Updated:- November 4th, 2023
The Spiritual Gift of Faith
Is There Any Difference Between Faith And Gift of Faith?
Is the gift of faith the same thing as our faith in God?
Hi guys. It’s another week, another Bible study. Welcome to my channel, I’m happy to be here. This week we are going to look at a very interesting topic similar to the one we dealt with last week. Is the spiritual gift of faith, different from our faith in God?
What is it? Who uses it? When is it used? These are some of the questions that I will answer in this Bible study, so stick with me.
If you would prefer to watch the video of this Bible Study, click this link.
I’m happy to have returning and new viewers, happy to have you, hope you will learn something today.
On this channel, I don’t teach opinions. I utilize the word of God to explain itself. Therefore, I employ scriptures to explain scriptures.
Here a little, there a little, line upon line, precept upon precept. That’s how I teach the word of God.
What is the Difference Between Faith and The Gift of Faith?
In the past weeks, I’ve been teaching about spiritual gifts. Today, I will continue this trend because I will look at the gift of faith.
This faith is different from the faith needed to receive salvation; the faith we utilize to believe in Jesus Christ; because we must be saved to receive this faith.
This faith is for born-again Believers. If you stick with me to the end, I have a bonus just for you. So let’s dive right into it.
The gift of faith comes by the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost is the one who dishes out this gift.
We cannot acquire it any other way, except by Him. The gift of faith is one of the manifestations of the Holy Ghost.
It is how the Holy Ghost shows up among us. It is how it manifests, how we see the Holy Ghost because the Holy Ghost is a Spirit. We can’t see it.
We know that the Spirit is among us by the operations of the gift of faith in our midst.
7 Differences Between Faith And The Gift of Faith
The Gift of Faith Vs. Faith In God
- A Believer receives the Gift of Faith after he or she has been saved Vs. Anyone could have faith in God by Jesus to receive salvation.
- Faith to be saved comes after repentance Vs. the Gift of Faith which comes after the Believer received the Holy Ghost.
- The Lord gives the gift of faith for certain occasions Vs. faith in God is ongoing.
- All Believers possess faith in God Vs. only leaders in the Body of Christ have the Gift of Faith.
- The Gift of Faith is for corporate usage (the Church) Vs. faith in God is personal.
- The Gift of Faith is for the glory of God Vs. faith in God promotes a Believer’s personal spiritual growth.
- Faith in God comes by hearing the Word of God Vs. the demonstration of The Gift of Faith comes by seeing what God sees.
When is the Gift of Faith Necessary?
So the scripture says, but the manifestation of the Spirit is given to everyone to profit by it (1 Corinthians 12:7).
It continues, “To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:9).
But not every Believer has this gift of faith.
And it only appears under certain circumstances and certain conditions. The gift of faith usually surfaces during the infancy of the church or assembly (Acts 6:7) tells us about that.
Or it appears when the church suffers persecution, (Acts 11:19-24) will explain that.
Does Every Believer Possess the Gift of Faith?
Similar to other spiritual gifts, like the word of wisdom and the word of knowledge, the gift of faith is not for the pews.
It’s not for the entire congregation. Who is it for? It is for leaders. It’s for our spiritual leaders. They are the ones who the Lord gave these gifts to.
We find this in (1 Corinthians 12) and they are the ones who utilize it. The Holy Ghost blesses an officer or a leader in the church with this special gift.
What Is The Spiritual Gift of Faith?
The gift of faith is a speck (iota) of faith in God that the Holy Ghost downloads into a leader in the body of Christ to do a supernatural feat at a particular point in time for a specific duration.
It doesn’t last forever and he or she doesn’t always possess it. It always comes to showcase the power and the glory of God.
When this download occurs the leader sees as God sees and does His will. It glorifies God!
Now, let’s turn our attention to some of the characteristics of the gift of faith. What are they?
Characteristics of The Gift of Faith
Let us look at some of the features of this gift.
- Leaders who are full of the Holy Ghost, display the gift of faith (Acts 6:3).
- Powerful leaders have the gift of faith, (Acts 6:8).
- Officers of the Church who are full of faith, and (Acts 6:5).
- Believers who demonstrate signs and wonders, miracles, and healings.
- And they would execute these, among the people (Acts 6:8).
So it’s not something that’s done quietly or in a corner. Whenever this gift is operating, everybody will know.
It draws attention because you’ll be hearing about this in the news. You’ll be seeing it all over.
This happens very frequently in Africa, in Europe, but its operation is limited in the United States.
Examples of people with the gift of faith include Stephen, Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, and Nicholas a proselyte of Antioch and Barnabas.
We could see this in (Acts 6:1-8) and (Acts 11:22-25).
Now Concerning Spiritual Gifts – Paul’s Objective
The goal of Apostle Paul at the start of First Corinthians Twelve was to address the ignorance of church members concerning spiritual gifts.
He started by saying: “Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant” (1 Corinthians 12:1).
So this was his goal. He was edifying and educating the church concerning spiritual gifts. What it is; how it operates; when it operates, and who operates it?
Understanding the spiritual gift of faith is crucial to the correct, spiritual operations of the Church. When we comprehend this we know how God wants us to function.
The Purpose of Spiritual Gift of Faith
If Christians don’t know how the Lord operates amongst them, how will they have expectations and know how to operate their spiritual gift of faith?
So the teaching of this spiritual gift is for the edification of the body of Christ.
“For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12).
These three objectives of spiritual gifts in the Church, accomplish the following four desirable states:
“Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13).
Operating in The Gift of Faith Motivates This in People
So ultimately the operation of the gift of faith motivates great faith in God. People who experience the power, miracle-working, and mighty work of the leader who possesses it, will believe in God and turn to Him.
This will happen to the extent that the church will grow. We find references for this in (Acts 6:7, and Acts 11:21-24).
How to Identify False Doctrines?
At the start of this video, I promised to give those who stick with me to the end, a bonus. Well, here is the bonus.
How do you know when a Bible study is not the word of God? When it contradicts the Bible and the other teachings of the same person.
For example, if this or any of my previous Bible studies contradict each other, then something is wrong.
But if they build on each other and all agree with the word of God, that is good.
Conclusion
All right, let me get to the conclusion.
The gift of faith is different from faith in God necessary for salvation.
Instead, it’s an extraordinary spiritual gift that the Holy Ghost dispenses to chosen leaders in the church.
This spiritual gift is not always operational in the church. It only surfaces under certain conditions and these include the persecution of the church, the infancy of an assembly, and during a revival.
How to Activate The Gift of Faith?
Those are specific cases where this spiritual gift of faith will surface. The operation of this gift usually results in signs, wonders, and miracles.
Because it is a gift that we receive on-demand, we cannot activate it. We don’t possess it before we need it. The Holy Ghost only imparts it to us in an instant when we need it.
Consequently, we cannot activate this gift! We never know beforehand when we are going to use it. The Holy Ghost gives it to us in an instant!
If we obey Him we and all others will experience supernatural results instantly!
Like all the other spiritual gifts, the gift of faith is not different. Its primary purpose is for the edification of the church, the body of Christ, and the glorification of Jesus Christ.
Finally, folks, if this Bible study provides value to you, share it with three friends, like it, and if you are new, subscribe to this channel. Thank you.
