Title: The Secret of Faith
Contents
There is the visible faith that the body is saved, and there is the invisible faith that the soul is saved. To those who follow only the visible faith that saves the body, the invisible faith that saves the soul seems foolish.
This is because those who are in the flesh do not know the will of God. This is because God's will does not work for the flesh in the end, but only for the soul. But in the world, there is carnal faith and there is also spiritual faith. So, is carnal belief wrong? no. This is a visible sign like a guide to guide you to spiritual faith.
Carnal faith is a limited-time faith that was only necessary until the time that He sent the promised Son into the world to take off his flesh. It is written, “It was not made known to the sons of men in any other generation, as it is now revealed by the Holy Spirit to his holy apostles and prophets, because through the gospel the Gentiles are joint heirs and members together in Christ Jesus, and members together, and together in the promise. become partakers” (Ephesians 3:5-6).
Even those who gain the faith that saves the soul cannot escape from the natural and visible faith until the old man is crucified with Christ and the flesh is finished. Carnal faith existed even before Jesus came to this earth in the flesh.
That faith was only a visible sign of the flesh, and it was not the perfect faith that led to the salvation of the soul. If it were only that faith, there would be no need for God to destroy this disgraceful world. If so, it would be a terrible world where evil reigns forever.
But God loved the world so much that he gave his only begotten Son to hang his body on a tree and put him to death, opening up a new and living way from carnal faith to spiritual faith, so that eternal faith in it could create new heavens and a new earth.
Those who are in the flesh cannot escape from the faith of the flesh. This is because only visible targets are sought. This is because Jesus, who fed the bread, healed the sick, raised the dead, walked on water, and opened the eyes of the blind is not the Lord of faith, but Jesus who was crucified is the Lord of faith.
Therefore, “Jews ask for signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God. It is the wisdom of God. The foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men” (1 Corinthians 1:22-25).
Therefore, the eternal gospel is Jesus crucified. Jesus crucified is the end of the flesh and the end of the world. It is the same as saying, "... now he has appeared at the end of the world to take away sin by the sacrifice of himself" (Hebrews 9:26).
Therefore, it is written, “Those who are after the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, and those who are after the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace” (Romans 8:5-6). Again, he exhorted, “It is not the things that are seen, but the things that are unseen, that we look for, for what is seen is temporary, but what is not seen is eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18).
Therefore, to those who seek salvation in the body, the faith that saves the soul must seem foolish. For they do not know the faith in Jesus who puts off the old man, but the fleshly saying, “He saved others, but he cannot save himself; he is the King of Israel. Come down from the cross now, and we will believe” (Matthew 27:42). Because there is no escape from faith.
These are the ones who will not reach the faith that ultimately saves the soul. As it is written, “As Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so they also oppose the truth; these are corrupt in spirit and forsaken as to the faith” (2 Timothy 3:8).
Therefore, he said, “In a little while, and he who is coming, will come and will not delay. But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he goes back, my heart will not rejoice in him.” He who has faith to the salvation of souls” (Hebrews 10:37-39) testified.
For this reason, He testified, “There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God, the Father of all, who is above all and has all and is in all” (Ephesians 4:5-6). Amen, thank you Lord.
Last but not least, Kim Yoon-goo