Spirit of Faith

In 2 Corinthians 4:13, the apostle Paul said by the Holy Spirit,

And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed and therefore I spoke,” we also believe and therefore speak.

Years ago, while reading this Scripture, the phrase, we have the same spirit of faith jumped off the page at me. We included Paul and the church of Corinth; however, we know that Scripture is not limited to the church of the past but includes all of the church: past, present, and future. So what’s being said is that you and I have the same spirit of faith as Paul! Paul put us on his level. We are operating in the same spirit of faith as the guy who wrote two-thirds of the New Testament, who was bit by a viper and shook it off in the fire, who healed a leader of the island of Malta and healed all the sick there, and who saw revival in Corinth, Ephesus, and so many other places!

Paul didn't stop there but went on to say, according to what is written. This spurred me to ask, Who is Paul quoting? Of course, he is talking about himself, but he went beyond that by quoting an Old Testament Scripture: “I believed and therefore I spoke.” That Scripture is Psalm 116:10, which was written by King David. So we must understand what Paul is saying … He is saying that we have the same spirit of faith, not just as himself, but as of David! David operated in a spirit of faith and the same faith he operated in we can also operate in.

So, if David had the spirit of faith, when did it first show up in his life? It showed up when he faced Goliath. We all know the story: David took food to his brothers from their father when suddenly the Philistine champion, Goliath, came out to taunt the army of Israel. The army of Israel was intimidated by this great giant. David responded, Is there not a cause? The word cause is the Hebrew word debar, meaning a word from the Lord. David asked, Does anyone have a word from God about this giant? This is the first glance we see of the spirit of faith in David’s life. His faith was contagious and inspiring because those who heard him told the King, which led to an audience with him.

David believed in his heart that his God would fight for him and began to declare it to King Saul. David began a testimony service. Why? Because testimonies build faith. So David told of the lion and the bear, thus building faith in King Saul’s heart for God to do the same to Goliath. His faith was so dominant that it transferred to the King. The challenge of Goliath was for the army of Israel to send their best fighter to face him, and whoever lost, that army would become slaves to the victorious fighter’s army. King Saul was betting on David, a teenage shepherd who had never fought a battle! Doing so put the entire Israelite nation on the line. What a gamble! But the faith in David prevailed over the fear of an army.

When David stood against Goliath, notice what happened: they had a battle of words. Goliath cursed David by his gods and belittled him, but David responded by declaring the word and will of His God! This is the spirit of faith! You believe therefore, you speak! Jesus told us to believe in our hearts and to speak to our mountains! Prayer is when we talk to our God about our problems, but declaration is when we speak to our problems about our God! This is what young David did!

So, I would like to ask this question: When did David kill Goliath? Most would argue that it was when David threw the stone, knocked him down, slew him with a sword, and cut off his head. But I would respond that David killed Goliath when he said he would. Everything David declared happened. When he declared the word and will of God, it was as good as done! The spirit of faith defeated the giant! And so it shall be with us when we believe for God to fight for us and declare His Word and will, then giants will fall and mountains will move!

We have the same spirit of faith as David! We have the same spirit of faith as Paul! And that spirit of faith is the Holy Spirit who longs to impart faith in your heart to see and do the impossible! Today, believe in your hearts that God will fight for you and then declare the word and will of God to your mountain so it will be removed from your life!