D
Faith is Christ Himself believing for us in a very subjective way; He transfuses us with Himself, working Himself into us, until He, the very person, becomes the believing element in our being.
E
Thus, it is not we who believe; it is He who believes within us; in this way He makes us a believing being (cf. Acts 6:5; 11:22-24a); apparently it is our believing, but actually it is His believing; this is genuine faith.
F
Faith is a substantiating ability, a sixth sense, the sense by which we substantiate, give substance to, the things unseen or hoped for—Heb. 11:1:
１
Substantiating is the ability that enables us to realize a substance.
２
The function of our five senses is to substantiate the things of the outside world, transferring all the objective items into us to become our subjective experience.
３
As the eye is to seeing, the ear to hearing, and the nose to smelling, so faith, our spirit of faith, is the organ whereby we substantiate everything in the unseen spiritual world into us—2 Cor. 4:13.
４
In the divine and mystical realm of the consummated Spirit, we can exercise our spirit of faith with the spiritual senses of seeing the Lord (Eph. 1:18; Matt. 5:8; Job 42:5), hearing Him (Gal. 3:2; Rev. 2:7a), touching Him (Matt. 9:21; 14:36; John 4:24), tasting Him (Psa. 34:8; 1 Pet. 2:2-3), and smelling Him, being permeated with Him to such an extent that we become “a fragrance of Christ” (2 Cor. 2:15), with our Christian walk in love being a sweet-smelling savor to God (Eph. 5:2); furthermore, as His loving seekers, we eventually become mature in life to the extent that we have a spiritual intuition and olfactory sense of high and sharp discernment in order to discern the things that are of God and are not of God (S. S. 7:4b; Phil. 1:9).
Morning Nourishment
2 Pet. 1:1 Simon Peter,…to those who have been allotted faith equally precious as ours in the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ.Gal. 2:20 I am crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
When we look unto Jesus, He transfuses us with Himself as the believing element and He becomes our faith… Faith, the substantiating ability, is like a sixth sense. We acquired this substantiating sense through the preaching of the gospel. Proper gospel preaching is not merely a matter of teaching; it must also be a matter of transfusion… Before I can preach the gospel to [sinners], I must first receive something of and from the Lord. Then, as I am preaching, what I have received of the Lord will enter, like electricity, into those who are listening… Although they may shake their heads, not consenting to my preaching, deep within they believe what I am saying… Because some element has been transfused into their being, they are able to believe in the Lord. (Life-study of Hebrews, p. 554)
Today’s Reading
Ministry does not depend upon our eloquence but upon our utterance… The proper ministry is altogether a matter of being fully transfused with God Himself. First, we are charged with the divine element, and then, in the ministry, we radiate that divine element into others in a charming way.If we would have faith, we must look away unto Jesus, the source of faith. When we look away from all other things unto Him, He will radiate Himself into us, charging us with Himself. As a result, spontaneously we shall have faith. Faith does not originate with us; it originates with Him. Faith is Christ Himself believing for us in a very subjective way. He transfuses us with Himself, working Himself into us, until He, the very Person, becomes the believing element in our being. Thus, it is not we who believe; it is He who believes within us. In this way, He makes us a believing being. Apparently it is our believing; actually it is His believing. This is genuine faith.
Once Christ has originated this faith within us,… He will complete, finish, and perfect it. Do not think that you can be a giant of faith on your own… All the faith we have is just Christ Himself believing in us and for us. We live by His faith, by Him as our faith (Gal. 2:20). Christ’s believing element is charged into our being through the law of life. The more we allow the law of life to work in our being, the more we are able to believe. If we give the law of life the opportunity to work continuously in our mind, emotion, and will, its working will produce great faith in us. (Life-study of Hebrews, pp. 555-556)
Having faith is not the same as believing in certain things by making a definite decision with a strong will. The faith revealed in the Bible is not of ourselves; it is something holy and divine that has been allotted to us by God (2 Pet. 1:1). It is the result of a divine transfusion.
God’s Spirit goes along with God’s word, and in the Bible the Spirit and the word are never separated (John 6:63; Eph. 6:17). When the word of God comes to us, the Spirit comes with the word, and as the word speaks to us, the Spirit infuses us with what God is. The Spirit not only reveals to us the truths in the Word but also imparts God’s essence, His divine element, into us. When we read the Word, there is a spontaneous and unconscious infusion and transfusion not only of knowledge and revelation but also of the divine element into our being. As a result of this transfusion, something spontaneously rises up within us to become our believing ability, and we simply believe… This is faith. (CWWL, 1975-1976, vol. 3, p. 91)
Further Reading: CWWN, vol. 27, “The Normal Christian Faith,” ch. 13; CWWN, vol. 23, “The Song of Songs,” pp. 106-107; CWWL, 1975-1976, vol. 3, pp. 89-94