Proverbs 18:15 An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.

That is old school.

• Colossians 1:9 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,
• Colossians 1:10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;
• Colossians 2:2 that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ,
• Colossians 2:3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
• Colossians 3:10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.

This is new school. This takes a lot more time because unlike the law, it is not learned, it is experienced.

Old school is about learning, new school is about knowing via experiencing.

Tell a child not to touch the stove because it is hot. What does he do? He touches it because he has no understanding of what hot is until he experiences it.

Genesis 2:17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

At that time nothing had died, how was Adam to understand what it meant to die.

Genesis 5:5 Thus all the days that Adam lived were 930 years, and he died.

Adam did not die on the day he ate of that tree, not physically anyway, but spiritually Adam died because Adam and Eve were cast out from God’s presence.

The real mystery of Christ is in how He could undo what Adam had done.

1 Corinthians 15:45 Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.

Hints are in Genesis 5:3 and Colossians 1:22 concerning this mystery of knowing vs learning.

John 3:3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

I am going to be as honest with you as I can be. I do not know when it happened, I just know that I am “born again”. I do not know the moment I was born of water, when I took my first breath it was just something I did without knowing what had just happened to me. I can honestly say being born of the spirit wasn’t all that different. I just took that first breath without knowing what was happening.

What I do remember is that I spent decades of sinning between God revealing Himself to me and the first time He spoke to me. That only happened after I repented of the life I had lived.

Was that the moment of rebirth? I don’t know.

When Adam and Eve allowed sin into the world, they were told in detail what was about to happen because of their disobedience. Consequences. They became spiritually dead, cast out and separated from God.

Nothing was said about any further communication between God and Adam and Eve. They birthed Cain, Abel and Seth. God spoke to Cain. I do not recall any conversations with the others. Maybe I am wrong. I can look that up. I don’t have to rely on my memory, I have His Word.

I have His Word. That is the most profound comment I can make about being born again.

I do not know the truth without it. 

Deuteronomy 6:6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.

Matthew 13:19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path.

Luke 8:15 As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.

Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

Ezekiel 36:26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

I don’t know when that happened either but I know it is true.