IN FAITH
We begin this new theme with that great and famous quotation from the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). A literal translation of this from Young’s Literal Translation is “And faith is of things hoped for a confidence, of matters not seen a conviction” and the Revised Version says it as “Now faith is assurance of [things] hoped for, a conviction of things not seen“. Through these all we should get the understanding that faith is a confidence and a conviction that, that which we would hope for will be, even when we cannot see how it can be. Now hope is another word that needs to be clear in this context. The Greek Lexicon defines hope as to hope; in a religious sense, to wait for salvation with joy and full confidence, hopefully to trust in** which seems no definition at all. Strong’s goes further to say that hope is to hope, put hope in, expect, an attitude of confidently looking forward to what is good and beneficial*** and from this we get the idea of expectation of the good and the beneficial. This Greek word elpizo is alternately translated as trust which gives us no better an idea of the intent of this writer.
Perhaps the best explanation of hope is from Webster’s 1828 dictionary, before the modern usage of the word emerged, and this is: A desire of some good, accompanied with at least a slight expectation of obtaining it, or a belief that it is obtainable. Hope differs from wish and desire in this, that it implies some expectation of obtaining the good desired, or the possibility of possessing it. Hope therefore always gives pleasure or joy; whereas wish and desire may produce or be accompanied with pain and anxiety. 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. That which gives hope; he or that which furnishes ground of expectation, or promises desired good. An opinion or belief not amounting to certainty, but grounded on substantial evidence.*. This definition of hope shows that hope itself involves some aspect of faith as a part of it. Hope is not hope without some degree of expectation, of belief not amounting to certainty but of which we are sure based on some evidence.
So then what is faith? Faith is the inward knowledge of the certainty that what is hoped for will come to pass. Knowing a thing Can come to pass is hope; that it Will come to pass is faith. So faith is knowledge that something WILL be or WILL happen; Faith is Unshakable and Without Doubt; this is how the subject of faith has been approached by the Master. Let us look at some of what He had to say:
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“for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you” (Matthew 17:20); and in similar fashion: “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).
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“For verily I say unto you, 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).
In two of these three sayings of Jesus we find the idea of doubt not and doubts opposite, believe. This is Jesus’ teaching on faith; that we believe and we doubt not. Now we can believe and doubt at the same time and, I suppose, that this is a rather normal human failing which is addressed in the Epistle of James as such when he says “But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering . For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed . For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord” (James 1:6-7). In the third instance of this mountain moving faith noted above Jesus gives us the idea of the amount of faith we need. Comparing it to a mustard seed, of which in another place he says “is less than all the seeds that be in the earth” (Mark 4:31), He tells us that if we had just that little amount of real faith, whatever it is that we want will be done.
Now this is all a testimony to the spiritual power that is within each of us and says that when that spiritual Light, with its Love and its Wisdom, is able to reveal itself in its full potency, as it did in the life of Jesus, we can do those greater things that He told us about. We may say that this is an impossible task, to have that kind of faith, but it is not impossible else He would not have told us that we could do it. It requires however for us to be in His Presence; dwelling in the Kingdom; full of the Light of the Soul, the Christ Within; and so focused on the Kingdom and on His Righteousness that there is no doubt of what and who we are. Anything less than this would unleash a Godly power on the Earth in the control of mere mortal human beings and this would spell catastrophe.
The Master adds in Matthew “And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing , ye shall receive” (Matthew 21:22) and in Mark “Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire , when ye pray , believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them“(Mark 11:24). Many equate this believing and praying to the power of prayer and to ‘believing for’ this or that to happen or be done. But is this a true reading of this scripture? Are not the consecutive phrases intended to be read as one? Are not the “and all things” and the “what things soever ye desire” to be understood in the same context as the moving of the mountain? And requiring that same power of faith and belief. And let us not also forget the supreme qualifier that Jesus places into the dialogue in saying “And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses” (Mark 11:25-26); and this forgiveness is a great human example of GoodWill which is Love in Action.
There is much more to faith than this mountain moving kind which is the pinnacle of faith as we can know it. There are degrees and gradations which we all live with. All who are striving to enter at that strait gate do possess some degree of faith in the end result and this is faith that builds as we get closer to His Presence. There are many biblical examples of the power of faith at or near the mountain moving level. The apostles had it as seen in their instant miraculous healing power; many of the prophets had it in their ability to make things happen that would not ordinarily happen and for both this is evidence of their ability to use the mighty spiritual power of the Spirit of God and to be able to direct it to their desired use. Today’s quote of the day is one example of the power of faith, of confidence and of the knowledge of one’s spiritual nature and power.
Note on the Quote of the Day
This daily blog also has a Quote of the Day which may not be in any way related to the essay. Many of these will be from the Bible and some just prayers or meditations that may have an influence on you and are in line with the subject matter of this blog. As the quote will change daily and will not store with the post, it is repeated in this section with the book reference and comment.
Daniel’s Answer to the King by Briton Rivière; 1872
Today’s quote of the day is a picture and it is said that a picture is worth a thousand words. In this case, I could write much more than that and still not do it justice. This is the Prophet Daniel in the Lions Den. If you are not familiar with this story you should read it in the Old Testament at Daniel Chapter 6. The message from it today is in Faith and Believing and having No Doubt as the main text of today’s essay speaks. Without a care for the Lions and with his knowledge of their ferocity and of what happens to men put into the den, Daniel steadfastly looks out toward his God in full confidence of His protection.
- * Websters Revised Unabridged Dictionary, 1828 and 1913
- ** New Testament Greek Lexicon on BibleStudyTools.com
- *** Strongest Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible – 2001
