Full Assurance of Faith

 

Full Assurance of Faith

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen; Heb. 11: 1. 

Strong's Greek: 4102. πίστις (pistis) -- Faith, belief, trust ...

Faith (4102 /pistis) is always a gift from God, and never something that can be produced by people. In short, 4102 /pistis ("faith") for the believer is "God's divine persuasion " – and …[1]

Strong's Greek: 5287. ὑπόστασις (hupostasis) -- Substance, …

From a compound of hupo and histemi; a setting under (support), i.e. (figuratively) concretely, essence, or abstractly, assurance (objectively or subjectively) -- confidence, confident, person, …[2]

But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before, This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more; Heb. 10: 12-17.

The New Covenant for humanity, was established through Jesus Christ, by His own blood sacrifice, for the sins of many! Now we have to accept by faith.

“Opposed to the plurality of Levitical priests. One sacrifice, and once for ever, not many and often, as they.” (Trapp)

Spurgeon narrated it beautifully and eloquently as:  “What a glorious word! Those for whom Christ has died were perfected by his death. It does not mean that he made them perfect in characters so that they are no longer sinners, but that he made those for whom he died perfectly free from the guilt of sin. When Christ took their sins upon himself, sin remained no longer upon them, for it could not be in two places at one and the same time.”

Faith extends beyond from what we learn from our  senses, and Bible calls us to have blind faith.  Our eyes and the eyesight gives us evidence to a certain extent of the material world. Faith just like our eyes gives us evidence of the invisible, spiritual world in a way. Faith does not contradict reason, but will go beyond much of our reasoning with our limited understanding. Faith is the willingness to trust in, to rely on, and to cling to. 

A good example of faith: Abraham believed that Sarah’s dead womb could bring forth a child; God who created life and the womb could do this, and that He would do it according to His promise.

They embraced them, taking the promise and embracing it in faith. Abraham and Sarah probably thought many times a day about the son God promised them and these many times they embraced the promise. “The saints ‘embraced’ the promises. The Greek word signifies ‘salutes,’ as when we see a friend at a distance.” (Spurgeon).

Our human faculties are built to embrace something treasurable. Now, God has given to us, the threefold revelation of Himself in this passage. This has beautiful, spiritual and practical exemplification of the Holy Trinity.  In the will of God, Heb. 10: 9; the work of Christ, Heb. 10: 12;  and the witness of the Holy Spirit, Heb. 10: 15. We are called to embrace His Word and follow, if we love Him.

“Forgiveness of sin is the characteristic of the new covenant. In Jeremiah complete pardon of sins is promised. If the pardon is complete, there is left no place for the Levitical sacrifices under the new covenant.” (Vincent)

“Neurotheology” refers to the multidisciplinary field of scholarship that seeks to understand the relationship between the human brain and religion. In its initial development, neurotheology has been conceived in very broad terms relating to the intersection between religion and brain sciences in general.[3]  

          The intricate relationship between neuroscience and faith represents one of the most fascinating intersections of modern science and Christian spirituality. This approach honors both our spiritual heritage and our responsibility to utilize the medical understanding as well. 

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind;

2 Tim. 1:7.

The above speak directly to the harmony between faith and emotional and mental wellness. The concept of neuroplasticity, which is our brain’s ability to form new neural connections throughout life, shows how consistent faith practices can literally reshape our thought patterns. 

         When we are in a tempest,  it is wiser to remember that many people have gone through worse times. We should remember the promises of God, to have a better attitude, and more joy. The difference is we draw nearer to God, free of stress with lesser anxiety.

        The most important thing is that in the New Covenant we have the promise and blood covenant with God through Jesus Christ. We can have a closer relationship with God, which we never can have in the Old Covenant!

Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded; Jam. 4: 8.

It is impossible to exaggerate the present tenses of the blessed life, of which is the work of Christ. The work of Jesus for our atonement is finished. Shall he come and die again? Alas; if we have rejected him once; we would reject him next time too!

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[1] Bible Hubhttps://biblehub.com › greek

https://www.bing.com/search?pglt=299&q=Greek+word+for+faith&cvid=524fc13d67d64690a528fe6256

[2] Bible Hubhttps://biblehub.com › greek

https://www.bing.com/search?pglt=299&q=Greek+wqord+for+assurance&cvid=5bfaa551a67d4d13b63

[3]nih.gov https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov › articles Neurotheology: The relationship between brain and religion - PMC