03/21/2023
This morning I am dwelling on a single phrase in the King James translation of the Bible... it is written by Paul to the Galatians, and in Galatians 2:20 it reads like this..."by the faith of the son of God." This is opposed to some modern translations which interpret it as "by the faith in the Son of God." So the question boils down to one word and two very different translations... "In" or "Of", and the implications are great.
"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." Galatians 2:20, KJV
How could one small Word have such great importance; especially one that isn't even in the original Greek? Well, if we translate this scripture as "in" then it is our faith, but if translated as "of" then it becomes Christ's faith. The difference is marked and dramatic. Do we simply believe in Jesus, or has He instilled in us His Faith?
I said that there is no word here in the original Greek and that is true. It has become an intellectual argument by scholars, but if translated literally it reads "God's Son's Faith." So I read the scripture in the King James Version as correct. In my determination I am not alone, people like Oswald Chambers join me in this interpretation. Read his words as he writes...
""And the life i live in the body...," not the life which i long to live and pray to live, but the life i now live in my mortal flesh, the life which men can see, "i live by the faith of the Son of God," This faith is not Paul's faith in Jesus Christ, but the faith that the Son of God has imparted to him, "the faith of the Son of God.' It is no longer faith in faith, but faith which has overleapt all conscious bounds, the identical faith of the Son of God." – Oswald Chambers
I too believe that Jesus lives in me, and as He does, He instills in me His own faith to accompany my meager portion. This same translation argument holds true in Galatians 2:16, Romans 3:21, and Philippians 3:9 as well. Read these verses and contemplate their ramification of their meaning…
“Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ…” - Galatians 2:16
“But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;” - Romans 3:21 KJV
“And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:” - Philippians 3:9 KJV
So what are the implications of this? We readily accept the fact the Jesus lives within us, but why the resistance to His faith also being imparted to us? Some feel that Jesus was one with God so He didn't need faith to believe in Himself, but Jesus was a man as well. Perhaps it is because some are reluctant to tie the faith we exhibit too closely with Jesus... after all, when we have moments of doubt it implies that we might be failing that faith... and what would the consequences of that be? Or, maybe it is the belief that once we begin to have the faith of Christ we lose control over our own faithfulness. I guess in either of these cases it boils down to fear; the very fear that Mary overcame to accept her role in the birth of Jesus, and the same fear that Jesus overcame before He could say "Not my will, but yours be done."
Let's think about this today, and what having "God's Son's faith" means to us and our walk with the Lord. Let's thank Him for giving us even a mustard seed's measure of a faith that is “OF” incredible magnitude. Then let's employ that faith in our daily lives as we pray for others, feed the hungry... and worship God the Father.
Prayer:
Father, I praise your name and lift you up! You are the author of my life and the focus of my existence! I thank you for your Son Jesus Christ and the redemption I have by His sacrifice. Lord I am quickened by His Spirit that lives in me, and resolved in His faith that has been implanted within me. Lord, never let me fail that faith which is so precious to me, and give me the strength and wisdom to walk each day in the way you would have me travel. In as much as my faith, which is His, can move mountains, I ask you Father to show me your will that I can use it properly and to glorify You. I am in your Son; in me is the faith of Christ, in me is your Holy Spirit, and the words of Jesus ring true... he is manifest to me.
“At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.”
John 14:20-21 KJV
Rich Forbes