Through the sense of touch, hearing, seeing, smelling and tasting man is able to maintain contact with the natural world in which he lives. However, there is another world–a spirit world–about which most people know very little even though the beings in the spirit world are as real as those in the material world. Unlike the physical entities of nature which have no innate power to guide man to obey them, the beings found in the spirit world have tremendous persuasive powers. Entities in the physical world have no effect on man’s status in the next life. Their effect on man ends with the end of his life. However, the beings in the spirit world have power to affect man’s present as well as future life. It is how man deals with those spiritual entities in this present life that will determine what takes place in his future life. In short, man either obeys the unseen God of the universe and lives forever, or obeys the unseen god of the earth and is burned to ash in the Lake of Fire. In this series we will focus on man’s relationship with the spirit world, namely its two main characters–God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ–which will ultimately determine his future status.

The unseen, unfelt, untouched, untasted and unsmelled entity that enables man to remain in contact the  world in which the Godhead exists is called FAITH. As was noted in the previous posting, faith is defined as “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Faith is knowing the unknowable. It is the absolute surety of that which, according to the five senses, does not exist. True Biblically-defined faith is what separates God’s true saints from all other members of the human race, including the vast majority of those who profess to have faith. I hear people say that they have faith in God. This faith, according to them, proves that they are saved. However, the God they claim to believe (have faith) in does not see it that way. After all, Satan has more faith than any of us. He not only knows God’s Word, he knows that every Word is true. His demons also know this, and tremble.

To the true believer, having faith, which is a spiritual entity, is the same as being in possession of the thing for which he has faith, even though he cannot see, touch, hear, smell or taste it. Though materially it does not yet exist, in the believer’s heart (mind) it already exists–he believes the unbelievable in spite of all evidence to the contrary.

This is the faith God commands. Only those who exhibit it will spend eternity with Him. For such a one, FAITH=FACT. For the very elect, THE MATERIAL THING ASKED FOR IS SPIRITUALLY IN HIS POSSESSION; THE ACT REQUESTED HAS ALREADY BEEN PERFORMED; THE MIRACLE BELIEVED FOR HAS ALREADY MATERALIZED even though it does not exist according to the senses. Jesus turning water into wine is a good example of this level of God-commanded faith. In this instance, though the liquid in the containers was water, as evidenced by those who fetched it, to the Lord it became water as soon as He asked for it–while it was still in the well. It actually became physical wine as it sat in the jars waiting to be consumed. Jesus never doubted that such would take place. That is the level of faith God demands of those who would be His children. We are told in 1 John 2:6 that if we claim to be one with Christ we must “walk (live) even as He lived.” In order to do this one must have His level of faith. He promises in John 14:12 that if we have such faith we will do everything He has done, and even greater things.

The world, including most of the church world, finds any mention of this level of faith on the part of man to be ridiculous and utter nonsense. However, God not only requires it, HE CANNOT RESIST IT. He is obligated by His Word to bring such faith to fruition. But as is always the case with Him, there are conditions which must be met before He will turn faith into fact. L.J.