BIBLICAL BRIEFS 23
The third gift, the gift of faith, is often misunderstood. It has nothing to do with the foundation of faith in God (Heb. 6: 2). Most Reformed theologians, therefore, wrongly declare this gift as if it has to do with the faith needed to believe in God. It is not true according to the Scriptures. Besides the faith through which you are saved (Eph. 2: 8), which is a prerequisite for salvation, faith is required of those that seek Him; it is essential to all spiritual functioning. Heb. 11:6 states, “And without faith it is impossible to be well-pleasing unto him ; for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that seek after him.” If you are in a situation where God tells you something what seems impossible to you and you do not have the faith to ask for that, you can ask for the gift of faith. This gift will then be given to you for the time needed to fulfil this matter. A beautiful example where this gift is demonstrated is in Mark. 9: 17-30, where they brought a boy with a deaf and dumb spirit to Jesus. Since his childhood this spirit has thrown the boy into the fire and into the water to try to kill him. The disciples of Jesus could not rid the boy of this spirit, and he spoke to his disciples, saying: “O unbelieving generation…” This is a key aspect of the functioning of spiritual gifts: YOU HAVE TO BELIEVE/HAVE FAITH. Each spiritual gift has to be united with faith (Heb. 4: 2) before it comes into effect. Jesus tells them in verse 23: “All things are possible to him who believes.” Sometimes, during the situation, unbelief overwhelms you, and then you have to pray and ask for the gift of faith. After Jesus gave the father and His disciples this very important key to put into practice spiritual gifts, and He could teach them that the spiritual realm only comes into effect through faith, “the child’s father cries out with tears, saying : ‘I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!'”(verse 24). This is a demonstration of someone whose faith forsakes him at a critical moment and then – for this supernatural event to take place – he asks for a gift of faith in order to allow the miracle to happen. Heb. 4:16 – “Let us therefore draw near with boldness unto the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy, and may find grace to help us in time of need.”
Dr. Tom Gouws
