The ability to know God I believe is from God.
The holy spirit of God enables you to know him.
John 3:27 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
27 John answered and said, “(A)A man can receive nothing unless it (B)has been given him from heaven.
If the holy spirit does not enables you to know him, the death of Christ will sound foolish to you.
1 Corinthians 2:10-14 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
10 [a](A)For to us God revealed them (B)through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the (C)depths of God. 11 For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the (D)spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we (E)have received, not the spirit of (F)the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, 13 which things we also speak, (G)not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, [b]combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.14 But [c]a (H)natural man (I)does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are (J)foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually [d]appraised.
Unless the tongue is interpreted, you will never understand the language spoken.
1 Corinthians 14:5 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
5 Now I wish that you all (A)spoke in tongues, but (B)even more that you would prophesy; and greater is one who prophesies than one who (C)speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may receive (D)edifying.
Unless I tell you my secret you will never know my secret.
We will never see the beauty of spiritual reality without God's illumination.
We will never see the wonder and glory of what the Word teaches without God's opening the eyes of our hearts and giving us a spiritual sense of these things.
They will have eyes but do not see and ears that do not hear..
An Example here is taken from Acts where the Ethiopian eunuch is convicted through the work of the Holy Spirit and not upon his own understanding.
John 16:8
New Living Translation (NLT)
8 And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment.
Acts 8:29-31
New Living Translation (NLT)
29 The Holy Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and walk along beside the carriage.”
30 Philip ran over and heard the man reading from the prophet Isaiah. Philip asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?”
31 The man replied, “How can I, unless someone instructs me?” And he urged Philip to come up into the carriage and sit with him.
Deuteronomy 29:2-4 2
[a]Moses summoned all the Israelites and said to them, “You have seen with your own eyes everything the Lord did in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to his whole country— 3 all the great tests of strength, the miraculous signs, and the amazing wonders. 4 But to this day the Lord has not given you minds that understand, nor eyes that see, nor ears that hear!
John 3:3 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one (A)is born [a]again he cannot see (B)the kingdom of God.”
John 3:31-32 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
31 “(A)He who comes from above is above all, (B)he who is of the earth is from the earth and speaks of the earth. (C)He who comes from heaven is above all. 32 What He has seen and heard, of that He (D)testifies; and (E)no one receives His testimony.
So faith I believe is a gift granted by God. We have no part in it. How can we have faith since in the first place we don't even know if Jesus is God? And if we know that Jesus is God, the Lord has indeed open our eyes so that we can know him and hence have faith that he'll come back one day to bring us home..
Ezekiel 36:26-28 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
26 Moreover, I will give you a (A)new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the (B)heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 I will (C)put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances. 28 You will live in the land that I gave to your forefathers; so you will be (D)My people, and I will be your God.
Ephesians 2:8-9 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
The Lord will grant you repentance
The Lord will grant you repentance aka metanoia meaning a change of mind, a realization of your sin and turn to Him.
You don't choose to repent. Repentance comes as a result from the revelation of God.
You don't choose to realise something. It just happens!
Ezekiel 36:27
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
27 I will (A)put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.
It is crucially important that we understand repentance is not a work we do to earn salvation. No one can repent and come to God unless God pulls that person to Himself (John 6:44). Acts 5:31 and 11:18 indicate that repentance is something God gives—it is only possible because of His grace. No one can repent unless God grants repentance. All of salvation, including repentance and faith, is a result of God drawing us, opening our eyes, and changing our hearts. God's longsuffering leads us to repentance (2 Peter 3:9), as does His kindness (Romans 2:4). http://www.gotquestions.org/repentance.html
John 6:44 (ESV)
44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.
Acts 11:18 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
18 When they heard this, they [a]quieted down and (A)glorified God, saying, “Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the (B)repentance that leads to life.”
God is sovereign.
We are like worms in the sight of God.
Isaiah 41:14 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
Psalm 22:6 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
Our works are like filthy rags. (Filthy rags here means menstruation rag. In the old testament whoever touches the menstrual woman shall be unclean until evening. Nothing is worst that this. Leviticus 15:19)
Isaiah 64:6 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
When the king gives instruction, we just follow. Who are we to even decide whether to follow or not to follow. God doesn't need us.
Acts 17:24-28 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
24 (A)The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is (B)Lord of heaven and earth, does not (C)dwell in temples made with hands; 25 nor is He served by human hands, (D)as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; 26 and (E)He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having (F)determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, 27 that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, (G)though He is not far from each one of us; 28 for (H)in Him we live and move and [a]exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His children.’
God love Jesus more than anything else. He is satisfy in Christ alone.
Matthew 3:17 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
17 and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “(A)This is [a]My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”
God saves us because he is Love. This is his nature. He has compassion on us.
God saves us because he is Love. This is his nature. He has compassion on us.
Matthew 9:36 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
36 (A)Seeing the [a]people, He felt compassion for them, (B)because they were [b]distressed and [c]dispirited like sheep [d]without a shepherd.
1 John 4:8 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
8 The one who does not love does not know God, for (A)God is love.
There is nothing we can do to grow in our faith in him. Faith is a gift from God. And if God open our eyes to allow us to see him, we will be sure of what we hope for and hence the deeds being compel by the Love of God will naturally come.
2 Corinthians 5:14 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
14 For the love of Christ (A)controls us, having concluded this, that (B)one died for all, therefore all died;
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
Hebrews 11:1 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
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