Knowing God or knowing about God

 Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies.
And if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know.
But if anyone loves God, this one is known by Him. 1 Corinthians 8:1-3 (NKJV)

I have read this passage many times, but it never really impacted me until just now. I just read these words by a pastor’s son.

• “I thought I was close to God because I knew all the answers. I could answer every question small group leaders or youth pastors threw at me about relationship with God. But I had fooled myself into thinking that was the same as relationship with Jesus. I still struggle with this to a degree.” 

John Piper's son tells his story.

Then I started to dig deeper and I found these words in the New Living Translation.

… But while knowledge makes us feel important, it is love that strengthens the church.
Anyone who claims to know all the answers doesn’t really know very much.
But the person who loves God is the one whom God recognises. 1. Cor 8:1-3

I recall a story told by a well known preacher.

    A Christian goes to his pastor with a difficult question. The pastor gives an apparently wise answer and the church member goes away happy.
    Meanwhile, in Heaven the Father turns to Jesus.
“Jesus, did you hear what that pastor just said? That is a new idea to me. Did you tell him that?

Knowledge is good, but head knowledge without deep heart understanding is dangerous in some areas of life.

A child may admire his father’s knowledge, but it will no good if he doesn’t experience his father’s love.

How many Christians believe in the love of God? They learn to know more and more about God, but they have little or no experience of the love of God.

Some even criticise Christians who talk about deep spiritual experiences. They say experiences can be deceptive and feelings are unreliable. The only safe ground to stand on is biblical truth. By this they mean Bible knowledge.

But if we read Bible truth in the Bible itself, we see that the heroes of faith all personally experienced God Himself. God spoke to them and they listened and believed. 

They were filled with the Holy Spirit. This was an experienced reality, not just a doctrine.

The God of much modern conservative evangelicalism only speaks through bible verses and bible knowledge. This is not the God I see in the pages of the Bible itself.

Of course, we need Bible knowledge, but Bible knowledge without experiencing God just makes you more religious. That is very dangerous. This was the sin of the Pharisees. It is still a huge problem today.