UNFAILING FAITH

The foundation of our Christianity as believers is our faith in God. Last year may have gone differently for all of us but what matters is our faith in God. For some, they may not have gotten the things they desired, for others it might have been a good year. Whether or not we achieved what we planned from the beginning of the year, the important thing is to ensure that that our faith in God does not fail.  The events of the past year might cause us to anticipate something new or a change in our circumstances as we enter into a new year, especially when find ourselves in a failed system as is operated in our country. Even though it is a new year and so people are expecting new things or changes in what previously obtained, we must realise that the most important factor in our seeing these changes is ourselves. It is not so much about what we want God to do in the New Year but about what we need to do. Truth is that personal or societal problems do not respond to a new year. The first of any year is just a continuity of time. Many times, we try to squeeze God into a mould to do things because it is a new year but God is not bound by that. We are the ones who need to take advantage of time. A new year is a reminder that a period of time has passed and another is beginning. The issue should be how we are responding to passing time. That is why the Psalmist says “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom”.

Is your Faith Strengthened or weakened?

In measuring our progress this year, our yardstick should not be the material things God has provided; rather it should be measured by how our faith in God has become stronger. This is not to say that we should not look up to God to supply our needs (Phlp.4:19), but at the end of the year, we should be able to ask ourselves if we are better Christians for things we have passed through. We will pass through things that tend to weaken our faith in God. The Devil’s sole responsibility is to weaken our faith in God, such that we begin to doubt if God truly loves us. Everything we go through can serve to either weaken or strengthen our faith in God. What determines the outcome is our response to those things. An example of a man whose faith was edging out gradually was Peter (Luk.22:31-32). On the surface he appeared to be strong, but Jesus could see that his faith is being weakened by the things he was passing through. Satan had asked of him to sift him like wheat. However, Jesus prayed for him so that his faith will not fail. The question we believers should ask ourselves is: has my zeal for the things of God waned because of the diverse circumstances and experiences I am passing through? The bible does not deny that believers go through challenging times, but each time we go through such trials, scripture admonishes that we should ensure that our faith is not weakened by such trials.

1Pet 1:6-7 talks about the numerous temptations believers go through and how that they bring out the genuineness of our faith. The bible obviously acknowledges that we go through some tough times. Just as gold passed through fire gets refined, the believer's faith ought to be refined as it passes through trials. But if we are not careful, those same trials may destroy our faith. When trials are prolonged, there is every tendency that our faith, the foundation of our Christianity, becomes shaken up. That is why scripture warns that those passing through persecution and have started doubting God, should ‘Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God’ (Heb.3:12). We are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul (Heb 10:39). Our faith is strengthened or weakened by the way we handle the things that we pass through. We must not toy with our faith (Heb.11:6). Constant pressures tend to weaken our faith and if we do not respond appropriately, we find ourselves doubting the workings of God in our live. Unbelief is very dangerous because that is what takes people to hell. The sin that ‘so easily beset’ referred to in Heb.12:1 is the sin of unbelief.

The Example of John the Baptist (Lk.7:17-23)

John the Baptist was described as the greatest of all the prophets. In fact, he was the only one filled with the Hoy Ghost from his mother's womb. He was the fore-runner of our Lord Jesus, a fiery preacher. At some point, this great man began having doubts. Hope deferred makes the heart sick (Prov 13:12). John had spoken against Herod with regards to Herod taking his brother's wife and was thrown into prison. After a period of time, he began to doubt, and needed some form of reassurance, so he sent message to Jesus to ask if he was the Messiah or if they should look for another. What is important is the response of Jesus and this is always God's response to every doubt of man. When John's disciples got to Jesus, He performed many miracles before them (Lk. 7:17-23). What Jesus did was not to convince John by miracles but to refer John back to scripture. Isa 35:5-6 is a Messianic scripture and this was what Jesus pointed John the Baptist to, knowing John knew the scripture. Christ fulfilled the things mentioned in that portion of scripture right in front of John's disciples and he told them to go tell him what they have seen. John's disciples had reported the miracles to him in Lk 7:17-18 but John still sent them to Jesus to confirm if He was

the Messiah. This implies that faith does not come by miracles. Getting answers to your prayers or the cravings of your heart does not bring faith. What brings faith is casting our mind back to all those benefits of Salvation as revealed in scriptures, because faith comes by the word of God (Rom.10:17, Phlm.6). Faith comes when we reassure ourselves again that the scriptures are true. We must reassure our heart that the word of God cannot fail. We must recon that the sufferings of the present time cannot be compared to the glory that shall be revealed in us (Rom.8:18)

It is our choice to allow even our bad experiences to strengthen our faith in God. We can make a choice to say all things work together for our good because we have been called by God (Rom 8:28). When we are offended in
God, we begin to doubt his goodness and his love for us. At such times, we tread on dangerous grounds and our faith in God begins to ebb away. We should not mess with our faith but rather let it be refined. Abraham did not stagger at God's promises through unbelief (Rom 4:20) and we too can choose to do that.
Faith does not always mean the best possible outcomes in this world. Even though Daniel was able to stop the mouth of lions; some Christians have also been devoured by lions in the course of standing for their faith (Heb 11:30-38). Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to bow down for the king's golden image regardless of if God delivered them or not, even though they know He was able to deliver them (Dan 3:16-18). Once our faith fails, then our Christianity will no longer be effective.

Forgetting the past, pressing forward by faith.

We are to press forward, leaving the things that are behind. Christianity is a race and we have to keep moving. The world does not end because we are jobless or going through any other challenge. Paul, while in prison made progress. All the things drawing us back have been orchestrated by the devil to draw us back and when we do so we are only fulfilling his plans. We are to forget everything behind- our past glory, our past failures- and press forward. We must be self-driven because that is the attitude of victory. Paul admonished that “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus (Philp.3:12-14)”
Paul could later on say in II Tim 4:7-8 that he had fought a good fight, he had finished his course and had kept the faith. Christianity is all about your faith in Christ. We should run the race looking unto Jesus. At the end of our life, after we have achieved all those legitimate things we long for, we should be able to say like Paul that we have kept the faith.

Exhortation

It is important amidst the contrary situations that we face in life to always remind ourselves of who we are in Christ Jesus. Amongst unbelievers, they are aware of the fact that no condition is permanent, a common saying which finds a parallel in 2 Cor 4:17, which describe our light afflictions as temporal. Whatever we indeed go through will ultimately come to an end.  Many times we approach our living, God and our Christianity from the standpoint of our problems and we are always encouraged not to focus on them because they are temporal. However, do we really need someone ALL THE TIME to always remind us that problems should not be the reason why we should not praise God? If this is the case, then there is something we are still not seeing – the things that are eternal and permanent (2 Cor 4:18). We spend the majority of our lives trying to look away from our temporal manifold problems. We should realize that as long as we are in this world, we will always have challenges (John 16:33). Rather than spending our time, effort and strength on looking away and dwelling on our temporal troubles, our emphasis and efforts should be on looking unto things eternal (Heb 12:1, 2 Cor 4:18, Col 3:1-2).

The word “looking” as used in Heb 12:2 conveys the idea of looking away from something to focus on another thing. If we are not focused on Jesus, we will keep looking away and carrying our weights. The secret of focusing on Jesus is to realize that what He has done is what is permanent. This should be our source of strength. We should not wake up looking for someone to encourage us, or worrying about our manifold problems. If we do that we will pass our time managing crisis, rather than making progress in God and focusing on what He has done for us and on who He has made us. We should realize that because we are born of Him we are overcomers ALREADY (1 Jn 5:4-5). Victory is not something we are fighting for, we are already in a position of victory. When you have this kind of perspective you can actually look at contrary situations in the face and laugh, without being cajoled, coerced or psyched. This is how true Christianity should be. You can only do this when you realize that He has given you the victory (1 Cor 15:57, Rom 8:38-39) because we have his seed within us (1 Pet 1:23). 

If we are are born again, there is an incorruptible seed in us that cannot be destroyed which gives us victory in life. It is the reason why we can face tomorrow.  Because of the seed of God within, we should be so confident in God that we are not moved by circumstances of life (Acts 20:24). This is the way to approach Christianity, not the wrong approach of viewing it from the perspective of our problems. We should understand that we are God’s investment and that He has a stake in us.  We are His workmanship (Eph 2:10). Many times we do not have this kind of Christ esteem such that when things go wrong we wonder where we missed it and find it hard to praise God. When things go wrong we should retain our confidence in God and praise Him. Our confidence in God should be so strong no matter the circumstances (Acts 20:24).  

We should put our confidence in the fact that we are new creatures. We should not wait until we are pysched and cajoled out of her depressed attitude every Sunday because we live our lives outside of church meetings majority of the time. Rather we should live vibrantly and rejoicing always because of who He has made us. We need to understand that we are sons (1 John 3:1-3) and esteem who we are in Christ. Rather than spend our time wondering and worrying, we should remember His seed within us and plan towards how we will do exploits for God. Our orientation should be on how we can leverage on what God has given us to further His word and shine His light.

Analysis of 1 Pet 2:22-25

1 Pet 1:22- We have purified our souls. When this is read along with Acts 2:40, one may get the impression that Peter implied that salvation comes by human effort. However, that will be inconsistent with a plethora of scriptures which affirm salvation by grace (Eph 2:8, Titus 3:5-6, Rom, 4:1-5, 9:16, 11:6, James 1:17). By having purified their souls, Paul implied that they had OBEYED the truth. To obey the truth in this context means to BELIEVE the truth. Salvation does not come by obeying or keep some rules, or even the Ten Commandments. Rather it comes by believing on Christ through the gospel (John 6:28-29).

1 Pet 1:23 – The word ‘seed’ as used here is equivalent to the English word for sperm. Therefore, it is not agricultural seed, but that of a person. This seed by which we have been begotten is that of God and it is the only thing that is incorruptible under the Sun. Since Adam fell, the whole of the universe, including man and nature, by virtue of the entry of sin into the world became subject to corruption (Rom 8:18-22, Rom 5:12-14,1 Cor 15:42,50, 53,54). It was so bad (Gen 6:11,12) that God had to wipe out the entire human race with a flood sparing only Noah and his a family (Gen 6:-8). But even Noah because he was himself subject to corruption after a bout of drunkenness inadvertently committed incest with His daughters. The new race of men that sprang from Noah (Genesis 9:19) were equally subject to corruption. This was why the Saviour never came by copulation between a man and a woman, otherwise He would have been corrupt. At the right time, Jesus was made of a woman and conceived of the Holy Ghost (Gal 4:4-5, Luke 1:34-35). He did not come of corruptible seed. Likewise, believers have not come of incorruptible seed. Because of God’s investment in mankind, Jesus,  like a grain of wheat died and brought forth believers who are like Him and share His nature (Jn 12:24) – an incorruptible seed. This new identity we have in Him should give us a sense of worth and esteem to make us hold our heads high amidst the circumstances of life.

1 Pet 1:24 – When we look around the universe, we see things and the works of the hands of man that can be termed the glories of this world. We see architectural masterpieces, technology-enabled devices, exotic cars, well-planned cities, beautiful women, power, fame, immense wealth and huge human accomplishments. We can call this the glory of man. However, Peter likens the whole of unredeemed humanity and its glories to the flower of a grass which ceases to be when the grass withers. 

He was stressing their transient, corruptible or temporary nature. We should realize that all we see in this world is temporal and not worth focusing on, so if they disappear we do not inadequate

1 Pet 1:25 – Peter contrasted the transience of humanity and its glories, to the eternal nature of God’s word – the word of the gospel by which were begotten. The seed of God that saved us and reproduced in us abides forever. This implies that God’s interest in us is forever. We must be confident of the fact that He has an investment in us, and that in this life and beyond, we have a hope and a future. In this life we are designed for exploits. Sadly what most of us do because we fashion our own plans exclusive of God, is struggle to go from level to level, gearing all our efforts and endeavours towards our pre-planned end. We forget that God has plan for us, much grander and fulfilling than our own puny thoughts (Is 55:8, Eph 3:20). It is because we are oblivious of this that we get grounded when we have a small problem. Some even question, challenge and fight God, not learning from Job’s example who eventually learnt the wisdom of committing the keeping of His soul to a faithful, all-wise, sovereign God.

We need to stay grounded and rather than questioning, trust that God has a plan for our lives, which our circumstances cannot thwart of frustrate. We see the reality of the foregoing in the life of Joseph Joseph was hated by his brothers; sold into slavery; got into trouble and was cast into prison for not sleeping with Potiphar’s wife; became head of the prisoners; forgotten by Pharaoh’s butler for years; before eventually becoming the second most powerful man in Egypt after about 13 years. Joseph could have been bitter against God after waiting for several years, for showing him things which seemed was never going to come to pass. He could have been forgiven if he concluded that God’s plan for Him was to remain in Potiphar’s house or remain in prison and be a good influence there. However Joseph trusted God as He worked out His plan in His life. God’s plan was grander than Joseph’s understanding of it. Joseph thought it was merely to preserve Israel during famine (Gen 50:20). However, God’s ultimate objective was to preserve the nation from whom Jesus the Saviour was to come (Rom 9:5).

Many times we feel we have served God enough and do not deserve our unsavoury circumstances. We wonder where God is taking us to and at times jump to the wrong conclusion. We wonder why God allows circumstances He could have prevented from happening to us. But we must realize that God has a plan and end in view concerning our situation. He is working out things  for His glory. There is a seed and Spirit within us which God uses to lead, guide and to direct our paths. His eyes are fixed on us. Rather than focus on problems, let us focus on the real thing. Let us have the attitude of rejoicing (Rom 12:12, Php 4:4), not merely because we know that our circumstances are temporal, but because we know He has a plan for our lives, because of what He has done for us, and because of His investment in us. We should change our thinking about God. He loves us so much and He is committed to us. Our circumstances are part of what God is using to get us to where He wants to take us.

Faith should be the lifestyle of the believer, not a weapon you look for when you are confronted with a mountain or reserved for the time of trouble, or as a last alternative out of necessity. Faith is what makes us Christians (Eph 2:8-9, Gal 6:10). The word is called the word of faith because for you to live by it, you must exercise faith.

The word of God is called the word of faith because it inspires faith (Rom 10:17) and also because you cannot live by it if you do not have faith in it. Bible says we should walk in Christ the way we received Him (Col 2:6-7). We received Him by faith (Eph 2:8-9); we are to walk in Him the same way - by faith. The faith walk is the normal Christian walk. If we are not walking by faith, we are not walking in our Christianity. If we do not follow that pattern, we will find Christianity boring, burdensome.

The Bible describes the lifestyle of the Christian as: A WALK, A FIGHT, and A RACE.

·         OUR LIFESTYLE AS A WALK

Certain portions of scriptures describe our lifestyle as a WALK. This walk must be conducted by faith (2 Cor 5:7,Gal 5:16). It is knowledge of God’s word that inspires faith to enable this walk (Rom 10:17).Ignorance inspires unbelief (Rom 10:1-2). Often times we wrongly associate great faith with zeal, but without an accurate knowledge of God’s word you cannot walk by faith. e.g the Jews (Rom 10:1-4). The key to walking by faith is having an understanding of God’s word.

When you fall sick and you profess to believe God, what exactly is the basis of your faith? Is it God’s word or some flimsy and faulty basis which cannot be proven? True faith must be based on reality or truth of God’s word. If the basis is false, there cannot be true faith. The reason why a man can be saved is because salvation is based on the reality that Christ actually rose from the dead. If He did not rise from the dead, then there is no true faith (Rom 10:8-9, 1 Cor 15:1-20). When it is not based on God’s word, it is presumption, foolishness or unbelief. Faith must therefore be based on the truth of the word of God. The word of God, is the word of truth, and it is also the word of faith (Rom 10:17). If you must walk by faith, you must seek for knowledge – knowledge of God’s word.

In our walk, we should seek to live by faith on a daily basis (2 Cor 5:7). When you make decisions, are they based on sight or God’s word? When God has spoken to you concerning something, it may not make sense from a human perspective, but faith means agreeing with God and acting on God’s word regardless. That was what Abraham did (Heb 11:8-10).

We are admonished to walk in the Spirit in Gal 5:16.It takes faith to do this, and to express the fruit of the Spirit listed in Gal 5:22. It takes faith to walk in love, joy, peace, self-control, meekness, etc. Without faith, it would be difficult to forgive and show love to someone who has wronged us. We may find it difficult to forgive because we are trying to do it by sight, by our feelings. But when we do it by faith, we can forgive and really let go. External circumstances would not ordinarily make one rejoice, it takes faith. That was why Abraham could rejoice while waiting for the fulfilment of God’s promise, in spite of the deadness of his body and of Sarah’s womb (Rom 4:17-21). Job lost all he had in a split second and yet he was able to bless God. If you depend on feelings to rejoice, you can never truly rejoice, for it takes faith to rejoice amidst contrary circumstances.

·         OUR LIFESTYLE AS A FIGHT

The Christian life is described as warfare or a fight of faith. Somehow, Bible reveals that we are constantly involved in warfare (1 Timothy 6:10, 2 Cor 10:3-6, 1 Tim 1:18, 2 Tim 2:5). We must have the attitude of a soldier/fighter [2Tm2:4-5). A soldier is trained to have an awareness of his surroundings and to instinctively react. Many times we are engaged in a battle. There is an enemy somewhere fighting against us, and we need to be alert and engage properly.

Ephesians 6:12 reveals that we wrestle not against flesh and blood (human beings) but many times we wrongly fight against that which is seen - a neighbour, a brother, or a colleague, or a supposed with somewhere - when in truth we have a common enemy – the Devil - who has turned us against one another. We are engaged in a war with him, not at vigils, or some seasons, but on a daily basis – and we need faith to engage in the battle. Paul knew HOW to fight (1 Cor. 9:24-27), and WHO to fight (Eph 6:12).

There is a battle, and that battle is against principalities and powers. Usually the tendency is to focus on witches and wizards, and all sorts of techniques are used to do this – binding and casting etc.  Even if someone is a witch, the scriptural thing, knowing that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, and that the person is being controlled or possessed by a spirit, is to cast the spirit out of the person, like Paul did (Acts 16:16-18), and not to fight a physical witch. We should realize that even in respect to principalities and powers, they rank below us. By virtue of being a member of the Body of Christ and principalities being under His feet, the believer has been placed above them (Eph 1:21-22). Col 3:3 also makes us realize that the life of the believer is hid in Christ in God. A life hid in Christ is under exclusive protection and the devil cannot touch it. We attribute everything that happens to us to the Devil, despite scriptures revealing that God has given us power over him, his works, and that nothing can hurt us(Luke 10:17-19).

This is the truth – we operate at a higher level of superiority (1 Cor 8:5-6, John 3:31, Mk 16:17-18). There is no biblical authority to bind a devil or a person spiritually. Mt 16:19 & Mt 18:18,  do not speak about authority to bind devils; while the Bible reveals that the Devil will only be bound by an angel, ONCE in bible for a period of a thousand years (Rev 20:1-2), before eventually being cast into the Lake of fire. Casting out demons and evil spirits are however scriptural (Mt 16:19).

There is indeed a struggle with the devil, and it is not what we conventionally think (e.g witches and wizards) it is something much more sophisticated and subtle. The warfare the believer engages in daily specifically relates to the WILES of the Devil (Eph 6:1). Wiles are stratagems or tricks intended to deceive or ensnare - they are the Devil’s greatest weapon, and that is what we must stand against in evil day (Eph 6:13), the evil day being everyday (Eph 5:16). Bible instructs us to arm ourselves (Eph 6:11-17) to be able to stand against this wiles in the evil day (Eph 6:13]. One of the greatest mistakes we can make is to magnify the Devil beyond how scriptures reveal him, and as a result we are defeated. He knows the superiority of the status of the believer in Christ, and that he cannot match or stand it, and he instead resorts to wiles/deceit/lies. The lies/deceit (2 Cor. 11:3) is what is referred to as the fiery darts of the wicked [Eph 6:17], which we are to extinguish with faith/believing God’s word. Since the wiles are daily, the shield of faith must be utilized as a lifestyle. Therefore, the greatest disservice we can do to ourselves is not to believe God’s word.

A similar idea to Eph 6:11-17 is conveyed in 2 Cor. 10:3-6. The war described there is a battle waged, won or lost in the mind. It is not some battle against witches and wizards, but one where the believer chooses to believe God’s word or something else. It is a war of choices between walking by faith in God’s word or sight, between God’s word and that of men (human reasoning, opinion, sentiments). That is why demons, spirits are not mentioned in that portion of scriptures but “strongholds” (figuratively means “arguments”), “imaginations” (reasoning, thought), which along with every high thing exalts itself against the KNOWLEDGE OF GOD. It is an ongoing war between the truth of God’s word, and the imaginations, arguments, knowledge of men, and a world system ruled by the Devil. This war takes place daily, plays out in our circumstances, experiences, temptations, and faith in God’s word. An example would be when someone does something to you and you feel anger, and for a good reason because what the person did was provocative. Thoughts of repaying evil for evil, bitterness, malice, etc would arise in your minds, and you feel like releasing it in form of retaliation. You are able to win the war in your mind and forgive or walk in love when God’s word determines your actions (Eph 4:26-27, 31-32,1 Pet 2:19-22,Rom 12:17-21), and refrains you from responding wrongly.

Wielding our Christianity is our non-carnal weapons for waging this war. We are to fight the good fight of faith, lay hold of eternal life [1 Tim 6:12], on the truth, on our Christianity is our weapon in this war. There is therefore no substitute for a personal understanding of God’ word.

·         OUR LIFE AS A RACE -Heb 12: 1-2

There’s a race we must finish [2 Tim 4:5-6,1 Cor. 9:24-27, Heb. 12:2], a course to run [Acts 20:24], a purpose we must accomplish and we cannot do these successfully if we are running by sight. Let us run with faith. Faith considers the word of God. It considers the invisible. It recognizes that there are things to consider and things not to consider. We are to consider Jesus/God (Heb. 3:1, Heb. 12:2-3, Heb. 11:16) inspite of all other things you could have considered. You must deliberately consider not certain things, else they serve as deterrent to your walk of faith (Rom 4:17-21). This does not mean to deny all things that can be seen and are true in their own realities, but it means to consider the higher reality of the word of God (Mk 11:23-24).The word of God should be the judge and the final issue. When you are doubtful of the word of God you cannot enjoy the blessings of redemption. Abraham waited for 25 years till age 100 when His word was fulfilled. Consider Him! How? Consider Him through His word. Let His word settle the issue.

You cannot walk as a Christian if you do not walk by faith. You cannot fight the good fight of faith without faith, and you cannot run your race without faith.

A lesson on faith – (2Cor 5:7)

  

“For we walk by faith not by sight” (2 Cor 5:7). This statement applies to Christians as can be seen from the surrounding context. It is not a command, but rather an assumption that Christians walk by faith. In other words, walking by faith is the way to walk, and not the things we see, hear or perceive with our physical senses. Our physical senses – sight, sound, touch, taste, smell- were given to us to enable us relate with our physical environment, but as Christians, we should walk by faith not by sight. Before the fall, man related with God by faith, but after the fall man started living by sight. When you get born again, that relationship with God is restored. In actual fact, we are placed on a better pedestal than Adam who did not have eternal life or the Spirit of God.

Faith is the way to live for the Christian. Outside faith, living the Christian life would be extremely burdensome and near impossible. It is faith that enables us live in our natural environment – the kingdom of God. From John 3:5, Col 1:13, the believer has been brought into God’s kingdom – and in His kingdom we are to relate with him by faith. The two reasons why we find the Christian life difficult are: when one is not born again; and when the Christian walk is lived or approached by sight. Hebrews 11 focuses exclusively on the subject of faith. Not only can one not be born again outside faith (Eph 2:8-9), walking as a believer is also by faith, and not the physical senses (sight). Science furnishes us a good example of walking by sight, as well as Thomas who demanded physical proof of the resurrection of Jesus before believing He was risen (John 20:24-29). However as Christians we cannot afford to relate with God on the basis of sight. Walking by sight is actually unbelief in the living God.

Faith is described as the “substance” and “evidence” (Heb 11:1). We can understand the phrase “substance” from the idea of Jesus being described as the express image of God’s person. When Jesus spoke, it was tantamount to God speaking to men, as seeing Him was/is equivalent to seeing the Father - because He is the very substance of God.  Faith is the “evidence” of what you are things unseen. A banking illustration would help understanding this. The possession of a bank draft is evidence of the fact that there is money in an account, and that the recipient of the bank draft will receive the cash.  The bank draft is as good as the money and evidence of the money not physically seen.

The foregoing runs contrary to the idea that faith is stupid, illogical, or blind etc. Blind faith is foolishness. Real faith is not blind, but is hinged on the spiritual logic of God’s word. Faith does not deny physical evidence. Rather it believes God, in spite of the physical evidence. Abraham was confronted with physical evidence - the deadness of his own body and Sarah’s womb, but he chose to believe God (Rom 4:17-21). How do you know there is a God, or explain creation of the world, by science? Or do we take the place of the fool that says there is no God? (Ps 14:1,53:1) No! We know these through faith (Heb 11:3, Heb11:6), for creation itself evidences God (Rom 1:19-20)

2 Cor 4:16-18 speaks of looking at things not seen. “Things not seen” does not mean things that are unreal. Looking at things unseen is only possible through faith. It cannot be done through science which is based on physical evidence, focuses on things temporary, and is therefore based on shaky foundations. Through faith we focus on things eternal and permanent that never changes.

Faith is based on spiritual logic - on an understanding of the truth of God’s word. This is its foundation. It based in a reality of God’s word, even though we cannot see it. We have to realize that the physical realm is more tangible than the physical realm, even though we cannot see it. The physical realm is a product of the spiritual realm. Faith works based on the realities of the spiritual realm. It comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God (Rom 10:17). Hearing in Rom 10:17 does not mean listening, but THE THING HEARD i.e the message anchored on the word of God. The message has to be understood and received. When that occurs, faith is born in the heart. It is not the hearing that brings faith, for one can hear and not have faith. Rather when what is heard (the message) is embraced, received, believed faith is born. Even though one may not see any physical proof yet, there is peace and assurance in believing (Rom 15:13).

God is the object of faith

We associate faith with when we need to get something we desire that we do not see. Most times people only say they have been living by faith when in the midst of sufferings and lack or difficult circumstances. The danger inherent in this is that when things were good people could have the tendency to live by sight and not by faith. For example there is an inclination for people to set their hearts ad eyes on riches. It was because of this Paul instructed Timothy to warn the rich about the dangers of making riches the object of their faith, but rather let God be the object of faith (1 Tim 6:17-18).

Everyone has faith, but the issue is – what is that faith in? God is the object of faith, and faith is only as strong as the object on which it is based. When it is based on sight or symptoms, then it produces unbelief. Faith should be a lifestyle adopted whether things are good or bad (Dan 3:16-18), because it is anchored in an object that never changes - God. Paul’s faith was strong amidst turbulence at sea because it was anchored in God who had told him He was had an appointment to keep with Caesar at Rome (Acts 27:25). Never make man the object of your faith, for the same man God used for you in time past may turn against you subsequently e.g Nebuchadnezzar with regard to Daniel and his friends.

Faith is the prerogative of the believer

It is the choice of the believer to exercise faith in God and to believe what God has said or done. The unbeliever in incapacitated to truly walk by faith in God because he is blinded (2 Cor 4:3-4). However, after being born again by grace though grace as a gift (Eph 2:8-9), the believer has a choice to exercise faith in God. We must learn to choose walking by faith in simple things. We should not claim that our faith is weak so we cannot. A mustard seed is over a 100 times smaller than the seed of beans –it is like a speck of dust, yet Jesus used it to illustrate the point that faith is about the object of faith (the quality) and not the quantum (Luke 17:5). Strong faith is faith anchored in God, while weak faith is the opposite, one not anchored in God – which is actually unbelief. Anyone can choose to believe God e.g Peter walked on water Mt 14:22-23. Believers must choose to exercise child-like faith in God leading to obedience. The things we know physically- our experiences with people, experiences in the world, and natural knowledge may be an obstacle to this. Nevertheless we need to learn to exercise faith in God. That was why Jesus, in his interactions with men was always instructing men to that effect.

If faith is risky, thee alternative (unbelief) is costlier

God rewards faith. Faith shows regard for God (1 John 5:9-10, Num 23:19), while unbelief is the primary thing that grounds Christians. Unbelief is costly as exemplified by the example of the Israelites who could not enter the Promised Land (Heb 3:11-19, 4:1-3). Entering the Promised Land symbolized enjoyment of the blessing of God’s redemption, and not exclusion from heaven – for even Moses did not enter the Promised Land. Their unbelief was the primary sin primary sin which excluded them, and we stand the risk of not experiencing the blessedness of redemption/Christianity if we do not exercise faith as a lifestyle.

Illustrations of Faith from Hebrews 11

Abel’s sacrifice was better than Cain’s not because it was an animal sacrifice instead of produce from the cursed ground as erroneously claimed, but because of the faith factor (Heb11:4). Abraham’s going out without knowing where he was going, seems foolish to the world, but He did it by faith and obedience in God who knew his destination and had the master-plan (Heb 11:8). It is good to plan, but those plans must be emanate from God’s will (James 4:13-16). Sarah could never have given birth without faith in Him who had promised (Heb 11:11-12)/ Abraham’s determination to offer Isaac was motivated by faith in God who He believed would have raised him in whose Abraham’s Seed was to come. Prompted by faith, Moses forsook that which was good and inconvenient, and looked to a reward beyond the realm of sight (Heb 11:6). On the other side of the divide were those who died, were tortured, suffered, were sawn in two, and suffered unimaginable hardships without any apparent positive results. In contemporary “christianity”, they would be described as failures and faithless – but God’s word uses them as examples of faith (Heb 11:35-38). All those in Hebrews 11 were all natural men – flesh and blood. We are better placed because we are new creatures with the life and Spirit of God ( 1 Cor 2:13-16).

Conclusion             

We should learn to exercise faith in God in all facets and at all times of our lives (James 1:6-9). In difficult circumstances we should choose to adopt David’s attitude who encouraged himself in the Lord; or Mary who believed in God to perform (Luke 1:37-38,45) 

EXPOSITION ON CORINTHIANS

The aim of the local assemblies, aside from reaching out to the lost is to be able to present men to stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. God‟s primary tool for building believers and making good Christians out of us is His word. Prayer, fasting, fellowship, and church attendance are beneficial, nevertheless His primary tool to accomplish the aim set out above is His word (2 Tim 3:16-17, 1 Pt 2:1-2, James 1:21).That is why the teaching of God‟s word in church cannot be downplayed. It is the key to making disciples of men.

There are two things the word of God will do” (1) it will save the unregenerate; and (2) It will build believers. No other thing can do that. However, for it to be accomplished, it has to be the gospel. Even in respect to being a good and effective minister, the word of God is integral. Some have the wrong idea that only the teacher needs to be grounded in doctrine, and that a prophet does not need such grounding. However, from God‟s word it does not matter if the person is an apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, teacher, or ministering in some other capacity in the Body, the man of God must be well grounded in doctrine – that is the way to be EQUIPPED unto every good work (2 Tim 3:16-17,2 Tim 2:15). The so-called five-fold ministry are meant to uphold God‟s word and through it to achieve the goal of building the Body (Eph 4:11-12).

2 Tim 3:16-17 gives us different facets of how God‟s word builds up a believer – (a) doctrine (b) reproof (c) correction (d) instruction in righteousness. Doctrine means “teaching” in this context. The word of God is beneficial for teaching believers. Reproof in this context, does not mean to admonish someone. The word, „reproof‟ is from the Greek word “elegchos”, which means conviction, evidence or proof. It is the same Greek word that is translated “evidence” in Hebrews 11:1. God‟s word is the key to conviction. Where we doubt we can always go back to God‟s word again and again for proof, assurance, evidence, and conviction of the reality of things spiritual, the Person of God and His word. When we are discouraged is not the time to run away from God‟s word. Church is not meant for people who “feel spiritual” alone, it is also for people who are downcast, depressed, weary, and in need of conviction or reassurance. God‟s word is useful for achieving that. The usefulness of God‟s word in “Correction” means that His word shows us what the wrong thing is, so we can desist from walking such path. While the usefulness of God‟s word in “instruction in righteousness” means His word is useful in showing us the right path or conduct so that we can walk in it. The cumulative outcome of these four operational dynamics of God‟s word is that the believer is thoroughly furnished unto ever good work. In the light of the foregoing, exploring the book of 1 Corinthians would be immensely beneficial to us as believers.

The book of 1 Corinthians contains several lessons for believers. It has issues on personal lives, ministry, relationship with believers, marriage, etc. The city of Corinth was in Achaia (in modern day Greece), which was then a Roman province. At that time, the Roman Empire ruled the world –they were in Africa, Europe, Israel, etc. Corinth was diverse, cosmopolitan and highly populated. It was also a city filled with depravity, like the modern day Las Vegas in America which has been called “Sin City” in some quarters. The modern day Las Vegas has acquired notoriety for gambling, prostitution, drugs and other vices. Corinth had its fair share. It was a city filled with idolatory, immorality, unscrupulous business dealings and prostitution.

Of the several heathen religions practised in the city of Corinth, it was well known for the worship of Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, whose temple was built on the most prominent part of the city, called Acrocorinth and which housed a thousand “temple prostitutes”. Part of the worship of Aphrodite was to sleep with the priestesses (temple prostitutes), and it was not considered a sin. It was also the place from which the modern day Olympics (the Isthmian games) evolved. This was the Corinth of Paul‟s day.

Paul preached the gospel at Corinth, helped by Priscilla and Aquila (Acts 18:1-18), and with an attitude of reverence towards God (fear and trembling [1 Cor 2:2]). Despite the fact that the city was a terrible place, the best way God deemed fit to affect lives was for men to preach the gospel. That was why Jesus encouraged Paul to keep at it despite opposition (Acts 18:9-10). Paul did not go to Corinth with words of human wisdom; Greece was a centre of Philosophy, and they had Philosophers in abundance with enticing words of man‟s wisdom. He came simply to proclaim the gospel of power (1 Cor 2:5), which was a different brand of wisdom – God‟s wisdom (1 Cor 1:24). This yielded fruit as people got saved and the Corinthian church was established. Given the background of Corinth, the Church in Corinth had manifold problematic issues.

The Corinthian church had issues bordering on divisions, factionalism, strife, fornication, disorder in worship, disorder at communion, fornication, spiritual manifestations, lawsuits, and all manner of carnality. They also had questions on whether to eat meat offered to idols, on the resurrection, on marriage, on exercise of Christian liberty and other questions, which Paul addressed in some portions of the epistle.

Paul commenced the epistle my identifying himself as an apostle (1 Cor 1:1). An apostle is a “sent one”. A person is not an apostle because he is given a title, but because he has been given a specific work to accomplish by God. Generally all believers are “sent ones”, but it does not mean all believers are apostles. An apostle is someone sent for a particular task, and is backed up with the tokens of an apostle - awesome manifestations of God‟s authority/power in great dimensions (2 Cor 12:12). Paul also had to commence the epistle with it, because he needed to validate his apostleship in view of doubts in some quarters in the Corinthian church about his apostleship.

He went further to mention Sosthenes as a brother. This is quite significant in the light of what Bible reveals of Sosthenes in the book of Acts. Paul‟s style of reaching out anywhere he went to preach was to start from a synagogue (Acts 18:4) which was prevalent in many gentile cities. Sosthenes was the chief ruler of the synagogue in Corinth (Acts 18:17). The Jews in Corinth felt Paul was preaching heresy by bringing the gospel/Christianity. Therefore, they seized him, and presumably led by Sosthenes their chief ruler, brought him before Gallio. When Gallio refused them favourable audience, they turned on Sosthenes, their chief ruler and beat him up. Sosthenes was a man of religion, a “church leader”, but was not bornagain/ Christian at the time of the incident. The lesson that can be learnt here is that it is possible to be a leader in a church and yet be in danger of eternal perdition because salvation has not occurred! Years later, Paul addressed him as a brother (1 Cor 1:1). Sosthenes had become a Christian through faith in the gospel.

Paul went on to address the believers in Corinth as those “sanctified in Christ called saints”(1 Cor 1:2). There is a wrong conception of who a saint is in our contemporary world. The idea of saints that has been sold to the world by the catholic “church” is some dead persons who were Catholics while alive, who lived a good moral life (though not saved or born again through faith in the gospel of Christ), and after death are beatified and have a number of miracles happening because of prayers made to them. Based on it, MEN confer sainthood on them! However, while that is the picture presented in the world; it is not the picture presented in the word! Bible refers to those born again/Christians as saints! It refers not only to Christians who have died, but EVERY Christian who IS ALIVE! Paul addressed members of the church in Corinth as saints. This is mind-blowing considering the degree of carnality and sinfulness in their midst. He called members of the Body of Christ ( the church of God) in Corinth „saints‟ from the onset of the epistle, before he even began to address their sinfulness. The Body of Christ is not a Body of sinners, but a Body of saints, every single one!

The word, “church” means the assembly of the “called out ones” – those who through the gospel have been called out of the world (1 Pet 2:4-10). It is also called the Body of Christ. It is a misnomer to belong to the Body of Christ and claim not to be a saint, because it is exactly those who are members of the Body through faith in the gospel that are called saints! A person is not called a saint because of what he did, but because he obtained mercy. The problem we have is the mentality of works which fosters a sense of inadequacy and the mindset that we are not deserving. However, God does not confer sainthood based on merit, or the scale of works, but the basis of the blood of Jesus and on the platform of grace. That was why despite against the background of carnality and sinfulness of the Corinthian church, Apostle Paul could still address them as saints! He pointed them back to their true identity as saints – washed, sanctified and justified (1 Cor 6:9-11), as foundational to a saintliness or walking as a saint.

Paul went on to recognize the grace of God at work in their lives (1 Cor 1:4-5), manifested in the fact that they came behind in no gift (1 Cor 1:7). The Corinthian Christians were given over to great spiritual manifestations. He commended them for it, though he went on to address the disorderly dimensions of it ( 1 Cor 14:26). Despite the fact that they were not walking saintly, he did not deny the fact that they were saints. He did not doubt their salvation, instead Paul affirmed it. First, he affirmed it by declaring that the testimony of Christ was confirmed in them (1 Cor 1:6), and that by virtue of their faith in the gospel. Secondly he expressed his conviction of their blamelessness in the day of Christ (1 Cor 1:8) – which in essence speaks of the security of their salvation. What a platform we stand upon as believers!

REMEMBER CHRIST DIED

A key word to bear in mind, as stressed in 2 Timothy 2:8, is REMEMBER. Remembrance or keeping in memory is fundamental to progress in Christianity. In other words, it can be the difference between good and bad Christianity.

Every Christian is a good person by status or position, entirely because of the goodness of God demonstrated in the work of Jesus and appropriated by the believer. He is good because of the NATURE of God within Him. Good or bad Christianity therefore relates to WALK or LIFESTYLE. It is precisely because of the significance of REMEMBRANCE [to do what has been learnt] to a good Christian walk that the word keeps recurring in scriptures[Acts 20:35,1 Cor 4:17,2 Tim 2:14, James 1:26, 1 Tim 4:6,2 Pet 3:1,2 Pet 1:12,13,15, 1 Cor 15:2

The phrase ‘CHRIST DIED’ is pregnant with meaning and should not be construed narrowly as referring to His death alone. Rather it’s a single transaction encompassing His incarnation, death, burial, resurrection, and the import or implications of what that transaction portends.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ was not a private event.  They conspired to make it hidden, but to no avail. He showed Himself alive by many infallible proofs [Acts 1:3].  Bible says we should remember this because it is the basis of our Christianity, and has implications for us.

Ten implications of Jesus’ death and resurrection

1.     Justification - It implies our justification [Rom 4:25, 5:1, Rom 5:9]. If the Saviour had not risen, then we would have been doomed. But because He died for our sins and rose again, by identification with Him, we are free. We are no longer guilty. This is the antidote for guilt consciousness. This also enables us to approach God with boldness [Heb 10:19, Eph 3:11].

2.     Sonship – It brought us sonship. It brought an end to slavery and servanthood, and gave us the status of sonship. Now He has become our Father [Jn 20:17, Rom 8:15, John 1:12, Gal 4:6-7, 1 John 3:3]

3.     Continual abiding of His presence – This is the antidote to loneliness. Everyone in the world craves for relationship. It is wired into our nature. Because of what He did, God has made us His dwelling place, individually and collectively, by His Spirit [1 Cor 3:16,1 Cor 6:19-20, Eph2:22, 2 Tim 1:14,Rom 8:9], permanently [ John 14:16]. This is a source of comfort to believers, and that reality helped Pau when He was forsaken by men [2 Tim 4:16-17]. God never leaves the believer, and this should also help dispel anxieties [ Heb 13:5-6,Php 4:6]

4.     Continual access to God- By His work, we have continual access to God. This access is devoid of ceremonies, not based on her merits, but entirely on His work. What more, this access is with boldness, something unheard of under the Old Testament [Heb 12:18-22-24]. Not living right may hinder us from approaching the Father, and because of that the inclination is to want to stay away because of the perception that we are not good enough. This is compounded by the fact that we live in a performance-driven world, and we try to translate that to our relationship with God. However, in Christianity, we are not accepted on the basis of our performance, but on the basis of Christ’s performance. And even when we have failed, an understanding of the reality that He forgave us all sins – PAST, PRESENT and FUTURE, by His sacrifice, and that the same sacrifice gave us continual access should embolden us approach to find grace to help in time of need [Heb 4:16, Heb 10:19-21, Rom 5:1-2, Eph 3:11].

5.     Encouragement in troubled times and inner strength to carry on – An anchor for our souls came by redemption. That keeps us stable amidst contrary situations and circumstances and gives us the inner strength to forge ahead [Acts 21:13, Heb 6:19] what keeps us going is on our inside. If we must serve the Lord, do His will, we must be ready to rely on the anchor within us.

6.     Deliverance from the world – Because of His work, we have been delivered from bondage to this present evil world system [ Gal 1:4, 6:14], and have no obligation to live according to its dictates [1 Jn 2:15, Rom 12:2]

7.     Gifted/Called – Another implication of Christ work is that all believers have been gifted and called into ministry. Every member has a role to play as member of the Body, and as member of the local assembly [Eph 4:6,7,12,16, 1 Pet 4:10-11]. We may not all be pastors, evangelists, etc, but we are all ministers [Col 4:17,2 Cor 5:18-20], and we shall give account before God.[1 Cor 4:1-5, 1 Cor 3:11-14]

8.     Brotherhood and Oneness in the Body of Christ - The work of Christ at Calvary has abolished every barrier , and has brought about a brotherhood of believers. Before, the law of Moses was a barrier between gentiles. Now it might be status, education, lineage, race, language, societal class. His death that removed the barrier of the Old Covenant, and brought about One Body of believers, also abolished the other barriers to bring about the Brotherhood of believers. This understanding that we are one helps practical unity and bonding[Eph 2:11-19, 1 Pet 2:17]

9.     Guarantees a new Body – His death, resurrection and assurance is the guarantee that ALL believers would receive new glorified bodies, patterned after that which Christ had after His resurrection [1 Cor 15:34-56, Rom 8:17-23, 2 Cor 5:1-5, Php 3:20, Eph 1:13-14, 4:30].

10.  Irreversiblity of the benefits of His work – Because Jesus died and rose again, all that He bequeathed us are permanent and irreversible. They are eternal, and cannot be taken back [Rom 11:29, Ecc 3:14, James 1:17-18, Heb 7:25, 9:12] 

KNOWLEDGE FOR PROGRESS

The world can be divided into two broad categories, using knowledge as a parameter – those that know; and those that do not know. Christianity is primarily about knowing. In the mundane, what makes someone better, what gives an edge or superiority is usually the insight, understanding or knowledge he possesses. This is why they say knowledge is power. If you are ignorant, you are marginalized. Ignorance is not an excuse. Knowledge places you above the rest. Little wonder Moses desired to know God’s ways, while all the other Israelites knew were His acts (Ex 33:13). He understood the fundamental importance of the knowledge of God. The bible places a high premium on knowledge and the Church must never desist from this biblical prescription – that is why churches that recognize this always recommend that Christians should know.

Some, perhaps due to disillusionment with those possessed with great quantum of knowledge, not living by it, erroneously  endorse ignorance. Ignorance is however never a viable alternative. Some express similar sentiments and even downplay knowledge citing scriptures, “knowledge puffs up but love edifies”. In other words, they say that love is what matters, and not knowledge. However, the Bible actually indicates that knowledge is the bedrock of the expression of Christian love (Php 1:9). The antidote to not living by the knowledge we are possessed of it is to know it better, and encourage people to live by what they know. When it comes to Christianity the fallacy that “what you do not know cannot kill you”, does not hold water. For even in the world, such reasoning is flawed. It does not make sense for a person with HIV that makes this kind of statement would pay for it with premature death. What has accounted for the extremely lower deaths from HIV and infant mortality in developed countries, relative to underdeveloped countries is one crucial factor – KNOWLEDGE. They did not choose to be ignorant about those diseases, they sought knowledge applied the knowledge and were able to bring it under near total control in terms of deaths. Knowledge is key to life – not human knowledge, but divine knowledge. This is knowledge that is therefore being advocated for Christian progress.

The knowledge of God differs from human knowledge (Is 55:8), in addition, it is superior to human knowledge (Is 55:9), and far above the knowledge of man, whether it is science or philosophy. It is different and superior to knowledge acquired from the several manmade religions of the world, including the so-called “Christian religion” (for Christianity is not a religion). Even man’s knowledge that there is a God (called general revelation), as revealed in creation and described for example in Rom 1:18-19 is not divine knowledge. The knowledge of God is not obtained from school or by smartness, but that which has been revealed by God in His word, as evaluated through the lens of redemption. This knowledge is the key to our Christianity (Rom 10:12-15). If we do not know God or seek to understand Him, there can be no true progress in Christianity. No knowledge, no progress! It is knowledge (of the truth) that separates the believer from the unbeliever, as believers are regarded as those that KNOW THE TRUTH/GOD and have accepted/obeyed/believed the gospel, while unbelievers are described as those that DO NOT KNOW THE TRUTH/GOD or have not accepted/obeyed/believed the gospel (1 Tim 4:3,  1 John 2:13-14,20-21, 2 Thes 1:8). This is why salvation is described as knowing/ or coming to the knowledge of the truth (1 Tim 2:4, John 8:32).

God revealed himself in nature (General revelation; Rom 1:19-20), but He has now revealed Himself in Christ Jesus (i.e special /divine revelation, John 1:18, Heb 1:1-3). Generally, every type of knowledge is ultimately from God, for example, science tests nature – but nature itself comes from God. Science is not necessarily anti-God. Branches of science such as Philosophy and Astrology (‘i.e studying the moon) are however, clearly anti-God and not from Him. However, the knowledge that is being emphasised as being key to progress is divine knowledge – the knowledge of God in Christ Jesus (John 14:6, Jn 8:32). It is not the knowledge of religion, for knowledge of religion is not from God (Acts 17:21-24). It is the knowledge of God revealed in Christ that saves (Acts 10:1-6,32-33,[Cornelius and family], Eph 1:12-13, 1 Tim 2:4, 2 Pt 1:3), and that fosters growth (Col 2:6-7). This is what believers should pursue and grow in an understanding of with a view to making progress.

A quest for knowledge is crucial to good Christianity (Col 3:9-10). Faith is not a leap in the dark. It does not defy logic. It might not agree with human logic, but it is always in tune with spiritual logic. Faith is also not anti-knowledge like some assert. On the contrary, there is no real faith outside knowledge (Rom 10:11-15).A man cannot be saved outside the knowledge of the gospel (1 Cor 15:1-2). In the same measure a Christian cannot make progress without knowledge, and that is why believers are exhorted to crave for (1 Pet 2:2: like a baby for its mother’s milk) and grow in knowledge (2 Pet 3:18). Many times laziness is an obstacle to this. Consequently, the bible sometimes associates laziness with ignorance – on that reasoning it can be said that laziness is not unnecessarily unwillingness to DO, but unwillingness to KNOW. As Christians and students of the word, we should seek to know and understand.

In Ephesians 1:17-18, Paul emphasised the place of knowledge in the life of the Christian in his prayers for the Ephesian church. It was his desire and prayer that in view of their blessedness in all its variegated facets such as election, predestination, adoption into sonship, acceptance, redemption, forgiveness, inheritance, salvation, sealing (Eph1:3-14) that they had an attitude of “spirit of wisdom and revelation” in the knowledge of God as revealed in Christ(Eph 1:18). The word, ‘spirit’ as used in the foregoing phrase does not mean the Holy Spirit, or the recreated human spirit, but an attitude. Without that attitude, the knowledge revealed and taught by Paul will be mere positional or theoretical truths, without any practical effects. We cannot live outside an understanding of the knowledge of God revealed in Christ Jesus. We cannot please God outside knowledge. The gap between being a Christian and living, walking in the benefits, and making progress in Christianity is knowledge (Col 1:9-12, Philemon 1:6). Whatever we know as accurate knowledge of God in the light of Christ, His person and work, we should know it more, and better.

The church today is no longer functioning properly in the proper position God placed it. The church is distinct from every other body/organization on earth, because it is the pillar and ground of the truth (1 Tim 3:15). Rather than upholding and preserving the true knowledge of God, it has become a place where human knowledge is being proclaimed. It has become the place where management, business principles, self-help, metaphysical concepts and human motivational principles not anchored in God’s word are dispensed. This ought not to be. What gives the church its distinctiveness is the knowledge of God revealed in Christ Jesus. A man cannot know God without Jesus (John 14:6), who is the image of God and revealed God to man (Heb 1:3, John 1:1,14-18)- and without the knowledge of God He gave to humanity.  This should be the forte of the Church and what it should proclaim always – the knowledge of God.

The knowledge of God essential for progress is not mere casual knowledge, or a ‘my-pastor-said’ kind of knowledge, but knowledge matched by insight, understanding and borne out of a personal conviction (Acts 17:11-12 John 4:39-42).  This knowledge has benefits, three of which will be highlighted below.

THREE THINGS THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE LORD WILL DO

1. It establishes our hearts in grace (Heb 13:9): To be established by grace is to be established by truth – the truth of God’s word in Christ Jesus. That is why we see that when the word “grace” is seen is scriptures, the word “truth” is sometimes annexed to it (John 1:17, 2 Pet 3:18). Receiving the grace of God in vain as seen in 2 Cor 6:1, in the light of the foregoing is being a recipient of God’s grace as believers but lacking the requisite understanding or knowledge to make progress in it. Knowledge will stabilize our hearts in the grace of God and guide us. That was why Jesus’ heart was fixed, while the disciples were not when the storms beat violently against their boat.

2. It answers the question “why”:  This is a difference between Christianity and the religions of the worlds. Religion is blind, and demands action without giving a rationale. Christianity, in stark contrast gives us a rationale for the conduct or action expected of us. Sadly, religion has crept into Christianity, for many Christians do things without having a rationale for it. Knowledge tells us why – why we should pray, give, come to church, serve, etc, and by giving us the rationale it helps keeps us stable.

3. It renews our minds (Rom 12:2): Knowledge changes what and how we think (our outlook to life) and brings it in tune with God’s outlook. It enables us to think the way He thinks, and see life and things from His perspective, and not from human or worldly perspective. For example, when we renew or minds through knowledge, we see why we should not retaliate, or repay evil with evil and leave vengeance to God instead (Heb 10:30, Rom 12:19) while relating well with those that hurt or hate us (Rom 12:14-21,1 Pet 2:18-23, 3:9). Vengeance may mean God repaying the enemy (Heb 1:13, Heb 10:13, Rev 6:9-11, 11:18,20:4: the death of Jesus will be avenged!). When God avenges, many times it vindicates the believer. However, God’s vengeance may mean also God occasioning repentance on the part of the enemy (Rom 12:20), like the Centurion at the foot of Jesus’ cross and Paul on the road to Damascus (Mt 27:54, Acts 9:1-8).

HOW TO GET KNOWLEDGE?

1. Reading: The same Paul that prayed that the Ephesians should have a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of God (Eph 1:17) , also underscored READING as a key to acquiring knowledge (Eph 3:4). Reading cannot be substituted with Christian movies, Christian novels, conferences, tapes, or prayers. The Greek word for ‘read’ as, used in the original is ‘anaginosko’, which means “to know again”, to know with certainty or know with understanding. You should ask questions on what you read with a view to understanding and getting insight. Your must read your bible. When the questions of life arise, they do not ask you what your pastor said, rather it challenges  the knowledge in your heart on the issue. To respond appropriately, you need to be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding (Col 1:9-10), which makes reading crucial.

2. Considering (2 Tim 2:7): This means to think or meditate about what we read. We must ask ourselves about the meaning of what we read, and think of applications to our lives. That is what would enable us act on God’s word and make progress (1 Tim 4:15)