Mary on the table of the working man or the long forgotten cross put in the roots of already grown tree. And that perfectly makes sense – a lot of people do own a faith, even though they are not all true scripture believers.Įveryday humans life is full of true signs of faith whether it is a statue of St. ‘For we walk by faith, not by sight.’ is said in the New Testament (2 Corinthians 5:7). 8 We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. Draper on Septemby Administrator.6 So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. This entry was posted in 2 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians 5, Richard D. Seifrid, The Second Letter to the Corinthians (Grand Rapids: Wm. Draper and Michael Rhodes, Paul’s Second Epistle to the Corinthians (Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University, BYU Studies, forthcoming). Certainly, for him, it is not appearance that counts but serving the Lord no matter how such service might appear to the world or to the more worldly members of the Corinthians branches. Just as faith is “not a mere faculty or sense but includes the content and hope of the Gospel, so ‘appearance’ does not signify the act of seeing but the object and content of sight, namely, the outward and visible present world.” Paul’s point is that worldly appearance is not what defines the path the Christian should walk. His reality consists of things which are both seen and unseen (2 Corinthians 4:18). The false impression is resolved when we understand that he has more than mere human faculties in mind. Though the latter is the usual translation of the word, that reading gives a false understanding of Paul’s point because it suggests that he saw faith and sight as two differing human faculties. The noun translated as “sight” denotes both the outward form of something (its “appearance”) and also the act of looking or seeing something (that is, “sight”). Faith in him is expressed in one’s love for him as manifest in obedience to his will (John 14:15 compare Deut. The word also carries the strong nuance of conformity to the strictures the Lord demands of his people. The noun as used by Paul connotes the high degree of confidence the Saints should have in the reliability of Jesus. Great faith expresses itself in adherence not only when such is inconvenient but also when it demands sacrifice. Little faith expresses itself in adherence only when it is convenient or of little cost. The latter demands no adherence, only acceptance or admission. This is what separates faith from mere belief. The degree of a person’s faith expresses itself in the amount of trust and adherence that a person gives to the idea, teaching, cause, or person that she or he is attracted to. Because it modifies the noun “faith,” it stresses that it is this virtue that makes walking in a godly way possible.Īs with the English noun “faith,” the Greek word has a wide range of meanings ranging from active belief to absolute sureness. The preposition “by” acts, in this case, as a marker of instrumentality or circumstance whereby something is made possible. That the verb is in the present tense suggests that the Apostle has the whole of the mortal experience in mind. The meaning of the Greek word translated “walk” also denotes comportment or behavior. With this short phrase, Paul describes the very nature of mortality as designed by God.
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