Now You Say You See…Part 2

Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth. (John 9:41 KJV)

In this discourse with the Pharisees, Jesus challenges them on issues of sight. In the human realm, all of our issues of sight revolve around our perception and how we perceive equates to what we believe. Our perception, for the most part, is an individual characteristic. What may be bluish green to one person will appear greenish blue to another.

This is also true when we begin to examine scripture. No two people see all passages exactly alike. We may agree on the interpretation of one passage of scripture, but as we relate that same passage to another passage we may loose sight of our mutual agreement. The consequence of our disagreement may be as simple as accepting our brothers right to disagree and continue to search scriptures together or on the other end of this volatile spectrum, we may choose disunion; a complete separation from them based upon how their opinion differs from our own. Both responses are accurate depending, of course, on how you see it!

Which brings us back to Jesus challenging the Pharisees.

What was Jesus actually challenging the Pharisees about?

Earlier in this discourse (John 8:33), the Pharisees made reference to being Abraham's seed. This was historically accurate and Jesus acknowledges that fact, but then challenges their seed-ship in light of their desire to kill him.

I know that ye are Abraham's seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you. (John 8:37 KJV)

The phrasing of this statement creates a challenge to their Abrahamic seed-ship in that you say that you are Abraham's seed, but your behavior is not that of Abraham, so how can this be? (para) Jesus reaffirms this position with his follow-up remarks:

They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham. But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham. (John 8:39-40 KJV)

If you were Abraham's children, you would act like Abraham, but your not displaying any of Abraham's character... (So who's your daddy?)

The Pharisees had predetermined to kill Jesus and Jesus countered by challenging a core doctrinal position. In stating that Abraham would not kill a man for speaking the truth, Jesus, in essence, informs them that they have arrived at an inaccurate understanding of Abraham's character and hence a doctrinal position that was in error.

A majority of the Hebrews doctrinal positions centered on either the relationship of Abraham or that of Moses with God. Although there may have been internal personal desires to be like Abraham or Moses, they fell short of those desires because they had not established a place in which the truth could reside. This could be seen in Jesus' statement concerning his word having no place in them.

Truth is subject to man's frailty of perception. Something may be true, but if a man perceives it as not being so, in his mind, it is not. One of the writers of the Proverbs wrote "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he..." This speaks into this question of perception; how you believe in your heart determines many of the characteristics that will be manifest in your life.

Arrogance is an issue of perception. When someone overvalues their importance to the point of becoming offensive we consider them to be arrogant. And the offending party is usually blind to the fact that no one else sees them in the glorious light in which they view themselves. Rather they are seen in a dim and unflattering dusk.

If the self-exalted one is fortunate enough to have a close friend or confidant to whom they trust and operates at a level of relationship that allows for heart access, there may be a chance for the perceptive truth to be reconfigured and the attitude to be changed, but if a place has not been established for such a relationship, the offensive party will continue to operate from their offending position without any understanding of their offensiveness.

This is precisely what Jesus was challenging the Pharisee about. They had become arrogant in their understanding of what a true relationship with God meant. This pretentiously religious state of mind had filled their hearts so completely that it manifest externally. One did not need an introduction to know that he was in the presence of a Pharisee, his external presentation of his religious superiority more than adequately broke the ice.

Sadly, due to the power base that the Pharisees had established in Hebrew culture, anyone challenging their ''perceived superiority" was marked for separation. They had so established a hold on the Hebrew religious economy that anyone who questioned their religiosity, risked being banished from the Temple. This would be tantamount to ex­communication and in a society so deeply connected to the Temple as the Hebrew culture was, with its religious service requirements and financial power base, separation would be equivalent to exile. The religious mindset that the Pharisees had pervaded upon the Jewish civilization and this fear of separation was very real.

This fear was so intense that parents would abandon their own flesh and blood in order to remain connected to the Temple community. This can be seen in the interaction with the parents of the man that had been born blind and subsequently healed by Jesus.

But by what means he now seeth, we know not; or who hath opened his eyes, we know not: he is of age; ask him: he shall speak for himself. These words spake his parents, because they feared the Jews: for the Jews had agreed already, that if any man did confess that he was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue.
(John 9:21-22 KJV)

Here we have a scenario of parental heartbreak. These parents are forced to choose between their own offspring or an erroneous religious system. But because of the depth of the error and lack of any challenge to the system, they are powerless. Envision the internal turmoil of the parents and the utter shock of their son, to whom was blind from birth and had never even seen what his parents looked like and now has sight and the first glimpse he gets of his parents is while they are turning him over to the Pharisees during this inquisition. No man in history up to that point had been healed from such a birth defect. But here now is their son standing right in front of them eyes wide open, not only to the light of this realm, but also to the light of Christ and the only response that the parents can offer is one of fear. Where there should be joy, fear has invaded.

And what was the religious foundation for this fear?

The fear of being separated from the synagogue was paralyzing to the Jew of the day. The synagogue was much more than the average Sunday service mentality that we see prevalent today; it was the core of community life. Everything evolved around the Temple; your social activities, the local economy and of course your religion.

For some the daily attendance at the Temple was equivalent to our modem day mall experience. Many vendors and shopkeepers were centered around the Temple core in order to service the daily influx of pilgrims who would arrive to fulfill their religious requirements. It was a buzz of community activity. If you weren't there to shop, you were there to sell. If you weren't there to sell, you were there to worship. If you were there to worship, you most likely had to purchase an animal or vegetable offering for your sacrifice, and the circle remained unbroken.
But the circular system of religion was very broken and at another time Jesus addressed this brokenness.

And the Jews' passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem, And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables; And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise.
(John 2:13-16 KJV)

What as the brokenness that Jesus confronted?

Jesus found that a market had been set up in one of the courtyards of the temple. It was in an area known as the Court of the Gentiles. It was in this courtyard that oxen, sheep, and doves, were sold for sacrifice. These animals were provided for the convenience of those who came from far enough away that it would not have been practical for them to bring them on their journey.

The Law didn't prohibit this practice of commerce; in fact provision had been made for it in Deuteronomy, where it states:

And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it; or if the place be too far from thee, which the LORD thy God shall choose to set his name there, when the LORD thy God hath blessed thee: Then shalt thou turn it into money, and bind up the money in thine hand, and shalt go unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose: And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt ear there before the LORD thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household, (Deuteronomy 14:24-26 KJV)

The provision declared that if your journey made it impractical to bring your sacrifice from home, you might purchase one in-kind locally. This was meant to imply that if you were by Law directed to sacrifice an ox, you could purchase an acceptable replacement ox from a local source, possibly from a farm closer to the Temple. But the Pharisaical system interpreted this scripture to mean that a market could be established within the Temple Mount. Here we see two totally different interpretations of the same passage.

The Pharisaical adaptation of this provision within the Law actually countered the Pharisees understanding of The Law. For if you are not allowed to do any labor on the Sabbath, why was it now allowed to buy and sell these items? Was it because they were for sacrifice? What ever the case, it offended Jesus and he personally attacked what they had established; therefore their understanding or doctrinal position was corrupted from it's original intent. For Jesus never did anything to offend accurate Law.

The Pharisaical system had manipulated worldly patterns and applied them to Temple worship in order to gain financial advantage. The Chief Priests within the Temple allowed this worldly adaptation of commerce under the guise of religious service and in fact had turned this enterprise into the Temple Flea Market!

The Chief Priests added insult to injury by further compounding this travesty of religious commerce by the condition of the animals themselves. The cattle and sheep were supposed to be offered unto God without spot and blemish, but the ones that were sold in the market were actually sickly and the worst of the flocks. It was the Chief Priests’ responsibility to certify these beasts as clean and acceptable for offering and this they did, for a fee. It also needs to be noted that the vendors themselves had to pay a fee for the rental of the space and even possibly a percentage of their daily sales, back to the Temple for the privilege of selling to this captive audience.

This mall mentality of Temple worship was a moneymaker for the system and this does not even take into account the Temple Tax that everyone who entered, except for the Priests and Pharisees of course, had to pay. Though the tax was only a half-shekel, multiplied by the thousands of patrons daily; it became a considerable sum in the Temple's coffers. All of this was accomplished within their misunderstanding of Sabbath Law.

Hence, Jesus healing the blind man on the Sabbath challenged their erroneous understanding of the Sabbath.

Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the sabbath day. Others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? And there was division among them. (John 9:16 KJV)

"He is not of God because he is not in keeping with the Sabbath" (para), but remember that it was acceptable to buy and sell animals within the Temple on the Sabbath because they were for the offering.

On a separate occasion Jesus challenged this very issue:

And Jesus answering spake unto the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to
heal on the Sabbath day? And they held their peace. And he took him, and healed him, and let him go; And answered them, saying, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the Sabbath day? (Luke 14:3-5 KJV)

Here, Jesus brings it down to a personal level, ‘Which of you' is the same as saying, you all do it, so why is it now a problem! (Italics added)

And what was Jesus' violation of the perceived understanding of Sabbath Law?

He healed.

This was not the first time nor would it be the last time that Jesus challenged the Temple system on this matter of healing and doing right on the Sabbath.

And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And, behold, there was a woman, which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself. And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity. And he laid his hands on her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God. And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because that Jesus had healed on the Sabbath day, and said unto the people, There are six days in which men ought to work: in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day. The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering? And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the
Sabbath day? And when he had said these things, all his adversaries were ashamed: and all the people rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by him. (Luke 13:10-17 KJV)

Once again Jesus challenges the entire system when he says "each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering". Each of you means the same as all of you do it. Not some of you, all of you!

Every one of you does something on Sabbath that could be misconstrued as a violation of Sabbath Law. (Italics added/para)

This is classic Pharisaical response. Also notice that Jesus was teaching on the Sabbath. Is not teaching laborious? But it was allowed. All the Priests and Pharisees did it.

Notice, also, the Rulers implication that he (the Ruler) could have done the same miracle had the woman come to Temple during the week! (There are six days in which men ought to work: in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day.) How foolish is that! If he had it within his power to heal this woman during the previous six days, why didn't he? And what was the response of the healed woman? She glorified God! How wrong is that? Sabbath day or not, glorifying God is always right! And notice further what happened when Jesus challenged and corrected the misunderstanding of the scriptures, all the people rejoiced!

The Law was not meant to be the burden that the Pharisees had turned it into. All through out Hebrew history, when the people were confronted with accurate Law they accepted it and rejoiced in it. But due to the weight that had been placed upon the people, not only by the Pharisaical misinterpretation of scripture, but also the enforcement of that same misinterpretation, the joy of service to God had been destroyed. And the sin of the Pharisees was that they believed (perceived) they saw (understood) what God had meant.

And with that said; what did Jesus mean when he said:

If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth. (John 9:41 KJV)

It has been said that Ignorance is bliss. This may be true to some degree in worldly matters, but in the things of God, ignorance is no excuse for arrogance. Ignorance is defined as the lacking of knowledge and the showing of that lack. When ignorance and arrogance are combined with erroneous perception of scripture, the consequence is a Pharisaic mindset. And the problem with this mindset is not in its intent. The intention is to serve God wholly and holily. This is good and acceptable, but what does cause problems is that the foundation of the system has been corrupted due to the erroneous perception of scripture and that they cannot see that corruption through their ignorant arrogance.

They actually believe the error to be true and are willing to kill or be killed for it.

Hence their doctrinal position justifying the murder of Jesus for challenging their Abrahamic seed-ship. But Jesus said that their sin would remain because they said they see, what was he saying?

Sin has many definitions within scripture and this is not meant in any way to be a complete investigation or expository into sin. But let's examine how sin may relate to this particular interaction between Jesus and the Pharisees.

James, Jesus' brother and author of the letter of the same name states:

Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin. (James 4:17 KJV)

As a basic premise this passage is to challenge all of us to do the right things, but James was dealing with a more specific issue when he was inspired to write this letter.

He writes prior:

Go to now, ye that,say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil. (James 4:13-16 KJV)

The phase "Go to now" is a phrase denoting a change of topic; it would be the same as saying now I want to address a new issue. (Italics added). And this new topic is focused toward those that profess that they have an understanding of tomorrow's events.

James attempts to straighten out their understanding; in that none of us is guaranteed another day and in order to be accurate, they need to rephrase their words to acknowledge that God has their days in His hands, and should God will for these things to come to pass, then we will move in them for it is His will. And further more James informs them that their misguided words are actually displaying self-confidence rather than a Godly reliance and that this self-confidence is evil.

The word evil used here is the word 'poneros'. There are many words in New Testament scripture that have been translated to the English word evil. It is vital to understand the differences between them in order to accurately discern what is being said. The word poneros means to be hurtful in effect or influence. In this case, James is saying that your self-confidence is a hurtful influence upon you. It is causing you to stray from Godly reliance and will only cause further issues.

Why would this boasting cause harm?

How we perceive tomorrow determines how we live today.

Remember when you were a child and you knew that next week was your birthday, or Christmas, or some other special day, in which gifts were to be given to you. In the period leading up to that day, you seemed to operate at a higher level of obedience. You did not want to do anything that would cause the gift giver to withdraw their gifts, so you would act just a little different with that thought in the back of your mind. But have you ever occasioned where that which you were expected did not materialize? How did you feel? How did you react? Did you ever find yourself thinking or even going as far as saying; "If I knew that this was the gift, I wouldn't have been so nice!"

What had occurred was that your thought processes had become poneros. You perceived that you knew what was coming and in that perception had arrived at preconceived notion of what tomorrow held. And when it didn't occur, as you had perceived, you became offended and acted accordingly.

The word offended is the word 'skandalizo' and means to entrap or entice to sin, apostasy or displeasure. In our little example above, to be offended would be a place of displeasure, but when it comes to adapting preconceived positions in the understanding of God's word, to become offended means to arrive at a place of sin or apostasy.

As James explained earlier, to know what to do and not do that, that is sin. Apostasy on the other hand is the taking of a position contrary to Christ. Apostasy is a sin.

Earlier we examined Jesus informing the Pharisees of their inaccurate understanding of their seed-ship in Abraham and Jesus then told them that his word had no place in them. Because of their presumption of total accuracy in their understanding of scriptures, they made no place for adjustment. In their mind they had arrived at the totality of Godly wisdom and anything outside of that box was heretical.

Box building in the things of God is a Pharisaical trait. The major issue with box building is the assumption that all that is to be known of God has already been released, received and applied and assumes that there is nothing left to be known. This flies in the face of Gods own words to man.

For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:9 KJV)

The most dangerous position one can assume in the body is that of believing that you know what God is doing. Paul told us that His ways were past finding out3. In the realm of Pharisaical Christendom far to many believe that they know what God is doing or going to do in the future.

The Pharisaical art of box building leads to the assumption that there is nothing left to be revealed and secures a mindset that shuts out any further revelation. This mental ascension leads to a place that Paul described as being void of the love for the truth. And because of this lack of love for the truth, Paul states, that God will send them a delusion that they should believe the lie 4.

James continues to deal with this mental ascension of relying on your own perceptions.

But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation. (James 5:12 KJV)

To swear an oath was to provide a guarantee of future events. Here James tells us that in doing so you can fall into condemnation. This word condemnation in our ignorant assumptions would cause us to think of destruction, but such is not the case. The word condemnation used here is 'hupokrisis' and means the acting under a feigned part, to move into hypocrisy. It describes one who hides under a false appearan.

What James reveals next should cause each one of us to re-examine and re-adjust our mental assumptions and seek to move into a deeper revelatory position in order to accurately align our words, actions and deeds with that of the scriptures. Many of the "core" doctrines utilized within our current religious positions (organizations) have come to us through the erroneous interpretation of scripture. The following is a prime example of this procedure and needs to be accurately adjusted.

3 (Romans 11:33 KJV) 0 the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!

4 (2 Thessalonians 2: 10-11 KJV) And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:

Is any among you afflicted? Let him pray. Is any merry? Let him sing psalms. Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. (James 5:13-16 KJV)

What does this scripture tell you?

This scripture has been done an injustice and has become ineffectual in the Body of Christ due to the assumptions that have been taught as truth. It is time now for these scriptures to be reexamined and discerned with a present truth understanding.

The application of this scripture in modem Christianity has been the bedrock of many a church service. It is at the core of our altar/healing services. But what was James really talking about? Was James referring to the healing of our physical ailments or is there something else that he is trying to explain.

In the previous scripture James had informed us of the need not to rely on our own understanding of future events and refrain from swearing oaths. But the key to understanding verses 5:13-16 lies in examination of 5:7-12.

Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door. Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience. Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.
(James 5:7-11 KJV)

Notice that James is informing the Body concerning the coming of the Lord; How that the Father is patiently waiting for a precious fruit to manifest. And then James encourages us (The Body) to be patient also and establish your hearts. The word ‘stablish’ used here means to set fast and to turn resolutely in a certain direction. And of course the implication is toward the coming of the Lord. He then admonishes us about dealing with our brothers lest we be condemned. This word condemned means to be damned and is not the same word James used earlier (re: swearing an oath).

It is in this next passage where James secures the point of his exhortation. He says that we need to look at the prophets that have gone before us and suffered affliction as examples and to discern their patience in tribulation as a pattern of how to stand in the day of the Lords return.

Notice the words of encouragement that James uses. He says, "We count them happy that endure". The word ‘happy’ used here means to be esteemed fortunate and when coupled with endure; it speaks of being held in a high regard because they stood up under the pressure.

Was James talking about personal healing? No. He was encouraging the end-time Church about getting ready for the impending pressure that must come. He then warns of the danger of assuming the future and the potential for hypocrisy. It is then that he gives us sound advice on how to stand in the end.

Is any among you afflicted? Let him pray. Is any merry? Let him sing psalms. Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: (James 5:13-14 KJV)

Are you afflicted? Are you undergoing hardship in your stand for Christ? Pray for strength and accuracy.

Are you merry? Sing Psalms. This speaks of building yourself when things are going well. Don't get lax.

Are there sick among you? This is where the erroneous doctrine begins.

In our modem vernacular when we see the word sick we automatically jump to the conclusion that the writer is referring to physical infirmities. The word sick used here is the word ‘astheneo’ and means to be feeble in any sense. So in order to understand it in its current meaning we must examine it in the context that it is used. Was James talking about anyone being physically sick? No. He was talking about standing in the end.

So how does this relate? The word 'astheneo' comes from the word asthenes, which means to be strength-less. Asthenes comes from a combination of as and sthenoo. The prefix as always denotes a negative particle, which in turn makes the word to which it is attached defined in a negative form. In this case, the word ‘sthenoo’ by it self means to strengthen and confirm in spiritual knowledge and power, but with the negative prefix, now means to be weak and lacking in spiritual knowledge and power. And to assist even further in this explanation 'stheno'o comes from the word histemi; which means to stand and is the word we derive cross from.

Armed with this definition lets now re-examine what James the Just was saying.

Is there any among you that are lacking in spiritual knowledge and power to the point that you are unable to stand?

Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. (James 5:14-16 KJV)

Seek mature council from those that have been in the Lord accurately and have them pray with you to discern where you have fallen short in your understanding. And when those areas of weakness have been discerned, pray for forgiveness and accuracy from the Father and He will give it to you. Remember that your sins are the areas where you have accepted false doctrine as true. This is reaffirmed in the next line.

Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. (James 5:16a KJV)

Because of our misinterpretation of words we assume that healed is physical return to health, but as we examined earlier, sick does not mean physically infirmed. And healed here means to be made whole; back to a place of one-ness with the Father. James tells us to confess our faults in this environment of seeking the correction. The word faults means a sideslip, a lapse or deviation, unintentional error or a willful transgression. But what helps to place it in context is thatiaults comes from the word parapipto, which means to slip into apostasy, a taking of a position contrary to Christ.

This speaks directly into the readjustment of doctrinal positions that are inaccurate. For in the simplest of explanations if this scripture had to do with the healing of the sick amongst would we not have seen it work more efficiently?

But if we apply it to the preparation of the body for the end-time purposes of God, it will work every time.

And notice where James ends.

Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins. (James 5:19-20 KJV)

If any of you do roam from safety, truth, or virtue (err) and someone turns you around (convert), you will be saved from destruction and your straying from the orthodoxy or piety that is in Christ and that has led you to delusion (error) shall be hidden. (para)

If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth. (John 9:41 KJV)

Therefore, what we have here is Jesus saying that if you say that you understand all that there is to understand about God, your error will remain because you have not made a place for the truth to correct any inaccuracies that may exist. And James expounded upon that same treatise.

But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. (James 4:6 KJV)

To be proud in the things of God is to be arrogant. And God will stand against you, but to be humble and say to the Father "I don't understand, 1 can't see" will always evoke grace: the divine influence upon the heart and the reflection in the life. And the difference between the Pharisee and the accurate believer is that the Pharisee will always show off what he knows and the believer will admit he really knows little.

Paul summed it up:

For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. (1 Corinthians 2:2 KJV)