kingdom-3-1

18 WARREN
fidelity, trust, assurance, oath, proof, guarantee.” 80 According
to BDAG, there are three major ways in which this word
is used, ranging in meaning from subjective confidence to
objective basis for confidence. 81 It can mean “that which
evokes trust and faith,” or it can be a “state of believing on
the basis of the reliability of the one trusted,” or it can refer
to “that which is believed, body of faith/belief/teaching.” 82
Here in Matthew 8 the second meaning is most appropriate.
The centurion has belief and/or trust in Jesus that he will be
able to help in his time of distress. His confidence is based
upon what Jesus has done in the past. The reputation of Jesus
precedes him into Capernaum. The faith of the centurion is
not blind. His faith is based upon the character and past actions
of Jesus. His belief is founded on reliable testimony.
His is a “state of believing on the basis of the reliability of
the one trusted.” 83
Concerning πιστεύω, Fenlason says that the term “describes
the act of believing or trusting something of the basis
of its truthfulness and reliability.” 84 According to BDAG, this
is “to entrust oneself to an entity in complete confidence.” 85
The Father and the Son are seen as objects of this type of
faith which relies on their power and nearness to help, in
addition to being convinced that their revelations and disclosures
are true. 86 Again, there is no blind faith here. The belief
and trust come only after there is reason for such. Knowledge
of a person or situation precedes the trust. Reason must
be applied to the situation. The law of rationality states that
we ought to justify our conclusions by adequate evidence. 87
KNOW
the tree is known (γινώσκεται from γινώσκω) by its fruit”
(Matt 12:33). Jesus fully expects his audience to be able to
distinguish good fruit from bad fruit. He expects them to
know the difference between words that bring life and words
that lead to judgment and condemnation. Thus γινώσκω can
mean “to come to an understanding as the result of ability to
experience and learn.” 90
Having looked at faith and knowledge separately, we
note several occasions in the Gospels (it is beyond the scope
of this paper to look at the balance of the New Testament)
where either Jesus himself or Jesus’ audience joins the concepts
of faith and knowledge. One such occasion is the powerful
prayer of unity offered by Jesus in John 17. In verse
21 he says, “that they may all be one, just as you, Father,
are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that
the world may believe (πιστεύῃ from πιστεύω) that you
have sent me.” Then, in verse 23, he says, “I in them and
you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the
world may know (γινώσκῃ from γινώσκω) that you sent
me and loved them even as you loved me.” Jesus desired
for the world to believe that he was sent from the Father.
Jesus desired for the world to know that he was sent from
the Father. Faith does not preclude knowledge. Knowledge
does not preclude one from having faith. In fact, the opposite
is true. Knowledge is necessary for faith. As Dick Sztanyo
has written, “Knowledge without commitment is disbelief
(John 8:30-46; 12:42-43; James 2:19); commitment without
knowledge is irrationality. Neither is a genuine option for a
Christian.” 91
Other passages in the Gospel of John that teach this same
concept of interconnectedness between faith and knowledge
In Matthew 9, we have a record of Jesus healing a man
who was paralyzed. Jesus explained why he performed this
particular miracle. “‘But that you may know (εἰδῆτε from
οἶδα) that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive
sins’ – he then said to the paralytic – ‘Rise, pick up your
bed and go home’” (Matt 9:6). He did this so that the audience
might learn something, but this was no mere academic
exercise. The result of their gaining this insight was that the
crowd glorified God (Matt 9:8). Faith blossomed.
Garrett states that οἶδα “refers to the past act of seeing
with the present effect of knowing what was seen.” 88 Louw
and Nida indicate that the term means “to comprehend the
meaning of something, with focus upon the resulting knowledge.”
89 The idea seems to be that it is expected that people
will use their ability to reason and to process information,
and then use that information in their future endeavors. Jesus
healed a paralyzed man and then fully expected the audience
to trust in him as the one who had the authority to forgive
sins. The knowledge of what Jesus was able to do was to
lead men to believe he was divine.
In Matthew 12, Jesus says, “Either make the tree good
and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for
80
Ceslas Spicq and James D. Ernest. Theological lexicon of
the New Testament (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1994), 110.
81
Arndt, Gingrich, and Danker, BDAG, 818-20.
82
Ibid.
83
Ibid.
84
Aaron C. Fenlason. “Belief.” Edited by Douglas Mangum,
Derek R. Brown, Rachel Klippenstein, and Rebekah Hurst.
Lexham Theological Wordbook. Lexham Bible Reference Series.
(Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2014), n.p.
85
Arndt, Gingrich, and Danker, BDAG, 817.
86
Ibid.
87
Lionel Ruby. Logic: An Introduction (New York: J.B. Lippincott
Company, 1960), 131.
88
Jeremiah K. Garrett. “Knowledge.” Edited by Douglas
Mangum, Derek R. Brown, Rachel Klippenstein, and Rebekah
Hurst. Lexham Theological Wordbook. Lexham Bible Reference
Series (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2014), n.p.
89
Louw, Johannes P., and Eugene Albert Nida. Greek-English
Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (New
York: United Bible Societies, 1996), 379.
90
Ibid., 381.
91
Dick Sztanyo, Graceful Reason (Vienna, WV: Warren
Christian Apologetics Center, 2012), 105.