What is it that faith does?
Faith literally changes the physical world. It brings about healing in the body, it changes weather patterns, and it alters the state of matter. Since it does these things, it may be useful to think of faith as an energy field that can be manipulated by human beings.
Healing is the most frequently attributed evidence of faith in action. The four friends who let the man down through the roof, the woman with the issue of blood, and other scriptural incidents reaffirm that faith brings about healing. Healing is also the easiest evidence of faith, or perhaps another way to say it is that healing costs the smallest amount of faith.
When Jesus returned to Nazareth, he did no mighty works; he just healed a few folks (Mark 6:5). The reason given for the lack of mighty works is that the local folks had little faith: “And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief” (Matt. 13:58)
How does faith work?
Faith works by tapping into the power of God. The woman with the issue of blood touched the hem of Jesus’ garment, and he felt virtue go out from him (Luke 8:46, Mark 5:30). The Greek word used here, δύναμιν, is more often translated “power” and is the root for the English words “dynamic” and “dynamite.”
When Jesus walked the earth in human flesh, He subjected Himself to human limitations. He made it clear that human beings could do more than He had done: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father” (John 14:12).
If faith is the extension cord that plugs into the power, then when Jesus was in his own country (Nazareth) where the people had little or no faith, He endured the same limitations as the rest of us – he could do no mighty works, except to heal a few people.
Some commentaries say that He was unwilling to do the works; however, the text says He was unable – the difference between unwilling and unable is significant. Jesus said that all power was given unto him (Matt. 28:18), so our expectation is that he had the ability to do mighty works, but chose not to; that’s not what the verse said. It said that He could not do many mighty works.
The word for mighty works used in Matthew 13:58 has the same root as “power” – the word is δυνάμεις, just a different word ending than δύναμιν. The word translated as “power” in Matthew 28:18 is a different word - ἐξουσία – which is also translated as “authority.” Jesus has all power as in permission to do anything; His ability while clothed in flesh was limited to that set of abilities that are common to humanity.
Because there was so little faith available, He could not tap into His cosmic power to accomplish mighty works.
Volumes have been written about the dual nature of the man Christ Jesus; I will not delve into that topic here. Since He was both the omnipotent God and a limited human being, Jesus experienced some unique things. One of those things, in my opinion, was that feeling of power flowing from Him as the woman with the issue of blood touched him. As God, He is the source of that power. As a man, He could only tap into that power through the same set of tools He provided us all with. Faith unleashes the power of God. It is not itself the source of power, but merely a necessary accessory.
Electricity can be harnessed in many ways; humanity has been able to make electricity flow through wires or through the air. We use magnetic fields to transfer electrical energy from one voltage to another; we manipulate it in many other ways. But without some conduit, some conductor, some medium for it to flow through, it is worthless to us. On a hot day, having an electric fan can be nice – but unless it is plugged into the wall, it can be frustratingly still. The power is available in the wall; the fan is available, but if the power cord is missing, the voltage is useless; it cannot turn the fan because it cannot reach the fan.
Electricity is a parable, a model, a metaphor for the power of God, and an illustration of the way that faith works. If God’s power is electricity, then Faith is the wires. Faith is what brings the power to where it can be used. Faith is something that we can get more of, just like we can go to the hardware store and pick up more extension cords. How we grow our faith is through the words that we use.
Faith literally changes the physical world. It brings about healing in the body, it changes weather patterns, and it alters the state of matter. Since it does these things, it may be useful to think of faith as an energy field that can be manipulated by human beings.
Healing is the most frequently attributed evidence of faith in action. The four friends who let the man down through the roof, the woman with the issue of blood, and other scriptural incidents reaffirm that faith brings about healing. Healing is also the easiest evidence of faith, or perhaps another way to say it is that healing costs the smallest amount of faith.
When Jesus returned to Nazareth, he did no mighty works; he just healed a few folks (Mark 6:5). The reason given for the lack of mighty works is that the local folks had little faith: “And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief” (Matt. 13:58)
How does faith work?
Faith works by tapping into the power of God. The woman with the issue of blood touched the hem of Jesus’ garment, and he felt virtue go out from him (Luke 8:46, Mark 5:30). The Greek word used here, δύναμιν, is more often translated “power” and is the root for the English words “dynamic” and “dynamite.”
When Jesus walked the earth in human flesh, He subjected Himself to human limitations. He made it clear that human beings could do more than He had done: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father” (John 14:12).
If faith is the extension cord that plugs into the power, then when Jesus was in his own country (Nazareth) where the people had little or no faith, He endured the same limitations as the rest of us – he could do no mighty works, except to heal a few people.
Some commentaries say that He was unwilling to do the works; however, the text says He was unable – the difference between unwilling and unable is significant. Jesus said that all power was given unto him (Matt. 28:18), so our expectation is that he had the ability to do mighty works, but chose not to; that’s not what the verse said. It said that He could not do many mighty works.
The word for mighty works used in Matthew 13:58 has the same root as “power” – the word is δυνάμεις, just a different word ending than δύναμιν. The word translated as “power” in Matthew 28:18 is a different word - ἐξουσία – which is also translated as “authority.” Jesus has all power as in permission to do anything; His ability while clothed in flesh was limited to that set of abilities that are common to humanity.
Because there was so little faith available, He could not tap into His cosmic power to accomplish mighty works.
Volumes have been written about the dual nature of the man Christ Jesus; I will not delve into that topic here. Since He was both the omnipotent God and a limited human being, Jesus experienced some unique things. One of those things, in my opinion, was that feeling of power flowing from Him as the woman with the issue of blood touched him. As God, He is the source of that power. As a man, He could only tap into that power through the same set of tools He provided us all with. Faith unleashes the power of God. It is not itself the source of power, but merely a necessary accessory.
Electricity can be harnessed in many ways; humanity has been able to make electricity flow through wires or through the air. We use magnetic fields to transfer electrical energy from one voltage to another; we manipulate it in many other ways. But without some conduit, some conductor, some medium for it to flow through, it is worthless to us. On a hot day, having an electric fan can be nice – but unless it is plugged into the wall, it can be frustratingly still. The power is available in the wall; the fan is available, but if the power cord is missing, the voltage is useless; it cannot turn the fan because it cannot reach the fan.
Electricity is a parable, a model, a metaphor for the power of God, and an illustration of the way that faith works. If God’s power is electricity, then Faith is the wires. Faith is what brings the power to where it can be used. Faith is something that we can get more of, just like we can go to the hardware store and pick up more extension cords. How we grow our faith is through the words that we use.
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