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The Spiritual Gift Called The Gift Of Faith
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The Spiritual Gift Called The Gift Of Faith

This study is part of a more extensive series on the gifts of the Holy Spirit. I wanted to make you aware of this entire resource before getting started.

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The Gift Of Extraordinary Faith

Today we are going to look at the gift of faith.

The reason I call it extraordinary faith is because every believer is given what Paul called a “measure of faith. ” This was the faith to believe that Jesus would save us. It was the faith that sparked being born again.

There is a difference between faith and the gift of faith. In 1st Corinthians 12, Paul is not talking about saving faith, but about a supernatural gift of faith given by the Holy Spirit. It is a mountain-moving faith. It is the type of faith that produces the miraculous.

This gift is one of 3 gifts that are sometimes called power gifts because they demonstrate the power of God. The other two being the working of miracles and gifts of healings.

The best way I have learned to discern the characteristics of the gift of faith in operation is the profound absence of fear.

Fear is the opposite of faith. It is at the polar end of the spectrum spiritually.

So when you see something miraculous happen, coupled with the absence of fear, then you know it is the gift of faith at work.

Jesus Operating The Gift Of Faith

I can think of 2 examples off the top of my head where Jesus operated the gift of faith.

The first example is a very famous story of where Jesus calms the storm. In this example, Jesus tells the disciples to take the boat and cross the sea of Galilee to the other side. They start sailing and halfway across a colossal storm arises. It is so bad that the ship is getting swamped.

However, what do we see Jesus doing? He is sleeping! Talk about no fear! It gets so bad that the disciples wake Jesus and ask him if he even cares that they are perishing.

His words to them indicate a lot. He asks, “Where is your faith?” As we all know, Jesus spoke to the wind and the waves and told them to be still. That was the working of extraordinary faith.

The second example is found in Luke’s gospel, chapter 4. Jesus is preaching in his hometown. He tells them that the acceptable day of the Lord has arrived. He said to them that He was the Messiah.

He then proceeded to tell them that because of their lack of faith, no miracles would happen among them.

Well, this ticked off the people and they proceeded to drag Jesus to the edge of a cliff preparing to throw him off the cliff. However, Jesus again showed no fear, and just walked right through the people.

Now I don’t know about you, but if I had a group of angry church people getting ready to throw me off a cliff, I would be just a little afraid, and I am not big or strong enough to plow my way through the crowd.

This was an operation of the gift of extraordinary faith.

Examples Of The Gift Of Faith In The Early Church.

One of the most significant examples of this gift in the early church is the story of the stoning of Stephen in Acts chapters 6 and 7.

Stephen was a man known for being full of faith. He ended up ticking off some religious leaders by telling them that they had crucified the Messiah.

Stephen knew that if He said anything to these people along these lines that they would get angry and stone him. He showed no fear and all the way through this experience he showed no concern.

Although we do not see the same outcome as what happened with Jesus, we still see the miraculous happen as Stephen sees Jesus waiting for Him as he finishes his last breath.

Another example is found in Acts chapter 16 where Paul and Silas had been thrown into jail because they had cast a demon out of a girl who made money for people by fortune-telling.

Once again we see no fear. What we do see is Paul and Silas singing hymns while they are in jail. We see the opposite of fear.

All of a sudden there is an earthquake and God enables a jailbreak! However, instead of making a run for it, Paul and Silas stick around, and the Philippian jailer ends up being saved, along with all of his household, and new members are added to the fledgling church at Philippi!

The Use Of The Gift Of Faith In The Church Today.

There have been many instances of the gift of faith in the modern church.

Whether it has been those called to the mission field walking up to ticket counters with no money and at the last minute somebody giving them the exact amount they needed, or whether it has been those in countries antagonistic to the gospel, receiving the faith to face martyrdom.

Extraordinary faith is alive and well in the modern church.

There may be times where God will give you this gift.

It may be something as small as standing up in front of your peers to give God glory or something else.

Just be assured that if you are given the supernatural gift of faith, then God will be there to perform the miraculous part.

You need to be the willing vessel.

Thank you for reading our article on the gift of faith.

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Pastor duke taber
Pastor Duke Taber

Pastor Duke Taber

All articles have been written or reviewed by Pastor Duke Taber.
Pastor Duke Taber is an alumnus of Life Pacific University and Multnomah Biblical Seminary.
He has been in pastoral ministry since 1988.
Today he is the owner and managing editor of 3 successful Christian websites that support missionaries around the world.
He is currently starting a brand new church in Mesquite NV called Mesquite Worship Center, a Non-Denominational Spirit Filled Christian church in Mesquite Nevada.