I want to make a distinction between knowledge and intelligence as they apply to God and spiritual and daily life. The Bible uses certain words interchangeably (e.g. wisdom, knowledge, understanding; spirit, soul, heart; etc.), but each word still holds its own specific meaning just like there is one God who is Three Persons. Knowledge in the Bible can mean much more than knowledge means in the dictionary and in the average person's life: knowledge of Scripture and knowledge of God are two different types of knowledge about two different things. Today, knowledge basically means 'information'. I read books, study a career in college, and acquire information from those things. Unfortunately, people tend to confuse knowledge with intelligence. If you have a lot of facts (i.e. if you have knowledge), people say you are intelligent. I recall grimacing when Obama was first up for election and people kept saying that he was intelligent. He knew a lot (knowledge), and they called it intelligence (understanding or wisdom-- the proper application of knowledge). I think it's apparent to most people now that he knew just enough to get into office and we can hardly call knowing what to say (knowledge) that intelligence.
Most people have been tricked into believing that knowledge is superior to intelligence; on top of that, knowledge is then called intelligence since it's apparent that intelligence is superior to knowledge. The problem with intelligence is that it is superior to knowledge but that one doesn't have to be superior to others to have it. Plant life, animal life, the basest life-forms operate because of intelligence not knowledge so much. This means intelligence is basic or a given and not something special. Babies who can't yet think (for not having language to do so) and who have little knowledge still operate by intelligence; the nervous system operates by intelligence, not knowledge which means it doesn't have to know what to do but does what is necessary for life. Knowledge tends to naturally lead people away from God (even if they don't mean it to). Paul said, "We know that 'We all possess knowledge.' But knowledge puffs up while Love builds up" (1Cor. 8:1). (He was saying, "Everyone knows something, so we're all in the same class and can't really be better than anyone else. We all have knowledge (of something or other), however, we don't all have Love." (The message was that knowledge brags when it actually has no right to ("We all have knowledge") but that Love doesn't though it actually has the right to (since it does what knowledge doesn't do: "Love edifies").) Intelligence tends to naturally lead people toward God as it is how God created all things to work:
"The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse" (Rom. 1:18-20).
To suppress truth means to suppress intelligence, the natural way God made people to work. God hates homosexuality not just because people are 'doing bad things' but because people are not functioning how He created them to function (when you read the rest of the above passage about homosexuality, etc., this all makes more sense. Plant life functions by intelligence as does animal life most of the time, but human beings, because of our ability to think independently, often choose knowledge over intelligence and so then always miss God in the process: "Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools" (Rom. 1:22) and "Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world... For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength" (1Cor. 1:20, 25). God didn't present tense make human wisdom foolish but did past tense in eternity when He determined how everything would work. "Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom" is a prayer to live the way one was created to live. There are so many people running around publishing their knowledge and all the things they learned, showing off their knowledge; but Jesus, who was the real thing, said that He only did what He saw God doing as He operated by intelligence (wisdom, functioning the way one is created to function). The teachers of the Law had lots of knowledge; but Jesus had intelligence and therefore, not having studied as they had, knew and understood things much more than they did, even teaching them when He was only twelve. There's only one explanation for this:
"Your commands are always with me and make me wiser than my enemies.I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on Your statutes. I have more understanding than the elders, for I obey Your precepts" (Ps. 119:98-100).
Since we all have knowledge (even plant life has it), we can't realistically brag about having knowledge or info.; so, is there something more important that actually classes a person in a different category from everyone else? Yes; it's to live by intelligence (wisdom and understanding) or how one was designed to live which is toward God and not self: "We know that we all have knowledge; knowledge puffs up, but Love edifies" (1Cor. 8:1).
Most people have been tricked into believing that knowledge is superior to intelligence; on top of that, knowledge is then called intelligence since it's apparent that intelligence is superior to knowledge. The problem with intelligence is that it is superior to knowledge but that one doesn't have to be superior to others to have it. Plant life, animal life, the basest life-forms operate because of intelligence not knowledge so much. This means intelligence is basic or a given and not something special. Babies who can't yet think (for not having language to do so) and who have little knowledge still operate by intelligence; the nervous system operates by intelligence, not knowledge which means it doesn't have to know what to do but does what is necessary for life. Knowledge tends to naturally lead people away from God (even if they don't mean it to). Paul said, "We know that 'We all possess knowledge.' But knowledge puffs up while Love builds up" (1Cor. 8:1). (He was saying, "Everyone knows something, so we're all in the same class and can't really be better than anyone else. We all have knowledge (of something or other), however, we don't all have Love." (The message was that knowledge brags when it actually has no right to ("We all have knowledge") but that Love doesn't though it actually has the right to (since it does what knowledge doesn't do: "Love edifies").) Intelligence tends to naturally lead people toward God as it is how God created all things to work:
"The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse" (Rom. 1:18-20).
To suppress truth means to suppress intelligence, the natural way God made people to work. God hates homosexuality not just because people are 'doing bad things' but because people are not functioning how He created them to function (when you read the rest of the above passage about homosexuality, etc., this all makes more sense. Plant life functions by intelligence as does animal life most of the time, but human beings, because of our ability to think independently, often choose knowledge over intelligence and so then always miss God in the process: "Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools" (Rom. 1:22) and "Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world... For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength" (1Cor. 1:20, 25). God didn't present tense make human wisdom foolish but did past tense in eternity when He determined how everything would work. "Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom" is a prayer to live the way one was created to live. There are so many people running around publishing their knowledge and all the things they learned, showing off their knowledge; but Jesus, who was the real thing, said that He only did what He saw God doing as He operated by intelligence (wisdom, functioning the way one is created to function). The teachers of the Law had lots of knowledge; but Jesus had intelligence and therefore, not having studied as they had, knew and understood things much more than they did, even teaching them when He was only twelve. There's only one explanation for this:
"Your commands are always with me and make me wiser than my enemies.I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on Your statutes. I have more understanding than the elders, for I obey Your precepts" (Ps. 119:98-100).
Since we all have knowledge (even plant life has it), we can't realistically brag about having knowledge or info.; so, is there something more important that actually classes a person in a different category from everyone else? Yes; it's to live by intelligence (wisdom and understanding) or how one was designed to live which is toward God and not self: "We know that we all have knowledge; knowledge puffs up, but Love edifies" (1Cor. 8:1).