The Basis of Our Faith
Our faith is based on four principles, or foundational truths. They are solid and we can build our Christian lives upon them.
Our faith is based on who God is. This speaks of the Lord’s character. For example, I John 4:8 says that God is love. I Corinthians 1:9 says God is faithful. Because He is love, we can know and believe His love. And because He is faithful, we can trust Him to come through for us. For Him to fail to come through for us, He would have to deny Who He is. And on top of Him being love and being faithful, God is also a lot of other wonderful things, like just, able, holy, ever-present, etc.
Our faith is based on the Word of God. What the Lord has said in His Word is His bond. We can count on His written and spoken Word as much as we can count on who He is. God and His Word are One. John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” And keep in mind, His spoken Word will always agree with His written Word. In Matthew 4:4, when Jesus was temptedby the devil in the wilderness, He spoke God’s written Word. “But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” What God speaks to us as a rhema (spoken word), we can speak back to Him, and Jesus our High Priest makes it good. When we do this, we are giving God something to work with.
Our faith is based on Christ’s finished work. It is easy to believe what someone has already done. And believing is receiving. Jesus said, “It is finished.” When we agree with that statement by speaking faith-filled words, we believe and enter into His rest. You know you have believed when you are resting. Faith doesn;t strive, but it thrives in what has been accomplished. Hebrews 4:3 says, “For we which have believed do enter into rest.”
Our faith is based on the power of God. We believe based on what He can and will do. We see in I Corinthians 2:4-5, “And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.” We see the ultimate display of God’s mighty power when He raised Jesus from the dead. Throughout the Gospels, we see examples of God’s power at work in Jesus’ ministry, healing, restoring, and raising the dead. And in the rest of the New Testament, we see many miracles, signs and wonders done by the followers of Christ. Our faith is based on such power.
When we know what God can and is willing to do, we can believe and receive what He has for us. We have a sure foundation on which to build, so let’s use these fundamental truths to build a rock solid life for Jesus Christ.
