If one believes in God then to some extent one has already entered into some kind of theological argument. For example, this can be concerned with establishing reasons for the way God acts, or have something to do with his nature.

We are not concerned here in developing these kinds of doctrinally arguments, neither do we wish to begin contrasting various viewpoints about God. What we are more concerned with is that knowledge of God which is EXPERIENTIAL and which therefore comes from our every day association with God. Experiential knowledge of God goes beyond theologising and expressing belief in, or adherence to particular propositions. It emphasises to us the difference between belief and real faith.

Faith Brings God "Alive".
What we are talking about here is the kind of faith that really brings God alive. It comes from a personal interaction with God rather than endlessly reading books about theology. These can tell as much about God but do not make him real.

Although the New Testament makes it clear that for Jesus there was no difference between belief and faith, in our world today there very often is. Consider the Creed: " I believe in God, the Father Almighty..." Someone without faith might say, "So what?" The full question is "So what makes your life different to mine as a consequence of that?"

There are Christians who could only answer that in terms of the next life. That is obviously the most important aspect attached to our religion, but it is not something which is demonstrable. Faith on the other hand deals very often with event which can be observed, as the Jews observed Jesus' healings and other miracles. Something of the same should be happening in our lives, events which then are essentially a consequence of our expectant faith.

Faith Brings Knowledge of God
This kind of faith brings us in to a new kind of relationship with God and also into a different kind of knowledge -- an experiential knowledge of God.

Every act  of faith is a personal encounter with God, a personal and direct experience of him. God never turn away from any act of faith and, apart from love, it is perhaps the greatest quality which he looks for in us.

Paul tells us in Romans 4 .17 that God not only brings the dead back to life but also "calls things that are not as though they were". That is a stunning Scripture. It is acting on such promises as this which really brings God alive to us.

The Knowledge That Counts
The kind of experiential knowledge that comes from seeing God acting in our lives is what often brings us from being rather nominal Christians to being committed Christian. That knowledge of God cannot be acquired in alternative ways and certainly cannot be obtained from books.

You might acquire certain kinds of knowledge about God from reading the articles and books which I and others have written. Yet one real experience of seeing God work in one's life is worth 1000 such articles and books.

If you read everything that I have written you would have some knowledge about me. But if you actually met me you would have a totally different kind of knowledge. You would feel that you knew me, rather than just knew about me. How much greater the difference where God is concerned? We know that the ultimate consequence of our faith is to be saved and spend eternity in heaven. But if we trust God for this, the greatest of all things, can we not trust him for many much smaller things?

Every experience of God is an experience of love. It can never be otherwise. Do we really want to go through life without experiencing that love? And experiencing it every day?

Author:AK Whitehead.Web Site:http://www.christianword.co.uk
This is copyright but may be used if this resource is included.
Ministered in UK and USA in teaching, healing, preaching. Written many articles and several books available on above web site. Qualifications include BA, M. Phil, Cambridge Unv Cert in Religious Education, Post Grad Cert in Education.