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“Then Jesus said to them, 'When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things. And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him.' As He spoke these words, many believed in Him.” (John 8.28-30).

Restating, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He…” Knowledge that Jesus is the Son of Man is prerequisite to pleasing the Father. That is not all there is to it, but this knowledge must come before other steps necessary for salvation can occur. Belief in Jesus as the Christ cannot come without the knowledge that He is the Son of Man. To put it another way, knowledge is prerequisite to saving faith!

Some people simply have it wrong when it comes to the matter of faith and knowledge. To hear some tell it, a person cannot have faith in that which they know; such a position is not only unbiblical, it is anti-biblical. After all, Jesus declared that they would know that He was the Son of Man after He had been lifted up (crucified). If knowledge makes faith impossible, Jesus certainly was unaware of it! To this matter of faith and knowledge, we will allow Peter to speak. Hear him from his two books.

· “…Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers…: (1 Peter 1.18)

· “…Not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing. Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, (1 Peter 3.9).

· God’s “…divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue. (2 Peter 1.3).

· “But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge…” (2 Peter 1.5).

· “For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 1.8).

· “For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning.” (2 Peter 2.20).

· “For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them.” (2 Peter 2.21).

Now hear Paul: “Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.” (Romans 1.1-4). Just as Jesus predicted, the Cross was the turning point in mankind’s history; it was there that we received eternal confirmation that Jesus Christ is Messiah. “You will know,” He said. And we do!

Questions:

1. Are faith and knowledge mutually exclusive? Or, to ask it another way, can a person have faith in that which they know?

2. What part did the resurrection have in making the knowledge of Jesus Christ a sure thing?

3. Can we know for certain that Jesus is Messiah, and that He is resurrected and sits at God’s right hand?

4. How has God made it possible for us to know? What part do the inspired scriptures have in this knowledge?

"Refreshment in Refuge" from Gina Burgess

Manifestations of the Spirit