Hebrews 11:1(NLT) gives us the definition of faith. It says, “Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.” This verse mentions qualities of confidence, hope, and assurance. From this, you and I can ascertain that faith comes from God, and our partnership with His faith is initiated internally, because it involves the activity of our minds and hearts. Faith is the exercise of our minds and hearts toward things that we hope to receive, but we can’t yet see those things with our physical eyes. Our trust should be so fully persuaded in the goodness of God that we don’t need to see them. When we believe and have confidence in God’s Word, faith will give substance to what God has promised. This is phenomenally good news!
In John 10:10(NKJV), Jesus Christ said, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” Living a more than abundant life through Jesus Christ is God’s promise to us, and it is contingent upon our faith in what God has promised. Not only does our blessed Savior tell us why he came and what he has made available, but he also tells us that we have an enemy who steals, kills, and destroys. This distinction allows us to know definitively that there is a choice before every individual, and it is to live through Jesus Christ and walk in his love or we can continue to do things that keep us defeated by the enemy.
Sin is the behavior that keeps us bound. People don’t like hearing about sin because they want to do whatever they choose, and not be accountable for wrong choices and bad behavior. The truth is that sin disrupts our lives and causes us to veer away from God’s blessings. Most folks don’t believe that their sins are an offense to Heavenly Father and that since we all do it, sinful behavior isn’t such a big deal to Him. This is not true at all. God commands us to repent, and repentance requires us to recognize that sin injures our relationship with Him. It is why God rescued us from sin by sending His Son, Jesus Christ, who gave his life as payment for our sins. If we fail to recognize the terrible offense of sinful behavior, then we will not have the level of gratitude we should for what God has done through Christ to release us from sin’s bondage.
Colossians 1:13-14(NLT) tells us, “13 For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, 14 who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.” We could not have done this for ourselves. We needed a savior, and God knew from the very beginning that we would. This is how much our God loves us. Now that we are free from sin through Jesus Christ, God commands us in Galatians 5:1(NLT), “So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.” Heavenly Father has done this for us because He desired a relationship with us, and He established the reality that this relationship had to be founded on our trust in Him and our faithfulness to do as He says.
God’s requirement of trust is revealed in Hebrews 11:6(NLT). This verse teaches, “And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.” Again, our relationship with God must be built on our faith in Him. It’s the same with any other relationship that we want to have with one another. If it is a quality relationship with people we value, we will have a certain level of trust and loyalty to them, and they will have the same towards us. We also understand that this trust and loyalty are required for an enduring marital relationship as well. So, we can see how perfectly God established relationships, and we can also see how trust and loyalty deepens the intimacy in relationships as it develops and continues to grow.
Hebrews 11:8(NLT) says, “It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going.” It is thought that Abraham was born around 250 years after the flood, and during the time in which he lived, people had much longer lifespans than we have today. Some Bible scholars speculate that there would have been a few million people living during the time Abraham was alive. Out of all of them, he was the only one who had a heart to fully trust in God, and that is why God chose him to make a covenant with. Those of us living today who have faith in God through Jesus Christ are a part of the covenant God made with Abraham.
Heavenly Father wanted a family, and we should never underestimate the intensity of His desire. It’s why He offered His only begotten Son. And through Jesus Christ, we are made righteous and holy, two prerequisites for intimate communion and fellowship with God. Just as He created the connection between biological parents and children genealogically, He created the connection between Him and us spiritually. We receive God’s seed by being born-again through Jesus Christ. Then, we become God’s children, siblings of Christ, and members of God’s holy family.
A child cannot exist without a father’s seed. Biological children have their biological father’s seed. Spiritual children have their spiritual father’s seed. We belong to God and He lives within us! Romans 8:9(NKJV) declares, “But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.” 1Corinthians 3:16(NLT) also states, “16 Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you?” And Galatians 4:6(NLT) tells us, “And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.”
God dwells in us, and the degree to which we honor Him is determined by how we live our lives. He desires that we think, feel, speak, and behave like Jesus Christ, so that His love can work in and through us. Embodying and measuring up to the fullness of the example of Christ is God’s goal for all His children, so much so, that through Christ, He has placed His own spiritual DNA in the innermost part of our beings. Acts 17:28 tells us that it is Him that we live, move, and have our being. This is why we must be so very careful with the decisions and choices we make. They can alter the trajectory of our lives and thrust into God’s manifold blessings or land us in situations that lead to darkness and despair. God wants us to always choose His love, so we can live abundantly through Christ and enjoy His rich rewards.■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“God Dwells in Us!”, written for victoryinjesuschrist.life. Copyright© 2022. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
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