Philippians 2:13 (ESV) for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

Notice that this scripture does not say how God accomplishes His will and work. Yesterday I left you to ponder which type of believer you are, faith based or scientist. It does not matter to God which one you are because it accomplishes God’s will for you. Some of us need to accept and some of us need to understand. Neither group needs to fear the other nor feel superior in any way.

We were speaking about essential truth and how each of us comes about understanding truth. Yesterday’s opening scriptures identified God the Father as the one true God. All other gods are false yet people seem to find a way to believe in some other god. Some are just as dedicate to a false god as we are to our God. Some will even die martyrs to prove themselves because they have no other way.

What does God have to do to prove Himself to you? That is a very personal question only you can answer. God has proven Himself to me in ways that others have not experienced. I was too rebellious to accept God in conventional ways. God had to get my attention in ways I would understand and accept. Praise God that He did and praise God that others are not as hardheaded as I am.

I am still hardheaded but God uses that to His advantage. He knew what He was getting when He got me and He also knows how to get the most out of me. It is not any different for other believers. God knows how to extract what He needs from each of us. For some it is faith and for others a deep dive for understanding.

John 17:1-5 English Standard Version (ESV)

¹ When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, ² since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. ³ And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. ⁴ I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. ⁵ And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.

This is the essential truth of the gospel. Essential truths are basic understanding for everything that follows. Order is establish, promises are made and the definition of eternal life is stated. Eternal life is to know God the Father and His Son whom He sent.

Do you believe that?

There will be two distinct classifications for those who said yes to that question. The first is of the classification of faith. The second will be a group I shall call scientist. Scientist only believe what they can measure and perform experiments that provide consistent and predictable results.

Hebrews 11:1 (ESV) By Faith

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

The first group will read this and say, my faith is my assurance and I am convicted by faith. The second group will say that all the elements required to run an experiment exist to prove faith is key to discovering truth. God provides each group with what they need to discover God the Father and Jesus the Son and obtain eternal life.

If you asked each group who have discovered eternal life, which method is better, they would both say, my way. Which of these two types are you?