Knowing Versus Believing: The Fatal Difference

Just recently, my seven year-old son asked me a question. He had his Bible with him and was reading the part about the temptation of Jesus. 

His question went something like this: 

“Mom, does the devil know God? Does he read the Bible?

And that right there was a magic moment. 

I, of course, took the opportunity to go deeper. I told him that the devil knew God, and since he can quote Scriptures (Matthew 4:1-11), he most likely has read the Bible. Then I told him and his brothers as well why it is crucial not to just “know” God, but to believe in Him. 

I told them the reasons why I said this, and I would also like to share them with you.

Does the devil know God?

We see in the Scriptures that the devil and his minions do know God. In the book of Job, we read about Satan asking permission from God to test Job (Job 1:6-22). He does know who God is and that He has the authority over all creation. He knows Him enough to realise that he had to ask for His permission before He can do anything.

In James 2:19, the writer of the epistle said, “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that — and shudder.” It is clearly stated here that the devil recognizes the existence of God, and is actually afraid of Him.

There are other verses supporting this claim, even in the time of Jesus. They know Jesus is the Son of God. They recognized Him, even before He declared it during His trial. There is enough evidence that shows that the devil is fully acquainted with God.

Does the devil read the Bible?

Only God is omniscient, but the devil is crafty (Genesis 3:1). He cannot read our minds, but he is very observant and is full of wisdom (Ezekiel 28). I would assume that he is well versed about the word of God since he can quote Scriptures, as he did in Matthew.

I believe that it requires great knowledge and understanding for the devil to be able to twist the truths of God. When he tempted Adam and Eve, he began with the words “Did God really say…” (Genesis 3:1). And even if he has not read the Bible, all that is in the Scriptures have been studied and passed on through generations, so he knows what is in it by mere observation throughout the ages.

Over time, I assume that he has mastered every nook-and-cranny of the Holy Scriptures and that is why he can easily offer a warped version of truth to cause people to doubt God. He simply adds or subtracts words, twists them, or modifies truth to be more appealing to the present times, and then success comes easy.

Does the devil believe in God and the Bible?

There is a big difference between knowing and believing. The dictionary defines knowing as having knowledge or awareness of something that is hidden to many people. Believing, on the other hand, is accepting something to be true.

Knowing is basically being informed. But, you may or may not agree with the authenticity of the matter. Believing is having accepted the genuineness of what was presented. You can share something you know, without necessarily believing it. 

The devil knows God and the Bible, but does he believe? Of course not, because if he did, he would have been changed and become somebody who is a far cry from who he is now. 

I am not a Bible expert, so my position may be controversial to many (and I am surely open to corrections), but all I know is that no sin is too big for God to forgive if we come to Him in genuine repentance.

Satan might think he is wiser than God, that he can escape the consequences of all that he did but I assume He does not buy into the reality of hell. The place that God was telling His disciples to be the end for those who reject Him. The devil knows that Jesus is God, and that God is Sovereign over all, yet he still chooses not to be subjected to that truth.

I have heard our Pastor say this several times from the pulpit, “Believing, but not obeying, is still not believing.” If you trust anything, it should impact your actions, especially when it comes to the truths of the Bible because it is certainly life-changing.

Unbelief and mankind

The thing is, it is not only the devil who has this mindset and attitude towards God and the Bible. In fact, the world knows about the existence of the Holy Scriptures, and Jesus is not considered as a mere legend or myth but a real historical figure. Many know about Him, but only a few believe in Him. It is a sad reality. 

However, there is something worse than this which I also shared with my kids. Following through with what our Pastor said about believing and obeying, I told them that there are people who think they know and believe, but there is no evidence of it in their lives. Nothing changed from how they were prior to encountering and accepting truth.

Believing requires obeying, and obeying produces change. It transforms you from the inside out. Since the Holy Spirit indwells the believer, he or she must not take sin lightly anymore. Saying we believe, but then again living our lives contradictory to the truth, shows we do not truly believe (1 John 2:4-6). Often, it is just head knowledge, and that is not enough to reconcile us with God. 

When we trust God and His Word, His Spirit living in us will stir us to action, because He has prepared the works beforehand (Ephesians 2:10). Our eyes will be opened to sin, and we will be able to say “no” to it, through Christ. We will go through the process of sanctification, so it’s impossible to remain as we were. God will not allow it. He loves us so much and He won’t let us remain stagnant in our faith. We will definitely, at times, still fall into sin, but we will not intentionally sin.

The faith that saves

Actions do not give us salvation; faith in Jesus does. The good things that we do must be an overflow of the love, grace, and mercy we received from the Lord. We do not go through a checklist to see how much good we have done. All must spring from the heart, led by the power of the Holy Spirit.

God cannot be mocked. We can pray all we want, attend endless Church services, read the Bible every year, etc, but if we do not obey, then we are only fooling ourselves. We must completely surrender to God that when He calls us to do something, we will do it, even though we think we can’t or we are not deserving.

I remember something shared with me by a friend. She said, “It’s not how hard we pray but how hard we obey.” If we truly commune with our Heavenly Father and bask in His holy presence, we will be changed and compelled to obey what He has set out for us to do.

This saving faith happens with the belief in the One True God, and in what He did for us. It is the kind that transforms, one that convicts and humbles us, and that which causes us to be completely dependent on Him. Transformation does not happen overnight, but as we obey the One whom we believe in, slowly, but surely, we will be perfected. 

The process is gradual and lifelong and will not be completed in this life. But we can trust His promise in Philippians 1:6 that says, “being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

Believe what we know

Many of the principles we hold on to now started with ideas. Knowledge is crucial because believing without evidence can also be dangerous. As we get to know the Lord more, we must pray to accept Him and His claims and allow these to transform our lives. 

Knowing God is vital, but believing in Him is what will save us. Let us make sure that we are not mere hearers but doers of the Word. We must walk the talk, and always ask God to guide us and make us His genuine followers.