Looking at how to compare the faith that was in operation in the life of the men of old and comparing that with what should be our operation in the New Testament.
Hebrew 11 is a scripture that shows us where men were coming from and where they were going.
Hebrews 11:35; we should understand from that scripture that our faith as believers in Christ is anchored on the resurrection of Jesus. If Jesus had not risen from death we don’t have Faith. As a matter of fact, Christianity is built on that foundation of the resurrection of Jesus. It is the resurrection of Jesus that powers Christianity (Faith).
For the scripture to bring the issue of Better resurrection in Hebrews 11:35, they are referring to Better Resurrection, Better Faith; better things.
Better resurrection in the context of what we are looking at could mean that what the death of Jesus, the burial and the resurrection of Jesus will produce that we will be partaker of, and they can’t experience that without us. Roman 11:39. “Without us” in that Scripture connote “We” that will be partakers of that better Resurrection.
Something better was in view and it is the resurrection of Jesus. And we as Believers have experienced that resurrection because we died with him, we were buried with him and we also resurrected with him.
Hebrews 11:40: What God provided for us is the Faith. But this faith is better than the faith of the men of old.
If their faith worked on the premises of what they could do, how they acted, our faith worked on the resurrection of Christ.
We will not need to provide faith. God has provided something better. Men will not need to provide or produce something. Men will have to come with a provided faith.
Knowing who provided the faith is what Paul understood. The Bible says, “ God has provided something better for us.”
God has invited us to live in something better than what the men of old enjoyed.
We have an understanding that God has invited us into life. We are to do life with it. What was provided for us is the faith of the Son of God. There is something we are partaking of that they are not partaking of. They were hoping for a better resurrection, since we have the better resurrection therefore we have it.
We have better things. That thing is the faith of the Son of God.
This is why one thing we should do is learn about the faith of the Son of God.
Learning the faith of the Son of God.
Galatians 2:20 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 (KJV).
If someone says he is crucified yet he lives that means such a person has experienced a resurrection.
That’s what they were looking forward to. They spoke about a better resurrection. The men of old were looking forward to a better resurrection.
On the premise of what was provided, this was called better things.
They had faith, but by the reason of the resurrection, it was an invitation to life. So in the context of the aforementioned scriptures, the patriarch had faith.
What is called comparative study of the life men walked in about the resurrection of Jesus and the faith that was handed over to us, or that was provided to us as a result of the resurrection of Jesus. On the premise of what was provided is the better things. The better thing is what we have better than what they have. So we will say better resurrection, better faith. The faith we have is better. The faith of Jesus has provided for us better things. The faith that was produced as a result of the resurrection of Jesus.
This is the faith on which is hinged on the Father raising Jesus from the dead. And without the resurrection there is no faith. That is the resurrection of the Son of God. Paul said he experienced His death to experience his resurrection. He was not living at one point he died. Paul was crucified with Jesus.
Paul said he died and came alive. Paul said he was raised and came back to life.
The resurrection is to showcase life.
This life is empowered by the faith of the son of God. The life of faith is the life we live. We will not need faith when we meet with Jesus, it’s now in the flesh that we need faith. That faith is what drives and powers our lives.
In Philippians 1:27 we see that Paul said there is something called the faith of the gospel. This can be paraphrased as the faith that the gospel produced, which can be received by hearing the gospel. When you get to hear the gospel, understand and believe the gospel there is a faith that is produced, complete trust, adherence, and persuasion.
What then is the gospel? 1 Corinthians 15: the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. So if that is the gospel, what comes to us when we understand the full meaning of the death, burial and resurrection of Christ, it has a way of producing faith in men. Faith is essentially learned not built. In Jude 1:20 we see the phrase “building up yourself in the most holy faith,” that scripture has been misinterpreted severally for “building up faith” but it connotes building up one’s self on faith.
In Acts 24:24 we see again that there is something called the faith of the gospel and the faith in Christ. In Galatians 2:16 and 3:26, we see that no one is justified by the works of the law but by the faith of Jesus Christ. We have seen the faith of the gospel, faith in Christ, and faith of Jesus Christ. We became children of God by faith in Christ.
In Philippians 3:9 we see that there is a righteousness that comes through the faith of Christ. (Colossians 1:4, 2:5)
When the scripture talks about faith, there’s nothing controversial about it – the scripture is saying one thing – Faith in Christ, Faith through Christ, Faith of the Son of God.
So what is Faith? Providing a good robust definition and explanation of faith in the Son of God requires that you keep in view the understanding of the gospel and the life of Christ. Also, keep in mind that there’s a comparative edge between the Faith of the old days, the Faith of Abraham, David, and Daniel, and the better Faith through Christ being referred to in the New Testament. Understanding the Faith of the Son of God requires a broad critical thinking and analysis.
The Faith of the Son of God is hearing and believing the gospel to an extent that it becomes a tool in your hands; on the premise of the gospel, Faith becomes your confidence. Understanding the deeds of Christ is important to build your confidence, the lack of such understanding deters confidence – that’s why Paul used several words – the Faith of Christ, the Faith in Christ, the Faith through Christ, all pointing to one thing, that believing in the death and resurrection of Christ automatically produces Faith.
These speak about what Christ has done to a degree that you have the confidence to rebuke the devil.
To command such boldness to speak to the devil doesn’t come from visiting the mountain or holding a lengthy prayer and fasting session. All these were necessary only before his death.
To still hold onto the statement that this kimd will not go out except by fasting and prayer, then you’re not operating on the faith of the son of God. Else, your confidence will be in the fact that he says, in my name…
Matthew 17:20-21
To have this understanding, it is required that we learn the faith of the son of God. Faith is what Christ has done. It is the summary of all the father has accomplished through his son Jesus. Jesus died and we experienced a better faith. This is why Paul began to say that the just can’t live by his faith but the life he lives is by the faith of the son of God.
He knew that it was no longer about his fasting and prayer. He knew he should totally hold firm to what the father has accomplished in the son. That is what is called the faith of the gospel m
The faith of the gospel is built on the fact that men heard, understood and believed the gospel.
As we hear and learn the gospel, faith comes.
Until we come to a place where we can completely rely on what the father has done in Christ Jesus, we are not yet operating on the faith of the son of God.
It therefore means that our day to day life, we can live it by the faith of the son of God because Jesus has done this, he has sorted this, he has accomplished this.
We are conscious of our salvation, we know that we are cleansed, we are accepted, we are justified and much more. It was only Jesus that could call him Abba father but we were brought to the place where we now cry Abba father. What gave us boldness to call him father is based on what he did.
The wages for sin is death, and Jesus died for us that is why we don’t have charges against us. The father afflicted Jesus for our sake. We didn’t partake of this punishment, someone did on our behalf. God didn’t pardon sin, that’s why he is a just God. He didn’t pamper sin. The reason men don’t take it seriously is because they were not the one who suffered the punishment.
This is where faith came in, that what happened to man we are partakers of the same. We read that by the disobedience of one, sin reigned and by the obedience of one righteousness came.
From salvation, if we will not accept what God accomplished through his son, then we have not started living by the faith of the son of God.
We put our confidence in what Jesus accomplished.
Paul said that he was crucified with Christ, therefore he now live by the new life in Christ.
This life can only amount to anything great by the faith of the son of God. The more of the gospel we hear, learn, study, and are able to apply correctly to our life, is faith being produced. That faith is the faith of the son of God.
That which he did, he has done and it cannot be undone. He did a thorough job once and for all. He makes it easy that we can rely on what he has done at any time.
The father does not ask us to come to him based on our own righteousness. We don’t fast to get more power, this power is resident in us. It is the Holy Ghost.
Acts 10:32
It takes boldness to speak to a situation and it responds positively. Our confidence is in Christ not in our works. All other ground is sinking sand. We should come to a point where we will trust in what Jesus has done. You rest solely on the fact that Jesus has conquered.
We trust and believe everyday, confident in what the father has done.
What the devil is trying to do is that it shifts our gaze from the right things to what we feel should be done whereas they are not done in faith. Most times we fast and feel we’d be empowered that way, no! Fasting is not for you to get power. It is just discipline for the body. It takes diligence to know the essence of our fast. While we are fasting, we let the devil know that our trust is in God not in our works. With fast, you get your mind settled and focused. Paul fasted yet he didn’t rely on those things.