Study Focus: Isa. 40:27–31, John 14:1–14, Rom. 8:28–39, Eph. 1:18–23.
Part I: Overview
Faith is another pillar of the three theological virtues of 1 Corinthians 13:13. Like hope, faith is a complex reality and pertains to our spiritual and relational nature. The apostle Paul defines faith in relation to hope and the unseen: “Now faith is the certainty of things hoped for, a proof of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1, NASB). As God is unseen, the only way we approach Him is by faith (Heb. 11:6). However, as Hebrews 11:1 establishes, this act of believing in Him is not a human imagination or an act of human self-projection into the absolute. Rather, our faith grows out of the evidence of God’s promises and fulfilled prophecies; evidence of God’s Creation; evidence of God’s providence and care for us in our personal or collective histories; evidence of His love for us in the incarnation of the Son when God became flesh and walked with us and died in our place (John 1:1–3, 14; John 3:16, 36); and evidence that, in the resurrection of Christ, He has power over evil, sin, suffering, and death (Eph. 1:18–21). By this evidence the biblical believer “sees” the invisible by faith.
Lesson Themes: This week’s lesson highlights two major themes.
Doubt arises when we do not trust God for the best solution to our problems.
The greatest foundation for our faith is Christ, His incarnation, sacrifice for us, and resurrection. Jesus is God’s evidence that He can carry our sin, suffering, and death upon Himself so that we may overcome our crucibles.
Part II: Commentary
“Seeing God”
What do we, as Christians, mean by “seeing” God? Ever since sin separated us from God, taking us through the valley of suffering and death, we have longed to see God. But what does it mean to see God in the context of sin? After waking up from his dream about the ladder connecting heaven and earth, Jacob concluded that he had seen God “face to face” (Gen. 32:30). Moses also is known as the prophet who spoke with God “face to face” (Exod. 33:11, Num. 12:8, Deut. 34:10). Moses even declared to the people of Israel that God had spoken to them “face to face” (Deut. 5:4). Moses also blessed Israel by appealing to God to “shine” and “turn” His face on the nation and bestow upon them blessings, protection, providence, peace, and grace (Num. 6:25–27). In the same vein, when Moses expresses his desire to know God more, God assures Moses that His “presence” will accompany the people of Israel (Exod. 33:14). However, Moses desires a more “face to face” encounter and asks God to show him His divine glory (Exod. 33:18; see also Exod. 3:6). God explains to Moses that no one can see His face and live (Exod. 33:20; see also Isa. 6:5) and that humans are able to “see” of God only that which demonstrates His glory: His name, His goodness, His compassion, and His mercy (Exod. 33:19, 21–23).
Similarly, David was thirsting to see God’s face. As Job (Job 13:24) when in distress, David feels as if God hides His face from him and His people (Ps. 13:1, Ps. 27:9, Ps. 30:7, Ps. 44:24, Ps. 69:17, Ps. 88:14, Ps. 102:2, Ps. 143:7; see also Lev. 20:3, 6; Deut. 31:17, 18). But David finds encouragement in the promise that God does not hide His face from the afflicted righteous (Ps. 22:24, Ps. 24:6). Even when in trouble or suffering from sin, David places his hope in God, who will save him and will shine His face on David again (Ps. 17:15, Ps. 31:16, Ps. 80:3; see also Ps. 51:9). Therefore, David can always sing: “When You said, ‘Seek My face,’ my heart said to You, ‘I shall seek Your face, Lord’ ” (Ps. 27:8, NASB; see also Ps. 105:4; Ps. 119:58, 135).
As a leader of God’s people, David knows that Israel will be blessed only if God shines His face on them (Ps. 4:6). Obviously, David understands, as Jacob and Moses did, the act of seeing God’s face as figurative, and not in the literal sense. This figure points to God’s presence among His people through the Holy Spirit, to divine forgiveness, to salvation, to assurance, care, providence, protection, blessings of health and peace, prophetic revelations, and God’s guidance of His people in their existence and mission. All these concepts and experiences embody “seeing” God through faith!
Of course, we cannot see God as He is in His divine nature. We are in the universe; God is with us, but He also is transcendent, or beyond our reality. We are finite; God is infinite. Moreover, we are sinful; God is holy. That is why we simply cannot see God as He is in Himself. But we can see what and how He chooses to reveal Himself to us. What He reveals to us is His glory in the universe, which is His creation and the domain of His kingdom. He reveals His love and care for us through His revelations and providence. For this reason, in Hebrews 11:1 and 6, the apostle Paul concludes that in the context of sin, faith is “seeing” the evidence and prophetic revelations of God’s existence and presence with us. Love, for instance, is materially “unseen,” but it is evident in the manifestation of the person who loves us.
On the other hand, we can literally “see” God in the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus, being God, became human so that He could dwell among us in order that we may “see” God’s “glory” and His “grace and truth” (John 1:14; see also Matt. 1:23, Phil. 2:6–9). For this reason, John declares: “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us” (1 John 1:1–3, NIV).
By sharing his testimony about what he had touched, seen, and heard, the apostle John wants us to “fellowship with,” or share in, his experience with the Word made flesh. This fellowship evokes another way by which we may “see” God. In Psalm 34, David recounts his fears, also elaborating upon his understanding that “the angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them” (Ps. 34:7, NKJV). Then, David calls us to “taste and see that the Lord is good” (Ps. 34:8, NKJV). The figure of speech signified by “tasting” God reflects an intimate way of knowing God through personal experience. In the Christian experience, while we read John’s testimony about seeing and hearing the incarnate God, we also need to “see” Him for ourselves through the mediation of the Holy Spirit (John 14:16–18, John 16:14, Rom. 8:2–17). For this reason, David concludes that blessed is the one who “trusts in Him” (Ps. 34:8, NKJV), and Paul concludes that no “tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword” can “separate us from the love of Christ” (Rom. 8:35, NKJV).
Ultimately, “seeing” God in our situation means to experience—through God’s Word and the work of the Holy Spirit in us—God’s providence, love, and assurance, to sense His presence with us, and to have His peace and assurance in our hearts that He is there with us. This experience is faith.
Christ’s Resurrection; Our Suffering and Death
Resurrection plays a crucial role in the Christian theodicy or explanation of the origin, existence, and fate of evil in God’s universe. Three points may be highlighted in this regard:
The Bible places resurrection at the heart of our faith in God and hope for the future. The apostle Paul concludes that “if only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied” (1 Cor. 15:19, NIV). Evil and death will end with the resurrection of those who put their trust in God.
This restoration is guaranteed by Christ’s resurrection, which demonstrates His divinity. Our only hope for salvation resides in God, who takes our sin upon Himself and resurrects us with His power. Had Christ not been resurrected, He would have been proven a mere human in need of salvation, and we would have been left in our sins, destined for the wages of sin, which is to say, death (1 Cor. 15:12–17, Rom. 6:23).
God’s promise of our resurrection is the best way to explain God’s permission for His people to suffer and die. The apostle Paul affirms that “this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead” (2 Cor. 1:9, NIV). God “can afford,” so to speak, to allow His people or children to suffer and die because He created them, and therefore, He can re-create or resurrect them. Indeed, it would be noble enough for those who put their trust in God to die for Him and His cause, even without any possibility of resurrection. But such an outcome, ultimately, would deprive God of His status and power as One who can create life out of nothing, thereby rendering Him another powerless, selfish entity in the universe. The people on His side would have died for nothing, because in the end they would not have proved anything about the claims of God. But because God has the proven power of resurrection, He can allow His people to die.
However, this argument applies to God only because He alone holds the power of resurrection. As no one in the universe, apart from God, possesses the power of creation and resurrection, no other being in the world can allow people to die or kill them and be justified in the allowance of such horrific acts. Hence, the prohibition of the sixth commandment for the human race (Exod. 20:13). For a good synthesis on the importance of resurrection for the Christian faith, see Josh McDowell, “Support of Deity: The Resurrection—Hoax or History,” The New Evidence That Demands a Verdict (Nashville, TN: Nelson, 1999), chap. 9, pp. 203–284.
Part III: Life Application
Cast your anxiety upon God. When the apostle Peter taught the church members to cast their anxiety upon God (1 Pet. 5:7), he did not mean to endorse spiritual laziness or irresponsibility (2 Pet. 1:5–7). Similarly, Jesus taught His disciples not to worry, but to trust in God (Matt. 6:25–33). At the same time, Jesus taught Christians that they must be diligent and responsible (Matt. 24:45–51, Matthew 25). How can we understand these paradoxical Bible truths correctly in our lives? How can we teach the principles in these verses to our youth?
How have you seen God in your life? How did this strengthen your faith and trust in God, even amid trials?
Notes
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Key Text: Hebrews 11:27
Study Focus: Isa. 40:27–31, John 14:1–14, Rom. 8:28–39, Eph. 1:18–23.
Part I: Overview
Faith is another pillar of the three theological virtues of 1 Corinthians 13:13. Like hope, faith is a complex reality and pertains to our spiritual and relational nature. The apostle Paul defines faith in relation to hope and the unseen: “Now faith is the certainty of things hoped for, a proof of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1, NASB). As God is unseen, the only way we approach Him is by faith (Heb. 11:6). However, as Hebrews 11:1 establishes, this act of believing in Him is not a human imagination or an act of human self-projection into the absolute. Rather, our faith grows out of the evidence of God’s promises and fulfilled prophecies; evidence of God’s Creation; evidence of God’s providence and care for us in our personal or collective histories; evidence of His love for us in the incarnation of the Son when God became flesh and walked with us and died in our place (John 1:1–3, 14; John 3:16, 36); and evidence that, in the resurrection of Christ, He has power over evil, sin, suffering, and death (Eph. 1:18–21). By this evidence the biblical believer “sees” the invisible by faith.
Lesson Themes: This week’s lesson highlights two major themes.
Doubt arises when we do not trust God for the best solution to our problems.
The greatest foundation for our faith is Christ, His incarnation, sacrifice for us, and resurrection. Jesus is God’s evidence that He can carry our sin, suffering, and death upon Himself so that we may overcome our crucibles.
Part II: Commentary
“Seeing God”
What do we, as Christians, mean by “seeing” God? Ever since sin separated us from God, taking us through the valley of suffering and death, we have longed to see God. But what does it mean to see God in the context of sin? After waking up from his dream about the ladder connecting heaven and earth, Jacob concluded that he had seen God “face to face” (Gen. 32:30). Moses also is known as the prophet who spoke with God “face to face” (Exod. 33:11, Num. 12:8, Deut. 34:10). Moses even declared to the people of Israel that God had spoken to them “face to face” (Deut. 5:4). Moses also blessed Israel by appealing to God to “shine” and “turn” His face on the nation and bestow upon them blessings, protection, providence, peace, and grace (Num. 6:25–27). In the same vein, when Moses expresses his desire to know God more, God assures Moses that His “presence” will accompany the people of Israel (Exod. 33:14). However, Moses desires a more “face to face” encounter and asks God to show him His divine glory (Exod. 33:18; see also Exod. 3:6). God explains to Moses that no one can see His face and live (Exod. 33:20; see also Isa. 6:5) and that humans are able to “see” of God only that which demonstrates His glory: His name, His goodness, His compassion, and His mercy (Exod. 33:19, 21–23).
Similarly, David was thirsting to see God’s face. As Job (Job 13:24) when in distress, David feels as if God hides His face from him and His people (Ps. 13:1, Ps. 27:9, Ps. 30:7, Ps. 44:24, Ps. 69:17, Ps. 88:14, Ps. 102:2, Ps. 143:7; see also Lev. 20:3, 6; Deut. 31:17, 18). But David finds encouragement in the promise that God does not hide His face from the afflicted righteous (Ps. 22:24, Ps. 24:6). Even when in trouble or suffering from sin, David places his hope in God, who will save him and will shine His face on David again (Ps. 17:15, Ps. 31:16, Ps. 80:3; see also Ps. 51:9). Therefore, David can always sing: “When You said, ‘Seek My face,’ my heart said to You, ‘I shall seek Your face, Lord’ ” (Ps. 27:8, NASB; see also Ps. 105:4; Ps. 119:58, 135).
As a leader of God’s people, David knows that Israel will be blessed only if God shines His face on them (Ps. 4:6). Obviously, David understands, as Jacob and Moses did, the act of seeing God’s face as figurative, and not in the literal sense. This figure points to God’s presence among His people through the Holy Spirit, to divine forgiveness, to salvation, to assurance, care, providence, protection, blessings of health and peace, prophetic revelations, and God’s guidance of His people in their existence and mission. All these concepts and experiences embody “seeing” God through faith!
Of course, we cannot see God as He is in His divine nature. We are in the universe; God is with us, but He also is transcendent, or beyond our reality. We are finite; God is infinite. Moreover, we are sinful; God is holy. That is why we simply cannot see God as He is in Himself. But we can see what and how He chooses to reveal Himself to us. What He reveals to us is His glory in the universe, which is His creation and the domain of His kingdom. He reveals His love and care for us through His revelations and providence. For this reason, in Hebrews 11:1 and 6, the apostle Paul concludes that in the context of sin, faith is “seeing” the evidence and prophetic revelations of God’s existence and presence with us. Love, for instance, is materially “unseen,” but it is evident in the manifestation of the person who loves us.
On the other hand, we can literally “see” God in the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus, being God, became human so that He could dwell among us in order that we may “see” God’s “glory” and His “grace and truth” (John 1:14; see also Matt. 1:23, Phil. 2:6–9). For this reason, John declares: “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us” (1 John 1:1–3, NIV).
By sharing his testimony about what he had touched, seen, and heard, the apostle John wants us to “fellowship with,” or share in, his experience with the Word made flesh. This fellowship evokes another way by which we may “see” God. In Psalm 34, David recounts his fears, also elaborating upon his understanding that “the angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them” (Ps. 34:7, NKJV). Then, David calls us to “taste and see that the Lord is good” (Ps. 34:8, NKJV). The figure of speech signified by “tasting” God reflects an intimate way of knowing God through personal experience. In the Christian experience, while we read John’s testimony about seeing and hearing the incarnate God, we also need to “see” Him for ourselves through the mediation of the Holy Spirit (John 14:16–18, John 16:14, Rom. 8:2–17). For this reason, David concludes that blessed is the one who “trusts in Him” (Ps. 34:8, NKJV), and Paul concludes that no “tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword” can “separate us from the love of Christ” (Rom. 8:35, NKJV).
Ultimately, “seeing” God in our situation means to experience—through God’s Word and the work of the Holy Spirit in us—God’s providence, love, and assurance, to sense His presence with us, and to have His peace and assurance in our hearts that He is there with us. This experience is faith.
Christ’s Resurrection; Our Suffering and Death
Resurrection plays a crucial role in the Christian theodicy or explanation of the origin, existence, and fate of evil in God’s universe. Three points may be highlighted in this regard:
The Bible places resurrection at the heart of our faith in God and hope for the future. The apostle Paul concludes that “if only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied” (1 Cor. 15:19, NIV). Evil and death will end with the resurrection of those who put their trust in God.
This restoration is guaranteed by Christ’s resurrection, which demonstrates His divinity. Our only hope for salvation resides in God, who takes our sin upon Himself and resurrects us with His power. Had Christ not been resurrected, He would have been proven a mere human in need of salvation, and we would have been left in our sins, destined for the wages of sin, which is to say, death (1 Cor. 15:12–17, Rom. 6:23).
God’s promise of our resurrection is the best way to explain God’s permission for His people to suffer and die. The apostle Paul affirms that “this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead” (2 Cor. 1:9, NIV). God “can afford,” so to speak, to allow His people or children to suffer and die because He created them, and therefore, He can re-create or resurrect them. Indeed, it would be noble enough for those who put their trust in God to die for Him and His cause, even without any possibility of resurrection. But such an outcome, ultimately, would deprive God of His status and power as One who can create life out of nothing, thereby rendering Him another powerless, selfish entity in the universe. The people on His side would have died for nothing, because in the end they would not have proved anything about the claims of God. But because God has the proven power of resurrection, He can allow His people to die.
However, this argument applies to God only because He alone holds the power of resurrection. As no one in the universe, apart from God, possesses the power of creation and resurrection, no other being in the world can allow people to die or kill them and be justified in the allowance of such horrific acts. Hence, the prohibition of the sixth commandment for the human race (Exod. 20:13). For a good synthesis on the importance of resurrection for the Christian faith, see Josh McDowell, “Support of Deity: The Resurrection—Hoax or History,” The New Evidence That Demands a Verdict (Nashville, TN: Nelson, 1999), chap. 9, pp. 203–284.
Part III: Life Application
Cast your anxiety upon God. When the apostle Peter taught the church members to cast their anxiety upon God (1 Pet. 5:7), he did not mean to endorse spiritual laziness or irresponsibility (2 Pet. 1:5–7). Similarly, Jesus taught His disciples not to worry, but to trust in God (Matt. 6:25–33). At the same time, Jesus taught Christians that they must be diligent and responsible (Matt. 24:45–51, Matthew 25). How can we understand these paradoxical Bible truths correctly in our lives? How can we teach the principles in these verses to our youth?
How have you seen God in your life? How did this strengthen your faith and trust in God, even amid trials?
Notes