Reference: Ephesians 4:4-6
Reading the fifth verse of our text abovewe find that there is but one faith that the word of God speaks about. Now Ihave heard many people ask different people of what faith they are of. Whenthey ask this question they are wanting to know what denominational church theyare affiliated with. Now according to the word of God there is but one faith,but listening to many of the confessing christians today, one would think thatthere is more than one faith. If someone would attempt to ask everybody in theworld just exactly what true Bible faith is, I could almost say that less thanfive percent could actually give a definite Bible description of what it is.
The average person would probably say thatfaith is believing what the Bible says, but this is absolutely not a positiveenough description to actually prove that you know what true genuine faith is.If you say that you believe what the Bible says, this in no wise proves thatyou possess true genuine Bible faith.
I say this simply because of the factthat just saying that you believe what the Bible says only proves that youpossess a mental belief of what the letter of the word says. It's one thing tosay that you believe what the written word says, but it's an entirely differentthing altogether to say that you believe what the revealed word says. Therevealed word of God and the written word is very much a different thing onefrom the other. Saying that faith is believing what the Bible says is nodifferent than the faith that you have when you send a letter believing thatthe post office will get it where you want it to go. The reason why a personbelieves that a letter will get where they address it to is simply because theyknow that the post office has been paid to deliver the mail. Now who wouldplace a letter in the mailbox without putting a stamp on it and expect thepostal department to send it anyway?
True faith would be manifested when youare able to believe against the prevailing circumstances. If you believe thatthe post office will send your letter without having a stamp on it then youwould be putting faith into action. True genuine faith is revealed when you goagainst the prevailing circumstances that says it's impossible to do what youare attempting to do. It's easy to believe that the post office will deliveryour letter if you placed a stamp on it, but try sending all your letterswithout proper postage on it.
Of all the instances where true genuinefaith is manifested in God's word, we find that the believer went against whatthe prevailing circumstances had to say about it. When Peter walked on thewater he did not allow the natural laws of physics cause him to waver in hisfaith. When Abraham and Sarah had Isaac they did not let their naturalcondition cause them to think that they could not produce a child. Reading inthe eleventh chapter of Hebrews we find that each and every person mentioned went againstthe circumstances and performed a great miracle that was utterly impossible inthe eyes and understanding of the natural man.
The natural minded man is governed by thenatural laws of Physics. These laws deal with the science of nature or ofnatural objects. The natural minded man cannot possibly believe that the lawsof nature can be reverted, but he may be able to believe that God can do thingsagainst nature. But at this the natural minded man cannot go any farther thanhis mental belief of accepting the fact that God can do these things. Hecan't believe to the point that God will do these things. To believethat God can do things against nature is one thing, but to believe to the pointthat God will actually do something through your faith is an entirely differentmatter altogether.
True genuine faith is manifested when youcan actually do something against the natural laws. This type of faith is thefaith that God gives to those who are truly born again of his Spirit. The mostcommon faith that a child of God manifests is revealed in the life that theylive. The natural minded person can never agree with what the word of Godreveals on the subject of the christian life. The christian life is a life thatChrist is the one being manifested in the flesh. When a person teaches thetruth concerning the life of Christ in the flesh, they will not be accepted.
The Bible plainly tells us how to know thetrue Spirit of God from the false spirit. The apostle John tells us not tobelieve every spirit but rather we are to try the spirits. John tells us thatevery spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh of God, butevery spirit that does not is that spirit of anti-christ. The true Spirit ofGod will be in accord with what the Bible says and reveals. The true born againchristian will manifest the life of Christ, because it will be Christ livingtheir life for them. This truth will not be accepted by the false confessingchristians today.
The apostle Paul tells us that the lifethat a true born again child of God will live and manifest is through and bythe faith of Christ. This faith will enable us to live and manifest the verynature of Jesus Christ. Most people today will not accept this truth if you arenot manifesting the great miracles that Jesus once performed while he was onthis earth. Satan is using this teaching and deceiving millions. I mostcertainly believe that Jesus Christ is the same today, yesterday, and forever,but the truth about the life of holiness is where many are being misled todayand in times past. I certainly believe that God will be manifested in mightymiracles, but this is not all that God's word reveals and speaks about. Thereare many in the world today thinking that signs, miracles, and wonders are theonly true manifestations of the Spirit of God in the life of the christian.They place all emphesis on the fact that they have the Holy Ghost and he willbe manifested through these great works.
What most people today are totallyignorant of is the fact that the Holy Ghost is given to us to lead and guide usinto all truth that will perfect true holiness and righteousness in us. We needthe power of the Holy Spirit so that we can present our bodies unto God as aliving sacrifice which is our reasonable service to do. The truth concerningtrue Bible holiness is exactly where Satan is deceiving the entire world. Truegenuine Bible faith is a very rare thing in the world today. This type of faithgoes directly against the natural laws of nature and also entirely againstman's many ideas concerning the things of God and the Bible.
This kind of faith comes by hearing andobeying the true revealed word of God that the gospel contains. The Bible tellsus that "All" scripture is inspired of God etc. to instruct usin righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished untoall good works...
We are told in Proverbs 1:7 that the fearof the Lord is the beginning (not the end) of knowledge: but fools despisewisdom and instruction... The averageperson utterly despises anyone who attempts to teach the doctrines of theBible. The average preacher will say to forget about doctrine and lets allworship God. Anybody who thinks that doctrine has nothing to do with salvationis what the Bible calls a fool...