Do You Have Faith Acknowledged by God? (2)
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July 12, 2026 |
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“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for,
the conviction of things not seen.
For by it the men of old gained approval.”
Hebrews 11:1?2
In Mark 9:22, we see a father who had a son possessed by a mute spirit come before Jesus and earnestly ask for healing: “If You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” Here, the phrase “If You can” is not a confession of true faith, but a statement made in hope of mere chance.
Jesus responded, “If you can? All things are possible for one who believes.” Then the boy’s father immediately said, “I do believe; help my unbelief!” This may sound contradictory?he says, “I believe,” and yet also asks for help with his unbelief. However, their spiritual meanings are different.
First, when he said, “I do believe,” it was a confession of fleshly faith. It means he had the knowledge by hearing. He had heard that Jesus cast out demons, opened the eyes of the blind, and made the lame walk?demonstrating great power. Because he had heard these things, he confessed, “I believe intellectually.”
Next, he said, “Help my unbelief.” Although he had heard and known through rumors, he realized that he did not yet have the spiritual faith to receive an answer. So he was asking for spiritual faith. Seeing this humble and earnest plea, Jesus rebuked the evil spirit and commanded it to come out; the spirit left, and the child was made whole.
At first, the father had only intellectual faith, but through his desperate seeking, he came to possess spiritual faith. Through this, he experienced the work of God as his son was completely healed. Then what should we do to have spiritual faith?
We have to break down every thought and theory that brings doubt
The greatest obstacle to being reborn as a child of God and growing spiritually is fleshly thoughts and theories that originate from untruth. Therefore, as 2 Corinthians 10:5 says, “We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,” we must break down all theories and thoughts that prevent us from having spiritual faith.
The knowledge, theories, thinking, and values that a person learns from birth are not all correct; only the Word of God is the everlasting truth. When people insist that their own knowledge and theories are right, they cannot accept the Word of God, the truth. Nor can they have spiritual faith. Therefore, to have spiritual faith, one must first discard all thoughts and theories that bring doubt, preventing them from believing the Word of God. Otherwise, even if they diligently come to church and worship, they cannot possess spiritual faith and thus cannot receive salvation or answers to prayer.
Even Apostle Paul possessed fleshly faith before he met the Lord. That is why he failed to recognize Jesus Christ, and instead arrested and persecuted the believers of Jesus. However, after meeting the Lord on the road to Damascus, he broke down all theories and thoughts that he considered right and came to possess spiritual faith by which he obeyed only Christ. In the end, he became a great evangelist who took the lead in preaching to the Gentiles and laid the foundation for world missions.
To be continued in the next issue
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Manmin News 
