Obedient Steps of Faith – BT6:  Faith is NOT belief in gnosis info-knowledge but epignosis intimacy

Please follow the BLOG Etiquette to stay on topic and pass the moderator’s check.  Bold, underlined text below = future links to the BLOG pages.

We touched on this in Obedient Steps of Faith – BT2.  “Faith” and “believe” in English are 2 different words with 2 DIFFERENT English meanings, albeit with some overlap as “the assent/agreement of the mind to the truth of a proposition or statement” and “to accept as true or real, respectively.”  However, in Greek the respective noun pistis and verb pisteuo mean the SAME thing, which has little to do with mere “mental assent/agreement” in a THING, even the bible, but instead means “experiential, relational inward conviction of trusting dependence or reliance upon a PERSON who is trustworthy/faithful.”  You can’t have biblical trusting-relying-faith in a THING, only a PERSON, and it’s a “deep inward conviction” that grows from our experiential koinonia relationship with that PERSON!  I would never give the keys to my car or house to a PERSON that I did not really trust because of my relationship with that PERSON.

We also saw that despite the erroneous preaching from too many pulpits, pistis faith is NOT a “mental assent/agreement” about some THING, like “accepting as true or real” that the chair behind you will hold your weight even though you may have never seen the chair before so that you have “no complete evidence” of it being able to do so, nor is pistis faith believing in 2000-3500 year-old bible verses that talk ABOUT biblical events and people you have never seen, but you are told to believe them “as true or real . . . with no complete evidence,” nor that you have ever personally known.  Sure, we’ve been told this is faith or believing, but this is NOT the biblical definitions!

Gnosis head-knowledge doesn’t require a relationship because it’s just factual information ABOUT God!  However ginosko, epiginosko, and epignosis knowledge absolutely does require a relationship with a PERSON because by definition this experiential, relational knowledge requires pistis or pisteuo trusting-relying-faith with that PERSON!  Bible-scholars are rich in gnosis but often poor in epignosis, as the scribes & Pharisees always proved, that Jesus pointed out often!  I have struggled with this for a long time as you can see from the Bible Info page.  However, little children and the other uneducated Least Among You are likely poor in gnosis but can be rich in epignosis.  That’s why Jesus said “the last shall be first” in Matthew 19:30, 20:16; Mark 9:35, 10:31; Luke 13:30.

Do you want to be effective and fruitful as a Christian?  2 Peter 1:2-8 tells you how, but it’s NOT through bible study:  “May unconditional-loving-favor-of-grace and peace be lavished on you by-the-means-of the genuine, experiential, relational epignosis knowledge of God [Father] and/coupled of Jesus our Lord just-as His divine dunamis dynamite-like enabling-power has already routinely/habitually granted to us all things that pertain pros ‘towards and interacting with’ zoe genuine-life and/coupled godliness dia ‘thru-the-realizing-channel-of’ the genuine, experiential, relational epignosis knowledge of Him . . . dia ‘thru-the-realizing-channel-of which He has already granted to us His precious and/coupled very great promises, in order that dia thru-the-realizing-channel-of’ them you may become koinonia relational-partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. . . . For IF these qualities  – The-Trusting-Relying-Faith . . . then philadephia The-Brethren-Family-Love, then agape The-Unconditional-Love.  . . . are routinely/habitually are ‘already under your possessed-discretion’ and/coupled are routinely/habitually abounding-in-quantity, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful eis toward-and-reaching-the-goal-of the genuine, experiential, relational epignosis knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Notice how one thing leads to another by the 3 uses of dia leading up to reaching the eis goal of “the genuine, full, experiential, relational epignosis knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ?”  But also notice the 3 uses of epignosis, 1 that starts the process, 1 more that continues the process, and 1 to end the process!  The successful Christian life is all about epignosis relationship–knowledge, from beginning to end, not acquiring bible-study gnosis informational-knowledge.

Click on Pic

Spiritual Education, English Faith & Believe are NOT the Greek & Hebrew meanings of trusting-dependence in Christ’s faithfulness, Biblical faith is NOT in a thing like writings, Faith is not trust in gnosis bible head-knowledge, Faith is a trusting depending epignosis relationship-knowledge, Grace and peace don’t come by bible-study but relationship-knowledge, Promised Spirit’s power is WAY to life godliness thru relationship-knowledge, Increasing in faith-in-Christ and love for others is what makes us fruitful