Faith based upon Knowledge – Smith Wigglesworth


Presented at 70 Victor Road, Bradford, UK.
Published in Confidence, October-December 1919.

“Then said they unto Him, ‘What shall we do that we might work the works of God?’ Jesus answered and said unto them, ‘This is the work of God: that ye believe on Him whom He hath sent.’ ” —John 6:28-29.

“This is the work of God, that ye believe.” Nothing in the world glorifies God so much as simple rest of faith in what God’s Word says. Jesus said, “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.” He saw the way the Father did the works; it was on the ground work of knowledge, faith based upon knowledge. When I know Him, there are any amount of promises I can lay hold of, then there is no struggle, for he that asketh receiveth, he that seeketh findeth, and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

Jesus lived to manifest God’s glory in the earth, to show forth what God was like, that many sons might be brought to glory.

John the Baptist came as a forerunner, testifying beforehand to the coming revelation of the Son. The Son came, and in the power of the Holy Ghost revealed faith. The living God has chosen us in the midst of His people. The power is not of us, but of God. Yes, beloved, it is the power of another within us, Jesus the Son of God. Just in the measure we are clothed, and covered, and hidden in Him, is His inner working manifested. Jesus said, “The works that I do shall ye do also, and My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.” Oh, the joy of the knowledge of it! To know Him. We know if we look back how God has taken us on we love to shout “Hallelujah,” pressed out beyond measure by the Spirit, as He brings us face to face with reality, His blessed Holy Spirit dwelling in us and manifesting the works. I must know the sovereignty of His grace and the manifestation of His power. Where am I? I am in Him; He is in God. The Holy Ghost, the great Revealer of the Son. Three persons dwelling in man. The Holy Spirit is in us for revelation to manifest the Christ of God. “Therefore be it known unto you He that dwelleth in God doeth the works.” “The law of the Spirit of life having made us free from the law of sin and death.”

The Spirit working in righteousness, bringing us to the place where all unbelief is dethroned, and Christ is made the Head of the Corner. “This is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes.” It is a glorious fact, we are in God’s presence, possessed by Him; we are not our own, we are clothed with Another. What for? For the deliverance of the people. Many can testify to the day and hour when they were delivered from sickness by a supernatural power. Some would have passed away with influenza if God had not intervened, but God stepped in with a new revelation, showing us we are born from above, born by a new power, God dwelling in us superseding the old. “If ye ask anything in My name, I will do it. Ask and receive, and your joy shall be full, if ye dare to believe. “What shall we do that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, ‘This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom He hath sent.” God is more anxious to answer than we are to ask. I am speaking of faith based upon knowledge.

A testimony. I was healed of appendicitis, and that because of the knowledge of it; faith based upon the knowledge of the experience of it. Where I have ministered to others God has met and answered according to His will. It is in our trust and our knowledge of the power of God—the knowledge that God will not fail us if we will only believe. “Speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.” Jesus said unto the centurion, “Go thy way; as thou hast believed so be it done unto thee,” and the servant was healed in the self-same hour.

An instance. In one place where I was staying a young man came in telling us his sweetheart was dying; there was no hope. I said, “Only believe.” What was it? Faith based upon knowledge. I knew that what God had done for me He could do for her. We went to the house. Her sufferings were terrible to witness. I said, “In the name of Jesus come out of her.” She cried, “Mother, mother, I am well.” Then I said that the only way to make us believe it was to get up and dress. Presently she came down dressed. The doctor came in and examined her careiully. He said, “This is of God; this is the finger of God.” It was faith based upon knowledge. If I received a check for £1,000, and only knew imperfectly the character of the man that sent it, I should be careful not to reckon on it until it was honored. Jesus did great works because of His knowledge of His Father. Faith begets knowledge, fellowship, communion. If you see imperfect faith, full of doubt, a wavering condition, it always comes of imperfect knowledge. Jesus said, “ ‘Father, I know that Thou hearest Me always, but because of the people that stand by I said it, that they may believe that Thou has sent Me.’ He cried with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come forth.’ ” “And God wrought special miracles by the hand of Paul, so that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchlefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.” For our conversation is in heaven from whence also we look for the Savior.

Who shall fashion anew the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body of His glory, according to the working whereby He is able to subdue all things unto Himself? How God has cared for me these twelve years, and blessed me, giving me such a sense of His presence! When we depend upon God how bountiful He is, giving us enough and to spare for others. Lately God has enabled me to take victory on new lines, a living-in-Holy-Ghost attitude in a new way. As we meet, immediately the glory falls. The Holy Ghost has the latest news from the Godhead, and has designed for us the right place at the right time. Events happen in a remarkable way. You drop in where the need is.

There have been several mental cases lately. How difficult they are naturally, but how easy for God to deal with. One lady came, saying, “Just over the way there is a young man terribly afflicted, demented, with no rest day or night.” I went with a very imperfect knowledge as to what I had to do, but in the weak places God helps our infirmities. I rebuked the demon in the name of Jesus, then I said, “I’ll come again tomorrow.” Next day when I went he was with his father in the field and quite well.

Another case. Fifty miies away there was a fine young man, twenty-five years of age. He had lost his reason, could have no communication with his mother, and he was always wandering up and down. I knew God was waiting to bless. I cast out the demon-power, and heard long after he had become quite well. Thus the blessed Holy Spirit takes us on from one place to anoiher. So many things happen, I live in heaven on earth. Just the other day, at Coventry, God relieved the people. Thus He takes us on, and on, and on.

Do not wait for inspiration if you are in need; the Holy Ghost is here, and you can have perfect deliverance as you sit in your seats.

I was taken to three persons, one in care of an attendant. As I entered the room there was a terrible din, quarrelling, such a noise it seemed as if all the powers of hell were stirred. I had to wait God’s time. The Holy Ghost rose in me at the right time, and the three were delivered, and at night were singing praises to God. There had to be activity and testimony. Let it be known unto you this man Christ is the same today. Which man? God’s Man Who has to have the glory, power and dominion. “For He must reign, till He hath put all enemies under His feet.” When He reigns in you, you know how to obey, how to work in conjunction with His will, His power, His light, His life, having faith based upon knowledge, we know He has come. “Ye shall receive power, the Holy Ghost coming upon you.” We are in the experience of it.

Sometimes a live word comes unto me, in the presence of a need, a revelation of the Spirit to my mind, “Thou shalt be loosed.” Loosed now? It looks like presumption, but God is with the man who dares to stand upon His word. I remember, for instance, a person who had not been able to smell anything for four years. I said, “You will smell now if you believe.” This stirred another who had not smelled for twenty years. I said, “You will smell tonight.” She went about smelling everything, and was quite excited. Next day she gave her testimony. Another came and asked, “Was it possible for God to heal her ears?” The drums were removed. I said, “OnIy beiieve.” She went down into the audience in great distress; others were healed but she could not hear. The next night she came again. She said, “I am going to believe tonight.” The glory fell. The first time she came feeling; the second time she came believing.

At one place there was a man anointed for rupture. He came the next night, rose in the meeting saying, “This man is an impostor; he is deceiving the people. He told me last night I was healed; I am worse than ever today.” I spoke to the evil power that held the man and rebuked it, telling the man he was indeed healed. He was a mason. Next day he testified to lifting heavy weights, and that God had met him. “By His stripes we are healed.” “He hath made to light on Him the iniquity of us all.” It was the Word of God, not me he was against.

What shall we do that we might work the works of God? Jesus said, “This is the work of God that ye believe on Him Whom He hath sent.” Anything else? Yes. He took our infirmities, and healed all our diseases. I myself am a marvel of healing. If I fail to glorify God, the stones would cry out.

Salvation is for all,

Healing is for all.

Baptism of the Holy Ghost is for all.

Reckon yourselves dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God.

By His grace get the victory every time. It is possible to live holy.

He breaks the power of cancelled sin,

He sets the prisoner free;

His blood can make the foulest clean,

His blood avails for me.

What shall we do that we might work the works of God? “Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom He hath sent.”

What Does it Mean to be in Christ?


In order for a person to abide in Christ, he or she must first be in Christ. Although these two concepts are related, they are not exactly synonymous.

Let’s discover what the Bible says about being in Christ.

  • In Christ, you are reconciled to God. “And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation”
    (II Corinthians 5:18).
  • In Christ, you are a new creation. “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (II Corinthians 5:17). “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10; also see Galatians 6:15).
  • In Christ, you are dead to sin and alive with Him. “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free … If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed” (John 8:32,36). “Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord”
    (Romans 6:11). “Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved)” (Ephesians 2:5).
  • In Christ, you are free from condemnation when you walk in His Spirit. “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death”
    (Romans 8:1-2).
  • In Christ, you are a child of God. “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:26). “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not” (I John 3:1).
  • In Christ, you have salvation. “Therefore I endure all things for the elect’s sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory”
    (II Timothy 2:10).
  • In Christ, all the promises of God are in effect. “For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us” (II Corinthians 1:20).
  • In Christ, you have righteousness, wisdom, sanctification, and redemption. “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus”
    (Romans 4:10). “But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption” (I Corinthians 1:30). “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (II Corinthians 5:21). “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace” (Ephesians 1:7).
  • In Christ, your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?” (I Corinthians 6:19). “And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us” (I John 3:24; also see 4:13).
  • In Christ, your life is hidden with His life. “Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings” (Psalm 17:8). “Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ” (I Corinthians 1:8). “For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory” (Colossians 3:3-4). “We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not” (I John 5:18).
  • In Christ, you partake of His glorious inheritance. “And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together”
    (Romans 8:17). “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3, also see 1:11). “The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints”
    (Ephesians 1:18). “Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son” (Colossians 1:12-13).
  • In Christ, you have a holy purpose and a high calling. “And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus … For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:6,10). “According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Ephesians 3:11) “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14). “Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began” (II Timothy 1:9). “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the
    praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light” (I Peter 2:9).
  • In Christ, you are loved and fully accepted by the Father. “Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:39). “According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved”
    (Ephesians 1:4-6). “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us” (I John 5:14).
  • In Christ, you have eternal life. “And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life” (I John 5:20).
  • In Christ, you have a firm and secure foundation. “Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock”
    (Matthew 7:24). “In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise”
    (Ephesians 1:13). “Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving” (Colossians 2:7).
  • In Christ, you are changed into His likeness. “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord” (II Corinthians 3:18). “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6).
  • In Christ, you are a partaker of His divine nature. “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” (II Peter 1:4).
  • In Christ are all the treasures of wisdom. “In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3).
  • In Christ dwells all the fullness of God. “To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation” (II Corinthians 5:19). “For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell”
    (Colossians 1:19). “For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily” (Colossians 2:9).
  • In Christ, believers are reconciled into one Body. “So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another” (Romans 12:5). “But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us”
    (Ephesians 2:13-14).
  • In Christ, you are victorious. “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us” (Romans 8:37). “Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savor of his knowledge by us in every place” (II Corinthians 2:14). “And he said unto me, ‘My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.’ Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (II Corinthians 12:9).

In Christ, you are complete! “And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power” (Colossians 2:10). Everything you need for life and godliness has been taken into account (II Peter 1:3). The Spirit of Christ fills you, furnishes you with spiritual resources, satisfies your deepest needs, and brings the Father’s destiny for you to completion. Nothing else is lacking; everything else gets in the way. All you must do is abide in Christ. Yes, it’s that simple! Confusion comes in when man’s religious traditions pollute the childlike simplicity of the Gospel. “But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ” (II Corinthians 11:3).

 

Abide in Christ


In order for the Father to conform us to the image of His Son (Romans 8:29), we must abide in Christ. What does it mean to abide? It means to remain, rest, stay, wait, and continue. (See the concordance definition) Abiding in Christ, then, involves waiting upon the Lord and entering into His peace. “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31).

Jesus said, “I am the vine, ye are the branches: he that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without [separately, apart from] me ye can do nothing” (John 15:5). Just as a branch draws its life-source from the vine, believers must stay connected to Christ for His life to flow through them and produce spiritual fruit. Branches “live and move and have their being” (Acts 17:28) only by the life of the vine.

Abiding in Christ is a patient expectancy; it is neither wasteful idleness nor anxious striving. “My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him”
(Psalm 62:5). Abiding in Christ, therefore, means to draw supernatural strength from the presence of the Lord and walk moment by moment in the leading of His Spirit.

Abiding in Christ means the following:

  • Bearing spiritual fruit — “For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ … Give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall” (II Peter 1:8-10).
  • Hearing the Word and keeping it in your heart — “But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience” (Luke 8:15).
  • Loving Jesus and doing what He says — “Jesus answered and said unto him, ‘If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him’” (John 14:23). “He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked” (I John 2:6).
  • Loving others — “He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him. But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes” (I John 2:10-11).
  • Trusting God and making Him your refuge — “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust” (Psalm 91:1-2).
  • Hating the world’s system — “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever” (I John 2:15-17).
  • Remaining steadfast in the faith of the Gospel — “Brethren, let every man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God” (I Corinthians 7:24). “Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father” (I John 2:24).


Next I will dive into “Bearing Spiritual Fruit” Stay tuned.