“Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.” Heb6:1-2
The third foundational truth that we see in this scripture is faith toward God. The word faith (pistis) literally means trust and assurance.
Certain conditions have to be in place for someone to trust. Trust doesn’t just happen.
We only trust the people we know and the people we know love us. In order for us to be able to trust God we have to know the true nature of God and experience Him as He is in truth.
It is impossible to trust someone you are afraid of. If you are afraid that someone is going to hurt you, you will not trust them. It is impossible.
“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.” 1jn4:18
Faith has no fear. If you are afraid of God you will never trust Him. Fear can never be used to motivate people towards God.
We are only able to trust God when we believe and know and are fully persuaded that He loves us and will not harm us. Believing that God loves us with a perfect love sets us free from the fear of what He may do to us. This is what makes faith work. Love.
“For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.” Gal5:6
Love produces faith in us. We naturally trust those who we know love us. A revelation of God's unconditional love for us will make faith just naturally abound in us. Anyone who is struggling with faith does not truly understand how much God loves them.
Your impression of who God is determines how you relate to Him and receive from Him. Many of us have a wrong impression of God. God has been so misrepresented by the church that most of us have a totally false picture of who He is. God is who He is regardless of your view of Him. However you will never experience God contrary to your perception of Him.
If you think that God is a harsh, mean, angry person you will never experience His love and goodness on a consistent basis.
What kind of person do you believe God is really like? If He was to show up today at your home or social circle how would He be like? Would you want to hang out with Him? Would you like to spend time with Him? Not so.
Going by the opinion most of us have of God. We know Him as a serious, tough, harsh angry person that you can’t relate with on a normal basis. To many of us God is judgmental, critical, faultfinding, moody etc.
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." Jn1:1
Jesus is the Logos of God. He is the revelation of God. Jesus makes the incomprehensible God understandable. Jesus totally expressed the thoughts of the Father and was manifest in a physical form so all the world could read them. By seeing Jesus we can know the thoughts and ways of God.
Without Jesus we could not and cannot understand the Father. Jesus makes the invisible God visible in a way that we can see touch hear and experience Him.
Jesus was an exact representation of God making God visible, known and understood by all. He visibly expressed to us the Being and character and behavior of invisible God.
“Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high” Heb1:3
Jesus is the image (eikōn), the exact representation, resemblance of God.
“Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature” Col1:15
This Greek word means "a likeness, a representation, resemblance." This is not talking about Jesus’ physical body. There was nothing special about His body. He was plain.
Jesus totally represented the Father in His actions, nature, and character. He behaved in exactly the same way that God the Father behaves. Jesus gave us an exact image of the Father's heart
“No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.” Jn1:18
The only opinion of God that we must accept is what Jesus has shown us. Whatever we believe about God should be what Jesus has shown us. When we believe anything else it is a vain imagination. A vain imagination is any concept or belief that is not consistent with what Jesus showed us and that does not line up with the true nature of God. Jesus said that seeing Him is seeing the Father. Knowing Him is knowing the Father.
John 14
7 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.
8 Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.
9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?
It is possible to know a lot about a person and yet not know them. The disciples had spent years with Jesus and had seen more of His works than anyone and yet they didn't really know Him. Knowing about Jesus is not enough. We have to know Him. Jesus came to reveal God to us. To show us who God truly was. He revealed what God was really like.
Jesus showed us how God feels about people, how He relates to people and how He wants people to relate to Him. Jesus always healed the sick, He never put sickness on anyone to teach them something or to make them a better person, He never condemns anyone or makes them feel unworthy, He never turns away anyone who comes to see Him or anyone that needs help.
Jesus helped everybody that asked for help or needed help, He healed all that were brought to Him, He was kind, peaceful, gentle, full of mercy, full of love and goodness. Jesus was a good man and God is exactly like that. Even when He encountered the sinners that deserved wrath and judgment, Jesus always gave them mercy and restoration. Like the woman caught in the act of adultery. His response to her shows us how God deals with the sinners or with us when we fail. He offers us mercy and forgiveness and restoration.
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