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In our life with the Lord, faith is absolutely essential.
But what is faith? Some think it’s just positive thinking, or making up your mind to believe in something, or a trust you place in someone or something.
But what does the Bible say about faith? Where does faith come from? And how can we get it?
Faith is a significant matter in the Bible, but in this post, we’ll focus on verses and notes in Hebrews in the New Testament Recovery Version to answer these questions.
First, let’s see how the Bible defines faith. Hebrews 11:1 says:
“Now faith is the substantiation of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
Note 1 on faith in the New Testament Recovery Version gives us a further explanation:
“Faith is the substantiation of things hoped for. Hence, it is the assurance, the confidence, the confirmation, the reality, the essence, the supporting ground, of things hoped for, the foundation that supports the things hoped for. Faith is also the conviction of things not seen. It convinces us of what we do not see. Hence, it is the evidence, the proof, of things not seen.”
Faith is truly wonderful! It substantiates and assures for us all the wonderful things of God that we hope for. Faith also convinces us of and is the proof of things we can’t see.
For instance, when we were saved, Christ came to live in us. This isn’t something any of our five physical senses can verify, but faith substantiates and gives us the conviction of this unseen reality. Because faith operates in us this way, we simply can’t deny that Christ lives in us.
What’s the source of our faith? Have you ever struggled to believe in the Lord, especially when you were facing difficulties? At one time or another, many of us have experienced something like this. This is why we need to see where faith comes from.
Let’s now read Hebrews 12:2:
“Looking away unto Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down on the right hand of the throne of God.”
The first part of note 3 on Author explains the meaning of this word in Greek, the original language of the New Testament:
“Or, Originator, Inaugurator, Leader, Pioneer, Forerunner. The same Greek word as in [Hebrews] 2:10. All the overcoming saints in the Old Testament are only witnesses of faith, whereas Jesus is the Author of faith. He is the Originator, the Inaugurator, the source, and the cause of faith.”
Jesus being the Author and Perfecter of our faith means He’s the unique source of faith; our faith originates with Jesus alone. Although we believe, faith doesn’t come from us.
So what about us? Note 3 continues:
“In our natural man we have no believing ability. We do not have faith by ourselves. The faith by which we are saved is the precious faith that we have received from the Lord (2 Pet. 1:1).”
We receive faith directly from the Lord. By ourselves we have no ability to believe. To illustrate, we could say that trying to muster up faith by ourselves is like furiously flapping our arms in an effort to fly. But we fail to fly because we simply don’t have the ability to fly. In the same way, no matter how fervently we may try, we simply don’t have the ability to believe.
If we realize faith doesn’t come from us, we won’t be trapped in the cycle of trying to generate faith by ourselves and then being discouraged when we fail. We’ll see that faith is entirely wrapped up with the living person of Jesus and that we need Jesus in order to have any faith.
[[Free Study Bible]]
Jesus is the source of faith, and we have no faith in ourselves. So how can we get faith? How can we experience faith in our Christian life?
Let’s now focus on the first four words of Hebrews 12:2: “Looking away unto Jesus.”
Why are we told to look away, and what do we look away from?
Consider your day. Family, work, school, relationships, and many other things demand our attention. All day long we get texts, emails, and phone calls. On top of that, a multitude of things distract us, such as notifications about the latest trending thing, or minute-by-minute alerts about news events taking place halfway around the world.
All of these things, both big and small, overwhelm and occupy us. They loom over us, and our faith shrinks.
God certainly doesn’t want us to exist in such a state. He wants us to live and walk by faith. To have faith, we need to look away! We need to look away from the distracting, faith-draining things and look unto Jesus.
And Hebrews 12:2 exhorts us not only to look away but also to look unto Jesus.
As we behold Him, we discover afresh how present and real Jesus is in us. He dwells in our spirit, and we see Him there, the most beautiful, real One in the universe. Everything else fades away.
But what does looking away unto Jesus have to do with how we obtain and experience faith? When we look away unto Jesus, something wonderful happens within us.
Let’s return to note 3 on Author to read the next part:
“When we look unto Jesus, He as the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45) transfuses us with Himself, with His believing element. Then, spontaneously, a kind of believing arises in our being, and we have the faith to believe in Him. This faith is not of ourselves but of Him who imparts Himself as the believing element into us that He may believe for us. Hence, He Himself is our faith. We live by Him as our faith; i.e., we live by His faith (Gal. 2:20), not by our own.”
Jesus transfuses Himself into us as our faith. We don’t even have to ask for faith. Spontaneously, faith arises within us because the Lord Jesus, who is imparted into us, is the One who believes for us. Many of us can testify we’ve experienced this very thing. One minute we may be very weak in faith, but when we turn to and behold Jesus, we sense a living faith rising up within us, and our entire outlook is changed.
Note 3 concludes:
“As the Author and the source of faith, Jesus is also the Leader, the Pioneer, and the Forerunner of faith. He cut the way of faith and, as the Forerunner, took the lead to pioneer it. Hence, He can carry us in His footsteps through the pathway of faith. As we look to Him as the Originator of faith in His life and in His path on earth, and as the Perfecter of faith in His glory and on His throne in heaven, He transfuses and even infuses us with the faith that He originated and perfected.”
The Lord simply wants us to turn to Him in our spirit and behold Him. Then He can infuse us with Himself. This is how we obtain and experience daily the faith He originated and perfected so we can continue on the pathway of faith.
Let’s consider some practical ways we can look away unto Jesus and be transfused with Him every day.
1. By turning our heart—Our heart is easily distracted from the Lord, but 2 Corinthians 3:16 assures us: “Whenever their heart turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.” Then verse 18 says, “But we all with unveiled face, beholding and reflecting like a mirror the glory of the Lord.” When we turn our heart to the Lord, we can inwardly behold His glory.
2. By dealing with sins we’ve committed—Any sins we commit become a barrier to our fellowship with the Lord, so we must deal with them by confessing them to the Lord. This is how we can be forgiven and cleansed to enjoy beholding the Lord in fellowship again.
3. By calling on His name—Calling on the name of the Lord is the easiest way to look away from everything else unto Him. We can cry out, “Lord Jesus! Oh, Lord Jesus! Lord Jesus, I need You!” Calling on His name helps us to look away unto Jesus any time, anywhere. The more we call, the more we sense all other things fading away as He becomes nearer and dearer to us in our present situation.
4. By praying—We can bring every matter to God in prayer and tell Him about the problems we face, big and small. We can pray short prayers throughout the day, such as, “Lord Jesus, I don’t know what to do. But Lord, I just look away right now unto You. I want to gaze at Your beauty. Lord, You are the most lovely One.” We can contact Jesus by prayer in our spirit even when we have no problems!
5. By reading His Word—We can behold the Lord Jesus in His Word. For example, by reading the Gospels, we see the details of Jesus’ wonderful life on earth. The Word of God reveals to us the way Jesus lived, how He treated people, His words of grace, His faithfulness to God, His death and resurrection, what He did to save us, and so much more. As we read the Bible and behold Jesus there, we’re filled with love and appreciation for Him. We can also pray using the words of the Bible, to allow Him to infuse us with Himself even more deeply.
6. By spending regular time in His presence—A major reason for our lack of faith might be that we haven’t spent much quality time with the Lord lately. Instead, we’ve spent our time beholding social media, looking for entertainment, or fixated on so many other things. We need to devote regular time to look away unto Jesus; the best time for this is in the morning. Instead of waking up and immediately checking our phones, we can first look away to the wonderful Jesus who lives in us by spending time in prayer and the Word. It’s good to be transfused with Him and absorb Him before we do anything else.
We can tap into the source of faith every day by looking away unto Jesus and beholding Him, the Author and Perfector of faith. He dwells in us! He’s so near; at any moment we can turn to Him in our spirit and let Him transfuse us with Himself. He will be our believing ability and the faith we live by.
If you live in the US, we encourage you to order a free copy of the New Testament Recovery Version here so you can read all of the notes on the verses cited in this post with their cross-references.
You’re probably familiar with the story in Matthew 2 about the magi, or wise men, who came from the east to worship Jesus after He was born in Bethlehem.
But have you ever thought how this story might apply to our Christian life? In this post, we’ll look at Matthew 2:1-11 with notes from the New Testament Recovery Version to discover its relevance to us today.
Matthew 2:1-2 says:
“Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star at its rising and have come to worship Him.”
The word magi is a translation from the Greek word magoi, which means “a wise man of foreign origin. ” These magi weren’t Jews from Israel. They were pagan men from the east, where a shining star had appeared to them. They realized the star they saw was “His star,” the star of Christ, who was born King of the Jews. Guided by that star, they left their land and traveled to find Him and worship Him. Eventually, they arrived in Jerusalem.
Why did the magi leave their country and journey to the land of Israel? The first part of note 2 on star in verse 2 in the New Testament Recovery Version explains:
“The Jews had the Scriptures concerning Christ. The magi from the east saw Christ’s star (Num. 24:17). The Jews had mental knowledge in dead letters concerning Christ, whereas the magi received a living vision concerning Him.”
These pagan magi didn’t know the Scriptures, but they received a living vision, signified by the star, concerning Christ. That vision caused them to travel a long distance to find Him and see Him for themselves.
The story continues in verses 3-6:
“And when Herod the king heard this, he was troubled and all Jerusalem with him. And gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. And they said to him, In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written through the prophet: ‘And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, by no means are you the least among the princes of Judah; for out of you shall come forth a Ruler, One who will shepherd My people Israel.’”
Unlike the magi, the Jewish chief priests and scribes in Jerusalem did possess the Old Testament Scriptures. They knew all the prophecies concerning Christ’s birth, even the exact city where He would be born.
Yet after the priests and scribes gave King Herod the accurate information about Christ being born in Bethlehem, they remained in Jerusalem. They didn’t travel the short distance to Bethlehem to see the newborn Ruler, let alone to worship Him. Why didn't they?
Note 1 on priests and scribes in verse 4 in the New Testament Recovery Version explains:
“The priests were those who taught people the law (Mal. 2:7), and the scribes were those who knew the Scriptures (Ezra 7:6). Both the priests and the scribes had knowledge concerning the birth of Christ (vv. 5-6), but, unlike the magi from the east, they did not see the vision, nor did they have the heart to seek after Christ.”
The knowledge the priests and scribes had concerning Christ was accurate, but it was only mental knowledge in dead letters to them. Because they only had this mental knowledge, they were unmoved and unmotivated to go and actually see the One who was foretold in the Scriptures. They had no heart to seek Christ. In contrast, the magi had received a living vision of Christ, and they had the heart to seek after Him. This is what made the difference.
But having a vision alone is also not enough. Since the Scriptures are the solid foundation for our Christian life, we need to read and know God’s Word. The Word of God testifies to us concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, so we can’t have the proper knowledge of Him without reading and knowing the Bible.
In fact, because the magi didn’t know the Scriptures concerning Christ, they went to Jerusalem, wrongly assuming the King of the Jews would be born in the capital city. But once they were corrected by the Scriptures, they went on from Jerusalem to Bethlehem. Matthew 2:9-11 tells us what happened next:
“And after they heard the king, they went their way, and behold, the star which they saw at its rising led them until it came and stood over the place where the child was. And when they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And they came into the house and saw the child with Mary His mother. And falling down, they worshipped Him; and opening their treasures, they offered gifts to Him, gold and frankincense and myrrh.”
Note 1 on star in verse 9 says:
“When the magi were corrected by the Scriptures and restored to the right track, the star appeared to them again. Living vision always accompanies the Scriptures.”
Having the proper knowledge of the Scriptures plus the living vision, the magi were led to the exact spot where the Lord was. There, they saw Him with their own eyes, worshipped Him as God, and offered Him precious gifts.
[[Free Study Bible]]
How can we apply the important points of this story to our Christian life today?
The Bible reveals the wonderful person of Christ in so many aspects. It’s an amazing thing to have access to the Scriptures and be able to learn about Him through His Word. But we shouldn’t be satisfied with just knowing about Him.
In fact, Jesus Himself said to the Jews in John 5:39-40:
“You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that testify concerning Me. Yet you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.”
Note 1 on verse 39 on the phrase search the Scriptures says:
“To ‘search the Scriptures’ may be separated from ‘come to Me’ (v. 40). The Jewish religionists searched the Scriptures but were not willing to come to the Lord. These two should go together; because the Scriptures testify concerning the Lord, they should not be separated from the Lord. We may contact the Scriptures, yet not contact the Lord. Only the Lord can give life.”
It's certainly possible to come to the Bible and receive knowledge concerning the Lord. But we don’t want the things we learn about Christ to be only mental knowledge in dead letters to us. Our coming to the Bible should be accompanied by coming to Him with a seeking, loving heart that desires to know Him personally.
With this in mind, we can pray simple prayers like this:
“Lord Jesus, I want to see more of who You are in the Word. But I don’t want to be satisfied with simply knowing about You. I want to come to You and know You in my experience. So, Lord, give me a heart that always seeks after You.”
We’re blessed that we can read the Scriptures, which reveal the wonderful Christ to us. May we also receive a living vision of Christ and have a heart to seek Him, come to Him, and experience Him.
If you live in the US, you can order a free copy of the New Testament Recovery Version here.
In a previous post, we discussed the importance of spending time with Jesus every morning and how to build up this critical habit.
But how do we actually spend time with Jesus?
We shouldn’t view spending time with the Lord Jesus each morning as a dry, religious duty that must be fulfilled. If we treat it like a task on our to-do list, then it won’t be very enjoyable.
Actually, every morning is a precious opportunity to spend uninterrupted time alone with our dear Savior whom we love and who loves us. Although He lives in us and is always with us, we need to spend dedicated time with Him in order to deepen our personal relationship with Him.
The Lord Jesus doesn’t just want us to believe in Him; He wants us to love Him. After all, He demonstrated His love by dying on the cross for us. Now He wants to have an intimate, loving relationship with us. First Timothy 1:14 says:
“And the grace of our Lord superabounded with faith and love in Christ Jesus.”
In the New Testament Recovery Version, note 2 on faith and love explains:
“Through faith we receive the Lord (John 1:12), and through love we enjoy the Lord whom we have received (John 14:21, 23; 21:15-17).”
So being with the Lord Jesus in the morning is to be with the One we love; it’s a time to enjoy Him. We can greet Him each morning by telling Him, “Lord Jesus, I love You.” When we do this, we sense a sweetness within. And the more we tell the Lord we love Him, the more our love for Him grows, and the more we enjoy Him.
Just as spending time with someone we love doesn’t always follow a certain formula, being with Jesus is the same. The goal is simply to have a living touch with Him in our spirit.
So what does spending time with Jesus in the morning look like? What do we do during this time? Let’s look at a few ways we can have this kind of living touch with Him.
Although we may not know how or what to pray, we can always call on the name of the Lord: “Oh, Lord Jesus!” This simple practice helps us open our heart to Him and exercise our spirit to contact Him.
Romans 10:12 says:
“For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord is Lord of all and rich to all who call upon Him.”
Instead of being preoccupied with other things, we can simply call on Jesus. When we call out to Him, we get His very Person. This is how we experience everything He is to us and all He’s accomplished for us. He’s so rich to us when we call!
Often, as we begin to open to the Lord by calling on His name, He speaks to us through our conscience concerning a sin we’ve committed. In order to maintain our fellowship with the Lord, it’s very important to have a purified conscience. We need to confess our sins to the Lord Jesus as He makes us aware of them.
We’ve all experienced the awkwardness of being with someone after we’ve offended them. Although we still care for one another, a barrier separates us, making it hard for us to have a pleasant time or even speak to each other.
Our relationship with the Lord Jesus is even more sensitive. He lives in us and knows all things. Although He wants to fellowship with us, He can’t tolerate sin. So when we sin or disobey Him, a barrier immediately forms that separates us from Him.
First John 1:9 says:
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
When we confess our sins to Jesus, we’re forgiven and washed. According to Isaiah 43:25, He even forgets our sins once we've confessed them! All barriers are removed, and we sense peace between us and the Lord. We can once again fellowship freely with the Lord with a light and open heart.
Our time with the Lord in the morning should include reading the Bible. The goal in these times is not to study the Word, but to be fed. The best way to be fed with God’s Word is to pray with the words that we read.
Ephesians 6:17-18 says:
“And receive the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which Spirit is the word of God, by means of all prayer and petition, praying at every time in spirit.”
Sometimes as we read the Bible in a prayerful way, we’re struck by a particular verse or phrase. We can stop to linger over that portion and pray it to the Lord. When we approach the Word in this way, we may not even finish the rest of the chapter or verse we're reading—the goal is to come to His presence and be fed.
For example, let’s say you come to John 4 in your Bible reading. Verse 10 stands out to you, which says: “Jesus answered and said to her, If you knew the gift of God and who it is who says to you, Give Me a drink, you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”
You can pray: “Lord Jesus, give me a drink. I come to You right now. Thank You, Lord, You are the living water that satisfies me.”
Whatever else we may do during our time in the morning with Jesus, we should always include time in the Word. We can speak to Jesus with the words of the Bible, and He can speak to us through His Word. As we pray with the Word of God, it nourishes, refreshes, enlightens, and strengthens us.
[[Free Study Bible]]
We aren’t always in the best mood first thing in the morning. But when we spend some time to thank the Lord, our hearts are uplifted. And the more we thank Him, the more we realize just how much we have to be thankful for.
Ephesians 5:20 says:
“Giving thanks at all times for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to our God and Father.”
Our time in the morning can be one of those “all times” when we give thanks to our God and Father. We can begin with a simple, “Thank You for a new day,” or “Thank You for loving me.”
We can also thank the Lord for the many specific ways He’s cared for us. We can thank Him for being our Savior, our Shepherd, and our life.
The Bible reveals so much concerning the person of Christ and what He’s done for us that we can never run out of things to give thanks for.
Ephesians 5:19 says:
“Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and psalming with your heart to the Lord.”
Sometimes a hymn expresses our thoughts and feelings better than our own words can. Singing a hymn can open us deeply to the Lord Jesus. Our morning times are a great time to sing to the Lord.
Hymnal.net is an excellent resource for finding hymns, including the accompanying music.
The Lord Jesus is a wonderful Person who wants to have an intimate, loving relationship with us. So rather than starting our day by bringing Him all the things we’re preoccupied with, we should first come to Him to enjoy His presence. Once we’ve contacted the Lord in our spirit and enjoyed Him in His Word, He will lead us to pray for specific matters according to His will.
In this post, we mentioned five things we can do during our time with the Lord. However, we shouldn’t take them as a method we need to adhere to, or specific steps we need to follow. Some days we may begin by thanking the Lord Jesus. He may then shine on us concerning a specific sin or offense, and we can confess that to Him. Other times, as we read and pray with His Word, we may be reminded of a hymn, and we sing to Him. There’s no set formula; the goal is to have a living touch with the Lord each morning.
If we open our heart and exercise our spirit to contact our wonderful Lord, we’ll usually have an inward sense about how to spend our time together. This keeps our time with Him from becoming methodical, routine, or stale. Instead, we’ll enjoy our Lord Jesus freshly morning by morning. And the more we practice, the more the Lord will show us how to contact Him in a living and personal way.
If you live in the US, you can order a free New Testament Recovery Version here to use in your time with the Lord.
