divine-intuitionEphesians 4:4-5, “There is one body [of believers] and one Spirit . . . one Lord, one faith, one baptism . . .”

The focus is on the word, “faith”. Let’s narrow its definition to having an undaunted conviction about Who God is. And, let’s add to that conviction His Word being infallible according to Isaiah 55:10-11:

  1. “For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater,
  2. So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

I realize that it’s elementary but note that vs. 10 states that the rain and snow comes down for a purpose: to water the earth. Then note the results: plants grow, which produces more seeds to plant, which yields more produce, which are harvested for food: a perpetual cycle.

Likewise, when God speaks His words like the rain and snow are for specific purposes. The results are that what His Word accomplishes flourishes.

Numerous illustrations are used to depict what faith is. Some associate sitting down in a chair an act of faith. However, the fact is that implying that the use of any earthly object is an “act of faith” is to use the term loosely.

The simple reason is that there is absolutely no guarantee that a chair or any other object will not fail. They break! That is why manufacturers have warranties.

I have heard it asked, does God have faith. My reply was, who would He place faith in? Who can guarantee Him anything? He could only have faith in what would exceed His Greatness and Infallibility, which means that He would cease to be El Elyon: the Most high God.

When asking for the definition of the word, faith, responses will invariably be Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” I propose that the verse only implies the functionality of faith but does not allude to the properties of faith, i. e., what faith is comprised of.

Let’s first consider the origin of faith as noted in Romans 10:17, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Given that the word, “of”, is a preposition it could denote the origin. Thus, the phrase, “the word of God”, would also be “the word from God” conveyed by the Holy Spirit whom Jesus said in John 16:13, “. . . He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak . . .”

The title here is “Two Perspectives of The One Faith”. By that, I mean that one of faith is in what the Almighty God Jehovah can do. The other perspective is based on knowing what He is going to do . . . when He communicates it. Note two examples from the Old and New Testaments.

Old Testament Scenario

The first is a familiar scenario in the Old Testament, 2 Chronicles 20. The armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir surrounded the Hebrew’s campsite in preparation to attack them. But, note King Jehoshaphat’s reaction in verses 3-4:

  1. “And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.
  2. So Judah gathered together to ask help from the Lord; and from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord.”

Note the last sentence of Jehoshaphat’s prayer: vs 12, “For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.”

Remember that the king was a Hebrew. He knew the history in detail of how that when the Hebrews were enslaved in Egypt that their Almighty God brought 10 severe plagues on the Egyptians because of Pharaoh refusing to let them go. The 10th plague, the deaths of every first-born, ultimately convinced Pharaoh to let the Hebrews go.

God miraculously parted the Red Sea so that they could leave Egypt. They passed through the it on the dried seabed and escaped Pharaoh leading the Egyptian army in pursuit of them. King Jehoshaphat remembered that God released the standing walls of water to drowned Pharaoh and his army in the depth of the sea as they pursued the Hebrews.

So, now in the setting of the impending ambush Jehoshaphat tells that same Almighty God that he didn’t know what to do but their eyes were upon Him. The reason was that history taught the king about what God, El Shaddai, the All Sufficient God, could do. But, amidst this scenario, neither Jehoshaphat, the priests, nor any of Hebrews knew what God was going to do. Nobody knew until vs. 14

  1. Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly.
  2. And he said, “Listen, all you of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat! Thus says the Lord to you: ‘Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s.
  3. Tomorrow go down against them. They will surely come up by the Ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the brook before the Wilderness of Jeruel.
  4. You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord is with you.”
  5. And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem bowed before the Lord, worshiping the Lord.

Points about King Jehoshaphat:

  • Verse 15 told the Hebrews who would fight for them again; God.
  • Verse 16 told them where the battle would take place.
  • Verse 17 assured them that they would need no weapons, where to positions themselves, and be quite and watch God fight.
  • Verse 18 proves that King Jehoshaphat and all of the Hebrews believed what was spoken because they began to worship their God.
  • God prophesying through Jahaziel told the king exactly what was going to occur and what the outcome would be. Thus, ONLY then did Jehoshaphat KNOW; have a “Divine intuition” for what God was going to do.

Now, given that having the Divine intuition is the result of God saying what He was about to do that equates to “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of/from God.” So, at this point let’s paraphrase Hebrews 11:1 by replacing the word, “faith”, with the term, Divine intuition: “Now Divine intuition is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Conclusively, it is the substance of what is hoped for and evidence of what has yet to be seen simply because God CANNOT lie.

New Testament Scenario

A comparable New Testament example is Apostle Paul’s and Luke’s experience of being on a ship during a tempestuous storm as recorded in Acts 27. However, to give a better perspective it’s necessary to refer to an experience Apostle Paul had in Acts 23:10-11 in which the Lord, Jesus Christ, in person, stood by Paul and spoke to him.

  1. Now when there arose a great dissension, the commander, fearing lest Paul might be pulled to pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him by force from among them, and bring him into the barracks.
  2. But the following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome.”

This visitation by the Lord in Acts 23 occurred three years before the episode in chapter 27. The only point to be noted in the visitation is what Jesus said to Paul: “Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome.” Though redundant it may be, remember that Jesus was the incarnation of Jehovah in Isaiah 55:11 that said that His would not return to Him void, but would accomplish what He pleases.

Now fast forward to Acts 27 when Paul is in the ship caught in a storm. Note what he said in vs. 10: “Men, I perceive that this voyage will end with disaster and much loss, not only of the cargo and ship, but also our lives.”

Five years prior to Luke writing the books of Acts Paul was a guest in Gainus’ home in which he wrote the book of Romans. Note again the popular text that Paul recorded in Romans 10:17, “. . . faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of [from] God.”

The point is that Paul had not yet arrived in Rome. So, given that the Lord’s word cannot return to Him void Paul could not die before arriving in Rome and preached the Gospel as he did in Jerusalem. Otherwise, the Lord’s word would have returned to Him void.

Paul’s statement about them being killed by the storm was an emotional one, echoed no degree of faith whatsoever, and was undoubtedly made because he had already been in three shipwrecks. One occurrence caused him to actually spend a night and a day in the water according to 2 Corinthians 11:25: “Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep . . .” This history of events was evidently reason for speculating that this trip would also end in disaster: ship damaged, cargo lost, and every soul on board killed.

The tempestuous head wind called the Euroclydon began blowing in vs. 14: “But not long after, a tempestuous head wind arose, called Euroclydon. So when the ship was caught, and could not head into the wind, we let her drive.” In vs. 15, Luke recorded that they virtually left the ship to the mercies of the wind and sea, which means the absence of faith.

Pay particular attention to what he recorded in verses 16-20:

  1. And running under the shelter of an island called Clauda, we secured the skiff [lifeboat] with difficulty.
  2. When they had taken it on board, they used cables to undergird the ship [tie around its hull]; and fearing lest they should run aground on the Syrtis Sands, they struck sail [lowered the sail] and so were driven [by the wind].
  3. And because we were exceedingly tempest-tossed, the next day they lightened the ship.
  4. On the third day we threw the ship’s tackle overboard with our own hands.
  5. Now when neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small tempest beat on us, all hope that we would be saved was finally given up.

Note that no place in this account is there any mention of them exercising faith and not expressing that God would be their helper or even praying for Him to help. Thus, I will not imply that they did. However, note vs. 22-26:

  1. And now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship.
  2. For there stood by me this night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve,
  3. saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must be brought before Caesar; and indeed God has granted you all those who sail with you.’
  4. Therefore take heart, men, for I believe God that it will be just as it was told me.
  5. However, we must run aground on a certain island.”

The question may arise as to Paul especially COULD NOT be killed in this storm. For the answer, we must go back to Acts 23:10-11 with verse 11 being the operative verse:

  1. Now when there arose a great dissension, the commander, fearing lest Paul might be pulled to pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him by force from among them, and bring him into the barracks.
  2. But the following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome.”

Paul being told by The Most High God that he had to go to Rome took the destructive capabilities out of the storm. And, God’s favor was extended to others on board.

When they got on shore they were drenching wet and cold because of the boisterous wind.  Paul therefore proceeded to build a woodpile to star a fire. A poisonous viper was under the heap and Paul consequently did not see it. The snake struck him and latched onto his hand. But, Paul’s body had Divine immunity against the viper’s venom and he therefore COULD NOT die because he had not yet arrived in Rome. Hence, Paul just shook the snake from his hand.

I would presume to say that during the course of the storm Paul and Luke did pray. However, nothing was recorded to suggest that they did. Whether they did or not it is abundantly clear that there was not the slightest indication of faith, rather it was fear.

Paul’s faith for knowing what God could do is evident from previous manifestations of God’s greatness in the following references from the book of Acts:

  • 13:11-12: Paul blinded Elymus
  • 14:3,4: Paul performed miracles in Iconium
  • 14:8-18: At Lystra, Paul healed a crippled man .
  • 16:18: Paul healed a woman possessed by an evil spirit
  • 16:26-28: The miraculous earthquake unloosed  the chains in the Philippian prison and opened its doors
  • 19:11,12: Paul performed other miracles in Ephesus
  • 20:8-12: In Troas, Paul raised Eutychus from the dead

Remember that Paul is the one that said in Romans 10:17, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” He said it before he encountered the storm in Acts 27. The question therefore arises about where Paul’s faith was during the storm when he suggested that they would be killed. However, the answer would only be speculative.

What is definite is that when the angel of the Lord spoke to Paul in vs. 23 he received a Divine intuition [knowing]. He knew what God was going to do: namely, not let them die during this storm.

Given the scenario with Paul I again propose the paraphrased Hebrews 11:1, ““Now Divine intuition is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Conclusively, it is the substance and evidence simply because God CANNOT lie. What He says will happen or it invalidates the Bible, which He WILL NOT allow.

CONCLUSION

King Jehoshaphat knew from history what God could do. Paul knew what God could do by what he had already experienced as cited. But, neither man knew what God was going to do until they were told: Jehoshaphat by Jahaziel and Paul by the angel of the Lord. Thus, the two perspectives of the one faith are evident.