Knowledge & Love: are you building up or have an inflated ego?

How are we to properly balance love and knowledge?

1 Corinthians 8:1
Now as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge.
Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth.

What is the difference between being puffed up and being edified?

Definition of “puffeth up”
Strong’s Concordance #5448
phusioó: to puff or blow up
Part of Speech: Verb
Phonetic Spelling: (foo-see-o’-o)
Definition: I inflate, puff up; passively: I am puffed up, arrogant, proud.

HELPS Word-studies
5448 physióō (from physa, “air-bellows”) – properly, inflate by blowing;
(figuratively) swelled up, like an egotistical person spuing out arrogant (“puffed-up”) thoughts.

Definition of “edifieth”
Strong’s Concordance #3618
oikodomeó: to build a house
Part of Speech: Verb
Phonetic Spelling: (oy-kod-om-eh’-o)
Definition: I erect a building, build; figuratively. of the building up of character: I build up, edify, encourage.

HELPS Word-studies
3618 oikodoméō (from 3624 /oíkos, “a house” and domeō, “to build”) – properly, to build a house (home, edifice); (figuratively) to edify – literally, “build someone up,” helping them to stand (be strong, “sturdy”).

If we get prideful and arrogant with knowledge and don’t walk in the love of God, then we become puffed up with “hot air”, like a balloon.  That makes us vulnerable to Satan’s poisonous winds of false doctrines.

Proverbs 16:18
Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.

1 Timothy 3:6
Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil.

Ephesians 4:14
That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;

In contrast, charity [the love of God operated in our life] edifies us, it builds us up [I Corinthians 8:1].

An edifice is a large building made of solid materials like wood, steel or concrete that is anchored to the ground for strength and stability.

Ephesians 3:17
That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith [believing]; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,

If we are rooted and grounded in love, then we can’t get blown around by Satan’s winds of false doctrines.

This is where operating the manifestations of holy spirit come into play.

The root word edify occurs 7 times in I Corinthians 14.  Seven is the number of spiritual perfection in the bible.

The definition of charity is to build up, to encourage.

I Corinthians 14
1 Follow after charity [the love of God], and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy.
2 For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries.

In verse 1,  the word “gifts” is in italics in the KJV, which means that the translators are telling us right up front that they deliberately added it to the verse.  Thus, its nothing more than their own opinion and has no divine authority.   Therefore, if we remove it, then we are not changing the actual word of God.

The word “spiritual” comes from the Greek word pneumatikos and is more accurately translated spiritual matters or spiritual things, so the overall subject of I Corinthians 14 is spiritual things.

3 But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort.

4 He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the church.
5 I would that ye all spake with tongues but rather that ye prophesied: for greater is he that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues, except he interpret, that the church may receive edifying.
37 If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.

Imagine that – speaking in tongues is a commandment of the Lord!

This brings us full circle and we get back to the love of God.

I John 5
2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.
3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.

However, Colossians tells us to increase in knowledge…

Colossians 1:10
That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God.

And Thessalonians tells us to increase in our love for one another too.

I Thessalonians 4
9 But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another.
10 And indeed ye do it toward all the brethren which are in all Macedonia: but we beseech you, brethren, that ye increase more and more;

In order to have a balanced walk with God, our love for him should grow in proportion to our increase in knowledge.

Matthew 7
24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

28 And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:
29 For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

In verse 24, it says whosoever doeth them…this is the love of God, to carry out the word of God in our lives.

This gets us rooted and grounded in love so that we can withstand the storms of life when they hit.   Having a solid foundation is the key…

Ephesians 2
18 For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;

20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:
22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

Once again, we must go back to the great truths of Ephesians.

Ephesians 4:1
I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,

Definition of “worthy”
Strong’s Concordance #514
axios: of weight, of worth, worthy
Part of Speech: Adjective
Phonetic Spelling: (ax’-ee-os)
Definition: worthy, worthy of, deserving, comparable, suitable.

HELPS Word-studies
514 áksios (an adjective derived from aksō, “to weigh”) – properly, to weigh in, assigning the matching value (“worth-to-worth”); worthy, i.e. as the assessment in keeping with how something “weighs in” on God’s balance-scale of truth.

514 /áksios (“weighed-in”) “properly means, ‘drawing down the scale’ hence ‘weighing as much as,’ ‘of like value, worth,’ befitting, congruous, corresponding” (J. Thayer).

[514 (áksios) is the root of the English term, “axis.” This also refers to a balance-scale, operating by off-setting weights.]

The love of God must be balanced out with the knowledge of God so that we have a good and stable walk with God.

Jesus Christ is the solid foundation upon which we can base our lives on, living a balanced walk of knowledge and love, being victorious in all we do.