Through Faith in Christ Jesus (Part II)

Introduction

Salvation with deliverance from the grips of the enemy is achieved through faith in Christ Jesus. Faith in the name of Christ has brought deliverance to those who have faith in Him. This piece of writing briefly discusses Paul´s conception of faith as detailed in the holy scriptures.

Faith Explained

Some have explained that faith is ´now´ whereas hope is ´future´. They mean that one´s faith should bring him his/her desires instantly as s/he prays. They take this from the scripture which reads that “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Heb 11:1). However, the ´now´ preceding the ´faith’ does not form part of the definition of faith. It only informs us that the Apostle is going to explain his conception of the subject of faith.

From the above scripture (i.e. Heb 11:1), “faith is the substance of things hoped for” By implication, faith is a visible and a tangible thing that supports one´s claim to their hope and anticipation. Our faith is the substance of our hope, that there is God, and that Christ Jesus would come again to save those who are His.

Again, faith is “the evidence of things not seen”. What does the Apostle mean? He wants us to be convinced in our hearts and minds that our faith is that which elucidates or proves to us that some things which are not seen do exist. He, therefore, strongly contends that “.. without faith, it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Heb 11:6).

Faith is thus, that substance or the evidence which provides an anchorage to our claims, that, some things which are not evident in our lives do exist or some things which factually exist in our lives do not actually exist. This is the truth because we have the “God who quickeneth the dead and calleth those things which be not as though they were” (Rom 4:17). He has the power to create things out of nothing. As it is written, “Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear” (Heb 11:3). We are not moved by the things that are seen but by the living Word of God.

Our Faith and the Word of God

It should be mentioned that the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen, is the Word of God. It is this inspired Word of God that supports our claim to all things in Christ Jesus. It is believed that we can do all things through Christ (Php 4:13) because the Word of God says so. We believe that in His wounds we are healed of all our diseases (Isa 53:5, 1Pt 2:24) because the Word of God says so. Though childless today, tomorrow, we shall be mothers and fathers of multitudes (Isa 54:1) because the Word of God tells us so.

Has God said it and shall He not do it? Or hath he spoken, and shall he not bring it to pass? (Num 23: 19). So then, there is no faith without the Word of God because the Word of God is our evidence and our substance. We, therefore, get or increase faith by hearing of the Word of God (Rom 10:17).

Conclusion

Faith is not a mere abstract thought but it is a substance that provides us with the required evidence to claim our blessings in God. We have no substance or evidence to substantiate our assertions if the Word of God is not the basis of those assertions or prayers. It is important that believers pray through the Word of God as that gives them faith to believe that their prayers would be answered.

Prayer: Almighty God, we ask of you to help us to depend on you as we live by your Word. In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. AMEN!