The Ministry of the Holy Spirit in the New
Course:
The Gifts of the Spirit (10 Lessons)
Lesson
Four
Lesson Title: The Gift of Faith
Text: ‘... to another faith.’ 1 Cor. 12:9.
Introduction: The empowerment of faith.
Greek
word ‘heteros'
meaning ‘another of a different kind’.
Starts
a new group of gifts.
Begins
the second group of gifts that empower the Church to overcome the works of the
enemy.
This group
concerns direct confrontation in spiritual warfare.
What is the Gift of Faith?
The Gift of
Faith is the supernatural working of the Holy Spirit upon the believer that
empowers him or her to trust fully that God will act in a supernatural manner
at a particular time.
The Gift of Faith often operates in association with other gifts of the
Spirit.
For
example: The Gift of Faith empowers the
believer to trust the ‘rhema’ word of God, and this will be fulfilled through
another gift such as the Working of Miracles or Gifts of Healings.
The Gift of
Faith empowers the believer to speak with authority so that…
"He shall have whatever he
says" (Mark
"You shall also decree a thing, and
it shall be established unto thee" (Job
The believer
may operate the gift of faith without realising it because he or she is simply
following the leading of the Holy Spirit.
Different
kinds of faith
The Gift of
Faith is distinct from other kinds of faith.
There are
three kinds of faith.
·
Saving
faith is faith that comes through the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit (Acts
·
The
Fruit of Faith is the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer. (Gal. 5:22). This
is a growing faith that develops through abiding in Christ and His word abiding
in us.
·
The
Gift of Faith is an empowered of the Holy Spirit that comes upon the believer
at a particular time. This is the faith
that will move mountains, 1 Corinthians 13:2.
The ministry
of the Holy Spirit is seen in these three kinds of faith.
The Holy
Spirit enlightens, produces growth, and empowers.
Introductory Illustration:
Question: What about natural faith?
Unsaved people
do not live by faith.
They live by
law.
1.
the
law of probability
2.
the
law of deduction (certainty)
Reasoning
I believe it
is safe to fly as aircraft do not crash very often (probability).
I believe
I believe Neil
Armstrong walked on the moon as I saw it on TV. (probability)
Devil believes
in God; he has seen Him. (deduction – certainty)
Having faith
that a person will live up to expectations is not the same as Biblical
faith.
This
expectation may or may not be fulfilled depending upon the persons
character.
Faith in
Christ means to totally depend on Christ.
The limits of
our faith depend upon the depth of our relationship with Christ and the extent
of our trust in His word.
The Gift of
Faith must be joined to the Rhema word of God
The Gift of
Faith requires a rhema
word from God.
See Greek Word
Studies ‘Rhema’
Main Points
1.
The
Gift of Faith in Scripture
a)
The
Gift of Faith empowers the believer to trust God for His supernatural
protection.
It brings peace
in great danger. It brings a state of
blessed assurance in the face of certain death.
(1)
Daniel
could rest all night in the lions den without being harmed, Daniel
(2)
Peter
could sleep in the prison though James had already been executed, Acts 12:5-6.
(3)
Jesus
could calmly walk through the midst of those who wanted to kill Him, Luke 4:30.
b)
The
Gift of Faith empowers the believer to proclaim the word of the Lord boldly and
with authority.
(1)
In
the face of great danger - Shipwreck.
Paul received the ‘rhema’ word of God concerning
the safety of the men on the ship. Paul
was able to speak with authority and it happened according to his word. Acts 27:21-26
‘But after long abstinence Paul stood forth in the midst of them, and said,
Sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me, and not have loosed from
(2)
Proclaim
a time of famine. Elijah spoke with
authority before the King and it happened according to his word. ‘There shall not be dew nor
rain these years, but according to my word’ (1 Kings 17:1). "And it rained
not on the earth by the space of three years and six months
" (James
(3)
Proclaim the Lord’s supernatural
provision.
Elijah (1 Kings
17:2-16) – fed by ravens (v4).
The Gift of Faith led Elijah to wait for
ravens to feed him and to be provided for by a poor widow woman (v13-16).
The Gift of Faith led Elijah to take
the widow woman’s last food.
Jesus – coin in the fish’s mouth.
The Gift of Faith empowers the believer to have assurance of
God’s supernatural provision and protection in times of great need.
Empowerment
to trust the miraculous provision of God in a way not usually seen.
c)
The
Gift of Faith empowers the believer to have full assurance of faith that God
will act according to His word. Hebrews
11.
(1)
The
Gift of Faith trusts God to do things not usually seen. ‘By faith Noah,
being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark
to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became
heir of the righteousness which is by faith.’
Hebrews 11:7.
(2)
The Gift of Faith expects the
impossible. ‘Through
faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered
of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised.’ Hebrews
11:11.
(3)
The Gift of Faith will enable us
to give beyond natural ability. ‘By
faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received
the promises offered up his only begotten son’, Hebrews
2. Testimonies concerning the Gift of Faith
Examples from
Church History
Luther at
Luther’s hymn
‘A mighty fortress is our God’ is also the testimony of his great faith in
God.
Luther could
not have achieved what he did at the Diet of Worms without Faith.
Was it the
gift of faith?
Luther’s
testimony at the Diet of Worms was so important to the spread of the
gospel.
Luther was
just a monk but he stood alone against the power and influence of
This was spiritual
warfare that required supernatural faith.
The faith to
trust God in such dangerous and difficult circumstances is a supernatural gift
of faith.
Luther’s words
‘Unless I am convinced by
Scripture and plain reason – I do not accept the authority of the popes and
councils, for they have contradicted each other - my conscience is captive to
the Word of God. I cannot and I will not recant anything for to go against
conscience is neither right nor safe. God help me. Amen.’
a)
George Muller (1805-1898)
The Gift of
Faith brings calm assurance even when there is a lack of provision.
George Muller
lived a life of faith. The fruit of
faith was very dominant in his life, but there were many times when he had to
trust the Lord to provide for the orphans in
b) Missionary pioneers
Always need for new missions and new works – pioneers who
trust God.
Pioneers will sometimes experience times of great need.
Trusting a denomination is more comfortable – natural
provision through God’s people.
Regular support through God’s people is natural provision.
Trusting the Lord to supply without natural backing requires
both the fruit of faith daily and the gift of faith occasionally.
The great missionary pioneers had to trust the Lord without
the backing of a denomination.
(1)
Willie
Burton (1886-1971) and the
(2)
Hudson Taylor (1832-1905)
and the China Inland Mission
(3)
Gladys
Aylward (1902-1970) went to
This is also
seen in the children she took through occupied territory to safety.
When there was
no way of crossing a river the children spoke about how the Lord parted the Red
Sea then a Chinese official came, he asked what they were doing. He whistled across the river and then a boat
appeared. The small boat made several
crossings until Gladys Aylward and all the children
were across. See ‘Gladys Aylward – Her personal story as told to
Christine Hunter’ (1970) pp.91-92.
3. Why is the Gift of Faith necessary today
The Gift of Faith is necessary today for the same reasons the gift was
needed in the New Testament.
a)
The Gift of Faith is one of the best gifts 1
Corinthians 12:31.
Faith is less spectacular than
Miracles but Faith is a
greater gift than Working of Miracles.
Jesus spoke about ‘an evil and adulterous generation seeks
after a sign’, Matthew 12:39.
The Gift of Faith trusts God through the trial without any
great show of power.
It is greater to have faith in the storm than to cry out for
miraculous intervention.
The world admires great miracles but the Lord loves to see
faith.
Jesus calmed the storm, Mark
Greater gift – Faith that can sleep in
the storm.
This goes against human reason.
b) The Gift of Faith will make a way in impossible situations.
When it is not possible in the
natural – the Gift of Faith is able to believe for the impossible.
When Jesus heard that Lazarus was
sick, he said ‘This
sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might
be glorified’,
and he waited. (John 11:4-6).
He knew Lazarus had died; He also
knew Lazarus would be raised from the dead. (John 11:14).
He did not rush to
When Jesus raised Lazarus from the
dead, the Gift of Faith operated with Workings of Miracles.
Jesus knew what the Holy Spirit was
going to do.
He had no doubt but cried with a
loud voice ‘Lazarus come forth’. (John 11:43).
The Gift of Faith has nothing to do
with ‘hoping for the best’. Jesus knew
what would happen.
c) The Gift of Faith is necessary to bring deliverance to those
who are bound.
In Matthew 17:14-21, a father
brought his devil possessed son to the disciples but they could not deliver him.
The disciples of Jesus asked why
they could not cast the devil out. Jesus
said because of unbelief. (Matthew
17:20)
But the faith required to deliver
the boy was ‘the Gift of Faith’.
The disciples had a delegated authority
– Jesus was anointed of the Holy Spirit.
In the Acts of the Apostles Peter
and Philip cast out unclean spirits.
(Acts
d) The Gift of Faith produces unstoppable
determination.
Supernatural empowerment of faith produces boldness to stand
against all spiritual enemies, and makes us ‘more than conquerors’ in spiritual
warfare.
Summary:
The Gift of
Faith requires a rhema
word from God.
The Gift of
Faith empowers the believer to trust God…
1)
…for
supernatural protection.
2)
…for
supernatural provision.
3)
…for
the impossible