Power Play
And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. Hebrews 11:6 NASB
Impossible – adynatos is the Greek word translated “impossible.” If you look closely, you will see that it is the negation of the word dynamai, a word that is about power or the capacity to do something. Therefore, “impossible” is not what is logically contradictory. It is not saying that black is white or that good is evil. adynatos is about the inability to accomplish something because the subject lacks the power. Why is this fact important? Because we are too often taught that “faith” is a matter of cognitive beliefs. We think that faith is something I proclaim, and if that were true, then all I would need to do to please Him is to say the right words, even if I only say them in my head. That, of course, is not what Hebrews teaches us.
Faith (pistis in Greek) is captured in the Hebrew word ‘emunah, famously revealed by the prophet Habakkuk (2:4). It is derived from ‘aman, a word that conveys the idea of stability, firmness, reliability and support. TWOT notes: “the heart of the meaning of the root is the idea of certainty.”[1] In practical Hebraic metaphors, ‘emunah is like having the strong arms of a father surround a child. You can count on him for protection, provision and loving care (and now you know why children without faithful fathers are at such risk for understanding God). Isaiah 7:9 implies that without this kind of stability in life, nothing is established. In the end, it is all undone.
Now pay attention to the statement in Hebrews. Without this confident trust, without this firm reliance, without acting on the certainty of God’s word, we are powerless to please Him. That means that even if we say religious words, do religious deeds and appear as religious practitioners, we cannot experience favor with God if we do not act according to His directions. Faith demands that we take God seriously and trust that what He says is certain. Indubitable. Unquestioned. Incontestable. Undeniable. The absolute bedrock of life.
What does this mean? It means that we believe that God is one. That He is who He says He is. That He does what He says He will do. That He does not change. AND we demonstrate a course of action that affirms that God rewards those who seek Him, who long to be with Him and who will not rest until they have entered into His presence.
Did you notice that the author suggests it is appropriate, even expected, to want to please God? Did you notice that this is a continuing action, a progression toward perfection, the denial of the idea that nothing more needs to be done after the saving moment? Did you notice that the only thing that stands in the way of experiencing the favor of the Lord is our powerlessness—our lack of action, not our lack of spiritual constitution.
Topical Index: Hebrews 11:6, impossible, adynatos, power, faith
[1] TWOT, Number 116.
Here’s a good way to be encouraged, to be convicted of that Power at our disposal, and to act. From the Revised English Bible, Psalm 143:5–“I call to mind times long past; I think over all You have done; the wonders of Your creation fill my mind.”
Faith is our right-response to what God says. That right-response is (only can be) obedience. ~ Whatever He says unto you, – do it! ~ (John 2.5)
~And it came to pass after these things, that G-d did test Avraham, [the faith that can’t be tested can’t be trusted!) and said unto him, Avraham: and he said, Hineini (Behold, here I am).
And He said, Take now thy son, thine ben yachid (only son) Yitzchak, whom thou lovest, [G-d knew full well how Abraham felt about his son] and get thee into eretz Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.
After a horrible night (no doubt about it!) Abraham reached a decision and made a choice.. – I WILL obey G-d! He has never let me down, He has been faithful to me – always- and I will obey Him, even at the cost of my own son!
[Abraham believed God, (he knew God was a miracle-working God) and could be trusted, so He obeyed God and set out to “do” as God had instructed him to do! He believed God, he trusted God, and he obeyed God.
And Avraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his donkey, and took two of his servants with him, and Yitzchak his son, and cut the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which G-d had told him.
~ By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, “In Isaac your seed shall be called,” concluding that God WAS ABLE to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense.
I love this story! (this testimony!) ~ And Avraham said unto his servants, Abide ye here with the donkey; and I and the young man will go over there and nishtachaveh (we will worship) and WE will come back again to you. (WE?) Uhh.. Abraham, what makes you think “we” are coming back?
And Yitzchak spoke unto Avraham his father, and said, Avi (My father): and he said, Hineini, beni (Here am I, my son). And he said, Hinei, the eish (fire) and the wood: but where is the seh (lamb) for a burnt offering? [YESHAYAH 53:7]
The Lamb?
And Avraham said, My son, *G-d will provide Himself a seh (lamb) for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together..
Well… – did He? Did God provide (even centuries later) Himself a Lamb?.. ~
~Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world! ~
~ Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, – that you believe in Him whom He has sent.” (John 6.29)
~ Worthy is the Lamb who was slain! ~
Remember our LORD’s words to His disciples? ~ they said to Him, “What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?” Jesus answered and said to them, ~this is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent ~
What is our right-response to these things? “Be not faithless, but believing!”
So many times when you write it’s like God holding my hand that it’s going to be alright ……..
a hug & blessings
“That means that even if we say religious words, do religious deeds and appear as religious practitioners, we cannot experience favor with God if we do not act according to His directions.
Faith demands that we take God seriously and trust that what He says is certain” Absolutely!
Or else, it would all be in vain as YHWH would say, ‘Depart from me, I do not know you.’ Seriously.
“….is a continuing action, a progression toward perfection” with disregard of how much we know, or, how long we have been on this journey.
Reward can only be given when actions of obedience are taken heed of, guarded and carried out joyfully