Text: “For when by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of God's word.” (Hebrews 5:12)
Jonathan Edwards teaches that every Christian should make it a serious and lifelong pursuit to grow in the knowledge of God's truth. Christians should not remain spiritual children, satisfied with only the basic teachings of the faith. Instead, they should continually deepen their understanding of Scripture and Christian doctrine so that they may know God better, live more faithfully, and help others.
The writer of Hebrews rebukes believers because, although they had been Christians for a long time, they still needed instruction in the most basic truths of the faith.
They should have been mature enough to understand deeper teachings about Christ, but instead they remained like infants who could only digest milk rather than solid food.
Edwards points out that this rebuke concerns not only spiritual experience but also a lack of doctrinal understanding. These believers had failed to grow in their knowledge of God's Word.
A Christian is expected to mature in knowledge just as a student is expected to progress in learning. Remaining ignorant after many years of opportunity is a serious fault.
By "divinity," Edwards means the knowledge of God and all the truths revealed in Scripture concerning salvation, Christ, human duty, and eternal life.
Other sciences study creation:
Astronomy studies the heavens.
Geography studies the earth.
Medicine studies the body.
Philosophy studies natural reasoning.
But divinity studies the greatest subject of all: God Himself and His saving work through Jesus Christ.
Unlike other sciences, Christian truth cannot be discovered by human reason alone. It comes through God's revelation in Scripture.
Therefore, divinity is the most important field of knowledge because it concerns our relationship with God, our salvation, and our eternal destiny.
Edwards distinguishes between:
This is knowledge in the mind—understanding doctrines, teachings, and biblical truths.
This is knowledge that affects the heart. It includes loving, tasting, and experiencing the truth personally.
A person may understand many doctrines intellectually without truly loving God.
Yet Edwards insists that intellectual knowledge is still necessary because spiritual knowledge cannot exist without it.
You cannot love a Christ you do not know.
You cannot delight in truths you have never understood.
The mind must first receive truth before the heart can embrace it.
God ordinarily works through truth understood by the mind.
Preaching, Bible reading, teaching, and the sacraments are useful because they communicate knowledge.
If a sermon is not understood, it cannot profit the hearer.
Faith, love, obedience, and spiritual growth all depend upon understanding God's truth.
The difference between Christians and pagan nations is not intelligence but access to God's revealed truth.
Without knowledge of God, people remain spiritually blind.
God gave human beings the faculty of understanding so that they might know Him.
If a person neglects the knowledge of God, he fails to use his highest God-given faculty for its intended purpose.
Edwards gives many reasons.
Christians are disciples.
A disciple is a learner.
Every believer has been enrolled in Christ's school and is expected to grow.
Learning God's truth is not merely the work of pastors and scholars. It belongs to all Christians.
The greatest realities in existence are the subjects of Christian doctrine:
God Himself
The Trinity
Jesus Christ
Redemption
Heaven
The Holy Spirit
Salvation
Eternal life
These subjects surpass all earthly studies in importance and glory.
The doctrines of Christianity are not abstract theories.
They concern:
Who God is
How sinners are saved
How believers grow in holiness
What happens after death
Since these truths determine our eternal destiny, every Christian has a responsibility to understand them.
God has gone to great lengths to reveal Himself.
He sent:
Prophets
Apostles
Miracles
Angels
His written Word
Ultimately His own Son
If God has taken such care to teach us, we should take great care to learn.
The Bible is a storehouse of divine wisdom.
God did not give us a large and rich revelation so that we might remain satisfied with knowing only a few basic truths.
Christians should search the Scriptures diligently and continually gather from this treasure.
No Christian, however mature, has exhausted the riches of God's truth.
God is infinite.
His works are infinite in wisdom.
The plan of redemption contains endless depths of glory.
Therefore Christians can continue learning throughout their entire lives—and even throughout eternity.
Knowledge helps believers understand their duties and make wise decisions.
Many sincere Christians make mistakes, not because they lack zeal, but because they lack understanding.
Knowledge equips believers to recognize false teaching and resist deception.
An informed Christian is less vulnerable to Satan's schemes.
A growing knowledge of God provides meaningful subjects for conversation and mutual encouragement.
Instead of wasting time on idle talk, believers can strengthen one another in truth.
Divine truth is not merely useful—it is delightful.
As understanding grows, so does appreciation for the beauty, wisdom, grace, and glory of God.
Edwards closes with practical counsel.
The Bible is the fountain of all true knowledge of God.
Read it regularly and carefully.
Do not read superficially.
Pay attention to context, meaning, and how different passages relate to one another.
Search the Scriptures rather than merely skimming them.
Learn from faithful teachers whom God has gifted to explain biblical truth.
Use conversations to learn and teach.
Ask questions.
Share insights humbly.
Encourage one another in understanding.
Knowledge pursued merely to impress others becomes dangerous.
The goal is not intellectual superiority but greater love for God and obedience to Him.
True wisdom comes from God.
Ask Him to illuminate your mind and protect you from error.
Obedience leads to deeper understanding.
Those who practice God's truth grow in their ability to understand it.
Edwards' message is simple but powerful:
Every Christian is called to be a lifelong student of God's truth.
Believers should not remain content with a shallow understanding of Scripture. Because God has revealed Himself so clearly and abundantly, Christians should diligently study His Word, grow in doctrinal understanding, and pursue deeper knowledge of Christ.
This pursuit is not merely for scholars or pastors. It is part of every believer's calling. As Christians grow in the knowledge of God, they become more useful, more discerning, more joyful, more holy, and better prepared for the eternal enjoyment of God.
The Christian life is not only a life of faith and devotion—it is also a life of continual learning in the school of Christ.
https://christiangrowth.net/