Faith and Knowledge

“And we believe and are sure that Thou art that Christ ‘, the Son of the living God” — John vi. 69.

“We believe and are sure; “more strictly it should be rendered,” “We have believed and are sure.” The thought of the apostle is that there has been a development in his experience; he began by simple faith, and he has ended with assured knowledge. Such is ever the order of the Christian understanding; we first believe, and then we know. Faith is not the opposite of knowledge; it is the anticipation, the prophecy of knowledge. Faith is to knowledge what the swallow is to the summer — the messenger that sings its coming. Faith soars up to heaven in the morning and sees in advance the plan of the unfolding day. It cannot yet trace the plan, it cannot yet tell how the plan is to be unfolded, but it beholds what it cannot analyse, it trusts what it cannot verify. So was it with the Master when He first said to His disciples, “Follow me.” Why should He have hoped that they would follow Him? they did not yet know Him. But He felt that they must follow Him before they knew Him, that they could only come to know Him through the experience of being near Him. And so He called upon another faculty than knowledge; He appealed to the power of their faith. He said, Give me the prophetic trust of your souls. I am come to lead you by the green pastures and beside the quiet waters, to let you know by the walk of experience that the pastures of life are green, and that the waters of life are quiet. But you can only come to know it by walking with me. You must come to me without knowledge, without proof, without experience; you must give me your faith. Pay me with your love in advance. I do not ask it without return; I will repay its value tenfold — in work, in sacrifice, but I cannot work for you unless you will first let me work through you. Grant me your sympathy beforehand. Grant me the mesmeric look of faith, that I may fill your life with my presence. Grant me the steadfast gaze of the eye, that I may transform you into my own image. Grant me the complete surrender of the will, that I may make your will my will. When I have made your will my will there shall be no more room for faith; faith shall be lost in sight, and ye shall know as ye are known. Trust me but one hour with the treasure of your hearts, and with rich interest I will give them back to you again; lend them to me with faith, and I will restore them to you with knowledge — that knowledge of me which is life eternal. In that hour you shall be able to say, “Once we believed, now we are sure.”