Walking on Water (iv)

Concluding our series of walking on water, we continue to study the dynamics of faith from the principles we gather from the scriptures. Considering Galatians 5:6, we read that “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love”. Here, the apostle makes it clear that the defining life for the born again believer has ceased to be about the keeping of the law but has now become about a life lived by faith that works through love. The reality is, it will be very hard to believe God for anything He says if we have not accepted and believed that He loves us. In believing His love, we become convinced that He has done everything He has claimed and find rest in that assurance; but without such conviction, we will struggle to live bold lives of confidence in the Lord. Our knowledge and understanding of His love then becomes the yardstick through which we appropriate all that He has prepared for us through His grace package in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 1:3; 2 Peter 1:3). This is why the apostle prayed for the church in the Ephesus in the manner that he did, saying, “For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,  from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man…” (Ephesians 3:14-16). Through inspiration from the Spirit, the apostle makes a petition that the church be strengthened in their inner man by God, simply because he knew that real and lasting strength is not to be outsourced to carnal measures – it is God who gives strength through His Spirit and anything else is just a cheap decoy. He continued to say, “that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love…” (v.17) – showing us that we sustain the consciousness of our oneness with Jesus through faith, not through fluctuating feelings and changing circumstances; this is what then roots and grounds us deeply into the love of God, unshakeable and resolute.

That is why it is important to understand God’s character. He is not an angry principal waiting to punish us on our first mistake, but He is compassionate, merciful and full of grace. We read, “But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life” (Jude:20-21). The Father always uses terms of endearment to express His affection for His children, but we browse right through them without a second thought. We read that it is our responsibility to build ourselves by praying in the Holy Spirit, and actively keeping ourselves in the love God has for us. He is not going to love us, He has already loved us, and we should always work to convince ourselves of this reality. This is why the apostle then pleaded, “that you… may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:18-19). He begins to express that the love of God is multi-dimensional, and that it is not an understanding that we can come to through the accumulation of knowledge, but rather, it is received by revelation. Revelation is important for the governing of seasons and the supernatural in one’s life – words can be spoken, but without revelation, there will be no entrance! Upon receiving such revelation of the love of God, one is then filled with the fullness of God, who is love (1 John 4:16).

In conclusion, let us consider the example of faith displayed by the centurion shown in Matthew 8:5-13. We read, “Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented” (v.5-6). The centurion displayed great humility, laying down all his military credentials and giving honor to Jesus, whom he recognised to have something that he himself did not have. He came pleading for his servant, and the Lord obliged, saying He would come to heal the servant wherever he was. In humility and in great understanding of the principles of authority, the centurion responded, “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed” (v.8). Church, humility transports you to the available grace of God, it positions you to see the greatness of God and to accept His help for your situation. And because of his own submission to authority and also rank above others in the Roman military, the centurion understood that authority yields results. He qualified, “For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it” (v.9). He knew exactly who was over him and who was under him, and he expressed the exactitude of the imposing of such authority, referring to “this one” – no generalisations! But believers today do not know who they are and over whom and what they have authority! This is our downfall, we ought to know that we are submitted to Christ and live out that submission so we can also live out the authority we have over everything else he placed under our feet! This is our victory! 

Prayer

Father, we thank You for Your Word, that fills us with through and also reveals Your love to us. We pray Father, that we may continue experiencing the revelation of Your love, being filled with Your fullness and as a result, expressing the God-faith in everything that we do. We glorify You! In the name of Jesus! Amen!