Living by Faith in God!

"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them" Ephesians 2:8-10.

Living by faith in God; what does that mean? At the beginning of Christ's ministry, following His baptism, the Bible tells us that Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. "And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, 'If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.'

"But Jesus answered and said, 'It is written, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God"'" Matthew 4:1-4.

Jesus was quoting from Deuteronomy 8:3 where Moses admonished the Children of Israel to live by "Every commandment which I command you today you must be careful to observe, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land of which the Lord swore to your fathers. And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord" Deut. 8:1-3.

Jesus while on earth lived by faith in His Father just as we who love the Lord are asked to live today. And the commandment that He asks of us is this, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another" John 13:34, 35.

We are told that faith in Jesus is the victory that overcomes the world (1 John 5:4, 5). However we are also told that faith without love is like "sounding brass or a clanging cymbal", it is harsh to the senses. "Though I have all faith… but have not love, it profits me nothing" 1 Cor. 13:1-3.

Jesus was the fulfillment of the Law (Matt. 5:17) for you and me, and in Him, the law is fulfilled in us, "For He (God) made Him (Jesus) who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." What a transference! By focusing on Jesus and on what He does for us by putting our faith and trust in Him, He changes us from the carnal to the Spiritual (Galatians 6), from devouring one another to loving one another (vs. 14, 15), from the works of the flesh to receiving the fruits of the Spirit (vs. 19-25).

"And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.

"But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ, by grace you have been saved, and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them" Ephesians 2:1-10.

Despite our weaknesses, if we are willing to yield our hearts and lives to God, He will come and gift us with His love and His Presence, and make His dwelling within our hearts and lives. That is His promise - three times in John 14:15-24.

May His Presence and His peace bless you mightily.