Faith
"your faith is equal to or less than the knowledge you have, never greater", this was a statement a friend send me and it made my mind go wild for a second because it made me ask myself some hard questions.
Does it mean that their people who will always have "little" or "small" faith because they do not possess or have a lot of knowledge or the other way around does it mean that those people who are well informed or have amassed knowledge will have great faith?
Is this the ground of faith anyway? if not what is an adequate ground of faith available to the simplest uninformed among us? I will respond to this because the scriptures urge me to 1st John 4:1.
Believing and knowing are not alternatives in the new testament, belief is based on knowledge and leads to deeper knowledge john 17:7,8 Paul writes to the Corinthians "we believe and therefore we speak, knowing that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus"2nd cor 4:13
The thing satan hides from men is what God enables them to see.
In 2nd Corinthians 4:3-6 we see that the term "gospel" and "knowledge" are parallel because the gospel is the embodiment of the knowledge spoken of. Christ has glory precisely because he is the image of God Heb 1:3 and God reveals his glory in the face of Christ. the gospel then is the proclamation of the acts and character of God in Christ which exhibits this divine glory. when the gospel is truly perceived it brings light into the dark heart. In other words, the real evidence or just ground on which faith is equal to or less than and never greater isn't knowledge but the glory of God manifest in the gospel.
this is a real distinguishing quality evident in the things of the gospel themselves and does not consist in any information added to the gospel by the holy spirit. men can be blind only if they do not see what is really there. it is no argument that it cannot be seen because some do not see it though they are discerning men and knowledgeable in temporal matters.
Biblical knowledge is far better than gold when it fuels our trust in God. otherwise, it only fuels our pride one common mistake is thinking that nearness or growth in God can be achieved through knowledge accumulation .this is because knowledge is not synonymous with trust. John 5:39-40
To close it is of paramount importance to have knowledge on the things of God but do not build your faith in the knowledge but in the glory of God manifest in the gospel.
Does it mean that their people who will always have "little" or "small" faith because they do not possess or have a lot of knowledge or the other way around does it mean that those people who are well informed or have amassed knowledge will have great faith?
Is this the ground of faith anyway? if not what is an adequate ground of faith available to the simplest uninformed among us? I will respond to this because the scriptures urge me to 1st John 4:1.
Believing and knowing are not alternatives in the new testament, belief is based on knowledge and leads to deeper knowledge john 17:7,8 Paul writes to the Corinthians "we believe and therefore we speak, knowing that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus"2nd cor 4:13
The thing satan hides from men is what God enables them to see.
In 2nd Corinthians 4:3-6 we see that the term "gospel" and "knowledge" are parallel because the gospel is the embodiment of the knowledge spoken of. Christ has glory precisely because he is the image of God Heb 1:3 and God reveals his glory in the face of Christ. the gospel then is the proclamation of the acts and character of God in Christ which exhibits this divine glory. when the gospel is truly perceived it brings light into the dark heart. In other words, the real evidence or just ground on which faith is equal to or less than and never greater isn't knowledge but the glory of God manifest in the gospel.
this is a real distinguishing quality evident in the things of the gospel themselves and does not consist in any information added to the gospel by the holy spirit. men can be blind only if they do not see what is really there. it is no argument that it cannot be seen because some do not see it though they are discerning men and knowledgeable in temporal matters.
Biblical knowledge is far better than gold when it fuels our trust in God. otherwise, it only fuels our pride one common mistake is thinking that nearness or growth in God can be achieved through knowledge accumulation .this is because knowledge is not synonymous with trust. John 5:39-40
To close it is of paramount importance to have knowledge on the things of God but do not build your faith in the knowledge but in the glory of God manifest in the gospel.
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