“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as the only begotten of God, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14
One of the great truths, if not the most dominant, that arose out of the Reformation, was expressed in the phrase: “The just shall live by faith.” Why was this truth so very important? It is because this is God’s way to know Him. It is one thing to intellectualize the consideration of the knowledge of God, and discuss the great truths of Scripture, and how they have been applied throughout the ages. But there comes a point, a present time, and specific opportunity every day, when the believer, or disciple of Christ, is faced with truth becoming flesh. What does this mean? One Christian author has written that “…truth is not mine, until it becomes me.” How is this so? By faith. The source of this faith is God Himself, for it is by grace that we are saved by faith. In all of God’s dealings with us, He is ever giving. One of these gifts is faith, faith to be saved, and faith to appropriate the Lord Jesus for every need. There is nothing passive about this faith, as it is expressed by “going forward,” marching onward, taking the sword of the Spirit, the word of God, and acting upon it. True faith has but one object, and that is Christ. Paul would put it like this in a couple of phrases: “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” (Phil. 1:21) He also wrote to the Corinthians, “…For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.” (1 Cor. 2:2) Christ was that One, and only One, to whom he looked. The Lord Jesus, who is the “Author and Finisher of faith,” would communicate to Paul HIS faith, so that, in the measure and manner of his calling, he would be able to appropriate the victorious life of Christ for every need. Paul would so very clearly express this in the great verse: “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me.” (Gal. 2:20) Paul learned God’s way of receiving faith, and he expressed it in writing to the Romans: “…Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” ( 10:17) God had given Paul a “measure of faith,” to be exerted according to His will, to fulfill His calling. However, that faith needed to be continually strengthened, especially as he faced almost insurmountable difficulties and obstacles to faith, both in his heart and mind, and in his circumstances. How did he receive the faith in its “greatness,” and effectiveness, for the need at hand? Not only was Paul’s gaze fixed upon the Lord, but his ear was attentive to what the Lord said to him. It was as the Lord, by His Spirit, through the Scriptures, would speak to the heart of Paul, that faith would be born, received, grasped, and applied to the need at hand. It was in essence, as Peter heard the voice of the Lord speaking to him to come and walk on the water in the storm, that he received faith to step out of the boat and do so.
The principle of setting the Lord before us is not exclusive to the New Testament, and the Apostle Paul. David would write in Psalm 16: “…I have set the Lord always before me: because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.” (v.8) With this view of Christ, this gaze which increased his faith, David could live in the expectation of the Lord speaking to him, guiding him. He would go on to conclude this Psalm by writing: “Thou wilt show me the path of life: in Thy presence is fulness of joy; at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” (16:11)
Dear Father, Strengthen us today to fix our gaze upon Thy Son, living to hear Thy life-giving voice, receiving faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen.