How the Spirit Produces Faith in Our Hearts
The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. (1 Corinthians 2:14 ESV)
Ever wondered why the unsaved cannot accept that God exists and that Jesus is indeed the Savior of the world? Is it because they are not smart or that the Bible is too complicated to understand? Not at all!
In 1 Corinthians 2:14, Paul says the natural or unsaved person does not accept or believe the things of the Spirit. Every human being has the capacity to believe: even atheists believe that there is no God. So, believing is not unique to Christians but a universal human ability. Despite this universal human capacity, the human heart is unable to believe the things of God without God’s help. This hardness of the heart against God is a vestige of the Fall in Eden. It takes grace, a divine working on the human heart, for us to believe God’s words.
The Holy Spirit softens the hardened human heart to believe in God as rain softens parched desert ground. No man or woman can believe in God or the Word of God without the Spirit helping their hearts. If this truth dawns on you, your walk of faith will be transformed. Although many of you did not feel a shaking in your body or some loud noise in your head, it may be a surprise that the Spirit touched your heart to make you believe that Jesus is the Savior. In fact, Paul said in 1 Corinthians 12:3 that no one could say Jesus is Lord except by the Spirit.
The Spirit gives faith or makes us believe in two ways in scripture: general and particular. The general faith is for every believer. He gives us faith at the new birth and then uses the Word to make that faith grow and become strong. Beyond the general, He gives a special spiritual ability to believe called the gift of faith. This is unusual grace to believe God is faith beyond the general.
So, stop struggling to believe; start yielding more to the Spirit. Understand what He wants you to do to allow Him to help you believe. He uses the Word to strengthen your faith and softens your heart as you fellowship with Him.
Did you feel a thing when the Spirit touched your heart to believe the Gospel the day you received Jesus?
As always, it is not by might nor by power—you have heard this and will probably listen to it from me many more times. Faith is not manipulating our hearts or forcing them to believe. True biblical faith is the product of the Spirit moving in our hearts. Stop struggling to believe and start yielding more and more.
Ask the Spirit to help you grow in faith.
Read & Watch
The Three-Tier Pyramid of Believing
What is faith?
Watch: Faith Simplified
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