2Corinthians 5:17-18 (Amplified) says, "Therefore, if any person is (ingrafted) in Christ Jesus (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old (previous moral and spiritual condition) has passed. Behold, the fresh and new has come. But all things are from God, Who through Jesus Christ reconciled us to Himself (brought us into favor, brought us into favor with Himself) and gave to us the ministry of reconciliation (that by word and deed we might aim to bring others into harmony with Him)."
We in this world, have had "the measure of faith" dealt t us by God, from the beginning. Romans 12:3 (Amplified) says, "According as God has dealt to every man the measure of faith." If would be unfair and unjust, for God to tell us that we are "saved by faith" and then not give us the faith by which to be saved by grace. It's not a matter of our having faith, but by our developing this "God kind of faith." Mark 11:22 (Amplified) tells us, "Jesus said to them, Have faith in God (constantly)."
Jesus was speaking to Old Testament people, who hadn't been born-again yet, but Jesus expected them to have "faith in God." We are a faith people. Both saved or unsaved persons have faith. It's not a matter of having faith, but it's what we place our faith in. We instinctively and constantly place our faith in something. We have faith that the sun will come up every morning and it doesn't need us in order to do so. Some call this a natural faith, but it is the Gift of God, according to Ephesians 2:8 (Amplified) which says, "For it is by free grace (God's unmerited favor) that you are saved (delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ's salvation) through (your) faith." God tells us to have faith and man would need to get faith from some other source other than God, if He didn't supply man with faith when He created him. We have natural faith, even when we sit down in a chair. If we didn't have faith that the chair would hold us up, then we wouldn't sit down on it. This faith is a Gift from God.
Man has used faith to get along in this earth for millennium, but never developed that faith beyond our natural needs. We put faith in our currency, having faith that we will be able to purchase something with it. Your boss gives you a paycheck and by faith you receive it "as good." You take that check to the bank, where you receive a promissory note (the US dollar) and you have faith that it is good. Then, you take this money to the store, where you believe by faith, the store will accept it, in exchange for their goods. Everything we do, is by faith.
We placed our faith in God and were saved, but we must develop that faith into a higher degree. We've used faith in various ways, but we must now grow that faith, into a realm we're not accustomed to. Romans 1:19-21 (Amplified) says, "For that which is known about God is evident to them and made plain in their inner conscience, because God (Himself) has shown it to them. For ever since creation of the world His invisible nature and attributes, that is, His eternal power and divinity have been made (intelligible and clearly discernible in and through the things that have been made (His handiworks). So (men) are without excuse (altogether without any defiance or justification). Because when they knew and recognized Him as God, they did not honor Him or glorify Hi as God or give Him thanks; But instead they became futile and Godless in their vain thinking (with vain imaginings, foolish reasonings and stupid speculations) and their senseless minds were darkened."
So, we have no excuse for not having faith in God, Who has called us unto Himself. We haven't developed our faith, in order to believe beyond where we've always walked in until now. We continue trying to hold God in the same realm of faith, in which we've always relied on. We still struggle with the Super-natural realm of God (even though we're born-again into this realm through Jesus), because we haven't developed our faith. The Church divides itself about things found in God's Word, because of undeveloped faith.
Some have developed their faith from salvation and have come to the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and now are speaking in tongues. Some believe that this "is not for today" or that these things are "passed away." Every person in the Body of Christ, has the potential to do whatever Jesus has sent the Church to do, in these last days.
We are a new creation people, who haven't just been born-again, but have been born-again by the same Seed that Jesus was born of (the Word of God). 1Peter 1:23 (Amplified) says, "You have been regenerated (born-again) not from a mortal origin (seed, sperm) but from one that is immortal by the Ever Living and Lasting Word of God." The potential for developing a higher degree of faith, come from God's Spirit, Who now lives in us.
We initiated this form of believing this greater faith, by believing we were forgiven of our sin and were born-again in Christ Jesus. This is the beginning of our developing faith, for God's children. We've used or placed this new and greater faith on Him and are called to be mature or adults in that faith. Many in the Church have been content with the degree of faith used to become saved, but our faith is supposed to grow into the completed form of God's children. Don't allow yourself to become discouraged and have your growth be stunted. Be determined to continue in growing up, in Him.
Some believe that these things aren't for everyone, but God has never said that about His children. The people we call "giants of the faith" in the Word, are just men and women who continued in faith, beyond simply being born-again. They developed their faith to grow into a maturity with God, while others didn't. God has never limited His children and He will never desire anything more other than our growing into a deeper relationship with Him. God has always challenged us to go "from faith to faith" and from "glory to glory." This is a progressive faith that won't be denied, until it sees Him face-to-face.
Many say this is "radical and crazy," but God calls our getting to know Him better, LOVE. We search our DNA, trying to discover who our family was and where they came from. Many go to great lengths, trying to do so. Some discover their heritage and adopted the culture of their family lineage. We should be this serious about our new creation family in God. You have so much potential in this new creation, so much untapped ability in Him, so much ability to change yourself and the things around you. Even Jesus had a forerunner in John the Baptist. We are the forerunners, preparing for His soon coming return.
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