The Doubter’s Questions Part 3

The Doubter’s Questions Part 3

The Difference between Believing and Knowing God

I don’t know about you, but If I heard this from a close friend, I’d feel hurt [Remember Jesus’ rebuke of Philip in John 14:11]. I would feel the pain of knowing that I have been rebuked. And I would wonder how it is that I still don’t understand what Christ is talking about. In essence, Christ is saying, “Believe in me with your heart that I have taught and loved you every day for three years. But if you can’t do that, at least believe with your mind in the works you’ve seen me do.” It’s another clue for us as to what Christ values.   

For Philip to understand what Christ was saying without a need to ask a flippant question, he would have to know and believe Christ in his heart. The heart has the capacity to understand the indescribable, unfathomable love of God that the mind or intellect does not have. Even though he had spent all that time with Jesus, Philip did not know Him in this way, in his heart. By this point in time, after walking with Christ for years, Peter did. James and John did. Probably Luke did, too. The stories of Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection seem to indicate that Philip and Thomas weren’t there yet. Thomas even had the audacity to stick his fingers in Christ’s wounds after the resurrection. Thomas and Philip seem to have been satisfied believing in Christ with only their minds. The problem Christ exposed is simple: Intellectual belief will fail you when something greater is required for you to make it through a difficult time.   

 We have works to do and we’re going to need faith to do them!