Faith: Promises Fulfilled!

Faith. It is a word we hear and use a lot! It is a word which occurs nearly 250 times in scripture; with all but two of the occurrences in the New Testament. Faith in God acknowledges His goodness, His power and His purposes. It is a complex and simple concept that is the vehicle which delivers life to us (Galatians 3:14). All of the promises of God are fulfilled by the faith of Christ which restored to us a possibility of fellowship with God.
Faith is a perfect picture of Christ's title: the Alpha and the Omega. Jesus is our all in all; He authors our faith, He empowers us to live in faith and He completes our faith. Faith is both an individual possession -- a gift from God Himself -- and it is a collective possession of those who are co-heirs with Jesus Christ. All that we have and are is of Him and in Him. Faith is an example of the scripture which says we see through a glass darkly, for it is a concept beyond our limited comprehension.

Rather than give you more of my words to explore this precious aspect of our inheritance, I offer you this collection of scripture. May you take the time to look them up, read their context and soak in them! It will bless your soul. It is not an exhaustive list; perhaps you will print it and add to it...and offer those insights back here as a comment! Blessings to each of you.


FAITH IS:

• an individual possession (Colossians 2:5 and referenced often by Jesus in the Gospels)

• a shared and unified possession (Ephesians 2:5; 4:5,13)

• necessary to please God (Hebrews 11:6)

• a gift from God (Hebrews 12:3)

• a gift with a purpose – soul salvation (1 Peter 1:9)

• authored by Christ (Hebrews 12:2)

• commanded by Christ (Mark 11:22)

• a tool in the purification of our hearts (Acts 15:9)

• a part of salvation (Luke 7:50)

• to be added to that it will produce in our lives and others (2 Peter 1:5-8)

o without love it is nothing (1 Cor 13:2)

o without Christ’s victory it is useless (1 Cor 15:14)

o without works it is dead (James 2:17)

• completed by Christ’s work (Galatians 2:20; Hebrews 12:2)

• victorious (1 John 5:4,5)

• able to falter AND to be strengthened (Luke 17:5; 22:32)

• subject to trying (James 1:3)

• is a foundation for living (Col 2:7)

• is a source of strength (Acts 3:16)

• is to be battled for (Jude 1:3)

• is to be kept by the saints (2 Tim 4:7; Rev 14:12)