In Philemon :6 Paul writes to Philemon with the prayer “that the fellowship of your faith may become effective through the knowledge of every good thing which is in you for Christ’s sake”.
Paul wrote that Philemon’s faith would be more effective as he grew in KNOWLEDGE. We see verses similar to this throughout Paul’s writings (“I pray that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment”, Philippians 1:9, etc.) True, godly, Biblical knowledge is a key to spiritual growth.
On the one hand, we should each guard ourselves against the delusion that a cold, Pharisaic “learning of facts” is a substitute for healthy Christianity. Merely accumulating knowledge is not a desirable end in itself. But on the other hand, the fact is that we DO grow spiritually through genuine Biblical knowledge. How else will we gain a right understanding of God, and of our responsibilities to others? If we are not growing in genuine, spiritual, Biblical knowledge, which we are applying to the way we live, then what will our Christian life be based upon — “pop religion”, or vague and changeable “feelings” and impressions? No. You can’t do more than you know. If you would truly grow in faith and practice, then you must grow in genuine, spiritual, applied, Biblical knowledge!
shawnethomas 
Knowledge, as Paul notes, puffs up, but Paul gives us 3 things to counter-act this (I Cor 8:1-3):
1. “Knowledge puffs up, but love builds (or constructs)” I’m tempted sometimes to render this “Knowledge is head-swelling, but Love is constructive”. The knowledge that by itself is head-swelling, love takes and uses it to construct. In other words, don’t leave the knowledge in your head, do something constructive with it.
2. “If anyone thinks he knows anything, he has not yet known as he ought to know”. If you’re impressed with your own knowledge, you haven’t yet learned some very basic knowledge. I take this ‘basic knowledge’ as knowledge of how easily you yourself mislearn, misunderstandand, and just plain get things wrong. There is a delicate balance here (which may be why you typically see this expressed as a paradox; e.g. G. K. Chesterton’s “It is not bigotry to be certain we are right; but it is bigotry to be unable to imagine how we could have possibly gone wrong”).
3. “If anyone loves God, he is known by Him.” Though we must learn and gain spiritual knowledge, the purpose isn’t our knowledge, but God knowing us, because we love Him.
Ben, I hope I made it clear in the article that it is not knowledge for knowledge’s sake (and certainly not for puffing up our ego) that the Bible is commending here. But the sure knowledge that comes from the word of God must be the basis for our spiritual growth: “long for the pure milk of the word, that by it you may grow in respect to salvation.” (I Peter 2:2) One is not going to grow (in humility, understanding of one’s self, or knowledge of God) without the objective knowledge of the word of God. Otherwise one is shooting completely in the dark. Love is surely greater than knowledge, but how is one going to grow in love? God’s Spirit cultivates His fruit in us through His word!
I think I pretty much agree with you. The Bible does not commend ego-puffing knowledge, but does commend spiritual knowledge and learning. But the Bible does recognize that accumulating knowledge (even spiritual knowledge) tends to puff up the head (even if that’s not your intention in the first place). So there are verses like those I quoted to counter that tendency.
I think what we’re facing is the sort of Christian balance that G. K. Chesterton referred to as “the collision of two passions apparently opposite”. You’ve got two seemingly contradictory things here: “Pursue knowledge, especially spiritual knowledge” and “Don’t let knowledge get your head puffed up”. Our tendency is to either deny one or the other, or to find a mediocre middle ground (e.g., “Well, only pursue a little knowledge, so you won’t get too puffed up”). The real balance is to find how to pursue both vigorously at the same time.
I don’t think I was trying to contradict you, just trying to present the other side of that balance.
Well, I agree with you too 🙂 Like so many things in the Christian life, there is an important balance to keep on this. We’ve got to learn to grow, but we also need to be careful not to be puffed up as we do. Appreciate your readership & input Ben!