Faith

[Talyn]

So what is your definition of faith? A lot of ppl seem to ask, "where's the proof?" Do you really need proof in order to have faith in something? I thought the whole point of having faith is not having a true knowledge of something? Which to me is basically self explanitory.

 

[k4c]

So what is your definition of faith? A lot of ppl seem to ask, "where's the proof?" Do you really need proof in order to have faith in something? I thought the whole point of having faith is not having a true knowledge of something? Which to me is basically self explanitory.

Hi Talyn,

According to Hebrews 11:1 faith is substance and evidence, substance and evidence are nouns, it's something we possess, not something we do.

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

So, what is this noun that we can possess that God calls, faith?

To find the answer we would have to compare spiritual things with spiritual things.

1 Corinthians 2:13 These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

Philippians 3:9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

This verse is telling us that we get our righteousness through the faith of Christ.

So what is the faith of Christ?

Isaiah 53:11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant (Jesus) justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.

So, the faith that God is referring to is the knowledge that Christ possessed.

So, how do we get this knowledge (faith)?

We get it through the verb which is to believe.

Galatians 2:16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.

We believe Jesus in what He is saying and apply that knowledge to our lives for justification.

So, faith is the knowledge that Christ possesses and His desire is to give it to us through the Holy Spirit.

Hosea 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me; Because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.

Blessings to you in Christ,
John

 

[ZoneChaos]

read my sig...

 

[k4c]

read my sig...

Hi ZoneChaos,

My thoughts are backed by scripture...

Blessings to you in Christ,
John

 

[water_ripple]

So what is your definition of faith? A lot of ppl seem to ask, "where's the proof?" Do you really need proof in order to have faith in something? I thought the whole point of having faith is not having a true knowledge of something? Which to me is basically self explanitory.

The only way I can explain faith is on a personal level..trust and hope in Christ even though outside happenings may seem to have the "odds" against me. It is not something I can present as something "seen", but the tangibility of faith is what motivates me. Faith is a description of the "inner-man"..A matter of the soul..The soul can be revealed through a person as to how the soul impacts the life and how it relates and interacts with others. Perseverence in the face of adversity, and paradoxically a sense of happiness or peace regardless of what is going on in the physical environment...This is not to say that I do not feel pain or anguish like any other person..It means that through a personal connection (the soul) with Christ adversity does not swallow me whole..The darkness cannot ingest my core because within it a light burns. There may be shadows, but the soul has the ability to outshine the gloom no matter how bad things may appear. Therein lies the peace..A peace that is drawn from love and trust in Christ. The proof lies in the heart, and what actions are taken throughout the course of a lifetime...A glimmer though can be seen in passing..even to a stranger.

 

[msjones21]

Hey Talyn! Thanks for this post and what an awesome time for God to lay this question on your heart. You see, we had a Bible study on faith at work this past Tuesday. We studied what faith is (by definition), what faith means to us, and how faith moulds our day to day life.

Faith, by definition, is the genuine belief in that which you cannot see, hear, taste, or smell. Faith is stepping out of our comfort zone of needing definitive proof before we can believe in something. If you had proof then it wouldn't be faith because faith in an exercise in believing the unseen. In life there are some things which do not provide us with tangible clues as to their existence. It is only through faith that we can reach out and grasp the concept of something that does not show itself as a burning bush or a big booming voice from the sky.

 

[Roald]

My definition of Faith is a strong belief in something without proof. I limit my definition to a sort of intellectual assent rather than including other aspects that I would consider other Christian virtues.

 

[ZoneChaos]

Hi ZoneChaos,

My thoughts are backed by scripture...

Blessings to you in Christ,
John

I totally agree with your response, man I wasn't responding to your post.. just the question...

 

[leeuniverse]

Hi Talyn,

According to Hebrews 11:1 faith is substance and evidence, substance and evidence are nouns, it's something we possess, not something we do.

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

So, what is this noun that we can possess that God calls, faith?

Hello.....

Maybe you missed it, while you are correct that "substance" and "evidence" are NOUNS, that IS NOT all that makes of the verse.
You forget the little "action word" in there which IS a part of Faith called "Hope".

You can't see the substance and evidence of things without Hope, and that is what Faith is, is it IS an Action Word, and thus we DO "do".

So... Your interpretation while nice, is not actually correct.

Take care.

 

[ZoneChaos]

Another way to read the verse would be:

"Now faith is the [confident expectaion] of things hoped for..."

Faith anf hope go hand in hand. In the first part of the verse, we see Faith as a counterpoint to Hope.. an "action". Faith is something we "do".. we hope.

But unlike Hope, it is not based upon our desires and wants, but instead is based upon God's will, in our lives.

As our physical sense give information to our body.. Faith gives information to our soul.

With God, the things that are the Will of God, become the objects of our Faith, and by this these things become the object of our hope. Faith is an expectation that God will perofrm all that He promised, and that expectation is so strong that it gives the soul a kind of fruition of substance of those things spiritually. Spiritually, we are aware of them, and know them, where we once hoped for them. By God, the things we hope for become the things we know.

And by this, Faith become the evidence of the things percieved by the soul, that are not percieved by our physical senses.

 

[k4c]

I totally agree with your response, man I wasn't responding to your post.. just the question...

Ooops!

Blessings to you,
John

 

[Talyn]

Another way to read the verse would be:

"Now faith is the [confident expectaion] of things hoped for..."

Faith anf hope go hand in hand. In the first part of the verse, we see Faith as a counterpoint to Hope.. an "action". Faith is something we "do".. we hope.

But unlike Hope, it is not based upon our desires and wants, but instead is based upon God's will, in our lives.

As our physical sense give information to our body.. Faith gives information to our soul.

With God, the things that are the Will of God, become the objects of our Faith, and by this these things become the object of our hope. Faith is an expectation that God will perofrm all that He promised, and that expectation is so strong that it gives the soul a kind of fruition of substance of those things spiritually. Spiritually, we are aware of them, and know them, where we once hoped for them. By God, the things we hope for become the things we know.

And by this, Faith become the evidence of the things percieved by the soul, that are not percieved by our physical senses.

Before I had always considered faith and hope being the same thing. So how do I know that I have faith in something, and not hope that something is true?
Is it really based on other ppl's interpretation, on whether what I believe is based on faith or hope?

 

[k4c]

Hello.....

Maybe you missed it, while you are correct that "substance" and "evidence" are NOUNS, that IS NOT all that makes of the verse.
You forget the little "action word" in there which IS a part of Faith called "Hope".

You can't see the substance and evidence of things without Hope, and that is what Faith is, is it IS an Action Word, and thus we DO "do".

So... Your interpretation while nice, is not actually correct.

Take care.

Hi leeuniverse,

Is hope something we do or is it something we posses?

Truth in love,
John

 

[LilAngelHeart]

So what is your definition of faith? A lot of ppl seem to ask, "where's the proof?" Do you really need proof in order to have faith in something? I thought the whole point of having faith is not having a true knowledge of something? Which to me is basically self explanitory.

Faith is believing without proof, once you have proof, it no longer requires faith because you already have it. For example, if I find a $100 dollar bill, I don't need faith that God will send me a $100 dollar bill because I already can see it and touch it, I already have it. Faith is to believe that God will send it when there is no sign of it yet.

 

[k4c]

My definition of Faith is a strong belief in something without proof. I limit my definition to a sort of intellectual assent rather than including other aspects that I would consider other Christian virtues.

Hi Roald,

How we define words make a big diffenece in how we understand God. In the book of Isaiah God says that His thoughts are not our thoughts and His ways are not our ways. His thoughts and ways have to do with How He thinks, how He thinks is determined by how He defines His words.

Now, If we want to understand God's thoughts we have to learn how He defines and uses His words.

I've always been taught that faith is to believe but according to how God defines faith in His bible it's not to believe but rather what is believed is faith. To believe is the action word that we do grab a hold of faith. In other words, If I ask you what you believe about Jesus you would begin to tell me how Jesus is the Son of God and that He died for sinners. What you are expressing if your faith, why is it your faith, because you believe it.

When we study the word faith in the bible we find God equating the word faith with knowledge but not just any knowledge. God equates saving faith with the knowledge (faith) Christ possessed.

If we believe what Jesus is telling us we make His knowledge (faith) our knowledge (faith), this is what saves us.

Galatians 2:16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.

In this above verse we see the noun, faith, and the action word, believe working together, this is the mechanics of salvation. Jesus gives us the words of life (faith) we believe it and make it our faith. If I don't believe what Jesus is saying it will have no affect in my life.

God uses the word faith interchangeably with the word knowledge just like He uses the word, love, interchangeably with the word, obey. He is trying to help us understand same principals using different avenues.


Truth in love,
John

 

[LilAngelHeart]

ZoneChaos: Another way to read the verse would be:

"Now faith is the [confident expectaion] of things hoped for..."

Exactly!!



Faith anf hope go hand in hand. In the first part of the verse, we see Faith as a counterpoint to Hope.. an "action". Faith is something we "do".. we hope.

Right, hope without faith is just a desire. Anyone can hope, even sinners, but faith in God makes the hope a reality. Tell me, is it possible for a person to have faith without hope?



With God, the things that are the Will of God, become the objects of our Faith, and by this these things become the object of our hope. Faith is an expectation that God will perofrm all that He promised, and that expectation is so strong that it gives the soul a kind of fruition of substance of those things spiritually. Spiritually, we are aware of them, and know them, where we once hoped for them. By God, the things we hope for become the things we know.

Very good. I agree. Do you think people can have faith in something other than God or God's will?

 

[LilAngelHeart]

Before I had always considered faith and hope being the same thing. So how do I know that I have faith in something, and not hope that something is true?
Is it really based on other ppl's interpretation, on whether what I believe is based on faith or hope?

Hope is just wishing or desiring something. Faith is to actively believe that God will do the thing you are wishing or hoping for. Hope is like saying "Oh I hope I win the game tonight." or "Oh I wish I had a new car." Whereas faith is "I believe that God will give me the new car that I prayed for." You're not just wishing for it to happen, you are believing that God will do it.

 

[ZoneChaos]

Very good. I agree. Do you think people can have faith in something other than God or God's will?

Hmm.. good question haven't thought about it like that before, but I guess I would have to say no. People can hope, but where does the knowledge of that hope come from other then God...