What Is The Spirit Of Faith?
I.
What is the spirit of
faith? – 2 Corinthians 4:13
A. The Spirit of faith is
not referring to the Holy Spirit
1.
We
having the same spirit of faith as it is written or as the one who wrote it
– David didn’t have the Holy Spirit because He wasn’t yet available
because Jesus hadn’t yet been crucified
a. Although the Holy Spirit
obviously is The Spirit of Faith, this verse is referring to disposition or
temperament when it says “spirit” and we have the same spirit (disposition,
temperament) of faith as David who wrote this
2.
Translations
a. CEV-In the scriptures it says, “I spoke because I had
faith. We have that same kind of
faith. So we speak.”
b. ERV-Our faith is like that too
c. GNT-In the same spirit of faith we also speak because we
believe
d. GW-We have that same spirit of faith.
e. NLT-We have the same kind of faith the psalmist had when he
said, “I believed in God, so I spoke.”
B. Spirit-The disposition
(temperament) or influence which fills and governs the soul of anyone
1.
Disposition-A person’s inherent
qualities of mind and character; Natural constitute ion of the mind; The temper
or frame of mind
a. Deposition
Synonyms-Temperament, Character, Nature, Make up, Mentality (EX: A nervous
disposition)
b. Disposition Synonyms (His
disposition to generosity)-Inclination, tendency, proneness, propensity
1)
EX:
This person who’s has a disposition to generosity and this generous spirit has
this inclination, this tendency, the proneness and propensity to be generous
2)
EX:
If you said they have a generous spirit what you are saying is that generosity
has filled their soul and is governing their thoughts, their feelings and their
actions
2.
To
have the spirit of faith is to say that faith has filled your being to the
place where it is not governing your thoughts, your feelings, your actions,
your decisions, everything do, everything you say; you now look at the world
from the perspective of faith
a. A person with the spirit
of faith has this inclination, this tendency, this proneness and propensity to
always choose faith, go the way of faith, think and talk in line with faith
b. The spirit of faith is
this mentality of faith, this make up of faith that I’m filled with and it
governs my soul so that everything I think, everything I feel, and everything I
choose is all approached and engaged from this perspective of faith
c. Faith is my makeup so it governs me, faith is my mentality
so it governs me; Faith is my
inclination, it’s my tendency, I’m prone to faith and have a propensity to
faith; So much so that when people start talking unbelief I immediately go to
faith
d. Something in you is governing you (and it’s your trust, your
confidence, your total dependence on God)
1)
When
you have the spirit of faith, faith has predominate influence in everything you
do, think, say and feel; that means you’re being influenced by your faith in
God more than you are anything else
2)
EX:
It’s like the person with a generous spirit; Generosity influences everything
you do, think, say, and feel
C. ***Faith is not what we
do, it is who we are***
1.
Acts
5:14, 1 Timothy 4:12-We are believers; it’s not just what we do, it’s who we
are
2.
When
you are operating by the spirit of faith and through the spirit of faith, faith
is not something you do, it’s who you are
3.
When
you have the spirit of faith, faith affects how you think, how you act, and
what you say; you’re not trying to think right, to act right, and to talk right
to display your faith you’re just so full of faith that it’s governing your
thoughts, words, and actions to the point that faith is not something you do
it’s who you’ve become
4.
Faith
isn’t something I do when I get in troubled; faith is what I live by and who I
am everyday
D. Faith is an attitude,
it’s a way of thinking that pays no attention to any other voice, but only to
the voice of God’s Word
1.
Faith
is reliance on, dependence on, confidence in, trust in God
a. What does his word say so
I know what to trust?
2.
The
spirit of faith has no time for voices that disagree with the Word
a. The spirit of faith is
built on this foundation: The Word of God is the final authority and has the
final say regarding everything
b. Faith in one of it’s
simple forms is agreement with God
c. If faith is the predominant influence in your life then the
Word of God is final authority
3.
The
spirit of faith always looks from God’s perspective and to do that you have to
look from the perspective of God’s Word
a. To respond in faith is to
respond in a way that is in agreement with the Word
b. EX: The grieving
process-1 Thessalonians 4:13
c. EX: People come in sad
and heavy after the election or because some law got passed – That’s not
the spirit of faith
II.
Phoniness of the letter
vs. Genuineness of the spirit
A. 2 Corinthians 3:6-Faith
is more than a bunch of principles or rules, it’s an attitude, it’s a way of
thinking, it’s a way of life
1.
In
the old covenant they had rules and they did a bunch of righteous stuff, but it
wasn’t who they were because their nature was sin and even though they were
doing some righteous stuff they still weren’t righteous
a. So even though they did
some right stuff it wasn’t who they were it was just what they did; That type
of life kills
b. In the OT they had rules
to change what they did, but they still had the old nature
c. In the NT he wrote his
law on their hearts and minds and changed who they were; They didn’t have a
bunch of rules, they didn’t have the letter, they had the spirit and now the
right stuff they did was not just what they did it was who they were-Hebrews
8:12
2.
There
are principles of faith that can work like the letter and kill
a. You can apply faith
principles and never develop the spirit of faith
1)
The
letter where faith is concerned will kill, but the spirit of faith gives live
b. Great you’ve learned how
to say the right things and put on the right face, but is it who you are or is
it just something you do
B. There are principles of
faith laid out in the Word of God that are good, but the danger is doing the
principles of faith according to the letter, but developing the spirit of faith
in your life (You know to act to look like you’re in faith, but the spirit of
faith is never developed)
1.
Many
think they are living by faith because they are a worker of the principles, but
while they work the principles of faith they never develop the spirit of faith
a. You can do good things
with the wrong approach and see no results from those things
b. You can apply faith principles
with a “letter mentality,” but if you don’t obtain the spirit of faith you’ll
never see results
2.
Thinking
about how you need to act and what you need to say to get something to happen
is not the spirit of faith it’s the letter
C. 1 Timothy 1:5-When you
try to live by faith when you don’t have it in your heart it will come off
forced and phony with no conviction
1.
Unfeigned-Sincere --- Feigned-To impersonate anyone,
play a part, To simulate, To pretend, To make a show, To assume a false
appearance, To counterfeit, To represent falsely
2.
You
can make some confessions and apply some principles of faith and play a part,
but that doesn’t mean your faith is genuine, that doesn’t make you a faith
person, and that doesn’t mean you’ll get results
a. Phony faith is like phony
money, it don’t work and you can have all your ducks in a row and put on the
right show and learn how to talk and how to act to create a faith front, but
that all you have then is legalistic faith that won’t produce
b. For faith to work it
cannot be what we do, but rather it must become who we are
3.
You
can fake the principles of faith, you can’t fake the spirit of faith
a. 2 Cor4:13-A lot of times
we’re trying to say something in faith to prove we believe; He says I’m say
something in faith because I am in faith
b. We don’t speak to prove
we believe, we speak because we believe
III.
Verse 13, “We having the
same spirit of faith,” is him explaining and why and how he can have the
attitude he has in verses 8 through 12
A. How can you have this
attitude that you have (in verses 8 through 12)? We have the same spirit of
faith
1.
When
you’re attitude about pressure and affliction and distress is one like this,
you have to explain yourself; And what’s the explanation? – We have the
same spirit of faith
2.
How
could a person have this type of attitude in a time of pressure? They have the
spirit of faith
3.
The
spirit of faith is the explanation of this attitude towards pressure