7 gifts of the Holy Spirit: (3a) Bible citations

Here is a selection of Bible passages regarding the gift of the Holy Spirit "Knowledge." The first citation does not mention knowledge, but lists some of the formats of spiritual knowledge, such as law, decree and precepts. Notice the mention of "Fear of the Lord." This demonstrates once again the constancy of the need for that gift to be the basis of all of the other gifts.

Psalms 19:8-12
The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul.
The decree of the Lord is trustworthy, giving wisdom to the simple.
The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart.
The command of the Lord is clear, enlightening the eye.
The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever.
The statues of the Lord are true, all of them just;
More desirable than gold, than a hoard of purest gold,
Sweeter also than honey or drippings from the comb.
By them your servant is instructed; obeying them brings much reward.

Proverbs 8:10
Receive my instruction in preference to silver,
And knowledge rather than choice gold.

Proverbs 9:10
The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord,
And knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

[This proverb is structured so that the reader understands that "Wisdom" is the highest gift, the culmination of the "intellectual gifts" followed by "Understanding" and "Knowledge." One has to first start with "Knowledge" about God, which leads to "Understanding," which then leads to "Wisdom."]

Proverbs 12:1
He who loves correction loves knowledge,
But he who hates reproof is stupid.

Proverbs 19:2
Without knowledge even zeal is not good; and he who acts hastily, blunders.

[This proverb is an essential reminder that it is worse to be a zealot for God and go charging off in arrogance in his name without having any of the true "Knowledge" given by the Holy Spirit than it is to have the true "Knowledge" and appear to the zealot to be "lukewarm" in your faith. The zealot blunders and does much damage based on lack of the gift of "Knowledge," that authentically only comes from the Holy Spirit.]

Proverbs 21:11
When the arrogant man is punished, the simple are wiser;
When the wise man is instructed, he gains knowledge.

[Many of the proverbs are phrased in thought stimulating ways. This one is saying that simple people who lack an education or much understanding understand role models, including negative ones, very clearly. So when simple people see an arrogant man punished for his arrogance, they have an infusion of "Wisdom" because they immediately comprehend the overall pattern and spiritual lesson. The next line is not a contrast to the first, but another perspective of how knowledge is gained. Here the holy author is observing that a man who already has "Wisdom" can still gain "Knowledge" by instruction, having no need for the role modeling since he already has "Wisdom." There is a lot in the Bible that is instructive in observing and comprehending everyday human nature in addition to the spiritual].

Ecclesiastes 1: 12-18
I, Qoheleth, was king over Israel in Jerusalem, and I applied my mind to search and investigate in wisdom all things that are done under the sun.
A thankless task God has appointed for men to be busied about.
I have seen all things that are done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a chase after the wind.
What is crooked cannot be made straight, and what is missing cannot be supplied.
Though I said to myself, “Behold, I have become great and stored up wisdom beyond all who were before me in Jerusalem, and my mind has broad experience of wisdom and knowledge”; yet when I applied my mind to know wisdom and knowledge, madness and folly, I learned that this also is a chase after wind.
For in much wisdom there is much sorrow, and he who stores up knowledge stores up grief.

[Despite his self identification, we do not know who is the author of this book of wisdom because Qoheleth is a pen name, a literary name, meaning “one who convokes an assembly.” However this is a valuable citation on the subject of knowledge because this divinely inspired learned man warns that the search for secular knowledge (“under the sun” means earthly human knowledge in comparison to heavenly or Holy Spirit provided knowledge) sometimes brings a lot of unhappiness. This is as I discussed with St. Paul’s observations in the previous posting that true knowledge is spiritual, while much of secular human knowledge leads to temptation and the seamy sides of life. This is what this author is describing that he experienced when he made it his calling to seek out human based “wisdom” and “knowledge” and ended up storing a lot of grief. When one goes looking just for human based knowledge, one sees a lot of human behavior that they wish they had not seen, and also, as we see today in modern times, there are slippery ethics slopes, seeking knowledge that is based in technology and power over life and death that gradually becomes a grief filled burden rather than a blessing.]

Wisdom 1:16, 2:13
It was the wicked who with hands and words invited death, considered it a friend, and pined for it, and made a covenant with it, because they deserve to be in its possession… [who]… professes to have knowledge of God and styles himself a child of the Lord.

[In a long list of the attributes of the wicked, the learned sage who is the unknown author of this book mentions that one of the things that the wicked claim is that they have “knowledge of God.” This is yet another warning to discern between true “Knowledge” that is the gift of the Holy Spirit and the many false prophets and secularists who claim to have “knowledge of God” through wicked or occult means].

Wisdom 7:17
[God’s true wisdom] For he gave me sound knowledge of existing things, that I might know the organization of the universe and the force of its elements.

Sirach 3:24
Where the pupil of the eye is missing, there is no light, and where there is no knowledge there is no wisdom.

[The author, Jesus, son of Eleazar, son of Sirach, a sage who lived in Jerusalem, is explaining here that one must be humble to achieve wisdom and enlightenment because one must start with gaining true knowledge before one can be wise. Knowledge is like the pupil of the eye that gathers together the law and the facts in order to shed light on a matter, and thus be part of gained wisdom. This is yet another Biblical reference that shows knowledge to be the lowest and essential foundation of what will later be wisdom and understanding.]

7 gifts of the Holy Spirit: (3) Knowledge

Working our way up the list of gifts of the Holy Spirit, the next one to cultivate in the natural order of things and in consistency with the Holy Scripture is “Knowledge.” If one has cultivated one’s receptivity to the first gift, “Fear of the Lord,” and then the second gift, “Piety,” one must now obtain the specific knowledge that serving God requires. Thus “Knowledge” refers to the facts and “know how” of both life itself and faith. In the previous commentary in this series I noted that one can have a great deal of Piety without actually knowing how to serve God. For example, there have been in history many people devoted to God, who had the gifts of both “Fear of the Lord” and “Piety,” but never learned their Catechism or possess any particular knowledge of the teachings of God. This is not recommended, of course, but throughout human history, especially in spiritually impoverished places, that was and is a fact of life for many people. In fact, that is the road that most who live in for example an atheist country eventually feel the stirrings of a calling to God, even if there is no Bible or Qur’an, or spiritual resources to be found. The foundation of all faith, and the desire for faith, is the “Fear of the Lord” and “Piety.” From that point on the person naturally seeks the next gift, “Knowledge.”

You can witness this sequence when you read the part of Exodus that describes the Israelites’ arrival at Sinai, the Great Theophany (appearance of God) and the giving of the Ten Commandments. The Israelites obviously already had “Fear of the Lord” and “Piety,” or they would never have followed Moses. But now they were about to receive “Knowledge,” which is The Law. The people feared God, knew God (as they saw him work miracles through Moses to get them to this point in their Exodus) and they had piety in the form of desiring to worship and serve God. Thus they now receive “the facts” from God, which is how to worship him, how to serve and obey him, and also how to live properly and how to treat each other. The gift of “Knowledge” is thus shown to be knowledge of the facts of both life and faith.

I want to point out an example of how each gift is not a one-time thing, and indeed, instead is constantly revisited and reinforced. One starts out with a certain level of “Fear of the Lord,” but if one works at cultivating one’s faith, one finds that one receives more and more of this gift, in more mature and comprehending, faith affirming forms, often throughout one’s life. Here is an obvious example. As I pointed out the Israelites obviously had “Fear of the Lord” and “Piety” when they first believed and followed Moses, or else they would not have followed him. After they left Egypt they witnessed miracles (parting of the Red Sea, the manna falling from heaven to be eaten, quail arriving when they hungered for meat, the water from the rock) they expressed their piety by consecrating their first born, and they fought and won their first battle with God’s help through Moses and Joshua. So they had a certain level of “Fear of the Lord,” but to be honest, they really saw the kind of open ended nurturing side of his power and majesty. People were quick to complain, as they did to Moses, when they didn’t like the food, for example. So you could say that this was “entry level” “Fear of the Lord.” And that is fine, because that is like being a child, who first learns about God’s love. But there comes a point where one must understand the extent of God’s all knowing and his might. This occurred during the Great Theophany.

Exodus 19:9
The Lord also told him, “I am coming to you in a dense cloud, so that when the people hear me speaking with you, they may always have faith in you also.”

[God understands, of course, that humans need to see in order to believe, so by planning the Great Theophany God knew that people would never forget the might of God who stands behind Moses.]

The Lord goes on to tell Moses to instruct the people how to prepare themselves to meet him, including telling them to wash their garments, sanctify themselves, not have intercourse, and to not go up the mountain or even touch its base, less they be put to death. The people are thus gaining Knowledge of how to comport themselves when God appears (and thus later in his places of worship) and at the same time, becoming more mature in their understanding of the gift of “Fear of the Lord.”

Exodus 19:16
On the morning of the third day there were peals of thunder and lightning, and a heavy cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled. But Moses led the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stationed themselves at the foot of the mountain. Mount Sinai was all wrapped in smoke, for the Lord came down upon it in fire. The smoke rose from it as though from a furnace, and the whole mountain trembled violently. The trumpet blast grew louder and louder, while Moses was speaking and God answering him with thunder.

There is an interesting subtlety that amplifies not only the relationship between Moses and God (the likes of which was never seen again, nor will it be) but also how the people learned to respect God in a way they had not previously done so. God summons Moses to the top of the mountain and then tells Moses to repeat to the people that they should not “break through toward the Lord in order to see him; otherwise may of them will be struck down. The priests too must sanctify themselves” and Moses basically replies that God already told him that! But Moses goes back down and reiterates, coming back, as God instructed, with Aaron. It is OK to see a little humor when you read this, because reading between the lines you can tell that Moses is saying something like “Um, don’t worry, they got that message.” And sure enough we read Exodus 20:18-21.

When the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the trumpet blast and the mountain smoking, they all feared and trembled. So they took up a position much farther away and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but let not God speak to us, or we shall die.” Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid, for God has come to you only to test ou and put his fear upon you, lest you sin.” Still the people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the cloud where God was.

While God was in that form, where people saw his power and feared to even approach as close as they were originally allowed to, it is then that God told Moses to tell the people “You have seen for yourselves that I have spoke to you from heaven. Do not make anything to rank with me; neither gods of silver nor gods of gold shall you make for yourselves.” God who is all knowing obviously knows all there is to know about human nature. He forbad the making and worship of idols while the Great Theophany was still in plain sight of the Israelites. The point of having “Fear of the Lord” before receiving “Knowledge” is not to make the person frightened of being harmed. The point is that humans should be under no delusion about God’s might and all knowing. When humans do not comprehend and respectfully fear God’s might, they are easily prone to sin because they think that both God and the impact of their sin is weak. Humans make idols, for example, because they forget or they truly do not understand how powerful and in control God is, not in the sense of punishing them directly for an act of idolatry (“smiting”) but because they think that the supernatural power can be so trifled with that it can be put into an object. This is one of the main reasons that humans must have “Fear of the Lord,” because otherwise they do not comprehend the reality of his might and the impact of their sin upon the collective lot of humankind in the long run.

A child’s development in his or her faith likewise follows the same path as does, less obviously, a convert’s development. Both first learn to believe there is a God, and to fear God, in the sense I have previously explained which is that they do not want to be estranged from him just as they would fear a parent not being there for them. So a child first hears about the all knowing and all powerful God from his or her parents or religious instructors. This is then followed by a desire to be “grown up” and to make God happy, if one is a child. The first step then is the gaining of “Knowledge” in the form of folding one’s hands to pray, learning what a prayer is and how to say one and if they are Catholic, for example, making the sign of the Cross. The convert likewise moves quickly from “Piety,” the desire to worship and serve, to observing and then participating in Church ritual, Bible study and other endeavors that adds to one’s knowledge about God and how to worship and serve God. One cannot distinguish between the gaining of faith knowledge and the gaining of life knowledge since much of learning how to live joyous, gratifying and decent lives is from following the rules that God has given, and following the examples of the prophets and other holy people, including lay people. This is all part of the Holy Spirit’s gift of “Knowledge.”

Just as in the Old Testament we can see that the giving of the Law by God to Moses and the Israelites was the bestowing of “Knowledge,” the Sermon on the Mount by Jesus in the New Testament is another example. During the Sermon on the Mount Jesus taught them the Beatitudes, how to glorify God the Father through their own good deeds, that Jesus is fulfilling the Law, not abolishing it, how important it is to control one’s anger, how to be faithful in marriage, avoid divorce and the seriousness of oaths, how to replace righteous retaliation when one is wronged with “turning the other cheek,” how to love one’s enemies, the importance of almsgiving and prayer, the saying of “The Lord’s Prayer,” how to fast, the difference between earthly and heavenly treasure, how to depend on God and how to ask him for good things in prayer, to not be a hypocrite in judging, to not cast what is holy to the profane, to “Do to others whatever you would have them do to you. This is the law and the prophets,” how easy it is to do bad and risk losing heaven, how to beware of false prophets, how to be a true disciple to him, and an analogy how those who hear him and obey will be like houses with firm foundations.

Matthew 7:28-29
When Jesus finished these words, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.

The thousands who listened to Jesus at the Sermon on the Mount therefore recognized that he spoke “with authority.” This is what the scripture means when it says that “Knowledge” is a gift from God. Just as no human, no matter how intelligent or “visionary” could have created the Law (to say nothing of delivering it during the Great Theophany), no human who did not have authority from God could have taught what Jesus taught. It is easy to try to diminish what Jesus said from a world weary and cynical perspective of this century, but you must understand that the people who were there did an instant comparison of Jesus to the wisest of their scribes and were “astonished.” True “Knowledge” comes from God, including both the secular and the spiritual.

St. Paul wrote in Romans 7:14 “We know that the law is spiritual; but I am carnal, sold into slavery to sin” and in 7:25 “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Therefore, I myself, with my mind, serve the law of God but, with my flesh, the law of sin.” This is another way of understanding that true “Knowledge” is a gift of God through the Holy Spirit. St. Paul understood that true “Knowledge,” as in the law, is spiritual and that due to the bondage of the body, humans follow a “law” of sin. Temptation prevents human beings from developing true “Knowledge” if they try to do it without the foundation of the Law and the Knowledge that God has provided. When moderns, especially atheists, speculate that they can develop codes and laws based on “Knowledge” but not God, they are dead wrong. First of all, temptation will always skew one’s perception of what is truly good and healthy for humans (we will discuss the gift of “Wisdom” as the seventh gift). No matter how noble one thinks that one is, one is always creating knowledge and law that is self serving at some level, either consciously or unconsciously. The second reason this is wrong is because obviously God has already placed the groundwork of human ethics through his Law and his revelations to the authentic prophets; whether an atheist admits it or not he or she would already be “plagiarizing” what God has already provided to humans. Genuine knowledge, and one of its manifestations, law is, as St. Paul points out “spiritual.”

A private talk between God and you.

As I discussed in my previous post, life itself is very simple, despite human pride in wishing to make it "complex." One can see that life has thrived on this planet for about 2 billion years, in harmony with the simple purpose of life: to live, thrive where possible, and bear, defend, nurture one's young until they are independent. While life during this time was not fully aware and "conscious" the beauty of the system of life ensured an almost neighborly order. Different species of animals found different niches in which to reside and to find food. So one did not have a species of animal decide one day to take over the habitat and food of another species. It remained to humankind to covet what another has and to harm them on a conscious, systematic scale. The Bible shows that at a certain time, when humans first were "human" God walked with them and spoke to them, for sheer love of their company. But in no time at all Adam and Eve sinned by seeking knowledge by eating the forbidden fruit. It is important to remember that there were two trees forbidden to Adam and Eve. One was the tree of knowledge, because from that knowledge came the mistaken idea that a human can use knowledge that belongs to God. It's not God being selfish, rather, God is trying to prevent the "terrible two" year old toddler from thinking they can get behind the wheel of a car and drive through the crowded city center. And, like my explanation above, it was then that humans got the idea to steal food and harm others for what they covet. It was there that they broke away from the innocence of animals who might fight over the same carcass to eat, but do not plot to overthrow another species. It is that kind of knowledge that God sought to instruct humans to avoid and not to seek. But remember there was a second tree, the tree of life. This is the tree that God placed fierce angelic guard over when Adam and Eve were expelled from the garden. This tree represents power over life and death, which ultimately belongs only to God. At that time God limited human's average life span to 120 years. The patriarchs who lived to extraordinary ages did so because they were in close communion with the spirit of God, who kept their bodies refreshed and slowed aging. These were an extraordinary few, and they diminished in number as sin grew and time lengthened from the time of the garden and direct contact with God.

So humans have two responsibilities to understand today. One is to learn from Adam and Eve that there is some knowledge that in the hands of God is merciful and wise, but in the hands of humans is inevitably abused and leads to sin. The lesson is "just because something is possible does not mean it should be done." You can think of dozens of examples of this. Just because it's possible to make an edgy film about sex with a child does not mean it should be done. Just because it's possible to get a gun and settle a score does not mean it should be done. Remember, the first murder was of a brother, Cain, killing a brother, Abel, over jealousy at the other brother's piety, yet Cain did not make the effort to be as pious himself. Just because there is knowledge that one can create a weapon and destroy another person because that person "makes you feel bad" does not mean that knowledge should be sought. So the first tree of knowledge represents "personal knowledge." It is the reservoir of infinite knowledge, the knowledge of good and evil acts and possibilities, and what one does with that knowledge. When a person dies and is judged, these decisions will all be laid bare in front of the person in the presence of God. Every decision and seeking of knowledge and of their use for good or evil will be there in the open and recalled in the presence of God. Things you don't remember will all be recalled then. And this won't be a coffee house chat, because during judgement, jokes and cartoons about it aside, there are no "explanations" or "spin." Why? Not because God is a censurer of free speech but because once one dies one lives in a physical plane where it is not possible to experience anything but the absolute truth. There is no relativism. There is no "why." There is only what there is. That is the form of the personal conversation between you and God.

Now here is where people need to understand and comprehend that many people are in grave danger of losing their souls at judgement, and the entire populace of the earth is in jeopardy. Remember, there is a fierce angel that guards the tree of eternal life. While the first tree represents personal knowledge of good or evil, the second tree represents collective efforts to seize eternal life from God. I do not mean just the physical body living forever, though that is part of it. Rather I mean the survival of the human species and the rest of life on earth is part of the power of this tree of God's. When you are judged by God it is your actions to try to obtain and operate on your own the part of God's will that ensures eternal life (ongoing life of the species on earth, and of the soul in eternity) that will be judged. And here is where you might think, oh, I'm a good guy or gal, I'm a liberal, I'm a conservative, I would never do that. But you do and here is how. If you yourself have an abortion, that is a tree of knowledge issue. It is between you and God about how to reconcile the sin of abortion. But if you promote abortion through words, preaching, finances, or law, you are attempting to offend against the tree of eternal life, because you are believing you know a "better way" than God. If you are gay and choose to have an active gay life, perhaps even a restrained one with one partner, that is one thing, because that is an individual tree of knowledge decision. But if you are promoting a gay lifestyle by trying to influence others to explore if they are gay (especially children) through literature, preaching and so forth, or if you are trying to change the laws of marriage so that they are not part of God's will of a man and woman creating a natural family, you are gravely offending by seeking the power of the tree of eternal life, because you jeopardize the stability of life on earth. These are two examples, the two hottest examples, but I could give others. It is vital that you understand the difference and heed God's will.

This is why there is no inconsistency between understanding that God loves everyone, including those who have had an abortion, and that reconciliation is possible for that individual, and the threat of denial of sacrament to those who are sponsoring and promoting abortion. The first is an example of a sin against God's will regarding the tree of knowledge of good and evil, and as the coming of Jesus Christ has shown, salvation, confession, and reconciliation for the individual is possible and the Good Shepherd constantly seeks that with those who have strayed. However, there is a fierce angel that guards God's will regarding the tree of eternal life. There is no "process" by which humans altering God's will for life overall is "OK." That is why there is a fierce angel who guards that tree then and now. There are dire consequences for all who act in defiance of God's will regarding eternal life. That is why the Catholic Church is doing people the biggest favor they will ever not appreciate by trying to make that distinction crystal clear. An individual act of abortion is part of an individual's reconciliation, or not, process with God. An individual act on behalf of collective abortion is an offense against God's will and plan for eternal life, and only a fierce angel with a flaming sword awaits.

The same is true for gay marriage and homosexual acts. There are many gay people who have lived, have had relationships in their life, and who have achieved heaven. This is because all is possible under God, as Jesus promised, and at the time of one's death and judgement, all is part of the personal conversation you have with God. But if a gay person leaves the management of their own individual life in order to promote their sexual agenda to the detriment of the existing order of natural family, just as in the example I give about abortion, now one has stepped away from individual reconciliation, or not, with God and challenged the angel who guards the tree of eternal life on God's behalf. Being gay is not a sin, and individual actions taken as being a gay person is part of an individual's reconciliation, or not, process with God. But an individual act on behalf of collective homosexualization of society is an offense against God's will and plan for eternal life, and only a fierce angel with a flaming sword awaits.

That is why Moses faithfully recorded in Genesis what happened in the garden of Eden as shown to him by God. It is not a fanciful analogy, it is literally accurate. People with a true analytical mind can appreciate the difference between the knowledge being guarded in the tree that Eve stole from, and the power that is guarded in the tree of eternal life that none are allowed to touch. Genesis 3:22-24 And he said, "indeed! the man has become like one of us knowing good and evil! [God is referring to eating from the first tree, and is being very ironic about man becoming "like one of us"] And now perhaps he will put forth his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever! [God is making clear that there is a second "tree" that is his will regarding living "forever," which Moses would have understood to mean the continuation of life.] Therefore the Lord God put him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. he drove out the man; and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the Cherabim, and the flaming sword, which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.

While I was walking in the countryside last year, a woman approached me and in the course of conversation, seeing my crucifix, told me, "My son is gay." I think I said something like, "Oh" or "That's nice" in a conversational tone. She then asked me if it was "wrong" and I could feel her wanting me to say that it's not wrong, like waves of "I'm not going to listen to anything but" emitting from her. So I answered the truth and said, "So long as he is not promoting being gay." That was not what she wanted to hear. She muttered the usual, "Well, it's not like he's going after school children," but I knew she knew what I meant. No one but God will judge the individual sexual or social acts that a person engages in, so there is no way that at a given point in a person's life I'm going to make a judgement, because the book of their life has not yet been completed. However, certain actions assail against the tree of God's will regarding eternal life, and no good will come of that. There are plenty of gay people who live their lives quietly and do not proselytize against the tree of eternal life, and they are like all the other sinners who make their way toward, or away from, the Lord. There are plenty of people who had an abortion (women and their partners) who live their lives quietly and do not proselytize against the tree of eternal life, and they are like all the other sinners who make their way toward, or away from, the Lord. But those who lead others to challenge God's will for the continuity of life will only find the flaming sword of the Cherabim.