FUNDAMENTALS OF DISCIPLESHIP
THE GIFTS
OF THE SPIRIT – XIII
THE GIFT
OF FAITH - II
1 Corinthians 12:9 To another faith by the same Spirit…
Last week we differentiated among four
different usages of the word “faith” in the New Testament Scriptures:
- Faith in Yahushua. Salvific faith. Its sole focus is upon Yahushua Messiah
as the way-maker to IAUE.
- The faith. The life that is based
upon and proceeds from faith in Yahushua.
- The measure of faith. The capability given to
each disciple to believe and act upon the word of IAUE.
- The gift of faith. The supernatural ability
to believe the word of IAUE and thereby manifest the very nature of IAUE as
revealed through His Spirit.
The New Testament has many passages that
discuss faith in one context or another.
Despite the fact there is a considerable body of Scripture that teaches
on the matter of faith; there is precious little that actually addresses the
gift of faith. We noticed one specific
connection to the gift of faith last week.
1 Corinthians 13:1
Though I speak with the tongues of men and
of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling
cymbal.
2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all
mysteries, and all knowledge; and
though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not
charity, I am nothing.
We know, in this chapter, Paul is referring specifically
to the supernatural enablements of grace that are listed in the prior chapter;
and he is explaining that without love as the motivation of our use of those
gifts, WE are nothing. (He
does not say that the effects of the gifts are nothing. There is no way Paul is going to denigrate
the Holy Spirit when He is manifested regardless of how He is made manifest.) This is just the opposite of what we see in
churches, today. People who exercise
spiritual gifts (or purport to do so…as many are not manifesting the Holy
Spirit) believe that being known for the gifts that are operative in their life
makes them somebody. They have the recognition
and the esteem of their brothers and sisters.
Revelations
3:1 And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These
things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of IAUE, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name
that thou livest, and art dead.
Matthew 7:22
Many will say to me in that day, Master, Master, have we not
prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name
done many wonderful works?
23 And then will I profess unto
them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
When Paul says that without love we are nothing, he means it. We are irrelevant to the Kingdom of IAUE, for
without love as our motivation, we are building our own kingdom; and we will
receive the just fruit of our labors.
Back to 1 Corinthians 13.
It says, “though I have all faith, so
that I could remove mountains.” This is a specific reference to the gift of
faith; and it is also drawn directly from the words of Messiah to his disciples:
Mark 11:22 And Yahushua
answering saith unto them, Have faith
in IAUE.
23 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.
See the connection with 1 Corinthians 13? Both refer to faith that can move mountains;
and the reference by Paul specifically refers to the gift of faith. So, with this connection made, let’s look at
some of the properties of the gift of faith as revealed by the Master; as this
opens the door to our understanding of the gift of faith.
“Have
faith in IAUE.” The object of the gift of faith is IAUE. The one with the gift of
faith believes confidently in IAUE. It
is IAUE that is going to do whatever is the objective of the operation of the
gift of faith, not the man. How often
have we been in situations where we have literally thought to ourselves, “IAUE
could do that…but do I really believe He WILL do that?” I know there are thousands upon thousands of
believers who have been at the side of a sick person who have thought to
themselves, “IAUE could heal him/her; but I don’t know if He will,” so they
only pray for their general well-being, or for the doctor to be skilled in
his/her profession…something safe for which they have no need of faith to
believe in a visually manifested outcome.
The gift of faith depends upon an awareness of the will of IAUE. Once His will in a matter is known, once we
know what He wants to do, faith rises supernaturally to accomplish His will. Our faith in IAUE and His desire to meet a
need or resolve a circumstance merely waits for us to act upon it.
Smith Wigglesworth, a preacher renowned for
the gift of faith, said when the gift of faith is present you already know what
IAUE is going to do before He does it.
“whosoever
shall say…he shall have whatsoever he saith.” The
gift of faith is released in the spoken word.
In essence, the person with the gift of faith
is the mouth piece of IAUE. He speaks
the word of IAUE into circumstances that appear just the opposite of what is
said.
Romans 4:17 (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many
nations,) before him whom he believed, even IAUE, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.
Let’s look at some examples of this.
Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue, approached
Yahushua on behalf of his 12 year old daughter who was dying. While the crowd pressed him and slowed his
movement, one from Jairus’ household met them and said that the girl had died
and to trouble not the Master any longer. This word did not phase Yahushua, who
proceeded to the house.
Luke 8:54 And he put them all out,
and took her by the hand, and called, saying, Maid, arise.
55 And her
spirit came again, and she arose straightway: and he commanded to give her meat.
56 And her parents were astonished: but he charged them that they
should tell no man what was done.
Yahushua commanded the dead girl to do what a
dead girl could not possibly do. He
spoke to her as though she were still living.
He “called those things which be not as
though they were.”
Again, a man who was deaf with a speech
impediment was brought to the Master.
Mark 7:32 And they bring unto him one that was deaf, and had an impediment
in his speech; and they beseech him to put his hand upon him.
33 And he
took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears, and he
spit, and touched his tongue;
34 And looking up to heaven, he
sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened.
35 And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his
tongue was loosed, and he spake plain.
36 And he charged them that they should tell no man: but the more
he charged them, so much the more a great deal they published it;
If you will recall, I mentioned early in this series of studies
that most of the gifts of the Spirit have a “trigger,” something that enhances
their operation. The gift of faith has a
trigger.
Galatians
5:6 For in Yahushua Messiah neither
circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by
love.
Faith works by love (agape). Contemporary teachers/preachers like to refer
to “agape” as “the God kind of love.”
This definition is basically religious hype. The koine Greek did not have a special word
for the kind of love demonstrated by IAUE. The word means “benevolence, good will.” It relates to actions that are done purely
for the benefit that will inure to others.
It does not have in mind a reward or recognition. The good it will do to others is its own
reward. The gift of faith feeds off of
this sense of selfless benevolence.
Notice in the two illustrations above, Messiah told them to tell
no man what had been done for them. He
did not seek recognition. He did not
even seek to be identified with the wonders performed. They were not done for that purpose.
Kenneth Hagin, a well-known minister who taught and performed
signs and wonders for a half century, confessed that the gift of faith worked
in his life; but it was rare; sometimes years between its manifestations in his
life. Like Smith Wigglesworth, he KNEW beforehand
what IAUE wanted to do and was going to do when the gift manifested in his life. Absolutely nothing would phase him about the
condition of the one who was going to be the object of the gift’s
manifestation. When he spoke and released the supernaturally provided faith,
the results came forth; much like Yahushua with his friend Lazarus. Remember, Yahushua knew that Lazarus had died
before they ever left Jerusalem. Once at
the tomb, he commanded the stone to be rolled away; and they told him that Lazarus
had been dead long enough that the decay would have created a stench on his
body. I think most of us would have
changed our mind on our plan of action at that point; but it did not phase
Yahushua. “Lazarus,
come forth” was the command of faith; and Lazarus came forth alive from the
tomb. Yahushua already knew what IAUE was going to do, so no circumstance or
condition mattered. He had faith in
IAUE; and he spoke IAUE’s command; and he got IAUE’s results.
John 5:19 Then answered Yahushua and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of
himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things
soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son
likewise.
Yahushua had already seen the works IAUE was going to do before he
ever confronted the persons or situations that would require him to act. He saw this when he arose early to pray each
day and seek the face of his Father for his “daily bread.” What he saw IAUE do in his time of prayer, he
knew he could do and would do that day, because he already knew it was his
Father’s will. He needed merely to wait
for the time and opportunity to speak his Father’s command into the situation.
(It may be the general prayerlessness of the church that makes this gift so
infrequent in its manifestation.
Disciples spend so little time in prayer and in seeking the face and
will of IAUE, that we do not give Him the chance to show us the mighty works He
would have us do each day.)
We should note that the gift of faith may be used to achieve a
similar effect as the gift of the working of miracles or the gifts of
healing. The one ministering knows which
gift is manifesting in his/her life. We
know if it is by faith or by the working of a miracle that a healing is
achieved instead of the exercise of a gift of healing. In my own life, the gifts of healing have been
the least manifest of the nine gifts.
However, through the gift of faith or the working of miracles, I have
been used to bring healing to individuals.
Next week: the gifts of healing.
Kingdom
heart: a heart that offers no resistance to the
performance of the will of IAUE.
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