8-10
Which is of more value, knowledge, power, or love? Knowledge is helpful because it can keep one out of trouble and help us get ahead in life. Power can keep us safe and give us influence. Love seems all ooshie-gooshie so how can love be of any benefit? What if I told you that love is the true power?
Let’s begin with proof that love is powerful! 1 Corinthians 8:1b-2 NLT states But while knowledge makes us feel important, it is love that strengthens the church. Anyone who claims to know all the answers doesn’t really know very much.
Romans 2:4 TPT Do the riches of His extraordinary kindness make you take Him for granted and despise Him? Haven’t you experienced how kind and understanding He has been to you? Don’t mistake His tolerance for acceptance. Do you realize that all the wealth of His extravagant kindness is meant to melt your heart and lead you into repentance?
John 3:16 TPT For here is the way God loved the world – He gave His only, unique Son as a gift. So now everyone who believes in Him will never perish but experience everlasting life.
It is love that strengthens the church, melts our hearts, and leads us to repentance, and causes us to receive eternal life.
Now let’s look at knowledge to see what we might learn. Above, 1 Corinthians tells us that knowledge makes us feel important. I guess that means it feeds our ego, giving us a false sense of security and prominence. That could be of benefit here on earth, but what about in our eternity? What does knowledge gain for us?
Proverbs 1:7 says this about knowledge: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.
The word for knowledge in 1 Corinthians is gnosis in the Greek language and is indicative of intelligence or understanding. The word for knowledge in Proverbs 1:7 is daat in Hebrew and speaks of discernment, skill, and wisdom.
There are slight differences in the two words, aside from the fact that they are written in two different languages and may have different understandings in that regard alone. Intelligence or understanding speaks to our natural or human reasoning. Again, I’m not saying to have human knowledge is wrong, but it is of less benefit than the knowledge spoken of in Proverbs.
Knowledge in Proverbs is speaking of spiritual wisdom or wisdom that comes not from our own human minds, but from God’s Spirit. This type of knowledge is of more benefit than human knowledge. Yet both are lesser in importance than love in my opinion. I want to offer one more portion of scripture for proof for the power of love.
I Corinthians 13:1, 13 TPT If I were to speak with eloquence in earth’s many languages, and in the heavenly tongues of angels. yet I didn’t express myself with love, my words would be reduced to the hollow sound of nothing more than a clanging cymbal. Until then, there are three things that remain: faith, hope, and love – yet love surpasses them all. So above all else, let love be the beautiful prize for which you run.
Love surpasses them all – if you read the whole chapter, you’ll notice all the good things that are mentioned such as knowledge, prophecies, riddles, and mysteries, and of course ending with faith and hope. Yet Holy Spirit tells us through scripture that love surpasses all these things. It was because of love that the Father sent His Son Jesus to suffer and die on our behalf.
I believe love is the ultimate power that held Jesus on the cross. The fact that He died willingly in obedience to His Father and on our behalf speaks more love than any of us will ever know apart from God’s perfect love. One final portion of scripture tells us how Jesus felt upon considering His impending death on the cross.
Philippians 2:7-8 TPT Instead He emptied himself of His outward glory by reducing Himself to the form of a lowly servant. He became human! He humbled Himself and became vulnerable, choosing to be revealed as a man and was obedient. He was a perfect example, even in His death – a criminal’s death by crucifixion! Love won and love wins. Choose love
