RHEMA BIBLE STUDY

CLASS

‘Growing into maturity in Christ’

Class 9: Believing and Faith.

Specific objectives:
Review of previous class and answer to Greek word study for the week.
Definition of Believing.
Definition of Faith.
Contrasting Believing and Faith.
Different kinds of Faith.
How to grow and strengthen our Faith.
Definition of Believing
The word ‘believe’ used in the English bible such as in Rom 10:9 is from the Greek word pisteuo
(pronounced as pist-yoo'-o) and it means to trust (in, upon, or with respect to, a person or thing), that is,
to entrust (especially one's spiritual well-being to Christ). It means to rely upon someone. Believing in
Jesus thus means to entrust/commit our lives to him and rely on Him for all things.
In Rom 10:9, God says we should believe that He raised Jesus from the dead as one of the prerequisites
to receive salvation. This means we should commit our lives to that same power and agree that it can
grant us justification (also look at Rom 10:10 and Rom 4:25)
Definition of Faith
The Greek word translated ‘faith’ such as in Heb 11:1 is pistis. It means to be assured of something and to
be persuaded about that particular thing. It also means to stay fixed onto something with pleasure. There
are different sections in the bible that can help us have a very good understanding of faith. We will look at
two of them.
1) Faith is your response to what you believe (James 2:14-26): note that, in his epistle, James is not
instructing us on how to become believers. The epistle was written to those who already believed (James
2:1). Rather, he is telling us how those who have already believed should live. James calls faith without
works dead (vs26). A careful study of this passage will show that what James called dead faith is to
believe without acting on what you believe (study verses 18-23). He gives us an example of devils who
believe that there is one God, but they refuse to act on it. It is like accepting that God can heal by the
laying on of hands but you refuse to practice it. Notice also that the scriptures (Gen 15:6 quoted in James

Rhema Bible Study Class, 5th/June/2017Prepared by Pastor Omongole David Omongole.

2:23) does not say Abraham had ‘faith’; and it was counted unto him for righteousness. It says ‘he
believed in the Lord’. It was when he acted on what he believed that it became faith. Therefore, faith is
your response to what you believe.
2) Faith is your foundation, assurance and title deed of what God promised you (Heb 11:1). KJV says

‘Now faith is the substance of things hoped for,...’The Greek word used for substance here is hupostasis.
It means an underground support/state (from hupo-under/sub and stasis-support/state). Thus Faith is the
foundation we have prepared to hold those things that we hoped for from God. Notice that ‘hoped’ is
past tense. In other words, you have passed the stage of anxiously waiting for it and have now received it!
(Compare with Rom 8:24). The Greek word for hope here is derived from elpis meaning a
positive/assured hope.

Heb 11:1 also says, faith ‘…is the evidence of things not seen.’ This means faith is the evidence of unseen
realities. It is like being sure of the results of a chemistry experiment in the laboratory. You know and can
describe the results without carrying out a visible test.
The amplified version renders the same verse as: ‘NOW FAITH is the assurance (the confirmation, title
deed) of things we hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see…’ You cannot have a title deed
when you do not have the land. So faith is a confirmation that that thing you were hoping to get has
finally arrived!

Contrasting Believing and Faith

A lot of times one might tend to think that Believing is the same as Faith. However, as we have already
seen from the definitions, they are different. We will now take a detailed look at some of the differences.
 Believing receives, Faith keeps: In Mark 11:24, Jesus said to the disciples: ‘Therefore I say unto
you, What things soever you desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have
them.’(KJV) He associated receiving with believing. To receive something from God depends on
our trust and reliance upon Him. However, as we have seen above, faith is the assurance that you
have what you desired. In other words, faith enables you to keep what you have received. For
example, we receive salvation by believing (Rom 10:9) but we keep our justification by faith (Rom
5:1).
 Believing can come by Logos but faith comes by Rhema: Logos is something that was already
said. Biblically, it is the written word of God. Rhema on the other hand is a word spoken in the
now, for the current situation with a definite direction for the now. We can believe that God has
justified us and can do many wonderful things in us, through us and for us by reading the written
word (logos). However ‘…faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word (rhema) of Christ...’ It
is our constant communion (fellowship, communication) with God that assures us of our
inheritance with Christ.

Rhema Bible Study Class, 5th/June/2017Prepared by Pastor Omongole David Omongole.

  The just live by faith and not by believing: Hab 2:4, Heb 10:38, Gal 3:11 and Rom 1:17 tell us that
the just live by faith. That means we are to live in the constant assurance of God’s finished works
in us and not just being convinced about what He has done for us.
A combination of the above three gives us a summary of what our walk with God should be like. It
ought to be of constant communication with God so we can be able to get rhema and also be able
to declare it. This is what fellowship with God is all about.

Different kinds of faith

The bible mentions three major kinds of faith. These are little faith, great faith, and dead faith. Let us have
a quick look at each of them:
1. Little faith (Mtw 6:30, 8:26, 14:31, 16:8, Lk 12:28): This kind of faith is due to insufficiency of the
word. Remember that ‘…faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ’ (Rom 10:17).
One has little faith because they do not have adequate knowledge of what God has done for them.
The remedy for little faith is therefore to hear more of the word of God. For instance in Mtw 16:8, the
disciples showed little faith by grumbling because they did not know that Jesus was capable of
forming bread out of nothing! Little faith causes a lot of fear (Mtw 6:26).
2. Great faith (Mtw 8:10): This kind of faith is due to abundance of knowledge. The centurion in Mtw
8:5-9 demonstrated knowledge in the functioning of authority and in vs 10; Jesus said he had great
faith. Acquiring great faith is thus through increasing our knowledge of the word of God by hearing
more.
3. Dead faith (James 2:17, 2:26): As we saw earlier, people with dead faith do not act on what they have
believed. These are the kind of people Paul talks about as having a form of godliness, but denying the
power thereof (2Tim 3:5).
Expressions of faith.
There are two expressions of faith shown to us in the bible:

4. Weak in faith (Rom 4:19): The word weak means frail, that is, to be easily broken. It means to be
deficient in intensity, force or strength. A person weak in faith is one who is unable to yield many
results as they claim to be able to do. They are inefficient in faith. According to Rom 4:19, someone
weak in faith does not practice the knowledge they have acquired. Believers weak in faith can stand
for a while but when perilous times come, they fall. They can’t practice their faith in circumstances
such as persecution when all things work against hope.
5. Strong in faith (Rom 4:20): Strength is an ability to do something. A person Strong in faith produces
results. Reading Rom 4:20 into verse 21 shows that a person strong in faith is fully persuaded about
their belief in God and is willing to act on it. People strong in faith do not give up! They stay on the job
even in the most unpromising times. This characteristic of the spirit of a new creation is developed
through continuous practice of what we believe.

Rhema Bible Study Class, 5th/June/2017Prepared by Pastor Omongole David Omongole.

Looking through the different kinds of faith, we see that we should all admire to have great faith and
be strong in faith. This is what glorifies God.

How to grow and strengthen our faith

First, we shall look at how to grow our faith. Rom 10:17 shows us that faith comes by hearing and
hearing by the word (rhema) of Christ. To get rhema, we need to cultivate a habit of fellowship with the
Holy Ghost so we can always hear what He has to say to us. One of the ways God speaks to His people is
through the written word (make a personal study of 1 Samuel 3). As we read the scriptures, we open up
receptors to hear from God. Another quick way to get rhema is by praying with the spirit (speaking in
other tongues). Speaking in tongues activates our spirits to commune with God because when we speak
in tongues, we speak to God (1Cor 14:2). Now God is not mean to keep silent when we talk to him. He
will definitely speak rhema to us!
Strengthening ourselves in faith is by continuous practicing of what we have believed. It is like the way
we can strengthen our muscles through practice. Then, Jude also tells us in the 20th verse of his epistle
(Jude) that we can get established on our most holy faith by praying in the Holy Ghost. We will know
more about praying in the Holy Ghost in the next class.

Study the meanings of the Greek word epoikodomeo in preparation for the next class.

See you next time when you have grown and strengthened your faith! Love you! (David Omongole O.)

Rhema Bible Study Class, 5th/June/2017Prepared by Pastor Omongole David Omongole.