Many years ago, I took a class to learn about the bible. This class changed my life and some almost 40 years later I am still learning from what was taught in this class.
I can still remember the first time I heard about a fig tree withering away.
Mark 11:12-ff 10And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he was hungry: ... 13And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet. 14And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it... 20And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. 21And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away. 22And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. 23For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. 24Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.
As I was re-reading this record, I remembered that my teacher causally remarked, in verse 22, that the original text read "have the faith of God".
I never understood what he meant or why he mentioned that point. He never elaborated on it, and since then I have never heard anyone expand upon this verse in regards to having faith of God.
I began to check some other translations to see if they picked up on this.
Now according to Young's Literal Translation (1862/1898), The Douay-Rheims American Edition (1899), and The Bible in Basic English (1949/64) — all these translations read this way.
YLT Mark 11:22 And Jesus answering saith to them, 'Have faith of God;DRA Mark 11:22 And Jesus answering, saith to them: Have the faith of God.BBE Mark 11:22 And Jesus, answering, said to them, Have God's faith.
Now even in the margin of the KJV, the note reads "Have the faith of God".
KJV Mark 11:22 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. {Have...: or, Have the faith of God}
Now in order to move forward in the study of the faith of God we need to set the foundation regarding "bible kinds of faith" according to the scriptures.
You cannot teach more than you know.
Whenever you begin to work the word of God, you must be as willing to unlearn, as you are to learn.
If your foundation is wrong, tendency will be to view everything you read, in light of your foundation/theology.
I recently spoke with a gentleman regarding salvation. He told me, that if he lived a good life and didn't hurt anyone, that would be all he needs to go to heaven. Furthermore, he briefly stated that if God wants to send him to hell for doing so, then fine. What kind of God does that? I don't want that kind of God.In other words, that is not a loving God.
Well his foundation was all wrong. That's why I needed to set him straight. I told him that he was already going to "hell", and that God was trying to save him.
You see if you have been instructed wrong, whatever you work will be viewed through your preconceived theology.
For instance, if you believe in the doctrine of the trinity you will interpret Genesis 1: 26 in light of that belief.
Genesis 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
A Trinitarian will remark the "us" and the "our" used in verse 26 is referring to Jesus and God.
A Unitarian may remark, that it is a figure of speech. The same figure is used when the queen of England refers to herself as "We the queen". It's a figure to show that she is speaking in her royal capacity. She would not use this figure at the drive thru window at Burger King, or talking to the grocer.
John 1 is another example of this. Is the word spoken of here Jesus, the bible, or God?
KJV John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
And so forth. Now you can begin to see the problem I had with faith. I needed to unlearn some things, because every time I tried to move forward with this subject, I kept running into a brick wall.
This coincides with the red light/green light revelation. As long as I would adhere to that doctrine, I could not move ahead with the things of the spirit realm.
I was asking God to give me a sign when all along Mark16 teaches signs follow believers.
Mark 16 further teaches, that we are already commissioned to heal the sick, cast out demons and speak in tongues in our administration of grace.
Mark 16:17-18 17And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; 18They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
I was waiting on a red light/green light revelation sign. However, God already told me that signs follow those who believe. In conclusion, I was simply lacking in belief.
This is a good example of mental assent. It looks good, but does not act on God's word.
So what's the difference between having faith in God and having the faith of God?
Hebrews 11:3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
Another translation puts it this way:
Hebrews 11:3 It is by faith that we understand that the ages were created by a word from God, so that from the invisible the visible world came to be.
Here we learn that the ages were created by the word of God. What word? Well in Genesis, we find that answer.
Genesis 1:3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. Genesis 1:6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.Genesis 1:9 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.
These verses and others in Genesis reveal a great truth. God spoke the light into existence.
He used words. Hebrews taught us "that by a word from God, so that from the invisible the visible world came to be."
Mark 11:22-23 22And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. {Have...: or, Have the faith of God} 23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.
Jesus describes the faith of God in verse 23.
"Whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith."
Three times in this verse Jesus refers to speaking. In order to manifest the faith of God, one must speak.
But that's not all, you must speak according to God's word and not doubt. Furthermore, you must believe those things you speak shall come to pass.
When God spoke in Genesis, that which he spoke, came to pass. Why? Because God spoke it by faith, "those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith."
Words are carriers of faith. When we speak, we should study and practice to speak with the God kind of faith.
The God kind of faith is "And God said, Let there be light: and there was light."
To be continued … ÿ