The Faith Of Jesus

The Faith of Jesus

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God. Galatians 2:20, ESV

PAUL’S RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS makes for fascinating study. He first encountered the risen, living Jesus on a road to Damascus. He soon found his entire identity in Jesus and lived exclusively for his purposes. But at some point, maybe soon after his conversion or perhaps years later, he realized he wasn’t just living for Jesus but Jesus was living in and through him. This was more than a new identity. It was a habitation of the divine glory within.

Paul never made an exclusive claim to this experience. Just the opposite, in fact. He insisted that Jesus inhabits every believer, that we are living out the age-old mystery of God’s plan: Christ in us, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:26-27). And if we really let that truth settle in, we realize its enormous implications. We don’t have to strive for righteousness; we simply let his righteousness thrive in us. We don’t have to seek his wisdom, power, and love; we just put them on like new clothes. And we don’t have to try to muster up faith; Jesus’ faith is operating within us. We believe with the faith already given.

That fits with Jesus’ statement in Mark 11:22, which can be translated as “have the faith of God” as easily as “have faith in God.” This is no command waiting for a willfully obedient response. It’s a supernatural gift, a power from outside of us now planted within us. If it is truly Christ who lives in us rather than our old nature struggling for its own new life, we can trust that Jesus brings his faith into our innermost being. We simply rely on what he has given us to enter into an attitude of pure, rock-solid faith.

That takes all the stress out of biblical commands to have faith. This embracing of what is already there may take some practice, but it isn’t burdensome. Ask for the insight and direction to step into that reality. It’s wonderfully, powerfully yours.

To believe in the God over us and around us and not in the God within us—that would be a powerless and fruitless faith.