Faith

Faith is the foundation of all righteousness; it is the assurance of things hoped for, and is the principle cause of action within intelligent beings; without faith physical and mental exertions cease. Consider anything that has excited you to action and you will discover that faith, or the assurance of a desired outcome, preceded your actions—whether securing water, food, a home, love, an avocation, or knowledge and intelligence. Faith is the moving cause of action that enables any blessing, either physical or spiritual. 

Faith is also the principle of power by which God commanded the intelligences and the world was framed and created and by which man was formed from the dust. All things in heaven, on earth, or under the earth exist by reason of God’s faith or power. Faith is the first great governing principle which enables God’s power, dominion, and authority over all things; by it the worlds exist, by it they are upheld, by it they are changed, or by it they remain agreeable to the will of God. Faith, as a principle of power, has been used to subdue kingdoms, work righteousness, obtain promises, stop the mouth of lions, bring forth inventions to bless man, and to see the face of God.

Two Things Eternal

There are both things that act (eternal intelligences) and things to be acted upon (element or matter). These two things have always existed and can neither be created nor destroyed. Eternal intelligences are independent and cannot be compelled to act; rather, the heavens wait on them to obey God’s word and for reasons described below—they follow God’s will with great faith or assurance. There is a purpose under heaven for all of God’s creations, including man and it is important to know our purpose and to progress accordingly.

Eternal intelligences range from small to great, with God being the greatest of all intelligences. God gathers unorganized matter and eternal intelligences, and then he forms matter for a purpose and commands intelligences to occupy and act upon the matter assigned to the intelligences, according to a pattern God establishes, which becomes the law by which intelligence operates within matter. Intelligences small to great agree to be assigned to matter that is organized into plant life, animals, and humans, which are the greatest of all God’s creations and are formed in His image and likeness. 

The earth was organized to bring forth grass from its own seed, and the herb to bring forth herb from its own seed, yielding seed after his kind; and the earth to bring forth the tree from its own seed, yielding fruit, whose seed could only bring forth the same in itself, after his kind, according to the will of God. The dry land is called, Earth; and the gathering together of the waters, are called Great Waters, according to God’s will. 

Within the seed of grass, herbs, fruit, animals, and man, God set forth unique patterns (DNA coding). The intelligences that operate within organized matter (cells), are commanded to act according to the pattern (DNA coding) set forth by God. A seed that acts in faith according to the pattern established within itself by God will grow into a plan or tree, depending upon the pattern set forth by God.

To enable faith as a principle of power, you must understand why these intelligences obey God’s will rather than use their independence to do as they wish within the matter in which they reside. Let’s discover why intelligences obey God and why they are condemned when they do not.

Why Intelligences Obey God's Will

Why did the intelligences within water obey Christ’s command to turn into wine? Why can God command and create worlds without number through His will alone. Herein is the secret to being a God. God said, “My Honor is my power.” It is because of God’s characteristics, attributes, and perfections—the Sum of His Honor—that the intelligences voluntarily place their faith in Him. What we call a miracle is nothing more than obedient intelligences who trust God implicitly. They obey His will because he has the power to keep His promises; He is God today and will be God from everlasting to everlasting. They obey His will because of His goodness and mercy, in whom there is no variableness or changing. They obey His will because He is a God of truth and does not and cannot lie. They obey His will because He is no respecter of Intelligences and as they voluntarily act in accordance with His will they are assured eternal progression. They obey His will because of His perfect love for them. They obey His will because He is omniscient and does not make mistakes and because He is perfectly just as He exercises judgment over them. He never asks anything of them that they cannot do, nor that will not result in progression.

To demonstrate God’s power over intelligence and thereby matter, Moses place his hand into his bosom and then pulled it out for all Israel to see. What did Israel behold? Moses’ hand was covered with incurable leprosy that was on its way back to becoming dust of the earth. Then Moses placed his hand inside his Bosom and pulled it out again. Israel beheld a perfect hand that was beautiful, clean, and of pink flesh. Through Moses, God demonstrated that intelligences respond to His Will and so should we do likewise.

God’s Character

Without an understanding of God’s character, faith is imperfect and unproductive; we do not voluntarily choose to respond to God’s will when we lack faith in Him to follow His will. By comparison, with a clear understanding of God, faith can become perfect and fruitful unto salvation. Consider the following characteristics of God and why rationale intelligences always seek to understand God’s will and to follow it:

First, God was God before the world was created and is the same God now; as the true creator of heaven and earth we can believe there is no one above God in whom we should place our faith and confidence. He is the rock of our salvation.

Second, he is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abundant in goodness, and he was so from everlasting, and will be so to everlasting; Because of these characteristics, it is possible to believe we can be saved, in spite of our imperfections, weaknesses, and human frailties. A belief that He forgives iniquity, transgression, mistakes, and sin, enables us to overcome constant doubt that we can be saved—whereas knowledge of our weaknesses would otherwise promote sufficient doubt to overcome our faith.

Third, He changes not, neither is there variableness within Him, and his course is one eternal round. The belief that He is unchangeable and is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and that his course is one eternal round adds to our unshaken confidence in Him and His desires toward us and toward all other intelligences.

Fourth, He is a God of truth and cannot lie. Knowing this gives power to exercise faith in Him; for if He could lie, we could never exercise true faith in Him.

Fifth, He is no respecter of persons; and, knowing that we each have equal privilege before Him provides the assurance that we can lay hold on eternal life—if we will, and that such a blessing is available to anyone willing to exercise faith in His son Jesus.

Sixth, He is love and loves us perfectly and unconditionally. That knowledge, when overlaid upon the other excellent qualities of His character, produces a powerful effect and dominion over our minds that invites productive faith in Him.

God’s Attributes

In addition to God’s foundational characteristics, which invite us to exercise faith in Him, He also possesses special attributes:

Knowledge –God is omniscient or knows all things and therefore, all His counsels shall stand as he does his pleasure in our lives. He does not make mistakes and does things in a manner which always lead to our ultimate good. Such a knowledge of God invites us to heed His voice by following the promptings of His Spirit.

Faith or Power – As He thinketh in our behalf, it comes to pass, and as He purposes, so it stands. He is able to deliver us from any evil that tends toward our destruction—whether in heaven, on earth, within our bodies, or in hell. With this knowledge we know that when we do His will and vary not to the right or to the left, that He will be with us and go before us, and with power will make all things possible to us that He asks of us.

Justice – He is perfectly just and we can therefore submit to His guidance and will, knowing that any sacrifice(s) we make will be met with a just reward.

Judgment – Because His judgment is perfect we can be assured that even if we are called upon, as was the apostle Paul, to sacrifice all we have (rank, honor, lands, fortune, and family, and even our lives—if necessary) that He will judge our sacrifices perfectly and will compensate us with a just crown and reward. We also know that because of his perfect judgement, He will not ask anything of us that we cannot accomplish.

Mercy – God will provide comfort and consolation abundantly amid all afflictions and tribulations we face. Through His tender mercies in our behalf we need not grow weary or faint in the midst of our challenges. Rather, His mercy towards us offers life, energy, and hope, as does His compassion, as He secures us in the arms of his love—knowing also that you will receive a full reward for your sufferings.

Truth – Into his hands we can commit our spirit and our wills, for we know that He is a God of truth who cannot lie. His work in our behalf is perfect and without iniquity—from generation to generation. With this knowledge we can lay hold upon sufficient faith to obtain Eternal Life.

To what end should we then apply a productive and fruitful faith in God? What is our purpose and what has God asked us to do. His son said, “Be ye therefore perfect, as I and my Father in Heaven are perfect.” Christ invited us then to become like God, which entails receiving His characteristics and attributes that make Him pure and holy and able to organize matter and to command the Intelligences to follow Him and they do. Read the Path of Holiness to learn how to acquire God’s perfections.