Revelation Knowledge of Jesus Christ
REVELATION KNOWLEDGE OF JESUS CHRIST
There are two kinds of knowledge about the Lord JesusChrist., these are the head knowledge and the revelation knowledge of Jesus Christ. Head knowledge of Jesus Christ is more of intellectual assent rather than experiential encounter with the Lord. A person may know all the great doctrines of the Bible , can give beautiful insights of biblical verses , but may not actually know God or have not personally experienced God in his life. Knowledge of God and knowledge about God are two different things.
Prior to the time that I actually experienced genuine spiritual rebirth, I professed Christianity for seven years. But this kind of Christianity is actually powerless for it is impotent in overcoming my carnal nature. I find hard time in overcoming my carnal desires although I have gained much knowledge about biblical doctrines and facts. This kind of profession is merely of intellectual conversion and had not really experienced true regeneration. Knowledge about God is merely head knowledge while knowledge of God is a revelation knowledge.
Paul's experience with the Lord is a revelation knowledge. One of the distinguishing marks that a person's experience with the Lord is a revelation knowledge is the radical, militant transformation of such person and that is exactly what happened to Paul. Prior to his conversion Paul was a very different person and pursuing an entirely different direction in life. Formerly he was the persecutor of the Church of Jesus Christ. He was a violent man, a murderer, seeking always to crush Christianity. He did everything to oppose the followers of Jesus Christ. Authorized by the leading priests , he caused many of the believers to be sent to prison. Many times he had them whipped in the synagogues to try to get them to curse Jesus Christ. He has also learned a great deal of theology. He was extremely zealous for his religion. He had been a member of the Pharisees, the strictest sect of their religion. He is also filled with head knowledge about God, but he was alienated from the life of God. A person could be filled with so much theology and doctrines but is still very much alienated from God. He taught he was living inside the will of God but actually outside of it.
But when the Son of God was revealed to him one day while he was on a mission to Damascus , a dramatic change happened to his life. There is a radical transformation that happened to him, and the course of his life was totally altered. The Faith that he once tried hard to destroy became now the one he bravely proclaimed and he even risked his life for this faith. He became a militant evangelist. I must say, to achieve a total transformation in one's life, the CHRIST must first be revealed to that person. We should never settle for anything less, we must crave for the revelation of the Son of God in our life.
"But I make known to you brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ."
Galatians Chapter 1 : 11 12
