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Faith hope and love3/30/2023 ![]() The love of God is freely given by grace and received through faith when a sinner repents and trusts in Jesus. John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Rom 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. ![]() There is no greater love than the love of God, given to sinners like you and me. God’s knew us before the foundations of the world (Eph 1:4), and He loved us so much that He sent His Son to seek and save us from our sins (John 3:16, Luke 19:10, Mark 10:45). “And the greatest of these is love.” If love is the greatest, why does Paul mention it last? We might think that he saved the best for last, but it’s likely his reason is more significant. The certainty of our hope sustains and fuels us in every circumstance of life.Hope looks beyond circumstances and rests in the promises of God.Heb 6:19 This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast… The Bible confirms the rock-solid hope we have: Our hope is also secure because “our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness” (“The Solid Rock” hymn, 1863). Grace is a gift of God and hope is generated by our confidence in God. Hope abounds in our daily lives because every day, we receive grace for grace (John 1:16) and hope against hope (Ro 4:18). In essence, our positional hope is based on our positional standing in Christ. It is the promise of Heaven (John 14:1-4), the Hope of Glory (Col 1:27), and the assurance of our eternal life (Eph 1:13, 4:30). Positional hope is clearly defined as that which God has given us in our salvation. And what God has given, He will never take back. We have confidence because we know that what God has promised, He will give. The Bible defines hope as so much more than wishful thinking. The strength of our faith sustains and fuels us in our relationship with Jesus and others.Faith looks beyond circumstance and focuses on what we know to be true.Our faith grows by believing and trusting the knowledge we receive. He progressively reveals more about Himself, His will, and His ways to us through reading and stuying His Word, times of prayer and meditation, and in fellowship with other believers at church, Bible studies, small groups, etc. In much the same way, God grows our faith in our sanctification. Then God responds with the positional grace of salvation, washing away all sins and placing the forgiven sinner positionally in Christ. But saving faith places one at the foot of the cross, repentant of sins, and trusting in Jesus. Failing to believe and trust God leaves one positionally outside of God. Sadly they don’t believe or trust: Knowledge – Belief – Trust = No Faith. God is a just God in that even the unbeliever has been given knowledge. The choice is simple: Believe God and respond in faith (trust), or follow after one’s own desires. It is a free-will choice and it’s been such since the beginning of time when Adam and Eve were created with free-will. Our response in faith - of believing who God is and what He has done-is not a work. God freely reveals Himself to the whole world. The answer lies in understanding that the faith it takes to repent and trust Jesus is generated by the knowledge of God - the revelation of who He is and what He has done. So how is faith a gift from God if it is our response? It is “not of works, lest anyone boast” (Eph 2:9). (Read What is Faith? How do I get it? How do I grow it? ) Positional FaithĮphesians tells us we are “saved by grace, through faith” (Eph 2:8). It begins with knowing, progresses to believing, and, for those who choose to believe what they know, it results in trusting: Knowledge + Belief + Trust = Faith. Understanding what faith is helps us to understand God’s gift to us that generates our response. Saving faith is a response to who God is. Let’s look at each individually and then consider why love is the greatest. In both our positional standing with God and our practical living for God, we receive three most significant gifts and we are told that love is the greatest of the three. (Read What you need to know about Sanctification & Glorification ) The Three Positional and Practical Gifts from God It starts at the moment of salvation and contiues until them moment of death. Sanctification is the process of growing in holiness. (Read The Gift of SalvaTION: Justification & Imputation ) Practical (Sanctification) When we were justified and made new at salvation, we were positionally put into the Body of Christ, adopted into the family of God, made joint-heirs with Christ, and commissioned as His ambassadors. Each of these gifts - faith, hope, and love - is both positional (in our justification) and practical (in our sanctification). There are three very significant gifts from God that are mentioned in 1 Corinthians 13.
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