2 Corinthians 5:7 “For we walk by faith, not by sight.”
Continuing, Pastor Herk asks: What is faith? Hebrews 11:1 tells us, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” In theology, faith is the assent of the mind or understanding to the truth of what God has revealed. Simple belief of the Scriptures, of the being and perfections of God, and of the existence, character and doctrines of Christ, founded on the testimony of the sacred writers, is called historical or speculative faith. Evangelical, justifying, or saving faith, is the assent of the mind to the truth of Divine revelation, on the authority of God's testimony, accompanied with a cordial assent of the will or approbation of the heart; an entire confidence or trust in God's character and declarations, and in the character and doctrines of Christ, with an unreserved surrender of the will to His guidance, and dependence on His merits for salvation. In other words, that firm belief of God's testimony, and of the truth of the Gospel, which influences the will, and leads to an entire reliance on Christ for salvation.
Faith is knowing in your heart, mind, spirit and soul that God is behind the scenes working in us and our world for His purposes. As Ecclesiastes 3:1 tells us, “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.” 1 Corinthians 13:13 says, “And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” Why? Faith is the substance of things hoped for. Hope is the confidence in a future event; the highest degree of well-founded expectation of good; as a hope founded on God's gracious promises; a Scriptural sense. In the future, when the Christian passes from this earthly pilgrimage to their eternal home in Heaven with the Lord, they will have, see and experience what they hoped for and faith is no longer necessary, but love transcends and continues forever.
1 Corinthians 12:1-13 says, “Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be unaware. You know that when you were pagans, you were led astray to the mute idols, however you were led. Therefore, I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus is accursed”; and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit. Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills. For just as the body is one and yet has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.
Romans 3:23-24 “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.”
We all had pagan lives before we came to Christ. We thought that some of the things in that secular life were really important to us and striving after them, unaware of God in our everyday life. Where are those things that were so important, that we had to have? How did those “must haves” help us in our hard and dark times? They were just the worries and distractions of the world and the deceitfulness [the superficial pleasures and delight] that made us feel good for the moment. But, each and every time that the Christian cries out, it is the Holy Spirit that hears your voice and delivers it up to God the Father. Romans 8:26-27 explains that, “the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know what to pray for as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”
Let's conclude Pastor Herk's message on the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the next post.
In Christ, Brian
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