Faith's Components
Faith's Components
by Charles Capps
A common misconception among many people is that they assume because they have heard the faith message, they have it. But to know about it is not enough. We must have a revelation of God’s Word to put it to work in our lives. Unless you have a revelation of the Word, someone may talk you out of it before you get it to work in your life. You must also have a revelation of faith and how to apply it in the situations and circumstances of your life. There seem to be three spiritual components of Bible faith: knowledge, understanding, and wisdom.
If you bring these three components together, you can actually make difficult circumstances work in your behalf. For example, Paul said, “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (II Corinthians 4:17-18 NKJV)
The implications are clear. God’s Word is eternal. Your afflictions and problems are temporal, but they can work an eternal value in you while – and only while – you are looking at the unseen. The eternal value comes from looking at and giving preeminence to God’s promises rather than the circumstances. What you say and do about your situation will be governed by what you believe. Your faith in action gives preeminence to God’s Word instead of your circumstances.
- Knowledge of God
The first component of faith is knowledge. You can’t believe any further than your knowledge. To have the knowledge of God and His ways, you must know what God has already done for you. Many Christians spend their time praying for God to do something He has already done. An example is when we try to persuade God to heal us, when the Scriptures say that by Jesus’ stripes, you were healed. (I Peter 2:24; Psalm 107:20) If we have knowledge of God’s Word, we know that the provision has already been made. Our part is to make a demand on that provision through faith.
"Many Christians spend their time praying for God to do something He has already done."
- Understanding the Promises
The second spiritual component is understanding. In the parable of the sower, Jesus said, “When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart...” (Matthew 13:19)
When you hear God’s Word and don’t understand it, the wicked one takes away that which was sown in your heart. Generally speaking, the wicked one is satan, but sometimes even wellmeaning Christians will talk you out of believing God’s Word if you don’t understand it.
In Mark 4, Jesus reveals that the heart is the spiritual soil where the Word is sown. In Matthew 13:23, He states that the Word brings forth fruit in the person who hears and understands it. II Peter 1:3-4 tells us that we become a partaker of the divine nature through God’s exceeding great and precious promises. We can’t have faith for certain things unless we know what God has said about it. His Word produces faith for the things God has given.
Knowing what God promised produces hope. Add understanding to that knowledge, and you are well on your way to faith. “...faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence (proof) of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1) Faith is the title deed of what you hope for, and hope is generated by the knowledge of God’s Word. Paul said all the promises of God are “yes and amen.” (II Corinthians 1:20) In other words, God has already said, “Yes,” to His promises even before you ask.
- Wisdom to Apply Knowledge and Understanding
The third component of faith is wisdom – the ability to apply the accumulated knowledge and understanding of God’s Word to your situation. Proverbs 4:7 states, “Wisdom is the principal thing: therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.”
Proverbs 9:10 tells us, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.” This verse reveals all three components of faith – wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. “For by me thy days shall be multiplied, and the years of thy life shall be increased.” (Proverbs 9:11) This verse reveals how important wisdom, knowledge, and understanding are to your life here on earth.
"All three components of faith were used to frame the worlds."
Then, in Proverbs 2:6, God gives us the origin of these three components, “For the Lord giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.” These verses give us a classic illustration of faith being in three parts. These three come together to form faith, much the same as a brick mason would mix mortar by using sand, water, and cement. If he used sand and cement only, he would have dusty sand. If he used sand and water only, he would have wet sand. But when all three ingredients are mixed thoroughly, they become one component called mortar which is used to hold building blocks together. In like manner, there are three parts to faith – wisdom, which begins with a reverential fear of God. Then gaining knowledge of God through His Word gives you understanding of how to operate in the faith of God. (Mark 11:22-24)
We know that Jesus was the Word of God personified. He is the Author and Finisher of our faith. Our faith begins by hearing God’s Word. And it is developed by continually mixing the three parts by hearing ourselves speak what God has said in His Word. Hebrews 4 seems to confirm that there is a mixing process that must take place concerning faith.
“For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.” (Hebrews 4:2) The tongue is the mixer. When we give time to meditation and to speaking God’s Word, our understanding is increased.
Here are some of the reasons why I believe that wisdom, knowledge, and understanding united produce a spiritual force called faith:
The spoken Word is capable of bringing the same results as if Jesus were here to do it. He is the Word. (John 1:1; Matthew 8:13)
Whatever it is that you have need of physically, financially, spiritually or socially, there is a promise or principal for it in the Word of God.
Find the promise in the Word of God that covers your situation and begin to proclaim it. Write it on the table of your heart. Your tongue is like the pen of a ready writer. (Psalm 45:1) As you meditate, speak, think on, and proclaim God’s Word, you will begin to observe or see yourself possessing the promises of God. When that image is formed on the inside of you, then you have become fully persuaded that what God has promised is yours. The three components united become faith and give substance to the hope created by God’s Word.
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