I’ve been thinking about faith.  You know faith is a pillar in the life of a believer.  It’s a pillar in God Himself.  

The apostle Paul says God created all things through the Spirit of Faith.  Its faith that produces the fruit of the Spirit in us.  Its faith that clothes upon our mortal bodies with immortality.  

Faith isnt ethereal.  There’s a substance to Faith.  It’s the most tangible thing there is whether it be in heaven or in earth.  All things are held together by faith.  Hebrews 11 says faith is the substance of everything we’ve ever wanted, and its the actual evidence that what we desire is come.  

It can help us understand faith properly if we see it as the faith.   The apostle Paul says God has given to everyone the measure of faith.  In another place He says faith is a gift God has given to us.  

Gal 3:17  And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.
Gal 3:18  For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise.
Gal 3:19  Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.
Gal 3:20  Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one.
Gal 3:21  Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law.
Gal 3:22  But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.
Gal 3:23  But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.
Gal 3:24  Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
Gal 3:25  But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.
Gal 3:26  For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

Paul hears the churches he established in Galatia were trying to be perfected through the strength of the flesh.  He got word the Galatians were  turned away from the faith, and were thinking the good and the right way to be justified is through performing the works of the law.  

Paul sees the Galatians are confused concerning the law so he comes to explain to them the way the law works in the whole deal. 

He says to the Galatians, You guys are still looking at the law with a veil over your hearts.  You Galatians are interpreting the law as if it makes void Gods promise to justify us by the strength contained in His hand.  You are reading the law as if it were against the promise of God.  The law is not contrary to the promise of God.  It doesn’t disannul Gods promise to decorate us with His eternal life.  

The law came alongside the promise of God.  It was there to be a schoolmaster to us.  It was there to be a Tudor to us.  It was given to keep our eyes on the promise of God, until the day of our inheritance.  The law was given to keep our minds stayed on the work God would do to fulfill the promise He made to mankind before the fall of the world.  The same promise he reaffirmed to Abraham.  

Paul says in Ephesians 2 verse 12 that before Christ, the gentiles were in the world without any hope.  And he says the reason they were without hope is because they were strangers to the covenants of promise that were given to Israel.  

Paul says the covenants of promise is what gave Israel hope.  Now listen the law given to Moses is one of the covenants of promise.  

Hebrews 10 says the law was not the very image of the good thing God promised, but that the law was a shadow of the good thing God promised in Christ. 

All of the animal sacrifices pointed to Gods promise that He would offer Himself as the lamb that would send death away from us.  The feast of firstfruits points to the resurrection, and Gods promise to decorate us with His life.  

The law was given to be a school master, to keep the people in hope, by pointing to the promise that would later come in Jesus.  To be kept under the law means to be kept looking at the promise of God through the law.  

The idea was that in the people seeing the work God would do to fulfill the promise of eternal life, they would be kept from looking to their own works by hope.  Just as Paul says in romans 8 that we are saved in the day of temptation by hope.  

Paul goes on to say seeing how the work the law pointed too has been manifested in Christ, and we have received the promised inheritance, the law was always pointing to in Christ.  We are no longer in need of a school master.  

Now that Christ has brought faith into the earth, and we can clearly see the substance of the promise, and the substance that the law was pointing to in Jesus.  We are no longer in need of something that can point us to the work God will do to decorate us with His life.  We can clearly see the substance of what God has promised us in what He has done in Christ to overcome death in the flesh, and bring immortality to light.  We are no longer in need of performing the works of the law because we can see the very immortality God has promised to decorate our physical bodies with manifested in Christ Jesus.  

Paul equates faith coming into the earth to Jesus coming into the earth.  He says Faith was revealed by Christ coming into the world.  He says the law was our school master pointing us to the faith that would be revealed in Christ, so we can be justified by that faith, and not the works which we can do.

What does it mean that faith came into the world through Jesus, and what is this faith.  

Jesus lived by the faith.  There was a certain belief in his heart, that the scriptures refer to as the faith of the Son of God.  Now the faith Jesus had in his heart was manifested on the cross, and in his resurrection, and ascension. The faith that was in Jesus’ heart was turned inside out to the point where it can be seen on the cross, and in his resurrection and ascension.  

The cross not only revealed the faith that was in Jesus’ heart, but it also put that faith to the test, so the substance that was contained in this faith could be seen in the world.  

Jesus knew he was loved by the Father.  He knew the death that was upon him at the cross didnt come from the Father.  Jesus knew the Father doesnt have death in Himself to give to anyone, He only has good and perfect gifts to give.  Jesus knew it was the thief stealing from him, and killing him, and trying to destroy him.  

Jesus knew he wasnt an orphan.  He knew the Father wasnt far from him; he knew the Father was with him in the midst of the cross to be a Father to His life; to prove his sonship; to justify him from the accusations that were coming against him.  Jesus didnt see the death of the cross as a sign that the Father had left him alone.  In john 16 Jesus says it will look like I’m alone on the cross but I will not be alone because the Father will be with me.  

Jesus knew the Father’s face was not hid from him.  He knew the Fathers love for him was so great that nothing could keep the Father from him.  He knew that even should his bed be made in the grave, the Father’s love for him would manifest, and raise him up out of the miry clay.  

Jesus knew that even though it looked like he was a lamb being led away to the slaughter, the Father was with him to be the Shepherd and Bishop of his life.  Jesus knew the death of the cross could not disannul the Father’s promise to glorify his mortal body with the likeness of the Father’s immortality.  He knew the life he shared with the Father possessed the ability to overcome the deadness that was manifesting in his flesh.  

.... and we see the manifestation of Jesus’ faith in the resurrection when He was raised from the dead by the Father’s love for him.  

There’s Jesus on the cross looking like an orphan, looking like he was left alone needing to father his own life, etc ..... the faith that was in his heart caused him to cry out Abba, and the faith that was in his heart was made flesh in the body of his resurrection, and that manifested the faith of the son of God in the earth; that’s how Jesus brought faith into the earth.  

Through the resurrection we can see the faith.  We can see the death in the world cannot disannul Gods promise to us.  We can see we aren’t orphans.  We can see God hasn’t left us alone.  The resurrection tells us God is with us to care for our lives.  It tells us God was unwilling to allow our sin to be imputed to us.  We can see He was so grieved at the thought of us perishing from sin that He provided Himself as the lamb to take away the sin that was causing death to reign over us.  The resurrection tells us God is with us to overcome the deadness in our flesh.  It shows us God will raise our flesh up from the deadness that has come upon us by the power of His love for us. 

Faith is not blind.  Its not well we don’t really know what’s going on but we just have to believe.  That’s not faith that’s willpower.  

Faith is the word about the Father’s love for the world.  It’s the revelation of the Father’s promise to decorate mankind in His life.  It’s the revelation of what is in the Father’s heart towards all people.  And it comes to persuade people that God is their friend.  That He is with us to be an advocate for our life; He is with us to justify us from the accusations of the evil one; to comfort us from our affliction; that He can only ever be good to us; that the only thing He has in Himself to give us is eternal life.  

Faith translation ... 1 Peter 2:21 says And even unto this (incorruptible) life (that we see in Christ) are you called (His sons): because Christ also suffered (death and injustice) for us, (authoring) for us the faith (which He had toward the Father), so that you (being persuaded by the certainty of the same) would follow after His footsteps:

Faith came in the person of Jesus to create us in the same image we see in Christ Jesus.  It came to cloth our mortal bodies with the immortality of God.  It came to give birth to the same life in us that we see in Jesus.  And the way it does this is it makes God known to us.  It shows us God is in our midst to be our God.  It shows us the heart of God and how His desire is unto us; it shows us Gods heart is filled with a desire to Father His life in us, and He doesn’t want require our works. 

The faith that came in Jesus persuades us of the goodness in Gods heart towards us by revealing to us what it is that God intends to do with our lives, even should He find us dead in our sin.