1 Corinthians 8:2-3 (AMP) If anyone imagines that he knows and understands anything [of divine matters, without love], he has not yet known as he ought to know. But if anyone loves God [with awe-filled reverence, obedience and gratitude], he is known by Him [as His very own and is greatly loved].
Gbenga was becoming really proud because of his ability to learn things and understand very complex concepts. He believed he had a great understanding of spiritual things, but his great knowledge was not fruitful because love was lacking in his heart. He saw other believers who he believed didn’t know as much as him bearing fruits and raising disciples of the Lord, but he was only full of fruitless knowledge. He knew he was in trouble when he could not cast out an unclean spirit that sought to afflict him. He eventually humbled himself and started growing spiritually.
One of the most important virtues we are to gain on this side of the coming of the Lord is love for God. This love would demonstrate itself in love for people.
From today’s Bible verses, we see that those who love God are those that are known by Him. One of the surest markers that a person now has God’s divine nature is that the love of God would be in his heart. No matter how much you love your pet, you cannot have communion with it and know it like you would another human because you and the pet do not have the same nature. It is only those who have God’s nature that can be known by God.
On the judgment day, the Lord will tell some workers of iniquity that he does not know them (Matthew 7:22-23), even though some of them would have worked miracles in His name, their conduct demonstrated that they had not been changed to the divine nature [that loves righteousness and hates iniquity].
Go into today remembering that it is those who love God that can be known by God. The love of God in your heart is one of the strongest evidence that you have received the divine nature and have escaped the corruption of the Adamic nature.
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