For further study on “faith” visit <strong>Truth</strong>OrTradition.com/faithWhat is the manifestation of Faith?When God asks us to have faith, He is not asking us to believesomething without proof.The manifestation of faith is yourhaving the confidence or trust that whatGod or the Lord Jesus Christ has revealedto you by a message of knowledge or amessage of wisdom will come to pass atyour command.Before we can understand the“manifestation of faith” (1 Cor.12:9), we must understandwhat “regular” faith is. “Faith” is thetranslation of the Greek noun pistis,which means “trust,” “confidence,”or “assurance.” 1 Our English word“trust” captures the sense very well.Sadly, most Christians do not knowwhat “faith” is because the moderndefinition differs from the biblicaldefinition. The modern definition of“faith,” and the definition most Christianshave in their mind, is a “firm belief insomething for which there is no proof ”(Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary).It is vital to understand that “belief insomething for which there is no proof ” isactually superstition, and that is far fromthe biblical definition of “faith.”The Biblical Definition of FaithThe biblical definition of faith is“trust,” and we trust things only afterthey have been proven to us. God doesnot ask us to believe Him without somekind of reason or proof. He has leftmany evidences that He exists and thatHis Word is true. 2 When God asks us tohave faith, He is not asking us to believesomething without proof.All of us have “faith” (trust) in a largenumber of things. In fact, life wouldbe impossible without trust. A personwould not even sit down if he did nottrust the chair would hold him. Godasks us to trust that Jesus has beenraised from the dead because the Bible,history, and evidences such as speakingin tongues, give plenty of evidence for it.The reason it is impossible to please Godwithout faith (Heb. 11:6), is that after allGod does for us day after day, and hasdone for mankind throughout history,if we still do not trust Him—well youcan see that He would be displeased.Frankly, if any of us did many wonderfulthings for someone else, and that person“returned the favor” by being distrustfulof us, we would be displeased too. Oncewe understand that “faith” is “trust,”we are in a position to understandthe “manifestation of faith,” which wemight also call, “the manifestation oftrust.” In contrast to ordinary faith, themanifestation of holy spirit referred toas “faith” is the trust that is necessary toaccomplish the special tasks that God,by revelation, asks us to do. Contrasting“faith” with the “manifestation of faith”should help to clarify what that means.If I own a chair I have sat in many times,I have built up trust that it will hold me. Ihave faith in the chair.But what about doing a healing ormiracle? I know I cannot do it in my flesh.Therefore, the only way I can heal or doa miracle is to trust in the revelation thatI have received from God (via a messageof knowledge, wisdom, or discerningof spirits), and to trust that when Icommand the healing or miracle tocome to pass, it will. That “supernatural”trust, which is based on revelationand is brought to pass via the powermanifestations of healing, miracles, etc,is “the manifestation of faith.” A commonpattern involving the manifestation offaith is: God (or the Lord Jesus) givesa revelation, the person trusts therevelation (“the manifestation of faith”)and acts on it, and then God supplies thepower to bring the revelation to pass.Biblical ExamplesMoses brought water out ofa rock by the manifestation offaith (Exod. 17:5 and 6). He couldnot do so by his own power, butGod told him that if he struckthe rock, water would come out.Moses trusted what God said (themanifestation of faith), acted onit, and by the manifestation ofmiracles brought water out of therock. Gideon defeated the Midianites bythe manifestation of faith (Judg. 6:16),Elijah multiplied the oil and flour by themanifestation of faith (1 Kings 17:14-16),and the other great miracles of the Biblewere done by the manifestation of faith.When it comes to miracles and giftsof healings, we need the manifestationof faith because we cannot heal the sickor do miracles by our human power. Godmust give us a message of knowledgeand a message of wisdom, letting usknow that it is His will for us to healsomeone or do a miracle, and then wemust have the faith to do it. As Christians,we should live our lives in such a way thatour faith in God grows and continuesto grow, so that we are well able tomanifest His power and bless and deliverpeople.Notes:1. For more on what biblical faith really is,see our book, Don’t Blame God! (pg 3 ofthe enclosed price list), Chapter 10, “Keepthe Faith.” Also, visit <strong>Truth</strong>OrTradition.com/faith2. For a short summary of some of these,see our book, The Bible: You Can Believe It(pg 3 of the enclosed price list). Also, visit<strong>Truth</strong>OrTradition.com/trust10 STFonline.org/sower | May/June 2008
May/June 2008 | STFonline.org/sower 11