Friday 11 September 2020

The Faith of Enoch

Hi everyone,

I love reading Hebrews 11, but recently I was going through the chapter again and then I got to verse 5 and then saw its connection with verse 6. Verse 6 says, "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." I then read verse 5 which says, "By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, "and was not found because God had taken him"; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God." I was really amazed at what dawn on me the more about the life of Enoch. It was not just that he pleased God that made God take him away, but there was this faith he had which was linked to God taking him away. This faith of his was what made me jump off my seat full of revelation.


The only thing written about Enoch’s life were just four verses in Genesis, precisely Genesis 5:21-24. Other areas which had a significant talk about Enoch are Hebrews 11:5 and his prophecy in Jude 1:14-15. What made Enoch so special that God had to take him away in order not to experience death? Let’s find out.

It was said that Enoch had faith, and he walked with God, (ref.: Hebrews 11:5; Genesis 5:24). To walk with God is an act of righteousness which every Son of God is expected to have, (ref.: 2 Corinthians 5:7). We must remember that the faith is spoken of here is not the faith of man, but the faith of God which doesn’t have its foundation from the thoughts of man. To have faith implies that you are holding on to something revealed to you by God, which has come to pass, but not necessarily at the moment the person is physically, but in the future time frame, and this is what is believed and held on to as real, this is faith. In order to strengthen one's faith, walking with God is the only option, and today with the resurrection of Christ, all those who have received Christ, have God dwelling in them as the Holy Spirit through Christ Jesus. But Enoch was just the seventh generation from the first Adam, how did he have so much faith?

Enoch walked with God, and as he did so, God revealed the end of the world to him which he then prophesied, (ref.: Jude 1:14-15). Now, concerning God taking him away from this earth, it was revealed to Enoch that that could be done. To hold on to your faith, you need to have hope which is strengthened by God. This hope reminds you of that which has been in your heart and has been given to you by God, and this was what Enoch saw. And as at that time, no one had the fullness of God dwelling in them, even Enoch didn’t have the fullness of God dwelling in him, but he walked with God. His generation was highly corrupt that God had to take him away from the world in order not to experience death, we have also received freedom from death. Death came when Adam fell, and now that those who are Sons of God aren’t under the first Adam but under the last Adam, death has no control over you. Now, many think it is only our Spiritual bodies, but the truth is that it also applies to our mortal bodies. If this was not so, why would our bodies be called the temple of God, and why would the bodies rise on the last day?

The bodies of the saints rising on the last day would be metamorphosed, but the truth is that the metamorphosis starts now. The bible says in Proverbs 4:18, “But the path of the just is like the shining sun, that shines ever brighter unto the perfect day.” Ephesians 4:13 also says this about the saints, “till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. To be transformed by the renewal of our mind is to properly know and understand who we truly are by grace through faith. There are so many passages in the bible which establishes that we would be metamorphosed as we walk with God, and this was what happened to Enoch.

Enoch had seen the end, and to see the end would definitely mean the coming of Christ to save the world and His second coming were revealed to him. Another key thing which was said in Hebrews 11:5 was that Enoch had a testimony of pleasing God, and to please God is to believe and hold on to the grace which we have received through faith in Christ Jesus irrespective of whatever opposition we face, and for Enoch, there was a lot of opposition during his time.

To please God by living and walking a life of faith is easy and yet not easy. It is easy because all we have to do is just believe, but it isn’t easy because we would have to say no to every opposition that comes against the rock of faith that we stand on be it your parents, siblings, husband, wife, children, friends, family, the government and so on. This could be difficult, but this is why we have the Holy Spirit who constantly strengthens us from time to time.

To hold on to our faith most times appears silly to others, but when we have that hope first of all, and it has been confirmed that we have received that we hoped for through grace and is confirmed through the word of God, this is what helps us know that we aren’t silly, but are sure of what we hold on to, which was what Enoch had. He had an assurance which kept him going on and on till God took him. Walking with God as Him walking through you is the way we see that we have more than what Enoch had, so hold on to God/Christ as He is ever ready not only in your time of need but every time.

May the LORD bless you and keep you, make His face shine upon you. May the LORD be gracious to you and lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace. AMEN.
                    

Why not accept Jesus today if you haven’t. Pray out loud, “Jesus, I confess that You are my Lord and Saviour. I believe in my heart that God raised You from the dead. By faith in Your Word, I receive salvation now. Thank You for saving me!” Congratulations, you’re born again, you are now brand new!

Log on next time.

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GOD BLESS YOU.

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Unless otherwise stated, the following scriptures are gotten from New King James Version (NKJV)

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