By Grace through Faith: The Word of Faith

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, Ephesians 2:8 NKJV

Therefore it is of faith that it might be by Grace; Romans 4:16a KJV



We've been in a study examining what it means to walk in New Covenant Faith. So far we've seen what Faith is and how Faith comes to us. We've seen how to grow in Faith. 

 When it comes to Faith and how it comes we must not make the assumption that tradition does that Faith comes through hard times or suffering. The truth is as we saw in our previous study on suffering, we live in a fallen world. Troubles exist because of it, but those troubles don't bring you Faith, feeding on God's Word does. 

 Also, we have seen what Faith is, let's briefly address what Faith isn't. Faith is not a ticket to Utopia. That troubles no longer exist. That you will never have any pressures in this world. We live in a fallen world but Faith assures us of the victory. Faith isn't foolish actions, Faith is trusting in God and what He has said in the Word and what Jesus accomplished in the Finished Work.

 Now that we know what Faith is, and how it comes, what do we with it once we have it? How do we use it or release it? Is Faith passive? Is Faith stagnate? Here's a good question, after salvation, or receiving the New Birth, is Faith even necessary? 

the Word of Faith

 Faith is an essential part of the Christian life. Just as Grace is not simply an entry-level truth neither is Faith. Grace is the Gospel. Grace is always a vital part of life in Christ, but so also is Faith. For we must continually believe what He has done for us to walk in them and to reign over the lies of the enemy, the world system, and the religious traditions of man. 

 How then do we exercise Faith? What do we do with Faith once we have it? How do we release our Faith? In the simplest terms, Faith is believing in your heart and speaking out with your mouth. 

Look at Jesus' words in Mark 11. Essentially Jesus said this. Faith believes and speaks forth. It doesn't vacillate between believing God and doubting Him, walking in unbelief. Faith doesn't keep changing its mind. 

 When the storms arise, Faith doesn't wring its hands in anxiety. It isn't crying out what are we going to do? Where is our hope or help? When the circumstances don't seem to agree with what God said, Faith doesn't change its mind. It doesn't agree with what it looks like. Faith stays steady, unmoving, unchanging, it clings like a bulldog to what God our Good Father said and has done in Jesus' Finished Work.

 Over the last few centuries, it seems unbelief, doubt, and skepticism are the badges proudly worn by some in the Body of Christ, especially in the West. How do I know this? Look at the reactionary theology that is so prevalent in the modern Church. 

 I am not even speaking of the supernatural power of the Lord Jesus. Look at how so many react to the Gospel of Grace. We see some who've received Jesus. Yet, through immaturity, not having their minds fully renewed, not understanding what it means to be a new creation, not fully grasping what it means to be the righteousness of God, they get into sin or wrong living, poor choices and the like. The result? So many in the Church react to what they see with their natural eyes instead of looking with the eyes of Faith. 

 Doubt and unbelief say, "surely God is angry with that one, look how he lives."" Surely, God is going to withhold His love and Favor and blessings and goodness." "It is certain that that one has lost their salvation." Instead of speaking God's Word about the promises of the eternal security of the believer, some are speaking what they see with their eyes. 

 No, Faith sees what God said and agrees with that and believes that and speaks that out. Again, Faith is believing in the heart and speaking with the mouth. Some under Grace, who are shrouded by a subtle form of unbelief, deny Jesus' words in Mark as being for the Church because Jesus gave the Old Covenant stipulation of forgiveness in the same passage. They say that passage isn't speaking of New Covenant Faith, that Faith doesn't exist for all areas of life.

 We have to rightly divide Jesus' words. Sometimes He spoke Law to the Hebrews but sometimes He spoke alluding of the New Covenant to come. Mark 11, the principals of Faith, believing and speaking are repeated in the New twice by Paul. So these Faith truths are universal truths that have always existed.

13 We have the same spirit of faith. As it is written, “I believed, and therefore I have spoken.”So we also believe and therefore speak, 2 Corinthians 4:13 MEV

 8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart.”This is the word of faith that we preach: 9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved, 10 for with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Romans 10:8-10 MEV

We can clearly see God is trying to get our attention. Faith comes by hearing and is released by believing in the heart, without doubting, and speaking forth with our mouth. So what does this look like? 

 When you hear the Good News of Grace and know you were made righteous when you believed, then when thoughts come disagreeing with what Jesus did, you can reject those thoughts, taking them captive and confessing who you are. When you blow it or are overcoming addictions and accusation arises, you can speak forth Faith. You can profess, I may not look righteous or holy but God declared me righteous, and the Finished Work made me holy. therefore I am the righteousness of God and have been made holy once for all time. When you wake up and some days you just don't feel saved, or accepted or approved. You can shake those feelings off declaring I am a new creation in Christ, I am accepted in the beloved, I am my Father's delight! 

 In summation, the Word of Faith is a believing and speaking Faith. It is not a passive Faith. It is not a doubting and skeptical way of seeing life. Faith sees, Faith believes and Faith speaks. Faith brings us to a victorious triumphant way of living. Faith isn't moved by feelings or what it looks like. Faith sees what Jesus accomplished in the Finished Work, Faith hears what God said, Faith believes what Jesus did and the promises God made because of it. Faith speaks forth what it believes. Have Faith in God!

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By Grace through Faith: Got Faith?

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, Ephesians 2:8 NKJV

Therefore it is of faith that it might be by Grace; Romans 4:16a KJV

We've begun a new study of walking by New Covenant Faith. In our last study, we defined what Faith actually is despite how the traditional religious-minded or the unlearned define it. We've seen that Faith is not "blind". That it's not directionless or somehow not focused on specifics. 

 Faith is being fully persuaded by unseen evidence. That evidence is what the Finished Work procured for us, and what God said to us because of the Finished Work. Faith cannot exist where the will of God is not known. That's why God in His infinite Goodness has let us know what His will is.

What is His will?

When it comes to God's will, so many believers and Christian leaders seem almost bewildered, baffled and bemused. Like God's will is the "holy grail" and so few ever find it. That God's will is some magnificent mystery and oh joy to you if you actually discern it or discover it.

 How so many discern God's will is this. Let's pray to God to do something. Let's ask God for something. Well, if it happens it must have been God's will. If it didn't happen or come to pass? Must not have been His will. Listen, brothers and sisters, God's will is not a shot in the dark. It is not some mystery to be solved. Paul has told us this.

9 having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, Ephesians 1:9 NKJV

 Here is a perfect illustration of knowing God's will. Suppose you enter a restaurant that you've never been to. Suppose the sign says serving a variety of food. You are seated, with no menu in sight, then the server comes to take you order and you say ok can I have a pizza? What if their response was we don't have pizza, only vegetarian, seafood, steaks, and ribs? More than likely your response would be something like well I didn't see any menu so I wasn't sure what you served. The point is that the establishment must provide you with the pertinent information for you to be able to make your selection. 

 So it is with God. God so much as tells us this in 1 John. For you to know what to order at a restaurant, they give you a menu. They inform you of what's available. God is just and righteous, therefore He must also inform us of His will in order for us to ask in Faith. So what is His will? His will is His Word. If you want to know what God's will is, look at His Word, what He said. What He confirmed with His promises. What we see Jesus accomplished in the Finished Work.

 Having established that His Word is His will and we, therefore, can know His will, how then does Faith come? How do we know we have Faith? God's Word gives us insight into this.

17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Romans 10:17 NKJV

Got Faith?

  Faith comes by hearing God's Word. It comes from hearing the Word spoken, the Word of God preached in its fullness. It comes by hearing yourself speak His Word. When we speak God's Word, our minds get renewed to the truth of God instead of the lies of the enemy and this world system. 

 Some may be saying well that's great brother,  but I don't think I have any Faith. Not so, for the Word tells us otherwise. The Word declared all believers have been given the same measure of Faith. We all start with the same amount of Faith. It is up to us to grow in our Faith. There are no special believers or ones God loves more than you. We have Faith and can grow that Faith as we will. We even see Paul speak of exceedingly growing Faith.

God has a simple way to grow in Faith. Simply feeding on His Word will bring growth and stronger Faith. Some may be thinking, ok Faith comes by hearing but what about Hebrews where it says the Word spoke didn't profit them, not being mixed with Faith in them that heard? Glad you brought this up. 

 The Word won't bring Faith if the hearer of the Word denies the Word or seeks to misapply the Word. Hebrews said the Gospel wasn't received by the hearers. Why? Because they couldn't accept the Good News of God's Grace. 

 Misguided men who hear Ephesians 5, about husbands and wives and take that passage as an excuse to dominate and exercise control over their wife are not acting in Faith. They are misapplying God's Word. When religious traditional-minded,  hear the Word on the Gifts of the Spirit, they don't mix Faith with what they hear for they deny that aspect of God's Word for today. 

 When the hearer of the Word looks to outward circumstances or their experiences, they aren't receiving the Word, thus Faith can't come. God's Word is true, not because we experience it. God's Word is true because God said it. Because it is the truth, we, therefore, should experience it. 

 Want to have exceedingly growing Faith? Then feed on God's Word. It's about having more Word in you than World. Want to grow strong in your new identity? Feed more on God's Word about who you are in Christ. Want to be strong in Grace? Than feed on God's Word about Jesus and His Finished Work. Want to be strong in the things of the Holy Spirit? Feed on God's Word concerning the Gifts and moving of the Spirit. Want to be strong in healing? Feed on God's Word about healing and wholeness. 

 In summation, do you have Faith? If you've received Jesus then you absolutely do. Remember there are no special believers. There are no Christians God loves more than others. He hasn't given more Faith in someone than He has given you. Faith is a level playing field. Remember it is by Faith so it can be by Grace. Simply feeding on God's Word causes Faith in your heart to grow and produce victory in all areas of life. God is for us not against us. 

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By Grace Through Faith: What is Faith?

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, Ephesians 2:8 NKJV

16 Therefore it is of Faith that it might be by Grace Romans 4:16a KJV



We are beginning a new study on New Covenant Faith. Faith is often misunderstood in some Christian circles. When one says Faith they mistakenly think of the denomination one is a part of. Are you of the Baptist faith? Are you of the Lutheran faith? Are you of the Methodist faith? That is not what Faith is.

 Faith is also often mistakenly referred to as blind faith. That Faith simply blindly trusts in something without any evidence of whatsoever. That it trusts without knowledge. Again this is a wrong concept about Faith. Let's explore the truth about Faith. 

What Faith Is...

What is Faith? It's not blind trust. It is not someone's religious practices. It is not a spiritual detecter revealing "superior" and "inferior" Christians. It is also not someone who is "wishing and a hoping" for some positive turn out in the circumstances of their life. 

 New Covenant Faith is determined. It is specific. It isn't sporadic in its focus. It is single-minded. It is purposed and unwavering and unswayed. How do we define Faith? The Amplified in my view gives the absolute best definition of Faith.

11 Now faith is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses]. Hebrews 11:1 AMP

  Let this definition sink in, get rooted deeply in your spirit. Faith is the assurance that what we hope will come to pass. Faith gives substance to hope. Hope is positive expectation based on what Jesus, God's Grace made available, what God promises we have because of Jesus. 

 Faith is the confirmation of the promise of God. Faith is the title deed. This is an awesome truth. In this world, we who are old enough will understand a title deed. Each nation runs a little differently but this principal of the title deed is the same the world around. 

 If one buys a car from someone, and they get the title deed that paper is proof enough that they have a car. They can tell their friends look I have a new car. They make look upon that one in bewilderment, saying we don't see a car. All that person need do is show them the title deed. See I have a car, it's mine, you may not see it but I have a car this deed is proof enough.

 Maybe you'd say I have never bought a car or house this illustration is lost on me. Ok, I will make it even clearer. Faith is the confirmation. You bought that item online. Your friends may not see that item. All you need do is show them the confirmation number and they will know you do in fact have that item.

 Faith is our confirmation number that all God provided in the Finished Work is ours. Faith is the title deed, revealing to us when presently possess all Grace procured for us. Faith is being fully persuaded by unseen evidence in the spiritual realm. Faith is the conviction that it is settled in the Heavens, that what God said is ours because of the Cross is in truth fully ours. 

 So what is Faith? It is being fully persuaded by unseen evidence. It isn't blind. It isn't trusting without evidence. Faith perceives as real facts what is not revealed to our natural senses. As Paul said we walk by Faith not by sight. The evidence is revealed to us in the spiritual arena not this natural. God declared us righteous and holy once for all time. Yet we don't always look like it, but we aren't focused on the evidence we can see with our physical senses but with what we see with our spiritual sense, what God accomplished in the Finished Work.

 Again Faith is the belief of our hearts, our spirit man, not our heads, that is our mental assent, our intellectual thoughts. Some try to insinuate that Biblical Faith is mere mentally agreement with what the Bible says, not a heartfelt agreement. Look, Faith is of the heart, not our intellect, for there are truths in God that supersede the natural order and scientific fact. Disagree?

 Under the Old, God did many mighty miracles. The prophet Elisha operating in a manifestation of the Spirit caused an iron axe head to float in water. How many realize that iron doesn't float on top of the water? That is not something we can intellectually make sense of. That is a change in the natural order of things. Jesus, God in the flesh was conceived by the Spirit in Mary's womb. Scientific fact, it takes a fertilized egg for conception to occur. Yet Jesus was born of a virgin. That supersedes science fact.

 In summation, Faith is being fully persuaded that what Grace provides and what the Father promises because of the Finished Work we can reach out and take and receive. In order to walk in Faith, sometimes we have to turn off our minds and just do what God says to us. 

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