The Law of Faith (part III)

In trying to get a handle on what faith is exactly, Hebrews chapter 11 is FULL of information.   As we saw last week in vs 1 faith is substance.  It is the beginning foundational (unseen by the human eye) “stuff” that God uses as building material.  This “stuff” starts out as supernatural “stuff” but when it is mixed with the Word of God it manifests in the physical realm.  In vs 3 we see that God used faith, in combination with His Word to create the universe.  We know Jesus to be the Word of God and John 1-3 tells us that nothing that we see was created without the Word.  So the first thing God decided to show man was the Law of Faith in operation.  If God caused things to manifest in this physical realm by combining His Word, with His Faith, then that law will work the same every single time, with the same outcome every single time.  

                     ~ *~ *~ *~ *~ *~ *~ *~ *~ *~ *~ *~ *~ *~ *~ *~ *~ *~ *~ *~ *~ *~

Every miracle Jesus performed on the earth was manifested in this way, His faith, combined with His word, brought about the expected result.    Hebrews 11 is full of testimonies of men who lived miraculous lives because they had tapped into the system by which God displays His power in man.  Vs 6 tells us that we are not pleasing to God if we don’t believe - 1)that He exists, and 2)that He will reward us if we seek Him.  This vs is not scolding us for our lack of faith, but rather it shows God’s frustration when we will not allow Him to work in us through faith.  Imagine a husband who loves his wife passionately, who desires nothing more than to be close to her and provide good things for her.  Yet his advances are constantly rejected and the wife feels unworthy and refuses all of his gifts, the husband will be frustrated and the relationship will not be satisfying to him.  God desires to reward us and display His power through us and without faith we frustrate His goodness.  God’s Spirit in us causes us to hope for the things He hopes for.  His word alive in us gives birth to that thing hoped for, and this all happens through faith.  

 

God can only work through a yielded, rested vessel.  The Gospel of reconciliation announces to us that Christ has taken out of the way the ordinances that were contrary to us.(Col 2:14)  Everything that caused us to be at odds with God has been removed.  The only thing left for us to do, is rest in the finished work of Christ.  Yes, the Bible is full of imperatives, but every requirement has ALREADY been met in Christ and all we need to do is to come into agreement with that truth.  There is NO striving to achieve any of the imperatives on our own, as if we could!  God is definitely a proponent of supply side economics.   All demand was met in Him, through the supply of His Son.  He invested His Son in us; He is not going to leave the return on His investment to chance.  He put all His eggs in one basket, HIMSELF!

So imagine this concept applied to our faith.  Could it be that there too, He left nothing to chance?  Were you able to look at Galatians 2:20 and Acts 3:16 in the King James Version?  The original translation of Gal. 2:20 says - Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith OF the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.   Yes, it is HIS faith, CHRIST’s faith that we are trusting in to enable us to live victoriously and accomplish all God has predestined for me to accomplish.  In vs 16 we see that we are justified by HIS faith as well.  He could not leave our redemption to chance!  The very reason He sent His son, our redemption, all hinges on faith in His sacrifice.  He not only provided Himself as the substitute, but He supplies us with the faith necessary to believe on Him for our very salvation.   Can it get any better?  Just as it is Christ’s righteousness that is the foundation for our justification, it is Christ’s faith that is the foundation for our trust in His righteousness.  There are quite a few places where the New Testament refers to the faith OF God or the faith OF Christ.  In Acts 3:16 the faith that Peter had in the name of Christ to heal came through Christ.  

Do we have any idea how big this is?   As we see Christ bigger through meditating on His Word, we see that HE IS SUPPLY for every shortfall in us.  So what does that mean?  It means we are complete, IN HIM.  He has finished it at the cross.  His wisdom has angled the whole transaction in such a way that we cannot come up short in any area.  We are pleasing to Him in every way; we are what He says we are.  Every condition for blessing, provision, healing, joy, and victory has been met in Christ!  I know this has been a long post, but please meditate on the scripture you’ve been given in the 3 Faith postings; your faith will grow as you dwell on Christ

Law and Order (part I)

During the recent ongoing “Grace Awakening” the biggest obstacle I see (especially in the pastorate) is a fear of completely letting go of the Law. I struggled with this as well, wondering why God would introduce something so pivotal for a brief period of time and then seemingly cast it aside as if He’d changed His mind regarding its significance. After all He is the same yesterday today and forever.

As I searched for an answer, two foundational truths have guided my study. 1. Who God is; His attributes and His principals will never change. 2. God’s ultimate purpose for mankind will never change. My next several postings will build on each other, I pray that you will meditate on God’s Word as He leads you to seek greater revelation into His person!

Righteousness and Justice are the foundation of His throne. (Ps 97:2) For God to righteously establish justice, He must be righteous and just. For Him to govern righteously and justly He cannot rule arbitrarily based on a whim. God holds himself to a standard! You may say, but He is sovereign! GOD has set the standard that He will hold Himself to thereby maintaining His sovereignty. (We will discuss sovereignty, justice and righteousness in later postings) This standard is LAW; God is a God of Laws! Don’t let this scare you, it actually offers us assurance!

God is not above the law, He has established the Law, and He operates legally within the confines of the Law He has established. Think about it: when He created, He simply spoke laws into place that man later discovered, and actually had the audacity to name some of them after himself. ie. Newton's Law of Gravity. There are laws of physics; laws of electricity, mathematical laws, there are even laws that govern the English language.

God spoke laws into chaos and the result was order. That’s because a law governs. Each law carries with it governing actions that bring about an expected outcome. Each time the law is followed the outcome will be the same. The only way to render a law inoperational , is to put a law into place that overrides the existing law, either permanently or temporarily. (I hope you see where this is going!)

Some have concluded, (in error) that since we are no longer under the old “covenant of Law” but under grace that everything now is just willy nilly, loosey goosey, and we never know what God will do because it is after all based on His will and who knows what that is?  But God has given us imagery in the bible (yes in the new covenant) that contradicts this theory.  Jesus spoke of a Kingdom that is within us, and  a kingdom is established based on rule and law and government.    The bible speaks of warfare and armor (Eph 6, Acts 17, II Cor. 10) The military’s very foundation is rule and discipline, not to mention rank!

So are we under law in the new covenant or not? If so what is the rule of law we are subject to? Who are the powers that be? What is the hierarchy? What are the principals that govern this kingdom?

Please hunt for answers to these questions before we meet again, and please come back for part 2 of Law and Order.