Ephesians 1:15-16 Why I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love to all the saints,… Faith looked at in reference to God is a spirit of quietude and repose. Nothing so full of conscious helplessness and simple trust. No little bird beneath its parent's wing, no child upon its mother's lap, so gentle and confiding. A lion in conflict with the powers of hell, faith lies down like a lamb at the feet of the Lord of heaven. It returns and rests "in quietness and in confidence." Indeed, in this way it obtains salvation and strength. The calm resting upon God makes it victorious over all beside. In truth, it is He who fights for the believer, with the believer, in the believer. Faith does nothing alone, nothing of itself, but everything under God, by God, through God. It is only in a qualified sense that faith makes war and gets victory. "The excellency of power is of God, and not of us." Its humble dependence, its meek, child-like spirit, after all constitute its proper self. These are the essence and life of faith. (J. Stoughton.) Parallel Verses KJV: Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, |
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