03/21/2017
This morning I am contemplating a single phrase in the King James translation of the Bible... it is one that was written by Paul to the Galatians, and is found in Galatians 2:20. It reads like this..."by the faith of the son of God." This is opposed to several modern translations which record it as "by the faith in the Son of God." So the question boils down to one word and two different translations... Our study is whether to us the word "In" or "Of" as we talk about our faith. This might sound tedious but 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 such a small Word, two letters, have such profound importance; especially since neither “if” nor “in” are words in the original Greek (πίστεως Χριστοῦ (faith of Christ)). Well, if we were to translate this scripture as "in" then it is referring to our faith, but if it is translated as "of" then it becomes Christ's faith. The difference is marked and dramatic, and the answer we settle upon determines if we simply believe in Jesus, or if He has actually placed His own Faith within us. I dare say that most of us have been taught to believe in Jesus, but what of our faith? Is it in Him, or of Him… is the faith we have ours, or His?
I said that there is no word here in the original Greek text, and that is true. And because of this our study has become an intellectual argument which forces us to determine whether this verse is grammatically Subjective or Objective Genitive and how it fits within the flow of the language it is couched in. Most students of the Word translate it literally to read "God's Son's Faith." So, I read the scripture in the King James Version as being correct in its use of the word “of”. I am not alone in this finding, Pastor Oswald Chambers joins me 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, it is the actual faith of the Son of God." – Oswald Chambers
So, I too believe that Jesus lives in me, and as He does, He has instilled in me His own faith to accompany and increase my own meager portion. This same translation argument holds true in Galatians 2:16, Romans 3:21, and Philippians 3:9 as well. (see these verses in the scripture references below)
So, what are the implications to this? We readily accept the fact that Jesus lives and abides within us, so why should we resist the thought that His faith has been imparted to us? Some feel that Jesus was one with God so He didn't need faith to believe in Himself, but Jesus was also a man as we are. So, perhaps it is because some are reluctant to tie the faithfulness they exhibit in their lives too closely with Jesus... after all, when we have moments of doubt it implies that we might be failing that faith... and what would be the consequences of that? Or maybe it is the belief that once we begin to have the faith of Christ we lose control over our own destiny or faithfulness. I guess in either case it boils down to fear; the very fear that Mary overcame when she accepted 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." as He prayed in Gethsemane.
Let's think about this today, and what having "God's Son's faith" means to us and our walk with the Lord God. Let's thank Him for giving us the tiny mustard seed's measure of faith that we read about in scripture which, in its small measure, will move mountains. And then let's employ that seed of faith along with the faith of Jesus in our daily lives as we pray for others, feed the hungry, do all we do for the Lord... and worship Him… God the Father.
“He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”
Matthew 17:20 ESV
Prayer:
Father, thank you for the faith of your Son Jesus Christ that you have given me, and the power this imparts to me. 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 and the redemption I have by His obedience to your will. Lord I am quickened by your Spirit that lives within me and am made able and strong by the faith of Christ 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 so that I can use it properly and to glorify you. I am in your Son, and He in me, thus His faith abides in me always and in me you and your Holy Spirit resides as well. Thus, the words of Jesus ring true... He is most certainly manifest to me. Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! you are worthy Abba, and in you rests all the glory and power forever. In you I place my trust, and find my joy and peace completed in you and your Son Jesus. Hear me as I pray in the Spirit Father and increase me in my faith with each passing day that I spend in your presence, and in possession of the faith of Christ which is manifest with Him in me. Holy, Holy, Holy, and great are you my God, who was and is, and is to come. Holy are you who is lovingly merciful, full of grace, and forgiving… forgive and bless me now.
Amen! Amen! Amen!
“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
“Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.”
Galatians 2:16 KJV
“But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:”
Romans 3:21-22 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
Rich Forbes