FAITH OF GOD
Monday – April 3, 2017
I thought some of you might enjoy a recent picture (probably 1948) of me. Sometimes Patti says this is my mental age. Such abuse. On the other hand, I have very little evidence to refute her claims. I suspect the women are saying amen and the men are saying you just threw us under the bus.
Greetings and blessing from Patti and me at The Three Minute Word publications. I have been told that perhaps I should rename The Three Minute Word to perhaps the Ten Minute Word or something similar since many if not most issues take considerably longer than three minutes and if studied the way they should be takes much more than three minutes or even ten minutes. In any event for the time being I will stick with The Three Minute Word. Now back to our Bible Study in Ephesians.
Ephesians 6:10-13 (KJV)
10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Over the last few editions I have been dealing with the little phrase “of God” found in Ephesians 6:11. According to the American Dictionary of the English Language by Noah Webster 1828 edition the primary meaning or the word ‘of’ is: From or out of; proceeding from, as the cause, source, means, author or agent bestowing. So the source of this armour we are commanded to put on is God. It is His armour or perhaps more accurately exactly like the armour which He has on and it is precisely fitted to us. We are made in His image and likeness, we are of like kind therefore we are like (I did not say we were God) God. Just as each of us are like our physical parents (Mom and Dad) so are we like our first spiritual and physical parent (God). I referred to God as our first spiritual and physical parent since He is the one who fashioned our physical bodies that continue to this day and breathed of Himself (God is a Spirit) into that physical body and that first man (person) became a living soul.
This “armour of God” is absolutely necessary to our successful engagement of our spiritual enemies. Our enemies are not flesh and blood (people). Since I have focused on the phrase ‘of God’ we have explored ‘the Kingdom of God, ‘the righteousness of God’, ‘the peace of God’, and ‘the joy of the Lord’. I am only addressing these examples in order to lay a good foundation for our delving into the armour of God. The reality is that every good thing we have is of the Lord, of God. All things which come from Him are freely given just as he gave us His righteousness, His peace, and His joy. We just have to make the conscious decision to receive them by faith and exercise them in love led of the Holy Spirit.
By way of a brief reminder we have the same righteousness that God has, the same standing with God that God has and the same capacity to do things as God does them as God does. We have the same peace that God has being that as they (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) are One so are we one with God, that is also our reality. We have the same joy that God has which is the knowledge and reality that the more we align with Him the greater our joy and the greater His joy which releases the ‘power of His might’ in our lives. Perhaps you have heard the saying that all roads lead to Rome. Well in the Kingdom of God you will notice that the more we are like Him the greater He is manifest in and through us. We cannot become more righteous for example but our function in our righteousness and His flow through us depends on our obedience, submission to His will, His ways. So we can be in right standing but dead in the water so to speak with no manifestation of God in our lives due to not doing things His way. This same principle is true for all other facets of our relationship with and in God. Now let’s spend a little time with the ‘faith of God’.
Mark 11:22 (YLT)
22 And Jesus answering saith to them, `Have faith of God;
The above Scripture is from the Young’s Literal Translation (YLT). Most translations say “have faith in God” which is not entirely incorrect but remember that the capacity of this faith, not natural faith but supernatural faith, comes out of or proceeds from our Father God. Each of us must let this sink in, we have the same faith that God has, we have the same faith that said ‘light be, and light was’. Now when we are born again and once again we are living souls that part of us is again alive and can be developed to bring about all that we see in the Bible and more. Consider the following two Scriptures in this context.
Romans 12:3 (KJV)
3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
We all start off with the same amount (measure) of faith, just enough to be born again. We can then develop the faith to part the Red Sea and throw mountains into the sea. Faith manifest is a fruit of our spirit, produced by our spirit man. This spiritual faith organ is to be developed from infancy to the level of God’s faith.
Galatians 5:22-23 (KJV)
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
The greater our faith the more we can accomplish for the Kingdom of God. We have a responsibility to develop our faith so that it is indistinguishable from that of Jesus, from that of God. Faith is developed by hearing and hearing the Word of God. The Word is not saying just hearing in a natural sense but having spiritual ears to hear and choosing to change and be more like Him.
Romans 10:17 (KJV)
17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
In Romans 10:17 the word ‘cometh’ or comes is not in the earliest manuscripts used and therefore was added by the translators to add smoothness or clarity. Faith does not come it is built, we are born (born from above) with the capacity for God like faith. As I finish for today let’s meditate the following Scripture and do it.
Hebrews 11:6 (KJV)
6 But 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.
By: Dr. David Wood, Author, Bible Teacher, and Prophetic Voice
