Following the Spirit’s sanctification and man’s repentance is man’s believing, or man’s faith. Genuine faith is always preceded by repentance. In the same manner, genuine repentance is always followed by faith. If a person believes, that proves he has repented; if a person repents, he surely will believe. These two—faith and repentance—are intimately related, and neither can exist without the other.
In the previous lesson we saw that the repentance spoken of by the world differs in meaning from the repentance taught in the Bible. Likewise, the believing referred to by man differs in significance from the believing presented in the Word. Man considers that to believe is merely to agree or to acknowledge. But what the Bible speaks concerning faith indicates that it is more than agreeing and acknowledging.
To believe, as taught in the Bible, first means to receive. John 1:12 says, “As many as received Him [the Lord Jesus],... those who believe in His name.” This shows that to believe is to receive. Therefore, to believe is not merely to agree or to acknowledge, but even more it is to receive. If one assents to the gospel and agrees that the Lord Jesus died to accomplish redemption for man, one still cannot be counted as having believed. Furthermore, even if one acknowledges the gospel and the redemption of Christ, one still cannot be counted as having believed. Believing includes agreeing and acknowledging; nevertheless, the believing itself is the receiving. A person may agree, yet he still may not receive; he also may acknowledge yet still not receive. But a person who receives surely is one who agrees and acknowledges. Therefore, only when a person receives can he be counted as having believed. With our heart we must receive Christ into us to be our Savior. This is the genuine believing.
Christ is the Word who was in the beginning and who was God Himself (John 1:1). He is also the true light who came into the world to enlighten every man (John 1:9). Now in resurrection He has become the all-inclusive, life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45b). Therefore, by believing in Him, by receiving Him, we can receive this One, who is the Word, the very God, and the light, into us to be joined to us as one.
To believe is not only to receive but also to “believe into” (John 1:12; 3:15-16, 36, lit.). To receive is to receive Christ into us and to allow Him to be mingled with us. On the other hand, to “believe into” is to enter into Christ and be joined to Him. One who genuinely believes in the Lord Jesus is one who has entered into Him and has been joined to Him through faith. Therefore, the Bible says that a saved person is one who is in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17).
The Lord’s name denotes the Lord’s Person, the Lord Himself. To believe into the Lord’s name (John 1:12) is to believe into the living Person of the Lord, to believe into the Lord Himself, to be joined to Him as one.
John 3:36 and 9:35 and 38 all point out that to believe is to believe into the Son of God. God is the Triune God—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. The Father is the source, the Son is the expression, and the Spirit is the entering in. The God who dwells in unapproachable light in heaven is the Father (1 Tim. 6:16; James 1:17); when He is manifested among men, He is the Son (John 1:18; Col. 1:15; Heb. 1:3); and when He enters into man, He is the Spirit (1 John 3:24). The Son, therefore, is the expression of God; He is God expressed. This manifested God is the Lord Jesus, who is the Son of God, the very God Himself (John 1:1). He and God are one (John 10:30). Having passed through death and resurrection, He has become the life-giving Spirit who, like the air, fills all things and is omnipresent. Hence, man can enter into Him through faith to receive the eternal life (John 3:36; 1 John 5:12) and have an organic union with Him.