The designation “believers” designates those who have believed in Christ as the Son of God according to God’s New Testament economy. This designation, of course, indicates the matter of believing. Anyone who does not have faith in Christ, who does not believe in Christ, is certainly not a believer.
Strictly speaking, in the New Testament we cannot find such expressions as “believe Jesus” or “believe in Jesus” or “believe Christ.” It is not accurate to say that we believe in Jesus or that we believe Jesus or Christ. We need to use a preposition after “believe” and say that we believe in Christ or on Christ. John 3:16 speaks of believing in the Son of God. Actually the Greek preposition here and in many other verses in the Gospel of John means “into” and signifies union with Christ by believing into Him.
When we believe in Christ, we believe in Him as the Son of God. Of course, Jesus Christ is also a man. However, the New Testament does not tell us to believe in Him as a man, but tells us to believe in Him as the Son of God. Everyone can easily realize that Jesus is a man. Therefore, we are not told to believe in Him as a man. But this man is the Son of God, and this we must believe. A believer is one who believes in Christ as the Son of God.
John 20:31 says, “These have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.” “Christ” is the title of the Lord Jesus according to His office, His mission. This title denotes His work to accomplish God’s purpose. “The Son of God” is the Lord’s title according to His person. His person is a matter of God’s life, and His mission is a matter of God’s work. He is the Son of God to be the Christ of God. He works for God by the life of God so that by believing in Him we may have the life of God to become children of God.
Because Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, we need to believe in Him as the Christ and as the Son of God. We must believe in Him as the One who is the divine person coming to carry out God’s commission for His eternal purpose. This is the One in whom we believe.
Our believing in Christ as the Son of God is according to God’s New Testament economy of the faith. First Timothy 1:4 speaks of “God’s dispensation which is in faith.” This dispensation is an economical administration. Hence, it refers to God’s economy. In Greek the words “God’s dispensation” also mean God’s household economy (Eph. 1:10; 3:9). This is God’s household administration to dispense Himself in Christ into His chosen people that He may have a house, a household, to express Himself, which household is the church, the Body of Christ (1 Tim. 3:15).
In 1 Timothy 1:4 Paul tells us that God’s dispensation, His economy, is in faith. The dispensing of the processed Triune God into us is altogether by faith. The dispensation of God is a matter in faith, that is, in the sphere and element of faith, in God through Christ. God’s economy to dispense Himself into His chosen people is not in the natural realm, nor in the work of law, but in the spiritual sphere of the new creation through regeneration by faith in Christ (Gal. 3:23-26). By faith we are born of God to be His sons, partaking of His life and nature to express Him. By faith we are put into Christ to become the members of His Body, sharing all that He is for His expression. This is the dispensing of the Triune God according to His New Testament economy, carried out in faith.
In the New Testament, faith has both an objective meaning and a subjective meaning. When used in an objective sense, faith denotes the object of our belief. Used in a subjective sense, faith denotes our action of believing. Therefore, faith refers both to the truths which we believe and to the act of our believing, that is, the action and function of our believing.
Faith in Ephesians 4:13 refers to those things which all Christians believe. We believe in the Triune God-the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. We believe that Christ, the Son of God, was incarnated, that He was crucified for our redemption, that He was resurrected from among the dead both physically and spiritually, that He has ascended to the right hand of God, and that He is coming again. Furthermore, we believe that the Bible is God’s Word, inspired by the Holy Spirit word by word. This is our faith, the “common faith” (Titus 1:4), “the faith once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3).
Subjective faith is not our natural ability or virtue. This faith is our reaction toward God, which results from God’s transfusing Himself into us and infusing His element into our being. When God’s element permeates us, we react to Him, and this reaction is faith. Therefore, faith is a reaction caused by the divine infusion, which permeates and saturates our being. Once we have such a faith, we can never lose it, for it has been infused into us and constituted into our being.
We need to be deeply impressed with the meaning of faith in the New Testament. First, faith is God being the word spoken to us. Through the word of God and by the Spirit of God we are infused with God in Christ. As a result, something rises up within us. This is faith. Faith then works in us to bring us into an organic union with the Triune God. Through this organic union God is continually transfused and infused into us. As a result, we have the divine life and the divine nature to become sons of God, members of Christ, and parts of the new man. As a totality we become the house of God, the Body of Christ, and the new man. This is God’s economy in faith.
Galatians 3:23 and 25 speak of the coming of faith. Verse 23 says, “Before faith came we were guarded under law, being shut up unto the faith which was about to be revealed.” This verse indicates clearly that there was a time when faith came and was revealed. Faith was not to be found in the Old Testament; it came with Jesus Christ. When Christ came, grace came, and faith came also. Faith has come to replace law. Thus, Galatians 3:25 says, “Faith having come, we are no longer under a child-conductor.” According to this verse, now that faith has come we are no longer under the law as our child-conductor. Faith and law cannot co-exist. Before faith came, we were under law. But now that faith has come and has been revealed, this faith replaces law. The law kept us and brought us to Christ, but now in our experience it should be replaced by faith. Faith characterizes those who believe in Christ and distinguishes them from those who keep the law (Acts 6:7; 1 Tim. 3:9). We are not keepers of law-we are believers in Christ.
Just as the law was the basic principle according to which God dealt with His people in the Old Testament, faith is the basic principle according to which He deals with people in the New Testament. All those who refuse to believe in Christ will perish, whereas those who believe in Him will be forgiven of their sins and receive eternal life. In John 16:9 we are told that the Spirit will convict the world concerning sin because of not believing in the Son of God. This indicates that the unique sin which causes people to perish is unbelief. God’s commandment to sinners is to believe in the Son of God.
In the New Testament faith has both a divine aspect and a human aspect. On God’s side the term “the faith” implies that God sent His Son to earth, that Christ died on the cross to accomplish redemption, that He was buried and was resurrected, that in resurrection He released the divine life and has become the life-giving Spirit-all that He might enter into those who believe in Him to be grace, life, power, and everything to them. On our side faith is related to hearing, appreciating, calling, receiving, accepting, joining, partaking, and enjoying. If we do not have faith, all that has been accomplished on God’s side will remain objective and will not be personally related to us. God’s economy to dispense Himself into us is in faith.
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