In Scripture knowledge is very closely linked with righteousness and holiness (cf. Eph 4,24; Col 3,10). These ‘go together’ (1Cor 8,1-3; 1 John 4,7f). Knowledge of God, in the fullest sense, is inevitably an obedient knowledge.
- Knowledge of God produces obedience (John 17:26; 2 Peter 1:3, 5; 2,18-20). God’s friends necessarily seek to obey Him (John 14:15, 21; etc.). (…)
- Obedience to God leads to knowledge (John 7:17; Eph. 3:17-19; 2 Tim 2:25f.; 1 John 3:16; cf. Ps. 111:10; Prov. 1:7; 15:33; Isa 33:6).
- Obedience is knowledge, and knowledge is obedience. Very often in Scripture, obedience and knowledge are used as near synonyms, either by being set in apposition to one another (e. g., Hos. 6:6) …
- Thus obedience is the criterion of knowledge. To determine if someone knows God, we do not merely give him a written exam; we examine his life. (…)
- Therefore it is clear that knowledge itself must be sought in an obedient way.
John Frame. The Doctrine of the Knowledge of God. P & R: Philipsburg 1987. (42-44)
