Through the hearing of the word of the divine revelation (Eph. 1:13), the seeing of the divine scenery is generated by the Spirit within the believers. First the scenery of the all-inclusive Christ is revealed in the word of the gospel. Then the seeing of this divine scenery is generated within the believers by the Spirit.
Faith implies all the items in the scenery of the New Testament. In the New Testament there is a complete picture of this scenery. But how can this scenery get into us? It comes through the seeing generated by the Spirit’s work. This was our experience when we were saved and regenerated. We heard the preaching of the gospel, there was a “click” of the “shutter” of the “camera,” and the light came into us. As a result there was a seeing of the divine scenery.
The seeing of the divine scenery brings the pneumatic Christ into the believers, and He becomes the believing element and ability within them, so that they believe in Him spontaneously. In this way He becomes their faith in Him and thus the Author of their faith (Heb. 12:2), a faith that is called the faith of Christ (Gal. 2:16, 20; Phil. 3:9). First the divine revelation as the scenery is presented to our view. Second the seeing of this scenery is generated in us by the Spirit. Then the seeing of the divine scenery brings the pneumatic Christ into us to become our faith. This is the faith with which we believe. This is our believing.
One day, we, typical sinners in Adam, heard the preaching of the word according to the New Testament, a word telling us about Christ, His death, and His resurrection. Spontaneously, the divine revelation as the scenery was presented to our view. Without our being conscious of it, the “cover” of the “lens” of the “camera” was removed. This means that our mind was opened to the scenery of the divine revelation. Then at a certain point there was a “click,” and the Spirit, the heavenly light, generated a seeing of the scenery within us. The scenery was impressed on the “film” of our spirit, and we believed in the Lord Jesus. This believing was produced by the pneumatic Christ, who is the enlightening Spirit, revealed through the preaching of the word of the divine revelation. Once this pneumatic Christ came into our being, He became our believing element and believing ability. This is the faith formed by God and given to us by God as a gift. This gift is actually Christ Himself.
The faith with which we believe is not ours but God’s. This faith is formed by God and given to us by Him. When the pneumatic Christ was revealed in us through the preaching of the gospel, He became the believing element and ability within us. In this way we believed in Him, having received the gift of faith through the hearing of the word and the seeing of the divine scenery.
Because Christ is the believing element and ability within us, He is the Author of our faith. Hebrews 12:2 says, “Looking away unto Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of faith.” As the Author of our faith, Christ is the Originator, Inaugurator, the source, and the cause of faith. According to our natural man, we do not have any believing ability. However, we obtain faith by God’s gift. When we look unto Jesus, He, as the life-giving Spirit, transfuses us with Himself as the believing element. Then spontaneously a kind of believing arises in our being, and we have the faith to believe in Him. This is not of ourselves but of Him who imparts Himself as the believing element and ability into us to believe for us. Hence, it is Christ Himself as our faith.
This faith is called the faith of Christ. Galatians 2:16 speaks of the faith of Christ, and verse 20, of the faith of the Son of God. In Philippians 3:9 Paul again mentions the faith of Christ. This faith denotes our believing in Christ. Such faith issues from our knowing and appreciating Christ. It is Christ Himself, infused into us through our appreciation of Him, who becomes our faith in Him and brings us into an organic union with Him.
Genuine believing is to believe in the Lord Jesus by His faith. We believe in Jesus Christ by His faith, for we have no faith of our own, and He is the Author of our faith. Therefore, faith is not our invention; it cannot be initiated by us. It is impossible for us to generate faith. Faith is an aspect of Christ Himself. We do not live by our own faith— we have no faith of our own—but by the faith of the Son of the living God who has faith and who Himself is faith to us. If we look at ourselves, we shall never find faith. But if we forget ourselves, turn to the Lord Jesus, and call on Him, faith will immediately rise up within us. This faith is the faith of Christ, or we may say that it is Christ believing within us. Thus, the phrase “through faith of Christ Jesus” in Galatians 2:16 means believing in Christ through His faith.