From Faith to Faith

The Apostle Paul tells us, "For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith." (Romans 1:17) The only way to know God, His will, nature, character, purpose and plan is by faith, period! There is no other way. (Hebrews 11:6) The phrase “The just shall live by faith." is also mentioned in the book of Habakkuk, Galatians and Hebrews, meaning, the just person, or the righteous person, shall live by his confidence, total trust in God. Due to this phrase mentioned four time, it should cause church leaders to come to the place where faith is talked about, preached and taught on a regular bases. However, the topic or subject of faith is rarely taught in the majority of Christendom. Why?

Unfortunately, there are always some people who will take a truth to an extreme so that it becomes a stronghold and then a legalistic dogma until, finally, it becomes a complete impediment to what God wants to do. Faith is one of those truths that can be misunderstood if not properly taught as revealed in the Bible. Some people think they live by faith, when, in reality they are far from doing so. In many cases, their faith has been reduced to the natural realm. However, faith is actually of the spiritual or supernatural realm. Many miss it and operate in presumption and or optimism which can sometimes resemble faith, but are not faith at all. 

The word faith in Hebrews 11:1 is translated from the Greek meaning "conviction" or "firm persuasion." The Amplified Bible records it this way, "Now faith is the assurance (title deed, confirmation) of things hoped for (divinely guaranteed), and the evidence of things not seen [the conviction of their reality—faith comprehends as fact what cannot be experienced by the physical senses]." As you can see through this verse, faith has nothing to do with presumption or optimism. The factor that assures us that God will act is that He cannot lie or fail to keep His Word. (Number 23:19) If His Word says something, you can rest assured that it will be as He has said and it will manifest in the exact way that he said it. (Isaiah 55:11) 

Faith is the divine ability of God given to man to go beyond the natural realm and into the spiritual, supernatural realm. You may have heard the expression "blind faith." However, this is far from the truth. Faith enables us to see into the spiritual realm. God created the natural realm and while He manifests Himself and His works in visible form in the natural or physical realm, He is not bound by the natural realm. He is far beyond time, space and matter. For the born again believer, God has enabled him to operate in both the natural and the spiritual or supernatural realm and although this becomes a reality to the born again believer, many reject such teaching due to a lack of true faith. Trying to believe God with human intellect or reason alone won't work and it will never increase our level of faith. The devil's tactic has not changed. He works hard to keep the church within the limits of human reason, as he did to Eve in the Garden of Eden. In a sense, each time we seek to understand God through reason or the intellect, we once again eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evi1. 

Even though human intellect and reason are the enemy of faith, they do have their place. Intellect and reason are God given and when properly understood and used, give us the ability to operate in the natural realm. However, if we try applying them to understanding the spiritual realm, or to bring spiritual realities into the natural realm, it will not work because the invisible spiritual realm is superior to, and has dominion over, the visible natural realm. The Apostle Paul tells us, "But the natural [unbelieving] man does not accept the things [the teachings and revelations] of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness [absurd and illogical] to him; and he is incapable of understanding them, because they are spiritually discerned and appreciated, [and he is unqualified to judge spiritual matters]." (1 Corinthians 2:14 AMP) In other words, to spiritually discern the things of God, is to act in faith. 

According to the writer of Hebrews, "By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible." (Hebrews 11:3) Notice, that faith in God and His Word comes before understanding. It is faith that gives us the understanding of how our universe ultimately came to be not the opposite, nor, just because the Bible reveals this and if we confess that we are a Christian, we must acknowledge this fact whether or not we truly believe. The Apostle Paul gives us some great insight concerning how to operate in our Christianity, "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love." (Galatians 5:6) This is the heart of Christianity. As we continue in the discussion of "From Faith to Faith" we will discover the many fascinating aspects of true Bible faith, that is, the faith that pleases God. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all...