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MODULE 7
SESSION 3 & 4
Principles of Faith
Foundation Scriptures for this session:
Habbakuk 2:4
Hebrews 11:6
Supplementary Scriptures
for further study and meditation
Mark 16:22-25
Hebrews 11:1-3
2 Corinthians 5:7
Romans 10:9-17
Romans Ch 3-4
James Ch 2
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LESSON OUTLINE:
In the following lessons we will consider the following:
1. What faith is
2. Levels of faith
3. The enemies of faith
4. How faith works
5. Releasing faith through confession
6. Becoming doers of the Word
1. What Faith Is
a. Gods character is the foundation for faith
To begin we will first define faith. We will consider both what faith IS and what
it IS NOT.
To lay a foundation for all that follows in these sessions, which will deal much
with principles and practical application of those principles, we must first
stress that the doctrine of faith cannot be divorced from relationship with God.
Many of the principles we speak of over the following sessions can be
exercised with some results apart from a vital union with God. The New Age
and the Motivational world of humanism is replete with books and teachings
concerning positive confession for example, with testimonies of amazing
results. Biblical faith and its exercise however is rooted first and foremost in a
love relationship with our Father in Heaven through Jesus Christ.
The first definition we will give for faith then is simply this:
TRUST in another, or anothers Word.
The Greek word, pistes, translated faith in the New Testament simply
means: Trust, assurance, confidence in another and anothers word. To
have faith in God means to trust Him, to trust His Word, and have confidence
that He will keep it.
Faith works by love (Galatians 5:6). It is our love relationship with a God
whom we know and trust which provides the seedbed for fearless confidence
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in His Word. We trust and act on His Word, because we trust Him, and know
that His thoughts and intentions toward us are entirely good.
Andrew Murray in his exposition of Hebrews, The Holiest
of All exhorts believers to go beyond the mechanics of
faith to discover its Source: Faith is much more than trust
in the word of another, he says, That trust is of extreme
importance as its initial exercise, but the word must only be
the servant leading into the divine truth it contains, the
living person from whom it comes. To deal too exclusively
with the word as the ground of faith will lead to a faith that
is more intellectual than spiritual, a faith that, as the Church so
universally shows, rests more in the wisdom of men, in the power of
reason, than in the power of God. We need to be persuaded very
deeply that faith is not only a dealing with certain promises, but an
unceasing spiritual intercourse with the unseen world around us.
Andrew Murray, The Holiest of All, KCM publications, ISBN 0-8010-5763-9
Gods own character is the very bedrock for every other action of faith. The
Bible says that He is the faithful one, and that He cannot deny Himself (2 Tim
2:13). He is the God of Faith, the very Source!
This truth is important to remember to prevent us from unwittingly entering a
religion of works where we merely apply spiritual principles in order to get
desired results, and forget that God did not send His Son merely so we could
be healed and prosperous He sent His Son for something far greater than
that, that we could know Him:
And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true
God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. (John 17:3 NKJV)
Many philosophies today, even some which purport to be Christian, do not
believe that God is a Person. They consider God as the perfect Mind, or the
Universal Consciousness, yet they refuse to locate Him. They have a faith in
certain principles or concepts, ones which undoubtedly have wrought great
changes in their lives, yet they cannot bring anyone into fellowship with the
Father, or produce a New Creation. True faith is first and foremost in a Person
the Person of God.
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whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see
Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,
(1Pet 1:8)
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faith is the spiritual sense or organ through which the soul comes into
contact with and is affected by the spiritual world.
Faith is not Mental Assent
John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist church, warned that many people
in the church are not really saved. They have merely mentally subscribed to
certain truths. They have believed with the mind but not the heart. He called
such faith mental assent.
Mental Assent at times looks like faith. Often it sounds like faith. It agrees that
the Bible is true; that it is the revelation of God and that every Word is
inspired. Yet, when crisis comes, it does not act upon the Word, it relies upon
sense knowledge, and leans upon natural means. It recognises the
truthfulness of the Bible, but refuses to act upon it.
This is not the kind of faith God speak of when He says:
So Jesus answered and said to them, Have faith in God. (Mark 11:22)
It is not just a faith that God exists, but a faith that literally takes you into
God. It engages with Him personally.
Faith is not hope
Natural hope can be the greatest enemy of faith. The reason being, hope is
always a future thing; I hope one day to be healed, I hope to have the
money to pay my bills.
Faith on the other hand is a present reality, By His stripes I am healed. As
Paul says in Hebrews 11:1; NOW, faith is
The Scriptures say of Abraham in Romans 4:
Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father
of many nations; according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed
be. (Rom 4:18)
Abraham, against all natural hope, believed in another hope based upon the
Word of promise he had received from God. An inner image was built on the
inside of Abraham through the Word of God, his faith then took hold of the
image that had developed and brought substance and reality to it. Isaac was
born.
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Biblical hope
For whatever things were written before were written for our learning,
that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might
have hope Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace
in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy
Spirit. (Romans 15:4, 13 NKJV)
Biblical hope is not a whimsical desire for a nice outcome, it is a deep
confidence, an earnest expectation of good, and a sure knowledge that Gods
promise will come to pass. It is not just positive expectation with no
foundation, it is a vision founded upon Gods Word.
For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for
why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we
do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance. (Rom 8:24-25)
Hope essentially is a VISION FROM GOD. We see and receive a promise
from Gods Word, and this becomes the blueprint for our faith.
Hebrews 6:19 tells us that hope in Gods Word anchors the soul. When
contrary circumstances or evidence seeks to move us away from our
confident trust in Gods faithfulness, the picture that hope has painted upon
our inner man keeps us steady and takes us into the eternal realm, where
such things no longer move us.
As our vision is filled with the new picture of Gods promise, and as we focus
upon it and begin to confess its reality in our lives (despite any contrary
evidence), we move over from hope to faith.
What was once an earnest expectation of future manifestation becomes
substance in our inner man, and we possess that which we have seen and
perceived in the spiritual realm.
Faith is laying hold of the unrealities of hope and bringing
them into the realm of reality by acting on the Word.
The blueprint becomes the building!
God utilised such visionary tactics with Abraham. He caused him to see the
stars and dust as children that would be born to him (Gen 13:16; 15:5), and
even changed his name so Abrahams constant confession became I am the
father of a multitude (the meaning of the name Abraham).
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the first step to learning is bowing down to GOD. Proverbs 1:7, THE MESSAGE
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C. Faith defined
In this section we will define faith as described in the Bible.
I. Faith is SUBSTANCE and EVIDENCE
The primary text describing the nature of faith is found in Hebrews 11:1:
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of
things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1 NKJV)
We here discover that revelation faith is two things:
i.
ii.
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The Bible declares we are the just or righteous ones that these Scriptures
refer to:
It was to demonstrate and prove at the present time (in the now
season) that He Himself is righteous and that He justifies and accepts
as righteous him who has [true] faith in Jesus. (Romans 3:26 AMP)
Through our faith in Christ we are delivered from the power of sin and have
indeed become the very righteousness of God:
For our sake He made Christ [virtually] to be sin Who knew no sin, so
that in and through Him we might become [endued with, viewed as
being in, and examples of] the righteousness of God [what we ought to
be, approved and acceptable and in right relationship with Him, by His
goodness]. (2Corinthians 5:21 AMP)
As such the Bible declares that we are to live by faith. It is not something we
are trying to do, it is how we are created to live and operate.
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b. Growing Faith
i. Where does faith come from?
The only Source of true faith is God Himself, and His Word. The Bible says
that Jesus is the author of our faith:
Looking away [from all that will distract] to Jesus, Who is the Leader
and the Source of our faith [giving the first incentive for our belief]
and is also its Finisher [bringing it to maturity and perfection]. He, for
the joy [of obtaining the prize] that was set before Him, endured the
cross, despising and ignoring the shame, and is now seated at the right
hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2 AMP)
Romans 10:17 is a key verse to understand the operation of faith:
So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word (Gk:
Rhema) of God. (Romans 10:17 NKJV)
To hear the Word with our spirit is to hear Jesus Himself speak to us. The
Source of true faith is Jesus, the Living Word, and the Bible, the written Word.
The Holy Spirit takes what is written in the Scriptures and makes it alive to our
understanding. This is where faith comes from.
It is the seed of Gods Word entering our heart that is the active ingredient in
the New Birth:
having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible,
through the word of God which lives and abides forever,
(1Peter 1:23 NKJV)
This is why it is so important to speak to others from Gods Word. Without the
seed being planted there can be no harvest and no salvation (Rom 10:13-17).
The Word of salvation through Christ carries the spiritual potential to bring
someone to new birth if it is received in a willing heart. Gods grace works
together with His Word to bring a person to Himself.
Jesus said in Luke 8:11:
The seed is the word of God. (Luke 8:11)
This He says in relation to the parable of the sower. The ground into which the
seed is sown is likened to the human heart:
But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and
good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with
patience. (Luke 8:15 KJV)
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The farmer who plants the seed does not necessarily need to understand the
intricate physics and biology behind the growth of the seed. He just knows
that if he does his part the seed itself will do the rest. Jesus spoke about this
in respect to faith in Mark chapter 4, verses 26 :
And He said, The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed
on the ground, and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed
should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how. For the earth
yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full
grain in the head. But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the
sickle, because the harvest has come. (Mark 4:26-29 NKJV)
We also, as believers, do not need to know how increase will come, or the
details of Gods supernatural working. We just know and trust that Gods
Word is a supernatural seed that, when planted, releases supernatural power.
ii. Growing faith
The Bible says all men do not have faith, (2 Thess 3:2)
When we were alienated from God we were cut off from the Source, so we
had no faith. The gift of saving faith is imparted through the Word in order to
bring us to God (NB: This is different to the gift of faith spoken of in
1Corinthians 12:9, which speaks of a specific endowment of divine faith for a
particular task, granted to an individual by the Holy Spirit). Boasting is
excluded because we cannot even believe to be saved without God first
extending the gift of saving faith to us in the first place:
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of
yourselves; it is the gift of God, (Ephesians 2:8 NKJV)
Once we are born again the Bible shows that the substance of faith is
deposited in our heart. Romans calls this the (or a) measure of faith:
For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among
you (believers), not to think of himself more highly than he ought to
think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure
of faith. (Romans 12:3 NKJV)
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The Scriptures also speak of qualities of faith such as steadfast faith (Col
2:5), rich faith (James 2:5), unfeigned faith (1 Tim 1:5; 2 Tim 1:5), vain faith (1
Cor 15:14) and even dead faith (James 2:17).
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sensitises our heart to hear Him speak to us personally, and quicken what we
are reading or listening to.
We quote again from Andrew Murray:
The external words of Christ, just like the words of the prophets, are to
prepare us for, and point us to, that inner speaking in the heart by the
Holy Spirit, which alone is life and power. This is Gods true speaking in
His Son
It is through the Son the living, mighty, divine Son, direct that God
speaks: it is only in direct living contact with the Son that the words can
profit
The great work of God in heaven, the chief thought and longing of His
heart is, in His Son, to reach your heart and speak to you. Oh, let it be
the great work of your life, and the great longing of your heart, to know
this Jesus; as a humble, meek disciple to bow at His feet, and let Him
teach you of God and eternal life
[Remember] that angels and prophets could only point to Him who was
to come, that the words of Scripture, and even of Christ Himself, only
profit as they waken the expectancy of something higher, let us wait on
God to speak in His Son to us. Gods speaking in us will be a mighty
act of creative power, a birth of His love within us.
Andrew Murray, The Holiest of All, KCM publications, ISBN 0-8010-5763-9
In order to develop strong faith we must constantly look to the Word of God,
and listen with an expectant heart for Gods voice speaking through it.
Proverbs says:
My son, give attention (attend) to my words; Incline your ear to my
sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst
of your heart; For they are life to those who find them, And health to all
their flesh. (Proverbs 4:20-22 NKJV)
When we give attention and attend to something we actively engage with the
task. It is not a frivolous or accidental thing. It is deliberate and purposeful.
Jesus said to take care what we are hearing:
And He said to them, Be careful what you are hearing. The measure
[of thought and study] you give [to the truth you hear] will be the
measure [of virtue and knowledge] that comes back to youand more
[besides] will be given to you who hear. (Mark 4:24 AMP)
Just as Abraham allowed the Promise to fill His vision, not the problem, centre
your attention not on circumstance but on what the Word of Promise declares.
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with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth
confession is made unto salvation. (Romans 10:9-10 NKJV)
With the heart a person believes unto righteousness. A spiritual transaction
takes place in the heart (the spirit) of a person when the Word is heard and
received and accepted as present truth. Faith comes, and this immediately
aligns the believer with God. This is what righteousness means, right standing
with God. Now there is agreement; the Believer and God are one in respect to
the promise that has been received.
This powerful substance called faith is then released from the heart through
the mouth. Faith filled words proceeding from a heart in vital connection with
God are released into the spiritual world, and demand that the natural
circumstance align itself with Gods purpose, just as the heart has. The inner
change affects and outer transformation. Through confession of the believed
Word, the inner reality becomes an outward reality also.
All of this begins in the heart.
The doorways to the heart
There are several doorways, which provided
entrance to the Spirit. The primary entry points
are the eyes and ears. This is why we must be
careful what we watch and what we listen to.
Paul says in Galatians:
Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows,
that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh
reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap
everlasting life. (Galatians 6:7-8 NKJV)
If we sow words and images of fear, violence, doubt, perversion, worldliness
etc, this is precisely the harvest we will bring forth; words of fear, violence,
doubt etc. Those will then become the words which determine our future
outcome.
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the first step to learning is bowing down to GOD. Proverbs 1:7, THE MESSAGE
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It is with the heart that man believes when it comes to receiving the
baptism of the Holy Spirit, and it is with the mouth that confession is
made unto this Pentecostal experience.
Whatever it is that you receive from God, it is done the same way through faith. Faith is activated by believing with your heart and
confessing with your mouth.
Kenneth Hagin, Bible Faith Study Course, Faith Publications, ISBN 0-89276-083-4
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One of these basic spiritual laws has to do with words. Its called the
Law of Confession
In these verses [Matthew 12:34-37], Jesus teaches that the Law of
Confession works for everyone. Whatever is in our hearts in
abundance is destined to come out of our mouths and establish every
aspect of our lives. Thats the law. Thats how God designed it
The law of confession, like the laws of flight, has the power to take you
where you want to be. The laws of flight can take you in the air and
then land you safely. They are designed to work every time.
The Law of Confession works the same. It has the power to change
things in your life taking you to the places and the things God has for
you.
Bill Winston, Believers Voice of Victory magazine, KCM Publications, September 2007
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The language of the Senses is: "I can't, I haven't the ability, I haven't the
strength, I don't have the opportunity, I have no education, I have been
limited."
- The language of faith says, "I can do all things in Him who strengtheneth
me,"
Who is it that strengthens me? It is my Father God.
I can do all things through Him. I cannot be conquered. I cannot be defeated.
There isn't force enough in all the world to conquer Him who dwells in me.
Not only am I born of God, a partaker of God's nature and life, but I have God
dwelling in me, and I have the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead
dwelling in me.
I have God's wisdom, God's strength, God's ability.
I am learning how to let Him govern my intellect, letting Him think through me,
use my vocal faculties. I am daring to think His thoughts after Him.
I am daring to believe that it is God who is at work within me and that He will
work His own good pleasure.
I am daring to say in the presence of my oId enemies: failure, weakness,
want, lack of opportunity, lack of knowledge, lack of strong friends, and a
thousand others, "God is my ability."
God has made me greater than my enemies. God has made me put my heel
on the neck of weakness, of fear, of inability, and I stand and declare that
whosoever believeth in Him shall not be put to shame.
I cannot be put to shame. My weaknesses are routed. The strength of God is
mine.
The ability of God has taken me captive and I revel in this captivity.
E W Kenyon, The Two Kinds of Faith, Kenyons Gospel Publishing Society
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When you are in faith there will always be some action you can take to
demonstrate your faith.
Kenneth Hagin, Bible Faith Study Course, Faith Publications, ISBN 0-89276-083-4
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There is not only to be assent in faith, but consent; not only an assent
to the truth of the word, but a consent to take Christ. True believing is
not an act of the understanding only, but a work of the whole heart.
A bare religious profession, without a lifestyle of good works which
correspond with that profession, is as distasteful as a putrid and decaying
body. Our faith must be clothed with the lively works which spring from its
reality in our lives. Dry, bare bones of lifeless doctrine are not the faith of
Christ, they are something entirely different, and foreign to the vibrant and
vital reality of Christ in the life of a born-again believing saint.
Weymouths New Testament reads:
What good is it, my brethren, if a man professes to have faith, and yet
his actions do not correspond? Can such faith save him? (James 2:14
WEYMTH)
and verse 22:
You notice that his faith was co-operating with his actions, and that by
his actions his faith was perfected; (James 2:22 WEYMTH)
Just as there must be agreement between the Word and the believers
thoughts and beliefs. Just as there must be agreement between the believers
faith in his/her heart and the words of their mouth. So there must finally be cooperation or agreement in the form of corresponding actions. Our actions
must be in perfect fellowship with our confession.
Hagin gives the following example:
For example, we may say that we are trusting God to provide
finances, but at the same time we are worrying and fretting about how
we are going to pay our bills. There is no corresponding action there.
One minute we confess that the Word of God is true, and the very next
moment we repudiate everything we say by wrong actions. Your
actions must correspond with your believing if you are going to receive
from God.
Kenneth Hagin, Bible Faith Study Course, Faith Publications, ISBN 0-89276-083-4
The epistle of James calls those who say one thing and do another,
deceived. They are double-minded.
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
(James 1:22 NKJV)
It is not enough to merely hear the Word, we must act on it if we are to see
results. Believing is acting upon the Word. If we really believe it, we will act
upon it. It is the doers of the Word who are blessed and empowered:
the first step to learning is bowing down to GOD. Proverbs 1:7, THE MESSAGE
2010 Christian Outreach Centre All Rights Reserved. These notes are licensed for personal use of the purchaser only and may not be sold, copied,
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But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and
abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual
doer, this man shall be blessed in what he does. (James 1:25 NASB)
Again, Jesus Himself spoke to this. He drew attention to those who obey
(those who do what He says) His Word as the ones whom He would manifest
Himself in, to and through:
At that time [when that day comes] you will know [for yourselves] that I
am in My Father, and you [are] in Me, and I [am] in you.
The person who has My commands and keeps them is the one who
[really] loves Me; and whoever [really] loves Me will be loved by My
Father, and I [too] will love him and will show (reveal, manifest) Myself
to him. [I will let Myself be clearly seen by him and make Myself real to
him.]
Judas, not Iscariot, asked Him, Lord, how is it that You will reveal
Yourself [make Yourself real] to us and not to the world?
Jesus answered, If a person [really] loves Me, he will keep My word
[obey My teaching]; and My Father will love him, and We will come to
him and make Our home (abode, special dwelling place) with him.
(John 14:20-23 AMP)
Works confirm and cooperate with the substance of faith in the inner man. Our
actions in line with our believing and speaking release the faith to manifest
what is already real in the spiritual realm.
Faith coupled with obedient action is the very foundation of our life with God.
Jesus spoke of this in Matthew 7:24-27. It is one who hears and obeys whose
house will stand the trials of life, not the hearer only.
Our works are not the key. We are not saved, nor do we receive from God
because of our works. We receive because of our faith, but our works will
clearly be displayed if that faith is real. Our works correspond and co-operate
with our faith.
the first step to learning is bowing down to GOD. Proverbs 1:7, THE MESSAGE
2010 Christian Outreach Centre All Rights Reserved. These notes are licensed for personal use of the purchaser only and may not be sold, copied,
given away or redistributed in any way.
Christian Outreach Centre Spirit Life Bible Curriculum M7L3-4 Page 34 www.studythebiblenow.com
In Conclusion
We will conclude with a simple diagram outlining the process we have here
described:
The mind
is renewed
to the
Word of
God,
becoming
fully
persuaded
The
heart
receives
and
believes
the
Word
From the
abundance
of the heart,
the mouth
confesses
the
believed
Word
We act in
accordance
with our
faith and
confession,
adding
Action to
our faith
That which
we are
believing
for is
manifest in
the natural
realm
This diagram simply outlines the process involved in what the Bible calls the
Law of Faith.
the first step to learning is bowing down to GOD. Proverbs 1:7, THE MESSAGE
2010 Christian Outreach Centre All Rights Reserved. These notes are licensed for personal use of the purchaser only and may not be sold, copied,
given away or redistributed in any way.
Christian Outreach Centre Spirit Life Bible Curriculum M7L3-4 Page 35 www.studythebiblenow.com
Recommended Reading
There are many excellent books on the subject of faith. The
following are recommended to every student who wants to
study this subject in greater depth:
the first step to learning is bowing down to GOD. Proverbs 1:7, THE MESSAGE
2010 Christian Outreach Centre All Rights Reserved. These notes are licensed for personal use of the purchaser only and may not be sold, copied,
given away or redistributed in any way.