How to Grow in Faith
Faith increases when we come to understand God more, who he is, and how he acts.
As we see that he is faithful and his words cannot fail, we take more and more confidence in his character and his words.
Further, the more we know God, the more we love God.
One primary way that we come to increase in faith, grace and the knowledge of God is through the word of God.
‘Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God’. (Romans 10:17)
‘If you instruct the brethren in these things, you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine which you have carefully followed.’ (1 Timothy 4:6)
‘So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.’ (Acts 20:32)
It is, however, not just reading, but understanding the scriptures that grows our faith.
‘When He had called the multitude to Himself, He said to them, "Hear and understand’ (Matthew 15:10)
Then Peter answered and said to Him, "Explain this parable to us." Mat 15:16 So Jesus said, "Are you also still without understanding?
‘...by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)’ (Ephesians 3:3-4)
God alone gives us wisdom to understand what is written.
‘John answered and said, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven.’ (John 3:27)
‘Then you will understand the fear of the LORD, And find the knowledge of God. For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding’ (Proverbs 2:5-6)
‘Then He (Jesus) said to them (the disciples), “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me. And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.’ (Luke 24:44-45)
The word rendered ‘understanding’ is νοῦς. This means: mind/reason/thought. Therefore, Jesus opened the disciples' minds and granted them the ability to comprehend the scriptures.
Revelation and Not Education
The religious leaders of the day (the scribes and Pharisees) rejected Jesus on the basis that he was not taught in their religious schools. To these people Jesus ‘said, “My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me.”’ (John 7:16)
Jesus is saying that he did not arrive at his teaching through self-rationalizing, nor through the education of man. He is not speaking of his own authority, but instead by direct revelation from God the Father.
It is Jesus who teaches us and shows us about the Father. As Jesus says; ‘No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.’ (John 1:18)
The teachings and rationale of the world’s ‘greatest’ and ‘smartest’ thinkers has no bearing upon the knowledge of God and of interpreting scripture.
‘For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.’ (1 Corinthians 1:21)
‘At that time Jesus answered and said, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes.’ (Matthew 11:25)
For ‘Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.’ (Mark 10:15)
This does not mean being childish, but rather a reference to purity, simplicity and recognising our utter dependence upon God for all things, especially wisdom relating to him
How the Bible is Written
The Bible is not written by the thoughts and reasonings of men, but instead it is given wholly by God as direct revelation.
2 Peter 1:21 states that ‘prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.’
‘All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness’. Timothy 3:16
The original word for ‘inspiration’ is ‘theopneustos’ - literally ‘God-breathed’.
These verses mean that scripture is ultimately authored by God using men as tools or vessels.
What is the Bible?
The Bible is a collection of books. You may hear it referred to as a ‘library’.
It is the collection of writings that are authored by God through certain men who were speaking and acting as vessels for his words.
The Bible consists of two major divisions:
The Old Testament and The New Testament.
These terms have been retroactively applied to help organize and systematize our thinking.
The Old Testament was mostly written in Hebrew and The New Testament was written in Greek.
Even though it is called the Old Testament, these scriptures are not to be considered less important than the New. ‘For everything that was written in the past was written for our instruction, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures, we might have hope.’ (Romans 15:4)
The Old Testament are the scriptures that Christ and the Apostles taught from
Their teaching cannot be fully understood without an awareness of the Old Testament stories as these are teaching tools and topics of their teaching
The Old Testament is full of types, symbols and allegories about New Testament realities.
The New Testament comments largely on the Old Testament and explains the meaning of it
The word testament is better translated as ‘covenant’.
This is like a contract between two parties.
There have been several covenants that God has made throughout human history. (e.g. the Law of Moses, the Covenant with David etc.)
Jesus Christ himself is a covenant between God and his church.
Learning and understanding what a covenant is helps us to understand our relation to God
Many believers do not understand the nature the New Covenant and the promises that God has made to us within this covenant
How to Read the Bible
When we read the Bible some parts are ‘locked’ so to speak. And the ‘key’ is found within prayer and other parts of the scriptures.
Much of scripture is self referential and cannot be fully comprehended until other passages are read and understood.
The best way to interpret the scriptures is to let other passages of scripture explain what is meant.
For example:
‘Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not hear the law?
For it is written that Abraham had two sons: the one by a bondwoman, the other by a freewoman.
But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and he of the freewoman through promise, which things are symbolic.
For these are the two covenants: the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar— for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. (Gal 4:21-26)
An understanding of this passage requires knowledge of certain things:
An understanding of what ‘the law’ is
The story of Abraham and his relations
What a Covenant is
What the two Covenants are
Who Paul the author of the passage is speaking to and why
What Mount Sinai is and represents
What Jerusalem is and represents
Why and how the author is applying these symbols to Abraham
This teaching is being communicated with language and stories that are internal to the scriptures themselves and taken from the Old Testament.
Therefore scripture is to be understood as progressively revealing an understanding of God and his teachings.
To read the Bible properly we should remember these key points:
1. God must reveal the understanding of scripture to us.
The Holy Spirit must grant us revelation.
Prayer is a necessity.
God speaks presently in scriptures, day to day.
2. Christ is the ultimate teacher of scripture.
All scriptural understanding and interpretation is to be first rooted and grounded in his words.
3. The Apostles are teachers of Christ.
Their writings help open our understanding of Christ’s words and works.
Christ is the source and the fountain of the water of life, the apostolic writings are carriers and vessels, they help us draw out water from the well of life that is Christ.
4. The Old Testament is to be viewed through the lens Christ
There are many hidden treasures of wisdom found in the Old testament that are disguised in figurative speech.
Christ and the apostles unveil this to us.
‘But their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ.’ (2 Corinthians 3:14)
It helps us to understand the New Covenant in greater depth
5. That the scriptures contain a series of arguments and unified thoughts.
It is not just random verses strung together.
Passages are to be read in context and held in harmony across all scripture
Sometimes teachings are contextualized throughout many different books throughout the Bible
Verse and chapter numbers are late editions and are not meant to influence reading habits, nor interpretation.
Context is important, we have to be careful to balance everything cohesively across the whole range of scripture.
We must spend time in the Bible, not just reading, but thinking and praying through it.
It does not profit us if we read, but do not heed. Not only must we attention, we must actively seek God’s mind and will through the word and apply it to our lives.
God is looking for right living above right philosophical argumentations!
It is not necessary that we are able to explain every detail, but instead to believe God’s testimony in faith.
If God has said it, let us believe it and walk in it.
(Originally an introductory Bible study)
