Dearly Beloved,
There was a kind of Faith
that once thrived in Eden before the fall of man. That Faith once flourished
because of the availability of a dimension of the Presence/Knowledge
of God that caused men to live about a millennia then.
Sin couldn’t reign in the
souls of men (after man’s spirit had died through disobedience) until Satan successfully
attacked the faith life by deceiving men to celebrate Independence From God and the creation of The
First Idol Called Self through the likes of Cain, Nimrod etc. By the time
the Lord Jesus came, man/nations had been weakened by the Love of The World
(1Jn. 2:15) and virtually all men were without ‘strength’. (Eze. 14:12/Rom.
5:6)
God in His Wisdom therefore had to step-down and begin with a Kind
of Faith that mankind could relate with, one that only required them to BELIEVE.
With this, man could engage the beginner course of Faith where we BELIEVE IN
GOD, were such can trust God to meet their personal needs, ranging from
their marital, security, financial to their emotional needs, which brought us
all to Christ.
The phase wherein we are encouraged to ‘ONLY BELIEVE’ is meant to be a transitional phase
and not a tabernacle to dwell in, because the actual experience of God is tied
to KNOWING IN GOD. Believers therefore struggle with God
when he attempts to wean such from the beginning meals of faith and introduce
them to a higher kind of faith, just like a child about to be weaned from the
breast would. (Mark 11:22-23/Isa. 28:9)
Some
Scriptures Clarifying The Difference Btw BELIEVING & KNOWING
CHRIST
Mark 5:36 “As
soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he saith unto the ruler of the
synagogue, Be not afraid, only BELIEVE” (i.e. the criteria for receiving
miracles)
2Tim. 1:12
…nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I KNOW whom I have BELIEVED
(i.e. he started as a ‘BELIEVER’ but ended as a ‘KNOWER’)
Isa. 28:9 Whom
shall he teach KNOWLEDGE (i.e. knowledge faith meals)? and whom shall he
make to understand doctrine them that are weaned from the Milk
(believing faith meals), and drawn from the breasts.
Mal. 2:7 “For the Priest’s lips
should keep KNOWLEDGE, and they should seek the law at his mouth”
(i.e.
Gentiles/Children of Israel/Levites had no access to Gods Knowledge. Only
priests did
1 Tim. 2:4 Who
will have all men to be saved (i.e. become BELIEVERS), and to come unto
the knowledge of the truth (i.e. become KNOWLEDGEABLE).
The Lord Jesus therefore struggled to speak of ‘Heavenly Things’
and had to narrow down his ministrations to the ‘Earthly Things’ which
carnal men (believers and unbelievers) could relate with. He had to appear to
the apostles for a space of 40 days after His resurrection before he could
expressly communicate some Heavenly Things/Kingdom Secrets which still
had to be amplified by the Spirit of truth. (Jn. 14:26/Acts
1:3)
Jn. 3:12 ‘If I have told
you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you
of heavenly things?’
- This is the reason why there is a difference between the exploits or fruits of Faith recorded in Matthew to John and those recorded in Romans to Revelation where there was hardly a record of a physical miracle. Why? Because the Faith in operation in the epistles awoke believers to ‘KNOWLEDGE OF GOD’ (1 Cor. 15:34/2 Cor. 10:5) while that in the gospels (Matthew to John) helped men to ‘BELIEVE IN GOD’ (Heb. 6:1)
- This was the reason why the early Apostles were communicating things that were not just relevant to this present world but relevant to the world to come when Christ’s kingdom would be made manifest. (2 Tim. 4:10/Mark 10:30/1 Jn. 2:15/Eph. 2:7/Heb. 2:5)
- The books of Matthew to Acts therefore contained experiences where Christ wisely promoted “Faith Towards God” unto the Jews and Gentiles who had been weakened by the inability of the Law to build men spiritually for centuries. This beginner course of faith could be assimilated by Children who had no clue of the responsibility of a spiritual maturity which they could only come into via a higher faith mean that transform internally and produces ‘Sons of God’.
- This higher faith meal was described by Apostle Paul as The Faith of God or The Faith of The Son in Colossians 2:12/Titus 1:1/Gal. 2:20, while Apostle Peter described it as Our Precious Faith in 2Pet. 1:1 and Jude described it as The Faith To Be Contended For/Our Most Holy Faith in Jude Vs. 1 & 20 respectively)
Heb 5:12-13 “For when for the
time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the
first principles of ‘the Word of God’ (detailed in Heb. 6:1-2); and
are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For
every one that uses milk is unskillful in The Word Of Righteousness: for he is
a babe.”
(i.e. This is an
admonition to migrate from being ‘A BELIEVER’ to being A’ KNOWER’ via a higher/spiritual
meal)
Heb. 6:1 “Therefore
LEAVING the elementary principles of the doctrine of Christ, and go on unto
Spiritual Maturity/Perfection; not laying again the foundation of
repentance from dead works, and of Faith
Toward God
So there is a Kind of
Faith that ‘Gentiles or unbelievers’ like the Syrophenician woman or the
centurion man could relate with and get their financial/health or
material needs addressed and because of the carnal state of Israel then, Christ
called it ‘a great Faith’, even though they were unbelievers!
- Such was the same kind of Faith that Jews/believers like blind Bartimaeus/Zacheus employed to get their miracles as they responded to one ‘spoken word’ or another
- Such is the kind of Faith that young believers can understand or relate with, because it ‘brings many natural promises to pass’ and helps from childhood to infanthood but not adulthood! Though it has raised many great ministries to the glory of God and thereby brought Breakthroughs to different areas of our natural life and the outward man, it can’t transform/raise/build the inner man – THE SOUL
- The purpose of God's Faith or the Faith of The Son was therefore designed to culture the soul in the life already acquired by the spirit at new birth.
- The Face Ministry of Christ (2Cor. 3:18/4:6) which is different from the preeminent Blessings of God's Hands is responsible for dispensing God's faith and this is the aspect of Faith that would bring us unto The End of Faith, The Salvation Of Our Souls! 1Pet. 1:9.
This is why Jesus was called ‘The Author/Finisher of Our
Faith’ by those who saw and pressed into such order of Faith/Divine Life. (2 Cor. 3:18/Heb.
12:2/)
Selah!
Remain Blessed!
Tayo Fasan
+2347025001200
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have been blessed by this inspired article, kindly forward to your
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