What Faith is not
Pst Samuel Shobanke
2/21/20264 min read
It is quite imperative that we understand what faith is and what it is not.
Brother Kenneth Hagin in one of his tapes described an instance of how a woman used "faith" to claim brother Kenneth Copeland as her future husband, misusing Mark 11:24. "Whatsoever you desire when you pray, believe you receive them and you shall have them". He said, "while brother Kenneth Copeland was about to marry sister Gloria, this other lady was confessing that sister Gloria will die and that brother Kenneth Copeland will eventually marry her"
However, we thank God that till today Brother Kenneth and sister Gloria Copeland are still married and are doing very fine in the lord. You see, that is a misuse of scripture to begin with and out of context. That is not faith! That is ignorance. That is contrary to God's will. Little did she know that God does not override peoples will and neither will he force anyone in marriage. You don't use faith to marry people. You can not trust God for a particular man or woman as your spouse. You do your "assignment ". If you know what I mean......
So also, many people think their faith can be used to move God or make God do things contrary to his will. No! That's wrong! We need to learn to balance things and make no mistakes. God is sovereign. No one can move God. Faith is not a tool to move God! Faith does not make God bless you! Although your faith can please God, it cannot change God.
What is Faith all about?
Firstly, I want to note here that the death and resurrection of Christ, the finished work of Christ brought a deeper definition to faith or let me say that Christ redefined what faith is all about. Faith is your positive response to receive all that God has already provided for you by grace IN CHRIST.
Faith is receiving what God has given you IN CHRIST. If God has not made it available, Faith can never receive it.
So simple! Faith doesn't manipulate God. Faith does not change God. God is solely moved by his grace/sovereignty IN CHRIST.
Look up Romans 9:15-16. God said, "I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy...... So it's not him that wills or runs.." You cannot use your faith to receive what God has not made provisions for IN CHRIST. You cannot use your faith for what is not inside God's word. Faith only acts on the word of God. Faith cannot act outside God's word or out of the context of God's word. The word of God is God's provision and grace. Any faith that is not in the grace of God is not faith at all.
Hallelujah.
What is the word of God? The book of John 1:1-16 reveals to us by revelation that Jesus became the word made flesh. Hallelujah. This is it. It brought the revelation. There is no faith beyond what Christ has done for us. God's will has been consummated in Christ. Ephesians 1:3 reveals to us that we are already blessed. "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places IN CHRIST:" Which means that God is not going to bless us anymore than he had already did through Christ. The truth is that God has already blessed us with ALL blessings in the heavenly places through Christ but the only way we can receive these blessings is through faith. Romans 5:2 says, "By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God." Ephesians 2:8-9 says, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." We receive this grace through faith. Faith is our positive response to these blessings. Faith appropriate the grace which God has made available.
All faith does is to put you in a place where you can receive all that God has ALREADY provided for you through his sovereign will which is "grace". Faith reaches out to claim and take hold of what God has spoken in his word.
However, I would like to note that in Christ, faith is not a mirage. Faith is a reality. Faith is not what we lack. It is what we have now in Christ. We need not ask God to give us Faith or increase our Faith. The seed of faith is now in us. Faith is now the fruit of our recreated Spirit. Faith came when we heard the message of the gospel and accepted the lordship of Christ. Romans 10:17 says, " So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." We have heard and received the word of God so faith has come to abide inside us. We have the Faith of God. Christ dwells in our heart by faith. We have been born of the word of God. All we need to do is to walk in the Spirit of Faith.
The greatest challenge with many believers is not the lack of faith for we have faith. The great challenge is that many are not WALKING in the Spirit of faith.
Galatians 5:25 says, "If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit." It's one thing to live in the Spirit of faith, it's another thing to walk in the light of this Faith in us. We walk in faith by knowing what God has made available for us in Christ, our rights and privileges in Christ, our inheritance in Christ AND confessing, appropriating, acknowledging them upon ourselves in our daily walks of life.
Finally, let me conclude with this beautiful scripture which has really blessed my walk of Faith: Philemon 1:6. It says, "That the communication(Gr- koinonia: fellowship, partnership) of thy FAITH may become effectual (Gr- energes: active, operative) by the acknowledging (Gr- epignosis: precise and exact knowledge) of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus. This simply means that your Faith cannot be operative or produce results without the precise and exact knowledge of every good which is given you IN CHRIST JESUS. My! This is powerful! So, if we really want to exercise our faith, we need to study God's word and know what he has freely given unto us by grace . 1 Cor 2:12, 2 Tim 2:15. Faith is based on the "right" knowledge of God's word.
This simple truth should help you to walk in faith effortlessly without struggle. It should help you function from a position of rest. It will no longer be what God will do but what God has already done though Christ Jesus our Lord and revealed to us in his word.
I hope I am able to communicate this wonderful truth to you...
I call you a blessing.
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