Have you ever been told that you use faith everyday ?
That when you sit on a chair in a restaurant, you have faith that the chair can hold your weight ?
Have you ever heard someone say that whilst in an airplane, you have faith the pilot knows what he is doing ?
Or, when you buy food, you are exercising faith by believing that the expiration date given by the seller is true ?
Many, including myself for a long time have used examples like these above to symbolise faith in God. But, what if I told you that faith in God is symbolised by something else entirely ?
Journey with me here.
The examples that I have described above are what I call human faith.
But what is human faith ?
Human faith
One of the definitions of faith given by Google’s English Dictionary is:
Complete trust or confidence in someone or something.
I call the definition above human faith because it depends on our 5 physical senses: touch, sight, hearing, smell and taste - which we use to perceive our environment.
You see, if one saw a chair in a restaurant with only 3 legs, looking wobbly and beat, he probably would not sit on it.
If he smelt that food which he bought from the supermarket is not fresh, his trust in in the seller would take a hit.
Or, if he heard that the pilot was not fit to fly, he would not have confidence to travel in that plane.
Human faith is affected by our 5 physical senses and when our senses perceive that something is wrong, it immediately wavers.
The Bible says by the stripes of the Lord Jesus Christ, you are / were healed (1 Peter 2:24 & Isaiah 53:5) but, you feel like you have the flu. Your 5 senses are telling you the complete opposite of what the Bible is saying.
Who is right ? The Bible or your senses ?
Jesus said that if you are born again, He is with you always (Matthew 28:20) but, you do not feel like He is there. Maybe you’re expecting goosebumps, a shiver down your spine, or, to see a bright light …
Who is right ? Jesus, who said that He will never leave us ? Or, our 5 physical senses that say we can’t feel Him with us at the moment.
Trust me, I have been there before. Situations where the Word of God is telling me one thing but my eyes another. If we operate in human faith, then in times like these, our faith fails.
Friends, that is not Biblical faith.
I once thought that faith in God was like trusting that a chair will hold my weight when I sit on it or, believing that the expiration date given for my food is right. However, the Holy Spirit revealed to me that Biblical faith in God is totally different.
I call Biblical faith - Divine faith - because it is not based on our physical senses, nor is it something that we inherently have. Rather, it is given to us by God and is based on His Word.
Spiritual Realm vs Physical Realm ?
The Bible tells us that God is a Spirit (John 4:24). This alone is profound because we learn throughout Scripture that there are 2 realms - the physical and spiritual realm.
The Bible also tells us that a human being is a spirit, living inside a temporary physical body. Actually, Scripture says that mankind is tripartite; composed of a spirit, a soul and a body. As a result, we are able to function both in the physical and spiritual realms.
Now, I say that the physical realm is a subset of the spiritual. This is because, the Bible tells us that the physical realm was created by God from the spiritual.
There is a diagram below showing - based on Scripture - what I imagine the relationship to be between the physical and the spiritual realms.
The black spot represents what we humans can detect in the physical realm. Right now as you read this post, there are countless electromagnetic waves around you, which you cannot feel, see, touch, hear or taste. Some of them are passing through you (literally), others your body just absorbs. Does it mean that they do not exist ? No.
Allow me to go on a bit of a tangent…
Added below is a photo of the electromagnetic spectrum. Out of this range, we as humans can only see what is in the range of visible light.
The thing is, just like there are events going on in the physical realm which our senses cannot perceive, so there are events occurring in the spirit which neither our physical senses, nor anything in the physical realm can perceive.
Ok, We’re back…
The point that I am trying to make is that there is more to reality than what meets your eye.
Sadly, because of doctrines like darwinian evolution & atheism, our society has been taught that man is simply a bunch of atoms. Secular science paints man as an evolved ape who is only natural. As a result, many operate with only 2/3 of their being; their soul and body.
The good news is that the Word of God tells us that man is so much more. Man is also a spirit.
It is through your spirit that you are able to interact with the spiritual realm, just like you interact with the physical realm through your body’s 5 senses.
So how does this relate to Divine faith ?
The discernment between what is physical and, what is spiritual is where I believe many (including myself for a time), have gotten faith wrong.
You see, when we believe in the Gospel, we are believing in God who we cannot see with our physical eyes. When we pray, we pray to God who we cannot see with our physical eyes. You believe in a heaven and a hell that you have never been to physically. But does that mean they do not exist ?
You see, we may not see electromagnetic waves but, we can build technology that is able to capture them. We may not hear sounds above 20,000Hz but, we can build microphones that detect those frequencies.
However, how do we build a microphone that can detect the voice of God ? Is it possible to build a machine that is able to detect the presence of God ? No.
Remember, God is a Spirit which means that His domain of function is in the spiritual realm. Therefore, we can only relate to Him through our spirit.
And this is how the Holy Spirit switched up the meaning of Biblical faith to me.
Instead of saying, “do you have faith that a chair can hold your weight ?”, the question to ask is, “do you have faith to sit on a chair that you cannot see ?”.
I genuinely encourage you to try it in your room right now. Look for some empty space and try sitting down on a chair that you cannot see. You will quickly find out that your human faith will not allow it.
Your eyes are telling you that there is nothing there, your hands are telling you that they cannot feel anything in front of you …
How are we going to sit on a chair that we cannot see ? Moreover, how are we going to believe in God who we cannot see ? With our human faith, this is impossible. We need a greater faith than our own.
We need Divine faith.
What does the Bible say about Divine Faith ?
Hebrews 11:1 ~ Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
That verse above is God’s definition of faith. Faith is a substance. Faith is evidence. But, it is based on things not seen.
Remember, just because something is unseen (invisible) does not mean it is non-existent.
I want to point something out Google English Dictionary’s second definition of faith:
strong belief in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual conviction rather than proof
The last part says, “based on spiritual conviction rather than proof” but, the Bible says something different.
The Greek word for ‘evidence’ in Hebrews 11:1 is elegchó which also means: a proof. In other words, Biblical faith is a proof of things not seen.
The Amplified version of Hebrews 11:1 says:
Hebrews 11:1 ~ Now faith is the assurance (title deed, confirmation) of things hoped for (divinely guaranteed), and the evidence of things not seen [the conviction of their reality—faith comprehends as fact what cannot be experienced by the physical senses].
Biblical faith, “comprehends as fact what cannot be experienced by the physical senses”. It is spiritual. It is our 6th sense.
This revelation completely changed my life.
There were times when I would seek for ‘a feeling’ to know that the Holy Spirit’s presence was with me and if I did not feel anything, I thought He was not there. But, that was not true.
Jesus said:
Matthew 28:20 ~ Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
Jesus is with me all the time and if you are born again, He is always with you too; whether you feel like it or not. This applies to so many other areas of our lives too.
That’s the basis of faith. It is based on the Word of God. It comes by the Word of God. Our faith in God does not come from ourselves. It is actually given to us by God when we hear His Word.
Romans 10:17 ~ So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
The Word of God is our evidence. It is our proof. Biblical faith is not about believing in fairy tales or stories too good to be true, nor about believing in something so much until it becomes true. It is a reality, a substance, a proof of things that exist, but, they exist in the spiritual realm.
It does not come from ourselves (human faith).
Galatians 2:20 [KJV] ~ 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.
We live this life by the faith of the Son of God.
Our 5 physical senses are not perfect. Many times they are wrong or, they are easily swayed by the waves of life. For us to operate in the will of God, we need a faith based on proof that does not change. That is why our faith as Christians is based on the Word of God.
Isaiah 40:8 ~ The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.
The Word of God is constant in season and out of season. When it looks like it or does not look like it. Throughout all generations God’s Word remains the same.
Here is the catch. If you are not born again, your spirit is dead. Not dead as in non-existent rather, dead as in non-functional. This is because there is a separation between your spirit and God’s Spirit; making it impossible for you to have fellowship with God.
The good news is you can have fellowship with God. If you are not born again and you want to be, check out my post about the Gospel embedded below.
The Gospel: Thoroughly Explained
John 3:16 ~ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. This Bible verse sums up the entire Gospel in about 25 words and is the most famous Bible passage that has ever been quoted in history. But what does it mean that Jesus Christ, the Son of God died for me an…
In Conclusion
But, “how”, you may ask, “do we get the spiritual realities expressed by God’s Word to manifest in the physical realm ?”. Well, thank God there is a way. But, that is a post for another day.
I hope by God’s grace that I have expressed this revelation in words that are understandable. More than that however, I hope is has blessed you as much as it did me.
Till next time.
~ TMK.
Very intriguing view on spiritual faith, Timothy. Well written and well done.
An amazing revelation bro. God bless❤️🙏🏾