As a follow up to a recent sermon I heard on faith, I decided to study out Romans 10:17. The impetus for this is that I knew we don't get "more" faith, but rather that our faith is developed. With that in mind, check this out:
Romans 10:17 - So then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.
I decided to break this down by studying the Greek definitions of each word and rewording the sentence as needed.
"So then" - actually better translated as drawing a conclusion, decisive, no doubt
"comes" - is not in the original text, added by translators
"by" - denotes the origin of, out of, directly from
"hearing" - understanding, come to the hearer, preached, report
"by" - different from the previous "by" - through the act, because of, by occasion of
"Word" - this is a big one, this word is "rhema" (RAY-mah) - the spoken Word. literally, an utterance
"God" - the supreme being
Now let's see if we can assemble the parts:
"I conclude without a doubt, faith originates directly from understanding through the spoken Word of God."
That puts an entirely different light on it doesn't it?
To hear the Word of God spoken to your heart brings revelation, life, light, liberty, etc. This can be substituted for "understanding" in the sentence above, creating an even more thorough definition.
"I conclude without a doubt, faith originates directly from revelation (revealed knowledge) through the spoken Word of God."
Have you heard God speak to you recently? If not, what condition do you think your faith is in?
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