Head or Heart

[1johnlb]

Is there a difference in having a head knowledge verses a heart knowledge of God?

I believe there is. An example of it could possibly be the stories of king Saul with a head knowledge going through with the priestly duties that he was obviously not anointed for and the story of King David as he dance before the ark, something that seems to have never been heard of before.

We live in a day where lots of folks have a head knowledge of who God is, right or wrong, believer and/or unbelievers, saved and/or unsaved alike. But then there's those folks who regardless of their background in life or denomination who truly seem to know Him not just a book sense but actually know Him. Relationship!

Does relationship come from the head or the heart? Or does it just start in the head and progress to the heart as we grow in relationship with Him? Or at least is surposed to and some get hung up in religion, trusting in man instead of God. Never moving beyond the cross.

I've always heard that the difference is the 10 inches between them. I think the difference is having the acts/power of God displayed in our lives as the fruits of the Spirit. Not that He doesn't move in our lives at all stages of it but that we become increasingly aware of it and began to see the places in our lives that He moves or moves us.

[Boaz]

Agreed John . Big difference comes not in ..talking it but trying to live it .

James 1;21-27

²¹ Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
²² But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. ²³ For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; ²⁴ for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. ²⁵ But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.
²⁶ If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless. ²⁷ Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.

James 2;14-26


¹⁴ What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? ¹⁵ If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, ¹⁶ and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? ¹⁷ Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
¹⁸ But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your^[d] works, and I will show you my faith by my^[e] works. ¹⁹ You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! ²⁰ But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?^{[f] 21} Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? ²² Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? ²³ And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.”^[g] And he was called the friend of God. ²⁴ You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.
²⁵ Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way?
²⁶ For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

[GhostHawk]

Brother Boaz is right on as usual.

I have knowledge based on reading, things I have watched, seen, life I have lived. This is all in my head.

And then I have what I like to call "Knowing" which is given from the Lord. Some of this I have experienced as a dream or vision. And the "Knowing" comes along with it to help us understand.


I am not sure I have the words to express this correctly. Actually let me change that.
I am actually dang sure that I know I do NOT have the words or ability to express this correctly.

But the Lord does.

Let me give you an example.
I watch quite a bit of Youtube on my big screen TV. About a year ago I ran into this guy preaching the gospel, sort of. He had a kind of Charisma, an energy about him. All I could see was positive and for the good.

Then I asked the lord about him, and recieved a "Knowing".

My answer. "He is faithless, he is a snake in the grass. All he does is for his own ends."

Well this really intrigued me, so I dug a little deeper. The more I dug, the more sordid the tale got. And the more the "knowing" I received clicked into place. I do not judge him, I do not say he does no good. What I do is pass on the word I was given. There is no faith in him. There is no love of the lord in him. There is only greed. He thinks of himself.

Now I could be wrong, perhaps I malign the man beyond what he deserves.

Those little nuggets of information, of ...................... are precious to me.
They fill in holes, give a more complete understanding.
They help keep my feet on the path and help me prepare.

YMMV.

Hope this helps.

But when in doubt, ask the Lord.

http://www.fmh-child.org/S3.9.14.html

[USMC87]

A right relationship is only one given by God through Christ our faithful Servant. Many will say they did many things but Christ will say I never knew you. Many know a lot of the bible but have no inner relationship with God, Lip service is very popular but true worship and love of God is rare.

[dverna]

Your point is not worded well. Your "heart" cannot have knowledge of God. It is an organ that pumps blood. Feelings of the heart are misnamed...they are manifestations of how we think, perceive things and how we act. That comes from the head - brain. There is the concept of soul. My thought is that the soul may also be driven by our brain but that would not explain how our soul lives on after our brain is dead. I have much to learn.

I use a term CINO....Christian In Name Only. These will typically be despicable people. They talk a great story but are essentially evil, may have mental issues, or are at best phonies. There is at least one person on this site like that.

I have been blessed with knowing true Christians and they walk the talk. They outnumber the CINO's but not by as much as we would hope (agree with USMC87's post above). Most fall somewhere between...men/women trying to be good people but failing at times...often many times... especially when personal interests are at stake.

But to address your question. Your heart is not where your knowledge of God stems from. Your brain controls every aspect of how you live, what you believe, and how you act. It will allow you to do terrible things and give you the knowledge that what you did was wrong...your conscious.

[Preacher Jim]

Do not be deceived the difference is between book knowledge and personal commitment to accept and let the LORD into the control the seat of knowledge in you.

[buckwheatpaul]

If Jesus is on your heart than He is on your lips....need I say more!

[aspangler]

Romans 10:10 " for with the heart man believeth unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." My vote is the SAVING knowledge is in the heart which is the dellingplace of the Holy Spirit.

[johnson1942]

its simple, when you are born again and accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your savior the cloud comes off your mind and from then on you see with a truly clear spiritual mind. no one any where at any time can read the bible before the salvation experience and come up with the same meanings as when reading the bible after the salvation experience. God can reveal certain things to someone reading the bible before the salvation experience to promt them to make that commitment but on the whole, only salvation christians can understand the bible fully. the cloud over the mind is taken away.