IN THE WORDS OF JESUS–Part 189

Love is the Fulfilling of the Law

The Miracles of Jesus

We begin today a discussion on the many miracles of the Master that are recorded for us in the gospels as well as some of the miraculous things done by His apostles and disciples who had found in themselves the Power of the Soul as it worked out in their daily physical plane lives both before and after the Jesus’ death on the cross. We will likely touch on things that are rather obscure in the normal reading of the scriptures and we should remember that the Master tells us that “”Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do ; because I go unto my Father” (John 14:12). We should also properly construct this saying in conjunction with the Master’s telling us more on the idea of believe and its relationship to doubt; He says: “That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith” (Mark 11:23). This same saying is a bit different in Matthew’s Gospel though both are said in conjunction with the Master’s miraculous ‘withering’ of the fig tree; He says: “Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed , and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done ” (Matthew 21:21).

The principal in all of these is the same though they are stated differently; they all involve believing although in John’s gospel the idea is a bit muddled by Jesus reference to “believeth on me” which is unfortunately thought of by some as just believing in Jesus, that He is the Son of God and the Redeemer of the world. We should know that this is not the only criteria to the performance of miracles. We have, in past posts, rendered the idea of believing as found in John’s Gospel as following Him, as doing His word, and this is definitely the thought that comes across when reading this in conjunction with His other sayings in John. This idea is also confirmed by our reading of these sayings above in the other gospels where the idea of believing is not so much in the Master but it is also firmly planted in “doubting nothing” (Acts 10:20). We should note here that the word rendered believe is used in the Gospel of John more times than it is used in the combination of the three synoptic gospels (86 vs. 32) which should highlight for us the message that the Apostle John is giving us; that we should believe as he believed which is in the following and the adherence to the Master’s words.

Let us spend some time on this idea of believe, especially as it is used by John, for in our understanding of this can come our understanding also of “doubting nothing” and thereby our understanding of the awesome power contained in the sayings above. The word that is rendered believe here is the Greek word pisteuo; we have addressed some of the ideas that we will look at in this series before in our discussions on Faith and Hope (In the Words of Jesus part 140). Among other observations we saw that the Greek word translated as believe (pisteuo) and believing (pistos) is much the same as the Greek word translated as Faith (pistis); the noun version of believe in Greek is the same word as that generally translated as Faith (pistis) and this all creates a strong affiliation between the English ideas of Faith and of believing. According to the lexicon the Greek word pisteuo has the word pistis as its origin.

• The lexicon tells us that  pisteuo means: to think to be true, to be persuaded of, to credit, place confidence in, of the thing believed; to credit, have confidence; in a moral or religious reference, used in the NT of the conviction and trust to which a man is impelled by a certain inner and higher prerogative and law of soul, to trust in Jesus or God as able to aid either in obtaining or in doing something: saving faith, 1bc) mere acknowledgment of some fact or event: intellectual faith; to entrust a thing to one, i.e. his fidelity; to be intrusted with a thing². In this series of ideas we see a strong relationship to the idea of Faith but only as it is similar to believing. According to the lexicon writers, this word implies only that one believes a thing to be true and to have confidence in it; there seems to be no personal responsibility to do any thing; it is a reliance on God.
• The word  pisteuo is translated, in the King James Version (KJV) as believe 239, commit unto 4, commit to (one’s) trust 1, be committed unto 1, be put in trust with 1, be commit to one’s trust 1, believer 1.² N These ideas of commitment give a bit more force to our idea believing as following and doing His word.
• Strong’s tells us that pisteuo means to believe, put one’s faith in, trust, with an implication that actions based on that trust may follow; (pass) entrust³. Here we can see the idea of our participation in with the ideas that actions based on the believing or trust may follow. This is still not the idea of following and doing but it is a bit closer as there is at least the implication of action.
• Vine’s tells us that pisteuo is “to believe,” also “to be persuaded of,” and hence, “to place confidence in, to trust,” signifies, in this sense of the word, reliance upon, not mere credence⁶. These ideas, along with most of the above, continue to be within the normal Christian ideas of Faith and believing which again carries no personal responsibility for doing any thing.

The above are all in the same basic place insofar as giving us an understanding of this word. We can draw out some  thoughts that relate to our own ideas but these are written according to the Christian belief that believing and Faith are the basic components and are what is necessary for salvation. In the deeper regions, one can see that if there is True Faith and True believing in the Christ that one would ordinarily do what it is that the Master tells us but this is seldom stated in this way which likely leaves many misunderstanding the intent of the Master. The true implications are found within the Master’s words and there is a connection between all the terms. Faith and believing are multifaceted ideas that bring us to harmony with Christ and with the Christ Within.

• When we say that we believe in Jesus and in the Christ as our salvation and our Redeemer and we call Him Lord: He says to us “And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say” (Luke 6:46).
• When we say that we believe in Jesus and in the Christ as our salvation and our Redeemer and we say that we Love Him: He says to us “If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him” (John 14:23) and also that “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me” (John 14:21).

Can we see the idea here that believing only and in having Faith only without the requirement to do His word and keep His commandments are an empty attempt at oneness with the Master and the Christ Within? His words are clear; “If a man love me, he will keep my words” puts the onus on us to do His word in it is in this doing that we will find the ability and the strength, through the Light of the Soul, to do any thing by Faith. His saying to us that “why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say” has the same effect. If He is our Lord we follow Him, we do as He says to do. If we say that we believe in Jesus and in the Christ as our salvation and our Redeemer then He must per force be our Lord.

Vincent gives us some clarity as regards John’s use of the word pisteuo as it is rendered believe on from this verse: “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name” (John 1:12). The context here is the same as the context in our subject verse above and this verse is among those that give many the misunderstanding of the intent of the word’s use. Vincent says: Believe on (pisteuo eis). The present participle, believing, indicate the present and continuous activity of faith. The word is used by John, sometimes with the dative case simply meaning to believe a person or thing; i.e., to believe that they are true or speak the truth. Thus, to believe Scripture (ii. 22); believe me (iv. 21); believe Moses, his writings, my words (v. 46). At other times with a preposition, eis, into, which is rendered believe in or believe on. So here, vi. 29; viii. 30; 1 John v. 10. See the two contrasted in vi. 29, 30; viii. 30, 31; 1 John v. 10. To believe in, or on, is more than mere acceptance of a statement. It is so to accept a statement or a person as to rest upon them, to trust them practically; to draw upon and avail one’s self of all that is offered to him in them. Hence to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ is not merely to believe the facts of His historic life or of His saving energy as facts, but to accept Him as Saviour, Teacher, Sympathizer, Judge; to rest the soul upon Him for present and future salvation, and to accept and adopt His precept and example as binding upon the life⁴.

Here in Vincent’s words we find a truer understanding of the intent of the Master and of John in using the term believe on with the inherent idea that we accept and adopt His precept and example as binding upon the life⁴.

Our journey through the use of this word pisteuo and the affiliated ideas of Faith and “doubting nothing” are necessary because of their importance to understanding Jesus words above which tell us that we can do these things as well. In looking at the miracles of the Master we will see the inherent possibilities of our accomplishing much along these very lines with an understanding of what it is that we can do and should do. There are many Christian ministers today that hold healing services and there are many that are helped by these. There are some that result in instant healing and there are stories and reports of ministers raising the dead. If we have any belief in the possibility of miracles, in the power of the supernatural, then we will believe that these things are true and with this as our premise, that they are possible and supernatural, we will try to find an understanding of what it is that is truly happening. Though there are many ministers and others that claim to have the power to heal by the Holy Spirit, their efforts are unpredictable and erratic and there are yet many charlatans out there. The Tibetan tells us that it is only the Christ that can heal by the Will to do so; what is it then that all these others are doing?

Note on the Quote of the Day