Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ:
2 Peter 1:1 KJV
This scripture is a scripture worthy of note and indicates one of the inheritances of a believer. Paul in this scripture mentions that through the righteousness of God, all who come to Jesus have already received like precious faith.
What does it mean to obtain “like precious faith”?
The Word used for “obtained” in this scripture is Lagchano, which means it is something we have received by inheritance and it is a lot legally apportioned to us. Ephesians 2:8 says we are saved by grace, through faith and even this faith is not of our own doing, but a gift of God. Romans 5:17 also emphasizes that this is a free gift. In essence, Peter said that we have received by inheritance, a precious assurance and conviction by the justification of God and our saviour Jesus Christ. ‘Like precious faith’ is simply faith. Peter calls it a “like precious faith” because it is something every believer should have. It is also called precious because we could not have gotten it by ourselves. The value of this kind of faith is that it gives us access to the grace by which we stand as Romans 5:2.
In Galatians 2:20, Paul mentions that since he has been crucified with Christ, the life he now lived was by the Faith of the Son of God. The faith of the Son of God is the great faith exhibited by Jesus in Psalm 16, believing that after death, God will not only raise Him from the dead, but us in Him. It is an impeccable ability to believe in God in dire situations. This means that when Jesus says in Mark 11:22 that we should have faith in God to obtain answers to promises, He did not expect us to manufacture faith, but to have the faith of God. Though we have received this faith, Romans 1:17 says that the righteousness of God is revealed to us by faith to faith because the Just lives by his faith. One’s source of livelihood determines his quality of life. A person earning $200 per month has access to very limited resources compared to a philanthropist who is able to donate a million dollars. To live by faith means to have our source of livelihood by faith. It is to live by the faith a person has access to by receiving the faith of Jesus as his own. This faith can be utilized in every area of our lives, from finances to academics, and even our walk with God.
Every believer has access to the faith of God, however, this does not mean every believer utilizes it. Jesus showed various examples of faith from different individuals during His ministry. For one, his faith needed Jesus to come physically to heal his daughter, John 4:49. For another, her faith did not require Jesus to notice her, all she needed to do was to touch the hem of His garment, Matthew 9:20-22. For another, Jesus did not even need to be in close proximity to him but simply send Word from where He was, Matthew 8:7-13.
If we have all received faith, and this faith is a source of our livelihood, why do different individuals have different experiences in life? Paul says Faith comes by hearing and hearing the Word of God. This means encapsulated in the Word of God is the faith needed to believe. Every believer, though having access to the limitless faith, experiences the power and righteousness of God revealed to him based on the knowledge of God he has in Himself. The woman with the issue of blood may have come in contact with the scripture in Malachi 4:2 that the Messiah will come with healing in his wings ( hem or skirt of his garment) and so she simply needed to touch this.
Final thoughts. If our quality of life is dependent on how much of His Word we have in us, then we would use all diligence in dealing with His Word. This means reading, confessing, meditating on the Word of God. This means listening to a sermon multiple times until it sticks in our hearts. This means praying with the scriptures that we have received and not stopping till these Words become our reality. Each man that is justified will live by the portion of the faith of God that he has downloaded as his own.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, I come to you this day to hear your Word and to receive of You, faith needed for my life today. Help me to be diligent and take heed to your precious Word that instills faith in me, that I may live every day full of faith and life as You did.
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