The doctrine of faith in God, although mentioned only once in all the writings of the New Testament, was in its beginnings – and is – a fundamental doctrine of the Gospel of the Kingdom, because through it all the deformed concepts of the pagan divinities widely established among the Gentile and barbarian communities are erased; and on the other hand, because through it the Hebrew communities are discipled about the messianism of Jesus.
The doctrine of faith in God is defined as a doctrine of the beginning.[1] This doctrine is based on the Mosaic Law, on the statutes set forth in the Ten Commandments, and mainly on the declaration of the Shema Yisrael.[2]
Faith in God does not only consist in believing that God exists, for as the apostle James rightly states, even the demons believe and tremble,
Thou believest that God is one; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. James 2:19
Faith in God is to understand God, to know His Will, to know how He acts, to know His thought.
Now therefore, if I have found favor in thine eyes, I pray thee, show me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find favor in thine eyes: and behold, this people is thy people. Exodus 33:13
Faith in God is to recognize that He is God, the only true God, and that apart from Him there is no one,
And who will call like me, and denounce this, and command it for me, since I made the ancient people? Announce to them what is coming, and what is to come. 8Fear ye not, neither be dismayed: did I not tell you of old, and tell you of old? Therefore you are my witnesses. There is no God but me. There is no Strong One: I know of none. Isaiah 44:7, 8
Faith in God is to recognize that God is the Creator of all things, that by his hand all things subsist, and that nothing that exists was created without his consent,
O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, who dwellest between the cherubim, thou alone art God over all the kingdoms of the earth: thou hast made heaven and earth. Isaiah 37:16
And He is before all things, and by Him all things subsist: Colossians 1:17
For it was fitting that he for whose sake all things are, and by whom all things stand, having brought many sons to glory, should bring to completion the author of their salvation by afflictions. Hebrews 2:10
Faith in God is to recognize that God intervenes in human activities, and He decides even on the governments of the earth,
And they shall drive thee from among men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall feed thee as oxen: and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou shalt know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth to whomsoever he will. Daniel 4:32
Faith in God is recognizing that everything that happens on earth is because He allows it, that with everything that happens, divine purposes are established; …
Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is no God, and there is none like me. Isaiah 46:9
…and that even under the circumstances He speaks to men,
I also have given you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and want of bread in all your villages: but ye have not returned unto me, saith the LORD. Amos 4:6
The heavens declare the glory of God, And the expanse denounces the work of his hands. He uttereth a word from day to day, And from night to night declareeth wisdom. There is no speech, no word, neither is his voice heard. His line goes out through all the earth, and his words to the ends of the world. In them he has set a tabernacle for the sun. Psalm 19:1-4
Faith in God consists in believing that He is a rewarder of those who fear Him.
But without faith it is impossible to please God: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Hebrews 11:6
And when they arose in the morning, they went out into the wilderness of Tekoa. And as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem. Believe the LORD your God, and ye shall be safe; believe his prophets, and ye shall prosper. 2 Chronicles 20:20
Thy foot shall not go into a slippery place; neither shall he that keepeth thee slumber. 4 Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. Psalm 121:3, 4
Faith in God consists in believing Him, believing that His Word is not in vain, that when He speaks He will fulfill all that He has spoken, and that He will not take away nor repent of the good that He has spoken,
And immediately the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This man shall not be thine heir, but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. 5And he brought him forth, and said, Look now toward heaven, and number the stars, if thou be able to number them. And he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. 6And he believed the LORD, and counted it to him for righteousness. Genesis 15:4-6
Fully convinced that whatever He had promised, He was also able to do it. Romans 4:21
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Jeremiah 29:11
Faith in God means understanding that God is jealous, and that He does not share His glory with anyone.
I am the LORD: this is my name; and to another will I not give my glory, nor my praise to graven images. Isaiah 42:8
Faith in God makes us understand that idolatry is abominable to Jehovah-God and is considered as a human attempt to displace Him by a demonic being according to Satan’s attempt to be like Him.
Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor honor them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, upon the third and upon the fourth, upon them that hate me, Exodus 20:5
For thou shalt not worship another man’s god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God. Exodus 34:14
Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the third, and upon the fourth, even upon them that hate me, Deuteronomy 5:9
For this ye know, that no fornicator, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, nor servant of idols, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Ephesians 5:5
Faith in God is to believe that He IS one God, Almighty, Omnipotent….
And when Abram was ninety and nine years old, the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God: walk before me, and be thou perfect. Genesis 17:1
I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, says the Lord, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty. Revelation 1:8
…a God who knows all things, who is Omniscient,
Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh; shall anything be revealed to me? Jeremiah 32:27
O LORD, thou hast searched me and known me. 2 Thou hast known my sitting down and my rising up, Thou hast understood my thoughts afar off. 3 Thou hast compassed my path and my lying down, And art established in all my ways. 4For as yet the word is not on my tongue, And behold, O LORD, thou knowest it all. Psalm 139:1-4
Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father in sanctification of the Spirit, to obey and to be sprinkled with the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace be multiplied unto you, and peace. 1st Peter 1:2
…a God who is present everywhere, who is Omnipresent,
Whither shall I go from your spirit? and whither shall I flee from your presence? 8If I ascend into the heavens, you are there; and if I make my bed in the depths, behold, you are there. 9If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, 10Yet there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. Psalm 139:7-10
…an Eternal God,
And Abraham planted a grove in Beer-sheba, and there he called upon the name of the LORD God everlasting. Genesis 21:33
For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is the Holy One, I dwell in the height and holiness, and with the meek and humble in spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the broken. Isaiah 57:15
Thy throne, O God, is everlasting and everlasting: the rod of righteousness is the rod of thy kingdom. Psalm 45:6
Blessed be the LORD God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting. And all the people said, Amen: and praised the LORD. 1 Chronicles 16:36
Before the mountains were brought forth, and thou didst form the earth and the world, and from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God. Psalm 90:2
…an immutable God, who does not change and in whom there is no shadow of variation,
God is not a man, that he should lie; nor a son of man, that he should repent: he hath said, and shall he not do it? he hath spoken, and shall he not perform it? Numbers 23:19
That by two immutable things, wherein it is impossible for God to lie, we may have the strongest consolation, which we have received to hold fast to the hope that is set forth: Hebrews 6:18
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, in whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. James 1:17
…a Holy and Perfect God,
For I am Jehovah your God, therefore ye shall sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy, because I am holy: so that ye defile not your persons with any creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 45For I am the LORD, which bring you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy. Leviticus 11:44, 45
God is perfect in his way: the word of the LORD is established: he is a shield to all them that wait for him. Psalm 18:30
Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. Matthew 5:48
…a God of truth, just, righteous, upright, there is no iniquity in him, merciful, gracious, longsuffering, having compassion on the needy, and his wrath endures not for ever,
He is the Rock, whose work is perfect, For all his ways are uprightness: a God of truth, and there is no iniquity in him: he is just and righteous. Deuteronomy 32:4
For the LORD thy God is a merciful God: he will not fail thee, nor destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them. Deuteronomy 4:31
I would have fainted, except I had believed that I should see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Psalm 27:13
But you, O LORD, are a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and truth; Psalm 86:15
Go, and cry these words unto the north, and say, Return, O rebellious Israel, saith the LORD; I will not bring my wrath upon you: for I am merciful, saith the LORD, I will not keep anger for ever. Jeremiah 3:12
…a God who is a savior, a deliverer, who rebukes the devourer, who gives life and breath, who strengthens and makes to sit on high,
For I the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, am your Savior: I have given Egypt for your ransom, Ethiopia and Sheba for you. Isaiah 43:3
Though I be afflicted and needy, yet the LORD will think of me, Thou art my help and my deliverer: O my God, delay not. Psalm 40:17
I will also rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and the fruit of the land shall not corrupt you; neither shall your vine in the field fail, saith the LORD of hosts. Malachi 3:11
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. Psalm 23:4
He giveth power to the faint, and increaseth strength to him that hath none… 31But they that wait for the LORD shall have new strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; they shall run, and not faint; they shall walk, and not be weary. Isaiah 40:29-31
The doctrine of faith in God is more than a confession, more than a declaration, even much more than a body of doctrine.
The doctrine of faith in God is conviction, revelation, understanding, discernment; it is spiritual growth and maturity, to stop being spiritual children; it is to exercise the senses in the discernment of good and evil, walking towards perfection; and this we will indeed do, if God permits it….
And the LORD said unto Moses, How long shall this people vex me, and how long shall they not believe me for all the signs that I have done among them? Numbers 14:11
pastor Pedro Montoya
All biblical texts are taken from the King James Version Bible (KJV 1909).
[1] Hebrews 6:1
[2] Deuteronomy 6:4
