The Bible defines faith in Hebrews 11:1 as follows:
‘Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.’
One thing about the Word of the Lord is that the more we meditate on the Word, the more the Holy Ghost reveals things to us.
In 1 Corinthians 2:10-11, it is written:
‘But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.’
And the things that the Spirit of God searches out, he teaches us as well.
That’s why in John 14:26, the Bible says:
‘But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.’
The pathway to accessing the deep things of God is via the Holy Ghost.
I would like us to recall that a few weeks ago, the Lord gave a word to us, which I titled: ‘The Faith that Speaks.’
But the more I meditate on this subject matter of faith, the more the Spirit of God reveals to me things that were hitherto unknown to me.
Today, I would like to share with us on the topic which I have titled ‘The Dimensions of Faith’.
Brethren, faith is indeed in dimensions, and all these dimensions work together.
Firstly, there is the dimension of faith which manifests at the point of the entrance of God’s word.
That is why the Bible says that ‘the entrance of the Word of God giveth light.’ This is what I refer to as the hearing dimension.
The Bible tells us in Romans 10:17 that ‘faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.’
The first dimension of our faith begins with hearing what the Word of the Lord says.
In Romans 10:14, the Bible declares:
‘How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?’
This passage of scripture makes it abundantly clear that God raises up preachers to speak or preach so that people will hear, and after that they believe.
So, the foundation of our faith is based on what we hear.
That is why in Mark 16:15 Jesus said:
‘And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.’
And in the next verse, he said: ‘he that believeth and is baptised, shall be saved’
So, the foundation of our faith in God is laid when we hear the word.
The next dimension is when we believe. This is the dimension I refer to as the believing dimension.
What do we do with the Word we hear?
Not all that hear believe. Some will scoff at the Word, and others will believe.
In Acts 17: 11, the Bible testifies concerning the Berean Christians:
‘These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.’
They searched the scriptures daily to consolidate their belief in what they had heard.
Jesus went to Nazareth, the city of his birth, to preach the gospel. They scoffed at him, and the Bible says that ‘he marvelled at their unbelief’ (Mark 6:6)
The good news is that not all who hear will refuse the gospel.
In Romans 1:16, Paul the Apostle, writing to us by the Holy Ghost, declares:
‘For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.’
To us who believe, the gospel of Christ is the power of God unto salvation.
When we hear the Word of God and believe the Word we hear, another dimension is added to our faith. It’s like the Lord building up our faith in him layer by layer.
Speaking about Abraham, the father of faith, the Bible says in Rom. 4:20-22:
‘He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;
And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.’
He was fully persuaded. He became persuaded after he had pondered over the issue. After he had meditated on the issue. The matter became settled in his heart that God cannot lie and what He has spoken, He will bring to pass.
We observe that many times Jesus was about to do a miracle, he would ask: ‘believest thou that I am able to do this?’
In Matthew 9:27-28, it is written:
‘And when Jesus departed thence, two blind men followed him, crying, and saying, Thou son of David, have mercy on us.
And when he was come into the house, the blind men came to him: and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord.’
Again, in Mark 9: 23-24, after Jesus had come down from the mountain of transfiguration, he met a multitude of people, and the Bible gives an account of a man whose child was possessed by the devil.
The disciples of Jesus could not cast the devil out. Jesus said to the father of the child:
‘If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.
And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.’
Jesus always asked this question because he wanted to know if the expression of this faith in him was rooted in the heart.
There is a connection between faith and what we believe in our hearts.
The next dimension of our faith is what we speak after we have been persuaded in our heart. I refer to this as the speaking dimension of faith.
In Matthew 12:34 Jesus rebuked the Pharisees and said unto them:
O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
Our mouth gives expression to the thoughts in our hearts. In the same way, our faith is expressed in what we say.
And speaking further, Jesus said in Matthew 12:37:
‘For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.’
The final dimension of our faith is acting on the Word which we have heard, believed in our hearts, and declared with our lips.
You will agree with me that faith does not stop at what we hear, what we believe or what we speak.
Our faith comes alive in what we do.
There is the ‘doing dimension’ of our faith in God.
James the Apostle said in James 2:14:
‘What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?’
And when we read further, he declares in verses 17-20:
‘Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?’
This does not mean that we are justified by what we do.
James the Apostle is only saying that our faith finds full expression by what we believe and do. In other words, our faith is not complete if we do nothing with it.
What do we learn, therefore?
There are dimensions of our faith, and all these components must work together.
First, we hear the Word. We must be careful what we hear. The Bible says that ‘the entrance of His word giveth light.’ We should be careful not to be exposed to the words of darkness. What we hear informs our belief.
We should meditate on the Word that we hear to the point of persuasion, just like Abraham.
Then we speak what we believe. The Apostles said in Acts 4:20:
‘For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.’
And in Romans 10:8, the Bible say:
‘But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;’
Lastly, we act on what we believe because faith without accompanying work is dead.
Hear/believe/speak/act…All these within the context of the Word of the Lord that comes our way.
That is how we exercise our faith in the living God.
Revive us, oh Lord in the name of Jesus.
