Esteeming God’s Word Above Experience
We know that faith can only be present where knowledge is present. In other words, one cannot believe what he does not know. Do you remember the rhetorical questions Paul asks in Romans 10:14?
“How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?”
The answers to these questions are obvious, because faith comes by hearing the word of God (Romans 10:17). When one hears, knowledge is revealed to him, creating an opportunity for faith.
Let us examine 1 John 5:4, 5 in light of what we have covered thus far:
4For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world–our faith. 5Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
We know that these verses are the truth, but they do not always seem to agree with the life experiences of believers. Why? They must first know – by internalizing this reality – and then allow their words and actions to correspond with this belief. Knowledge gives way to thought; thoughts govern beliefs. Beliefs govern actions and words, and determine attitudes.
A common mistake many people make is to judge their success as a Christian on the basis how they feel. But the Bible never promised us that we would feel like overcomers; it says that we are – by nature of our Creator and Father – overcomers (1 John 5:4, 5). We are faith children of a faith God and we are to live by faith (Habakkuk 2:4; Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11; Hebrews 10:38). If we act like victims it proves that we don’t believe we are victors, and we never will as long as we adopt this kind of attitude. This is how real faith can be identified apart from its counterfeit counterpart, simple mental agreement; one is active, the other is passive.
Fueled by Meditation
If someone lacks faith, the remedy is knowledge. However, such knowledge is not always cultivated apart from meditation. One cannot expect to obtain the knowledge of God by mere intellectual means – that is, by reading the Bible without carefully weighing its significance. The goal is not to learn more information, but to apprehend knowledge of the Holy. Not only is the quantity of time important, but the quality of time is important. One must free himself of competing distractions in order to give full attention to the word of power by which God upholds all things.
“This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success” (Joshua 1:8).
The Hebrew word translated meditate here literally means to mutter. Thus real biblical meditation also involves the use of one’s mouth as well as his mind.
The Spirit of Faith
If a survey was taken and Christians were asked what primary characteristic would demonstrate the spirit of faith, I would venture to say that precious few would be able to answer this question. However, the Bible makes the answer quite plain.
“We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak” (2 Corinthians 4:13).
The spirit of faith is the attitude of confidence towards God evidenced by the spoken word. In fact, this is how a person initially gains entry into the kingdom of God because one must confess with his mouth and believe in his heart that God raised Christ from the dead to be born again (Romans 10:9, 10).
People often fail to receive from God because of a lack of the expression of their faith. When someone is thoroughly convinced that God cannot lie and he becomes fully persuaded of his promises towards him, he is in a position to see God work miracles on his behalf. But once knowledge comes, the faith produced by this knowledge must be expressed either through word or action. A person can have faith without expressing it, in which case he would be almost as well off if he was completely faithless. He will never tap into the reservoir of grace at his disposal (Romans 5:2). He will both shortchange himself as well as rob God of the glory he would otherwise receive as a result of the blessing.
David and Goliath
The use of words in connection with the release of faith is among the most underemphasized and neglected basic truths consistent throughout the entire Bible. Let us take, for instance, the story of David and Goliath. David’s name is listed among many of great people of faith in Hebrews 11, but how was David’s faith utilized in the slaying of the giant? The entire story is found in 1 Samuel 17, but here is an abbreviated version. Notice what David said.
45Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted. 46″This day the LORD will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you. And I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, 47and that all this assembly may know that the LORD does not deliver by sword or by spear; for the battle is the LORD’S and He will give you into our hands.” 48Then it happened when the Philistine rose and came and drew near to meet David, that David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. 49And David put his hand into his bag and took from it a stone and slung it, and struck the Philistine on his forehead. And the stone sank into his forehead, so that he fell on his face to the ground. 50Thus David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and he struck the Philistine and killed him; but there was no sword in David’s hand. 51Then David ran and stood over the Philistine and took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him, and cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.
I think most Christians have a problem reconciling what David said in verses 46 and 47 with their theology. David literally said exactly what he believed God was going to do. In some people’s minds, this is presumptuous. They think, “How can one presume to know the will of God?” They fail to realize that the closer you get to God by prayer and meditation in his word, the less you have to presume because you know.
How Jesus Taught Faith
If Jesus ministered in churches today, he would be one of the most controversial teachers of our time – just like he was controversial in his own time. He would no doubt be heralded as a heretic. It is no wonder, then, that anyone who dares to teach what Jesus taught about faith is branded a false teacher by many modern-day Pharisees and doctors of the Law.
When it came to faith, Jesus took the spirit of faith to another level. What is perhaps most shocking about his teaching on the matter is the fact that he did not put himself in another faith class; on the contrary, his teachings were accompanied by examples he expected his disciples to follow. One such example and subsequent teaching is found in Matthew 21.
18Now in the morning, when He was returning to the city, He became hungry.
19Seeing a lone fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it except leaves only; and He said to it, “No longer shall there ever be any fruit from you.” And at once the fig tree withered.
20Seeing this, the disciples were amazed and asked, “How did the fig tree wither all at once?”
21And Jesus answered and said to them, “Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ it will happen.
22″And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”
What was the mechanism of faith demonstrated here? It was Jesus’ spoken words to the fig tree. Yes, folks, Jesus spoke to inanimate objects! Am I saying that those who follow Christ should do the same thing? No, but Jesus did – his words, not mine. He told his disciples that not only could they do just as he did to the fig tree, but they could actually move mountains. Some have surmised that Jesus was speaking strictly in a figurative sense, but that cannot be the case. This was not a parable. Jesus literally spoke to a literal tree and in that same context told his disciples they could speak to a literal mountain. Could mountains represent other obstacles in life in some way? Yes, just as the barren fig tree was an obstacle to Jesus getting some food in his stomach. But that is different from drawing some kind of cryptic meaning from the passage. Mark’s account of this event sheds even more light on the emphasis of the spoken word to release faith. Mark 11:
21Being reminded, Peter said to Him, “Rabbi, look, the fig tree which You cursed has withered.”
22And Jesus answered saying to them, “Have faith in God.
23 “Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him.
24″Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you.
In this account, we see that the potential for this kind of demonstration of faith is extended beyond Jesus’ twelve disciples, because Jesus said, “whoever says to this mountain…” Essentially he said that anyone – not just Jesus or his disciples - who says something, and believes it is going to happen it will happen; and anyone who prays for something should believe that it is received prior to actual physical evidence. This is exactly what David and many other people in the Bible did.
Expectancy
Anyone who lives by faith must of necessity live in expectancy. If the Bible says the Holy Spirit will guide us into all truth, we should believe and expect him to do so. If the Bible says that God gives wisdom liberally to all men, we should expect to become wise as we seek God for wisdom. If the Bible says that God’s words are health to all our flesh, we should expect to be healthy as we spend time meditating in the word.
What do you suppose David expected to happen after he said to Goliath, “This day the LORD will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you”? He expected to both kill and decapitate someone most people would have thought he had no business challenging in the first place.
Far too many pray as a last resort and expect nothing. They may think they are in faith, but they are sadly mistaken. They wait and see if something will happen, instead of expecting that something will happen. These are “que sera, sera” prayers. Many have thought that “if it be thy will” should accompany every prayer they pray. They fail to realize that Jesus only prayed that way in a time of great distress when he was consecrating himself to the will of God by laying down his life for humanity (see Mathew 26). In most instances where this phrase is used, it actually destroys faith. It promotes the idea that God is so far off as to remain mysterious to mankind, such that he may never really be known – even by his own offspring.
In matters where the will of God is completely unknown, certainly it would be appropriate to seek God by supplication; that too, is biblical. But pertaining to matters where God’s will is clearly revealed through his word, it makes no sense to pray as if we don’t know God’s will.
There is a lot in this piece I don’t particularly agree with. Luck for you, I am in the midst of moving!
Didn’t you write it?
oops… fixed that. Chris A wrote this piece.
Chris, thank you for your articles. I think I’m a bit like Colin in that there are some things here I don’t agree with, though I don’t object with much strength, because I think your heart is in the right place.
This verse in James 4 may explain why many of our prayers don’t get answered:
The point here isn’t exactly lack of faith or lack of knowledge; it is just plain selfishness. The capacity of humans to be self centered is almost unlimited.
When I think about that verse in relation to the fig tree story, I guess I just think that a mere human (Jesus wasn’t a mere human) would never have the right to curse a tree or move a mountain. A mere human, unlike the divine Jesus human, would never know how much trouble he could/would cause by manipulating the physical world on a whim or just because he was hungry. I wouldn’t want to be responsible for that, and I doubt God would ever put me in a position to need to move a literal mountain. A figurative mountain, yes; but not a literal one.
I fully support the idea that Jesus used human language just like all humans do. He used picture language including exaggeration for the sake of emphasis and he often self-admittedly spoke in parables in order to exclude some people. I think Jesus’ point was simply that we need faith and faith can accomplish amazing things.
Having said that, I do admit to needing to learn more about exercising my faith, and growing in my faith, and acting on my faith. I believe, but I often ask God to help my unbelief.
Regarding the fig tree story, I don’t believe that Jesus cursed the fig tree because he wanted some food (if so, why didn’t he turn the stones into bread?). He cursed the fig tree to allow for a teaching moment with his disciples (and future Christians via the Scriptures).
Thainamu,
Thanks for the reply. I totally agree with you about James 4 illustrating one reason prayers are not answered. Another reason would be mistreating your spouse. However, anyone who asks selfishly or mistreats his spouse is violating his conscience such that it hinders his faith. So he would have a hard time believing he received when he asked on account of his heart condemning him, and he couldn’t therefore have confidence toward God. When writing an article I can usually only deal with one aspect of a biblical truth.
With respect to the question of whether a “mere human” would have the right to curse a fig tree or move a mountain, I think you’re mistaken on two points. Firstly, people born of the Spirit of God are not mere humans, we are new creations created in Christ Jesus. Jesus was the firstborn among many brothers. God indwells us, and we have been given the right to become sons and daughters of God. Secondly, Jesus plainly said that his disciples could do the same thing.
21And Jesus answered and said to them, “Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ it will happen.
I don’t know how he could have made it any plainer. Either Jesus spoke the truth or he lied.
Chris A said, “I don’t know how he could have made it any plainer. Either Jesus spoke the truth or he lied.”
Black and white are two of my favorite colors too. It may be that your theology won’t accept Jesus or the Bible using figurative language, but I don’t hold that view. (And now that I’ve said that, I hope you don’t label me a raving theological liberal, because I don’t think I fit that category either.
)
Chris also said, “Firstly, people born of the Spirit of God are not mere humans, we are new creations created in Christ Jesus.”
Yes and no. We are new creations and the Holy Spirit dwells in us, I agree. But that does not make us equal to Jesus in either faith or action. Primarily this is so in that Jesus can’t/won’t sin, and we can/will. (Unless you’re of the theological leaning that claims you have quit sinning since you because a believer.)
Last line there should say “became a believer” not “because a believer.” Sorry.
Thainamu,
I would like to ask you a question, for which I hope and am confident that you will give me an honest answer. What is the basis of your conclusion that Matthew 21:21 is purely figurative to the extent that Jesus said his disciples could do just as he did to the fig tree? In other words, what literary evidence points to this conclusion?
I ask this because, although we may differ on some things, we know that “no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” With this in mind, I don’t think we have the liberty of interpreting Jesus’ words with any bias apart from actual biblical evidence to the contrary - other biblical passages or statements of qualification following the texts in question. In every instance I know of, scripture is plain as to Jesus’ use of figurative speech. Whether we are talking about parables or statements Jesus made with respect to eating his flesh or the temple being torn down, etc., there is clear scriptural documentation given to clarify the hidden meaning. In this particular instance we have two parallel passages telling the same story - one in Matthew and the other in Mark. Neither of them seem to be accompanied by the telltale signs of metaphoric language.
Likewise, why should it be automatically presumed that he was giving his disciples a literal, imperative command? Jesus’ words, while I would like them to be, are not as cut-and-dried as other portions of scripture because he spoke so often in stories and parables.
If the section is taken absolutely literally, then he was speaking only to those present. We have to take some form of liberality to say that Jesus was really speaking to “us.”
“Likewise, why should it be automatically presumed that he was giving his disciples a literal, imperative command? Jesus’ words, while I would like them to be, are not as cut-and-dried as other portions of scripture because he spoke so often in stories and parables.”
It isn’t a matter of presumption. All you have to do is read it.
“And Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ it will happen.”
Was the fig tree figurative? No, it was a literal tree. Jesus essentially said to his disciples, “You can do what I just did and even more”. That was based on his literal example. As I stated in my previous post, in all other instances where Jesus spoke metaphorically there is some definite indication of that. Either the text following the passage clarifies exactly what Jesus meant, or there are other passages of scripture that qualify his statements. For instance, when Jesus spoke to the woman at the well concerning living water, scripture is plain as to what that meant. As for parables and stories, those aren’t relevant here at all. This neither qualifies as a story or a parable. We are talking about actual literal narrative.
Even if this scripture wasn’t in the Bible (and evidently God thought it was quite important because two separate writers were inspired to pen it), we have another statement of Jesus that would confirm what he said in this literal narrative account.
Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”
- Mark 9:23
I’ll tell you what I think the heart of the matter is - unbelief. People simply cannot believe that Jesus really meant what he said because they cannot wrap their heads around it. They reject what he said in favor of their theological prejudices and are crippled by their own intellect. It is not much different from someone saying that Jesus wasn’t literally born of a virgin or that he did not literally rise from the dead when the narrative accounts prove otherwise.
Chris, I think I surrounded my point with too many words. If we take this passage as using the rules for “literal” that you lay out then we must also look at the following:
Your case that this applies to “us” is not a case based on a “literal” (as you use it to argue against Thainamu’s case) evidence but based on a liberal understanding of the passage. In other words, arguing that the passage must be read this way also invalidates your point.
If the answer is that it is not literal, then we can start to pull from other portions of scripture to make a more doctrinally sound argument.
Chris, I will respond eventually, but today I’m busy getting my son out the door for a month in Ethiopia (prior to him and his family moving there for a new job in November). In other words, I didn’t want you to think I was ignoring you.
“Your case that this applies to “us” is not a case based on a “literal” (as you use it to argue against Thainamu’s case) evidence but based on a liberal understanding of the passage. In other words, arguing that the passage must be read this way also invalidates your point.”
When we look at both passages side by side, as I did in the article, it becomes apparent that Jesus was not applying this truth only to his disciples.
“Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him. (Mark 11:23)
Notice that Jesus said “whoever says to this mountain.” So in the narrative Jesus was speaking to his disciples and applying the principle of faith to a much broader audience. Beyond that, if we say that Jesus gave special privileges of faith only to the twelve, we contradict a host of other scriptures.
“Chris, I will respond eventually, but today I’m busy getting my son out the door for a month in Ethiopia (prior to him and his family moving there for a new job in November). In other words, I didn’t want you to think I was ignoring you.”
I wouldn’t think that of you, even if you never responded.
The particular problem is different, but the general idea still remains: now people even who are not saved can just use “faith” to perform radical demonstrations. We avoid these problems if we are willing to use previously proven theology and doctrine as context for this passage.
“The particular problem is different, but the general idea still remains: now people even who are not saved can just use “faith” to perform radical demonstrations.”
That’s not true. When you read the entire passage in context, we find that Jesus says in verse 21, “Have faith in God.” This obviously could not be interpreted to apply to unbelievers.
Chris A said, “What is the basis of your conclusion that Matthew 21:21 is purely figurative to the extent that Jesus said his disciples could do just as he did to the fig tree? In other words, what literary evidence points to this conclusion?
…
As I stated in my previous post, in all other instances where Jesus spoke metaphorically there is some definite indication of that. Either the text following the passage clarifies exactly what Jesus meant, or there are other passages of scripture that qualify his statements.”
I think my view of Jesus’ use of figurative language is not the same as yours. I do not agree that each time Jesus used figurative language it was necessarily indicated or explained. So, in short, I don’t think I am doing any injustice to the text to take it figuratively.
Jesus spoke a real human language (just like he had a real human body). There are so many different styles of language, all in the same language. For instance, there would be a scientific way to say something (It was -7 degrees Fahrenheit last night.)or a slang way to say something (I nearly froze my butt off last night.) or a poetic way to say something (Ah! how chilled was the air at the setting of sun.) or a normal way to say something (It was cold last night.) All those examples pretty much have the same meaning but are in a different style. We humans do that with our language, depending on the setting in which we speak.
I think Jesus did the same thing.
And let me hasten to add that “just” because Jesus used figurative language, does not diminish its import in the least. In fact, many times poetry speaks to our souls more sharply than legalese. Symbolic truth is often way more powerful than literal truth.
And even going back to the mountain-in-the-sea case, was Jesus saying a faithful person could literally move a mountain but perhaps not move a table? Are literal mountains the only thing a faithful person could move? One aspect of figurative language is going from a specific to a generic as well as hyperbole, so I think the passage means Jesus is telling us that with faith, amazing things can happen.
And I will also say this, though you may call it unbelief on my part (maybe it is). I can’t see logically how the creator and sustainer God of the universe could/would just allow any old “faithful” person to pick a mountain up and move it into the sea. Think of the physical implications of that! For God to allow that would mean any “faithful” person could break all laws of physics just because he could, just because he had enough faith. Is that what God intended?? Somehow I doubt it. That interpretation would either mean we would live in a physically chaotic world, or there is actually no person in this world with enough faith to do just what Jesus said.
Another example: did Jesus really intend for Christian men to literally gouge their eyes out? Mt 5:29 Probably not. Does that mean He excuses lust? Nope. Just because we interpret Jesus’ words figuratively does not mean they are less true or less powerful.
The rule I learned about interpreting scripture was this: take it literally if you can, if it makes sense. If not, look for a figurative or poetic meaning. (Now I know that “makes sense” is somewhat arbitrary, and I do not mean to say that there are no such things as miracles, even though they don’t make sense either–but generally, the miracles I’ve seen are more miracles of timing/coincidence rather than miracles that break the laws of physics. I allow that Jesus performed miracles that broke the laws of physics, but since he is creator God, he would be able to handle the fallout.)
“And even going back to the mountain-in-the-sea case, was Jesus saying a faithful person could literally move a mountain but perhaps not move a table? Are literal mountains the only thing a faithful person could move? One aspect of figurative language is going from a specific to a generic as well as hyperbole, so I think the passage means Jesus is telling us that with faith, amazing things can happen.”
Jesus wasn’t saying that moving mountains was the only thing a person could do with his faith. This is obvious by virtue of the fact of the example he showed in the withering of the fig tree. Jesus basically said, “Not only can you do what I did with the fig tree, but you could even move a mountain.” I do agree with you that the gist of what he was saying was that amazing things can happen when one exercises faith of the God-kind. Jesus went as far as to say that all things are possible to him who uses this kind of faith, just like all things are possible with God (Matthew 19:26; Mark 9:23; Mark 10:27; Mark 14:36). So faith in an unlimited God can yield unlimited results.
To be clear, I have never moved a literal mountain. Nor do I know of anyone else who has, and I never plan to. But I do believe it is possible to anyone who believes, because Jesus said it was. If it will work in the macro, it will work in the micro. However, the most important thing is to harness the power of this kind of faith so that one may live his life by it, giving glory to God - demonstrating to the world that Jesus is alive.
Demonstrations of faith are not magic shows to be performed like some great David Copperfield-esque feat, but they often do defy the laws of physics. When Jesus spoke to the fig tree and it died, it defied the laws of physics. When Moses parted the Red Sea and when the three Hebrew children escaped the fiery furnace with not so much as the smell of smoke, they certainly defied the laws of physics. So many more people besides Jesus operated in the realm of faith such that they defied natural laws.
But here is the important question we must ask: How did Jesus do what he did? If Jesus was only able to work miracles because he was the Son of God, then there is no possibility that we could do the same, as he said we would do. The simple biblical fact is that he didn’t work miracles simply because he was the Son of God.
5Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,
6who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped,
7but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.
8Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Philippians 2:5-8
Notice verse 7. Jesus emptied himself of his heavenly glory and became a man. It was not until the Spirit of God descended upon him that he began to work miracles. Acts 10:38 tells us that Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit to work miracles, and he said that himself in Luke 4. So Jesus did not work miracles or perform acts of faith as the Son of God; he did them as a man anointed with the Holy Spirit. And he plainly said and demonstrated that those who believed in him would do the same works - and to some extent many of us have. By God’s power and faith men (howbeit not mere men) have raised the dead, healed the sick, and cast out devils, and still continue to do so to this very day.