Written on May 18th, 2005 - 4:53AM Last Updated: May 18th, 2005 - 4:53AM
Faith is not a nebulous concept, a synonym for religion, or an action that can be done. Faith, as its creator Yahweh has revealed, is a thing.
Faith is something to be given; it is something to be received; it is something to be possessed.
Now faith is assurance of things hoped for, proof of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1)
As can be seen here, faith and hope are intimately connected.
Faith is the "substance" of things hoped for. This word, υποστασις ("substance"), comes from two words meaning "under" and "to hold." Thus, more accurately, it is the subsistence, or the foundation; that which stands under another as its base. Faith is the grounding of the things hoped for. "Things hoped for," or "those [things] being expected." Without this foundation, what we expect or wait for will not stand but will fall to the ground into chaos.
Faith is also "evidence." This was a common word in the Greek of this letter's day, ελεγχος. It was often used in mathematical circles as something evident through demonstration. Aristotle defined it thus: "ελεγχος, or Demonstration, is that which cannot be otherwise, but is so as we assert." It is like a theorem, or something that is used as a rule because it can easily be proven to be true.
Of what is faith "evidence?" Of "things not seen." More accurately than "things," it is of "deeds," "actions" or "practices" not seen. Faith is the rule, which can be proven through simple demonstration, of those works which cannot be seen. It is the doorway into the invisible. It is the way of life to confront the unseen.
Faith, then, is not something to be conjured. It cannot be wished, nor can it accumulate. It is a tangible thing that has a specific identity and purpose. It is the foundation of that which we expect and the rule of unseen works. Once it is received, faith gives its possessor the key to the spiritual life; that beyond the natural senses, beyond what can be naturally comprehended.
Faith is a thing! It is offered and has been given! And we must receive it!
Receiving Faith
Because faith is a thing, something to be possessed, and not done, it must then be received. While writing of the glorious Gospel of God's Son to the Roman Christians, the apostle Paul explains how it arrives.
So faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (Romans 10:17)
Faith comes "out of hearing." There is no verb in this sentence; it is "So, faith... out of hearing." It is a noun sentence which is a simple definition. It defines faith's source. It exists out of hearing. "Hearing" means an audience, the act of listening. Not just physical hearing, but the act of giving one's ear.
Hearing comes "through God's spoken word." There is no article here, showing that it is not any specific word from God, but His spoken word in general. Elsewhere this word is personified as the HolySpirit (Ephesians 6:17). The Spirit is Yahweh's active Word, His Voice. Through Him is the giving of one's ear.
I recorded a dream I had in which I met the HolySpirit and His message to me was, "Listen to Me." This is the same testimony given by the apostle. The hearing out of which faith comes is through God's spoken Word, His Spirit. When we give audience to the HolySpirit, faith has its source realized in our lives.
Therefore, faith is ultimately received by giving audience to the HolySpirit, Yahweh's spoken Word. Once we receive this thing called faith, we will have the foundation of the things we are expecting, and the rule of the things we cannot see. We will have the key to living victoriously in the Kingdom of Yahweh.
As you read this site, you will hopefully come to know Yahweh more fully.
But all of this continuing knowledge is useless unless and until you come into union with Him. I use the word union because it is truly a marriage. It is that deep connection we all seek, for which we most often look in other people. However, the truth is that our hearts will only be fulfilled when we enter that union in fullness with the One Who made us.
This is the grace of God, that He has not stayed distant for us only to worship as Creator. But He has come unto us, even become one of us—in His Son, ChristJesus—in order to share an intimate union with us. He desires such closeness that it truly will envelope our entire life, transforming us into something new and wonderful.
You may have already entered this union with Him and only seek to know Him better through reading here. But if you have not, as you do read, let this Gospel sink into your heart as you read it now.
God loves you, and has cast your sins into the sea. He has sent His only Son as the Savior of the world—that includes you.
That Son, JesusChrist, was born as a man through a virgin who had given her life to Yahweh; He lived without sin, reflected the glory of His Father, God, in all His words and deeds, and was persecuted even unto death because of it.
His death upon a cross was the powerful explosion that separated you from your life of death. It remains for you, now, to enter into that death with Him. As you die to the one you are now, a person separated from God from your many sins, you will be born anew, with a nature predisposed to live rightly. This gift is free to you, with nothing you can do to earn it. It is the mercy of God to offer it to you, as He loves you so much! All you must do is receive it by trusting Him to have delivered you. Simply place your life in His hands and embrace the freedom that came through that death on the cross.
The Gospel is that Jesus did not remain dead, but rose again on the third day after His crucifixion! Death could not hold Him, as He was without sin. And so death will not be able to hold you, as you identify with Him fully through your trust in Him. Let go of yourself and confess Him as Lord of your life. The power of His death and resurrection will work in you all that your Creator has destined for you. You will truly enter a new life and experience that intimate union you have been seeking all of your life.
So ponder these words as you read here of this great God—Yahweh—and all that He has revealed to His creation. Let His Spirit testify to your heart that these words are true, that God is Love, and that He sent His Son so that you might receive the life that is unbound by time and space. As you feel that witness in your heart, simply believe and receive what He is offering to you, even now, and begin your new life as a child of God.
Please write to me and let me know when you take this step, as I will be your brother in Christ—we will be one in Him!
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