1. The choice of Faith
Faith
which is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen
has a very significant role to play in the life of every human being, but here
again we all have been given the prerogative to choose, for we have been duly
admonished by the apostle Paul saying; “I was with you in weakness, in fear,
and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive
words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that
your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”
“However,
we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor
of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. But we speak the wisdom
of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for
our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they
would not have crucified the Lord of glory” (1Corinthians 2:3-8).
It
is of great significance for us to note that, “without faith it is impossible
to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is
a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6).
Now,
the two diametrical substance of faith is either the power of God or, the
wisdom of men, which do not correlate with each other, they have absolutely no mutual
relationship or connection whereby one can affect or depend on the other. The
stark reality is, we can only have faith in one or the other, for thus says the
Lord; “I am the LORD, that is My name; And My glory I will not give to another,
nor My praise to carved images” (Isaiah 42:8).
The
worse mistake and indictment that have been levelled on the human population is
that of attributing man’s ingenuity and scientific achievements to God and
worst of all clamoring the popular slogan of “trust the science” making man’s
scientific and technological explorations and achievements to appear as being superior
and more powerful than even the Creator Who created humanity.
But
the crux of the matter is, there is a power that is far superior than that of
the wisdom of men in Whom we should place our trust and confidence because,
Jesus Christ became for us wisdom from God --- and righteousness and sanctification
and redemption, that, as it is written, "He who glories, let him glory in
the LORD" (1 Corinthians 1:20-21).
What
is of intrinsic importance for us to know, understand and believe is the fact
that, from the time Adam and Eve partook of the fruit of the tree of knowledge
of good and evil, man became like God knowing good and evil. This was made
known to Eve by the devil who said to her; “For God knows that in the day you
eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and
evil."
This
was later endorsed by the Lord Himself who said; “Behold, the man has become
like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and
take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever" therefore the
LORD God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he
was taken” (Genesis 3:5; 22-23.
Please
note carefully that, the criterion by which man attained this power to become
like God to know good and evil was contrary to the will of God and later on
during the course of man’s history the Lord said; “Indeed the people are one
and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing
that they propose to do will be withheld from them” (Genesis
11:6).
Therefore,
man on his own has the capabilities and the power to achieve whatever he sets
his mind to achieve and in addition to this man has received from Satan his
power, his throne and great authority. For we have been instructed saying; “Now
the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a
bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his
throne, and great authority” (Revelation 13:3).
It
is imperative that we know, believe and understand what is taking place behind
the scene, the root cause of what is taking place around us is Satan’s quest to
be worshiped just as God is worshiped and to have men to place their faith in
the wisdom of men instead of in the power of God. But this is a choice that we
all have to make as individuals, for we have ben admonished saying: “Do you
have faith? Have it to yourself before God. Happy is he who does not condemn
himself in what he approves” (Romans 14:22).
So
what is taking place around us today is a test of our faith whether to have our
faith in the wisdom of men which is to God foolishness and which the root cause
of our present dilemma is, or whether our faith is in the power of God which is
the only solution to our present predicament. But the choice is for each
individual to make on his/her own volition.
With brotherly love
Lucius Joseph
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