Grace Blog

1 Cor. 8:1 says, “Knowledge puffs up but love builds up.” Those words have haunted me since I read them last week. I find it ironic that those words were written by arguably the greatest Bible scholar of all time—the Apostle Paul. So it was not that knowledge was unimportant, it is just that generally knowledge can quickly make us feel important, powerful and, well, puffed up. Yet God tells us that we only “know in part” (1 Cor. 13:12) and that being known by God is more important than what we think we know and “we do not really know what we should know” (1 Cor. 8:2).

The Corinthian church had been given grace-gifts in the area of speech and knowledge (1 Cor. 1:4-7). Like them, we as a Bible Church, who value the Scriptures for they tell us about God and show us the way to God, can be tempted to value correct theology and its application as most important and dismiss our love for one another as less important. Paul reminds us, “If I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing” (1 Cor. 13:2). My prayer is that God would teach us to love—for to love is better than to be nothing.

Last Sunday a boy handed me a slip of paper (from his Plugging In lesson) that had a simple and yet profound phrase written on it—“Have faith in Christ” (Romans 10:13-17). I found myself glancing at that slip of paper all week. It reminds me what I know to be true with my head but struggle deeply to believe with my fearful heart and stubborn will—“without faith it is impossible to please God” (Hebrews 11:6). As I read my Bible, I see this theme of faith and trust in God running throughout its pages. And not far behind is the struggle of mankind to trust, have faith, or to believe God.

Many of us live in a state of fear, anxiety, and stress which seems to be the antithesis of trust. And we are not alone. Throughout the Gospels, Jesus was always reminding the disciples to trust, pointing out their often anxious hearts. Repeatedly we read, “Do not be afraid.” Perhaps Jesus was most clear when he said, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me” (John 14:1 NIV). Anxiety is absent where trust is present. “May the God of hope fill you with joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13 NIV).