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Epignosis means knowledge, recognition, acknowledgment, or a fuller grasp of truth. In the Pastoral Epistles, people come to the knowledge of the truth through salvation and repentance, and that truth accords with godliness.
Reader summary
Full entry for ἐπίγνωσις (G1922) · Open the biblical lexicon
Epignosis means knowledge, recognition, acknowledgment, or a fuller grasp of truth. In the Pastoral Epistles, people come to the knowledge of the truth through salvation and repentance, and that truth accords with godliness.
The BSB source-word alignment has 20 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include knowledge (9), [the] knowledge (3), a knowledge (2), . . . (1), [their] knowledge (1).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Romans 1:28. Its strongest book concentrations include 2 Peter (4), Colossians (4), Romans (3), 2 Timothy (2).
This entry includes 1 verse guide that explain exact original-language forms in context.
Epignosis means knowledge, recognition, acknowledgment, or a fuller grasp of truth. In the Pastoral Epistles, people come to the knowledge of the truth through salvation and repentance, and that truth accords with godliness. Others remain always learning without arriving, while Hebrews warns that receiving knowledge of the truth increases accountability when a person persists willfully in sin.
The noun does not describe secret elite information, intellectual volume, or a credential that makes correction unnecessary. Biblical recognition engages the revealed truth of the gospel, depends on God's merciful work, and bears moral fruit. Churches should therefore prize study while asking whether knowledge leads to repentance, confession, faithful practice, humble love, and perseverance rather than endless accumulation or spiritual status.
Epignosis describes recognized knowledge of the truth that belongs with salvation, God-granted repentance, godliness, and accountability. Information alone can accumulate without reaching this faithful recognition.
Who wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
First Timothy 2:4 says God desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth, within the proclamation of one God and one Mediator.
He must gently reprove those who oppose him, in the hope that God may grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth.
Second Timothy 2:25 says a servant corrects opponents gently in hope that God may grant repentance leading to knowledge of the truth. Recognition is gift-linked and repentance-shaped.
Who are always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth.
Second Timothy 3:7 describes people always learning yet never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Educational motion does not guarantee arrival.
Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness,
Titus 1:1 says Paul's apostleship serves the faith of God's elect and their knowledge of truth that accords with godliness. Truth possesses a fitting moral trajectory.
If we deliberately go on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no further sacrifice for sins remains,
Hebrews 10:26 warns that receiving knowledge of the truth creates grave accountability when deliberate sin is persistently embraced.
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItA compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
Verse-level guides showing how this original-language form works in its specific context, including grammar, verse function, and guarded interpretation.
Greek word. Deep, experiential knowledge gained through recognition and discernment, not mere intellectual awareness.
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 20 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
knowledge, discernment, recognition
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Read verseknowledge, discernment, recognition
Read verseknowledge, discernment, recognition
Read verseknowledge, discernment, recognition
Read verseknowledge, discernment, recognition
Read verseknowledge, discernment, recognition
Read verseknowledge, discernment, recognition
Read verseknowledge, discernment, recognition
Read verseFull New Testament corpus: 260 chapters, 7,957 verses, 140,628 tokens. Data source: honza/textus-receptus (data only), with authority check against byztxt/greektext-textus-receptus.
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
This word appears as a noun across 4 case and number patterns. The form changes show how the word functions in a sentence; they do not change the basic lexical meaning by themselves.
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 5 selected witnesses from 20 lexical occurrence verses.
ἐπίγνωσις is built from this root:
Through the law comes knowledge of sin, clarifying its exposing function. 1 Timothy 2:1-7
Ensures love is governed by truth rather than sentiment. Colossians 1:9–14
Emphasizes informed accountability. Hebrews 10:26-31
Counters claims of secret insight and emphasizes comprehensive understanding of God’s will. Philippians 1:9–11
Salvation involves coming to a true understanding of the gospel, not mere intellectual awareness. Romans 3:9-20
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
Epignosis is not a badge for people who have consumed the most material. Paul can imagine constant learning that never arrives because truth is not merely passed before the eyes; it must be recognized in relation to the gospel and received with repentance. God desires people to be saved and know the truth of the one Mediator, and He may grant repentance through a servant's gentle correction.
Titus then joins such knowledge to godliness, preventing a split between doctrine and life. Hebrews adds sober accountability: recognized truth cannot be treated as spiritually weightless. Churches should build deep learning communities that welcome questions, distinguish confidence from certainty, correct patiently, and look for fruits of humility, worship, justice, endurance, and love.
Titus.1.1
Epignosis can mean knowledge, recognition, or acknowledgment, often with an intensive or relational sense. Context, not the prefix alone, determines how much emphasis belongs on fullness.
The prophets lament people who possess covenant words without knowing God, while wisdom joins knowledge with fear of the Lord. The new covenant promises a people who truly know Him.
MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain
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Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain