I know . . .

 

 

READ Romans 5-8

Faith is defined as knowing what we cannot see. This ‘knowing’ is God’s gift of grace that gives sight to a life once blind to spiritual matters. Today’s reading has a dozen examples of what Christians just know, truths that are affirmed by the Word of God and the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit. This is what we know:

We can rejoice in suffering “knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” (Romans 5:3–5) We might complain, but we know God uses suffering to mature us.

We are united with Christ in His death and in His life. “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death . . . in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” (Romans 6:3–4)

That unity sets us free from sin because we know our old self was crucified with Him. “For one who has died has been set free from sin . . . we will also live with him” and He will never die again and He now lives to God, so we also are dead to sin and alive to God. (Romans 6:6–11)

We present ourselves to righteousness because we know that is freedom — rather than being slaves to sin. (Romans 6:16–18)

We know the law of God once held us captive yet we died to it and now serve Christ, knowing we are set free from the bondage of a code we could not keep. (Romans 7:1–2; 6) This does not mean the law is sin for by it we know sin and that we are guilty of sin. “When the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me.” (Romans 7:7–10)

We also know that the law is spiritual, but we cannot keep it in our own strength. We do not understand our own actions, do things we don’t want to do, and know that nothing good dwells in us. (Romans 7:14–18)

All genuine Christians know the good news: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1) We are “not in the flesh but in the Spirit” because the Holy Spirit lives in us. We also know that “Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.” (Romans 8:9)

This knowing is for now but also gives us eternal hope. This hope is strong and can say things like:

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. (Romans 8:18)

For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. (Romans 8:22–23)

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. (Romans 8:26)

For me, the very first truth I learned after Jesus gave me faith to believe the gospel was this:

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. (Romans 8:28–29)

I know that no matter what is happening in the world or in my life, it is allowed by God’s goodness and used for His transforming work. Because of this knowing, I’m do not get upset easily about a lot of things — I know that God is asking for a childlike trust and a Christlike response from me. I know trials are opportunities to grow, to be like Jesus.

While my spiritual enemy shoots lies designed to destroy my assurance, I know” the promises of God that affirm the following truth:

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38–39)

Lord God, as I read Your words, You continually assure me that what I know about You is true. You have convinced me by grace through faith, not with pie-in-the-sky but promises that bless my life and set my feet on solid ground.

 

Faith in the face of contradictions

When God commands action, He seldom gives the word a few hours beforehand. He knows the human heart. We might stew and fret about it, or make elaborate plans for carrying it out without His specific instruction.

However, He also knew the heart of Abraham and in one incredible instance, He gave the command and allowed Abraham an entire night to think about it.

After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. (Genesis 22:1–3)

This man did not debate with God. I would have. Offering anyone, never mind my own child, as a sacrifice seems totally against the will of God. But Abraham did what God said without debate and without any evidence of “why?” He knew the voice of God and trusted Him.

As for me, I would have at least ran it by a few friends, or grumbled, or tried to get Him to rephrase the thing so it made sense. In the case of Abraham, I might also think that his willingness to do it, which showed up in the morning as he set out, was enough. How far did he need to go to prove his faith in God without actually killing his child? Surely that would be a sin? Yet the New Testament says:

By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back. (Hebrews 11:17–19)

Abraham’s faith was not based on the wrongness of God’s command, but on God’s promise that this son would grow up and have children who would carry on the family name. No matter what happened on that mountain, Abraham believed God would keep that promise.

God is saying that when He asks a hard thing I need to bank on His promises. The test may contradict them, but God is not a promise-breaker. He wants me to believe Him, and may even ask me to prove it by acts of obedience that seem to be contrary to the promise, but not contrary to faith.

Faith is about holding the promises of God in one hand and the often conflicting realities I can see and rationalize in the other, and live with the tension between the two. Faith means knowing that God is true and what seems true will be eventually exposed or changed.

I cannot choose the situations or the tests. As Chambers says, God may make my cup sweet or bitter, yet I must drink it with grace and in communion with Him. If I am living in touch with my Lord, I will know that whatever He takes me through He wants me to know Him better. He is at work for His highest ends until His purpose and my purpose become one.

God’s incredible salvation

Ezekiel 39:25–40:49, Revelation 19:11–20:6, Job 38:25–33, John 3:16

Today’s assigned readings overwhelmed my imagination. They begin with God speaking to a righteous man in Job, a very ancient book. It tells the story of God testing Job’s faith, and Job becoming frustrated that God has not told him what is going on. His friends are full of advice, but they could not pinpoint the problem and wound up accusing Job of things he did not do.

When seemingly meaningless suffering happens to the people of God, all sorts of questions fill our minds, questions like: Is God really there? Has He no power to deliver me? Can I trust God even when He is silent?

However, after the silence, Job finally does hear the Lord speak. While His words sound like a rebuke, they might have been given in gentle tones to this suffering man. God asked Job, “Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades or loose the cords of Orion? Can you lead forth the Mazzaroth in their season, or can you guide the Bear with its children? Do you know the ordinances of the heavens? Can you establish their rule on the earth?” (Job 38:31–33)

This is a small part of a larger passage where God told Job to look around at all that is out of his control. Who was taking care of the universe? Who takes care of the stars and constellations? God implies that because He can do this, He can be trusted, even when He says nothing.

This is also God’s challenge to me. When it seems God is not there, do I consider His power and goodness? Can I trust Him no matter what?

The Israelites believed God existed, but they didn’t obey Him and even worshiped idols. God sent prophets and they didn’t listen. He finally sent them into exile where they would learn to loath idolatry, but even before they experienced this, God made them a promise:

“I will restore (them in mercy) . . . . They shall forget their shame and all the treachery they have practiced against me, when they dwell securely in their land . . . . Then they shall know that I am the Lord their God, because I sent them into exile among the nations and then assembled them into their own land . . . . And I will not hide my face anymore from them, when I pour out my Spirit . . . .” (Ezekiel 39:25–29)

After saying this, God gave Ezekiel a vision of the new temple where worship would be restored. This would give them hope: “In visions of God he brought me to the land of Israel, and set me down on a very high mountain, on which was a structure like a city to the south. When he brought me there, behold, there was a man whose appearance was like bronze, with a linen cord and a measuring reed in his hand. And he was standing in the gateway.” (Ezekiel 40:2–3)

Ezekiel’s vision included a man who is described as if it were Jesus Christ. He restores the worship of sinners and came to live in His people. The Bible says that because He dwells people who trust Him, these become temples of the Holy Spirit. How incredible!

John’s visions in Revelation are also incredible. He saw “heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God.” (Revelation 19:11–13)

This is Jesus. With the armies of heaven, He will make war against the beast and false prophet and throw them into a lake of fire. Satan will be bound for a thousand years so he can no longer deceive the nations. What will that look like? Incredible!

Also, the people of God will reign with Christ: “I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.” (Revelation 20:4–6)

After that, Satan is released, and Gog and Magog (named in Ezekiel) join to attack God’s people. As in Ezekiel, God comes to the rescue and throws Satan into the lake of fire.

Finally, a judgment begins, not a judgment of everyone for it excludes those whose names are in the book of life. How does a person get their name in the book of life? Jesus answers that question: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

Incredible!