Life through the Spirit Studies in Galatians Studies in Galatians

20 times!!!

Learning Goal: “The righteous shall live by faith.” Key verses: Gal.2:20 + 3:6,11,14

When people struggle with their faith in God, it’s not because God is insufficient. It is because people have unreal expectations of God. Faith struggle

What we need is a growing knowledge of our faith. Faith is God’s ability working on your behalf. If you could do it yourself, you wouldn’t have to use your faith! Growing knowledge

Faith has nothing to do with… - The number of educational degrees - or a lack of education. - lack of money - Your five physical senses - Natural limitations. - A person’s intelligence or lack of it. - Your ability in any matter.

1) The Word faith: Faithtrust and lean on - Prov.3:5 Faith = trust and lean on - Prov.3:5 Faith = rely on (Gal.3:10)

Believe = to lean on something with your whole weight !

Leaning: Faith is the leaning of your entire personality on God in Christ in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom and goodness.

2.Faith + object (Objectivity) Faith always needs a preposition (on,in…) Faith by itself can not do something! It is not me doing something. It is letting the object doing something for me!!!

“With what goes on in the world today, getting on an airplane is a matter of trust. Anything could happen, and if there’s a major problem when that plane starts to crash you may regret that you didn’t take the train to your destination.”

3) Can Faith grow? Faith grows as we get to know my object of my faith better (Dependency) How much faith we have is determined by how well we know the object of our faith. Rom. 10:17: “Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.”

4) Faith = seeing the unseen!

Hebrews 11:13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth.

Moses Hebrews 11:27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible.

parallel reality? It means that there is an unseen reality existing next to our seen reality. We are unaware of its existence because we lack the perceptive equipment to see it.

Hebr.11:3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.

2 Cor.4:18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

1Peter 1:8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy,

Conclusion: Faith is seeing the unseen/invisible! John 20:29

5. Faith is far more a way of walking than it is of talking. Faith is a principle by which to live, and not a problem to be solved Col.2:6 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live/walk in him, 2 Cor.5:7 We live by faith, not by sight.

6) Faith is believing what God says simply because it is God who says it. Faith is not what we see or hear. Faith is not having faith in you and faith in your faith. Faith is having faith in God, His Word and the faith He has given to you which always does its work in any and every situation.

Hebr. 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek him. Exists = He is (here / present)

Rom 1:17 For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith."

Rom 3:28 For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law. Rom 3:30 since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith

Gal. 5:5 But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope. Acts 15:9 He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith.

7) Faith doesn’t replace facts. Faith doesn’t replace facts! Actually it is the other way around: I need facts to base my faith on! Faith is leaning and trusting on things that are already true. Faith doesn’t make things happen or true. It happened already and that is why I trust on it. Faith in itself is not able to do something, to make something.

9) Stealers of Faith: Being around natural, carnal thinking people and natural, carnal speaking people will steal your faith. Another stealer of faith is always looking, hearing, meditating, considering and speaking what is going on in the natural circumstances in your life.