Believe means what, exactly?

But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: [John 1:12]Hi there y'all at Sermon Index ! I have been reading the Gospel according to John for about 1 year now. You have gathered it is my favourite read. Now apart from the obvious Greek translation of the word, 'Believe' I am interested in learning how others interpret the exact meaning of that word in the context of this verse.Clearly the receiving aspect relates to those from among the people who were around while Jesus was on earth, and the term 'believe' relates to those who would believe after his ascension. We are often called, 'believers' but in this context what do you understand the word 'believe' means?In Jesus,Eric :-o

I believe that embarking on your own quest would bring you the biggest reward (ex a word study, studying Biblical characters, .. whatever. )I found that my own search registered in my mind better than receiving the truths second hand. That's how I dicovered that belief/faith is linked to obedience. I will share the results of my own quest - though I'm sure that God can lead you to something that really speaks to you. "The Obedience that Comes by Faith" http://www.thewayback.net/articles/obedience.htm

Yo, Stever and Roadsign: Thankyou for your responses so far. I spent a little time loading up Reidhead's - Cost of Discipleship, and after 10 shekels and a shirt...I was ready for a lot more of Reidhead's preaching...The opening part of 12, dealt with this subject of believing ~ the first command certainly does cover what sort of quality belief God expects of us. The complete submission of the will, the mind, the emotions and the character. The exact opposite to a life married to one's own interests and merely paying lip service to the statement, I believe.In Jesus,.A. :-? Roadsign, I am definitely have a read through you whole site, thanks!

Clearly the receiving aspect relates to those from among the people who were around while Jesus was on earth, and the term 'believe' relates to those who would believe after his ascension. Not to get too technical but the root idea of 'receiving Christ' is not only referring to those alive during His earthly ministry. Col. 2:6 As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: This word actually means to receive to yourself, or take. The Colossian believers had 'taken Jesus Christ the Lord' and could now 'walk in Him'. We can't begin the walk until we have 'received Christ'. However 'receiving Christ' in the Bible doesn't mean what the modern church uses it to mean, viz responding to a preacher and praying a sinner's prayer.If you have the time to read it this article may be a help.Believing and the noun faith is a main theme of the Bible. The first time the word is used is of Abraham's faith in Gen 15:6 where it says 'Abraham believed in the Lord'. If you think on that passage you will discover many of the key truths of faith. Abraham is the Bible most persistent example of faith, so if you consider his life and walk you will see what the Bible means by faith.

Hi philologosOfcourse, how stupid of me, the passage in Colossians is classic !Thanks for the pdf by Ron Bailey on Receiving Christ. This will be a most pleasurable read.This subject of love and faith... love is always the greatest of all. To love Jesus fully, is to believe correctly. When those first disciples followed Jesus, they left everything followed him.In Jesus:-D I enjoy Graham Kendrick...'Truimph in the Air'

The word believe is central to the message of the Gospel of John. Specifically John 20:30,31.So the meaning of it needs to really be clearly defined. I am going to have look at it's meaning in context of the first command of God.In Jesus, :-P

to 'believe' is to respond to God's revelation with affirmation. Believing starts with God; faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. There can be no 'faith' without God's personal utterance. We live by every word 'that is proceeding out of the mouth of God'. Our words are voiced by our breath; God word is voiced by His breath (Spirit). When there is no breath there is no voice and no possibility of hearing.God has His different ways of 'speaking' but we can only respond when He has done so. This is how Christ expresses the process of faith...“He that hath received his witness hath set his seal to this, that God is true. For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for he giveth not the Spirit by measure. The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand. He that believeth on the Son hath eternal life; but he that obeyeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him.” (John 3:33-36, ASV) I have opted for the ASV to emphasise the 'witness'. Putting our seal to a thing is the ancient world's equivalent of 'signing it'. We agree with what has been written and we put our authentication sign on it. There is a powerful Bible thread on this whole matter of 'sealing'. The king's seal carried all the king's authority and was backed up by all his resources. Our 'receiving of His witness' has to be 'sealed' personally by us. We have read the document and we put our whole life behind it by adding our seal.In the metaphor here, God has spoken in the person of Christ, and to believe it to put my whole confidence and backing to that statement. It is an 'amen' that gathers up all my being.There is another aspect of truth revealed earlier in John (and John is one of the best places to go to understand 'believing). “Now when he was in Jerusalem at the passover, during the feast, many believed on his name, beholding his signs which he did. But Jesus did not trust himself unto them, for that he knew all men, and because he needed not that any one should bear witness concerning man; for he himself knew what was in man.” (John 2:23-25, ASV) Again I have gone with the ASV because of the continuing link with 'witness' and because it brings out a different aspect of the truth found in the KJV.The words underlined above are the same word in the original. It is the Greek word 'pisteuo' which is translated by two different English words. This is instructive. They put their 'faith' in Him because of the miracles but He did not put His 'faith' in them because He knew what was in man. There is a 'faith' in Christ which is founded on His miracles. It can be a step in the right direction but it is not what He is looking for. He cannot build or trust that kind of faith. The purpose of John's gospel is “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.” (John 20:31, KJV) This is not faith in what He can do, but faith in who He is. Upon this faith He can build...“And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Matt. 16:16-18, KJV)This is Peter's faith, not in what He can do, but in who He is.Faith, ultimately, must be in the person. “And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.” (Gen. 15:6, KJV) Of course, Abraham believed what God said, but he believed it because God said it.

8-) Thanks, philologosI believe that the proper understanding of what it means 'to believe' is contained in the first commandment.ALL....And the Lord's Prayer. Thy will, not my will.THY WILL...BELIEVE ON~[ALL...SUBMITTED TO] THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. [THY WILL]Paris Reidhead, really makes this point so clear in 'The Cost of Discipleship' ~ Part IIPaul boldly claims that his own wisdom was abandoned infavour of Christ and Him Crucified, his own wisdom he regarded as dung.All through the Gospels, Jesus always requested a complete surrender. From his very first word, 'Repent!' Believe means what, exactly? I feel a song coming on: "All to Jesus I surrender, all to Him I freely give...."In Jesus,.A.:-P

Hi Amy small contribution is,that there is a continuation with believing and going or carrying on in belief.I have seen many take the scripture you cite in isolation and make a mental decision about following Christ to then fllounder when hard times come.Its been said before,Even the devil believes in Christ, so we must be talking about a much deeper experience of believing :-)

Hi Delboy,I agree a mental decision is no more than lip service, there needs to be the complete surrender of the will, when we first come to Christ. The words to this song by Phil Keaggy says it quite well:-In the distance there stands a wild horseProud and persistent to run it's own courseEntering through no other doorsBut those he has made for himselfIn his own eyes, he's the prince of allClever and wise, he heeds to no callEver denies that he could fallDepending on nobody elseAs time went on he came upon the thought that he was lonelyHe felt the fear, he cried the tear, He knew he was not the onlyThe rider whose name is True begins to seekAnd He opens his eyes to find, His stallion meekThen came that moment, with no-one in sightBut a horse with no name, and the rider in whiteFilled with compassion for his plightThe stallion he claimed for his ownAs time had past there came at lastThe lifting of his burdenHis strengh renewed, with gratitude and joyHe became a servantThe rider has come in view, His form uniqueAnd He's chosen to ride upon His stallion meek.copyright 1976 Free Love PublishingIn Jesus,.A.:-P

Hi A,great lyrics,forgive but let me carry on the pictureMany wild horses become muzelled and are forced under control via a bridle to every onlooker the horse looks under control but is'nt.When the TRUE rider comes He knows the horse and sets the horse free to be...of course the picture like all pictures fall short of the fullest,this came to mind while reading the words from the song. :-)

I believe that the proper understanding of what it means 'to believe' is contained in the first commandment. It is, in that the first commandment requires obedience which is an activity of faith.“By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.”(Heb. 11:8, KJVS)... by faith Abraham... obeyed.

“Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee.”(Psa. 32:9, KJVS)

Yo philologos: [your certainly are busy on this thread.] Looking at the true meaning of believing, always has two aspects. God's part and our part. I spent many years focussing on God's part, and then realized that in order to really present the truth, I needed to understand 'our part'.Keith Green's two articles, have really opened the eyes of my heart. [What's wrong with the Gospel?][What's missing from the Gospel?] He spoke about the function of the Law in the winning of others to Christ. Jesus spoke of how the Holy Spirit will convict the world of sin, [why?] because they do not believe...[]...believing in John's first epistle always links obedience and believing together.Whoever said, simple is easy, forgot that 60 000 pages of information is extracted from one strain of DNA.In Jesus.A.:-P ps. Oh yeah, I agree with you about Abraham, especially the direct references to him in James. The other reference about horses, seem to also come up as [wild] tongues..in James again..the small member that can steer the whole body. Amazing.

Unless God is revealed there can be no faith. Getting back to the issue of 'Faith' and Christ being set forth evidently among the people; I had a few passages of scripture come to mind as I was meditating on these things. The one deals with the woman at the well in John 4 and how the revelation of her life by Christ revealed in her the reality of Christ. It is as though when our Lord manifest this woman’s life a light went on inside her and she ‘perceived’ that He was a prophet. The longer He spoke the greater the light became and she then considered that He might be the Christ. As He manifest ‘her’ to ‘her’- He manifest Himself to her.Here we see the results:Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ? Then they went out of the city, and came unto him (v. 29-30). The other is in the Old Testament and deals with the revelation of Sarah laughing and the Lord hearing it. When she was confronted by the Angel she denied it. Yet what did he say to her; nay, but thou didst laugh. I believe that this sealed her faith in God like nothing else could have. It is the most comforting rebuke that a human being could possibly experience. It is as if Sarah could say, “yea I didst laugh and so too I shall have a child in mine old age.” The revelation of her heart was a revelation of God to her. When God revealed her to her- He revealed Himself to her.So too then we must have the manifestation of God in our midst in some real prophetic way. We often think of the Corinthian church as carnal- and yet when was the last time someone came into a meeting of ours and fell on his face knowing the God was among us based upon the revelation of his life before God. Here we read:But if all prophesy, and there come in one that believeth not, or one unlearned, he is convinced of all, he is judged of all: And thus are the secrets of his heart made manifest; and so falling down on his face he will worship God, and report that God is in you of a truth. (I Corinthians 14:24-25). I don't mean to blur two different threads here- but it seems evident that faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word (rhema) of God. God used a few different means in the above illustrations to accomplish the same end. He 'manifested' the person to the person and in so doing manifested Himself to them. These are personal encounters with God that cannot be ignored- only resisted. The individual walks away knowing that God has dealt with them. I believe that this is the great missing element in our evangelism efforts. The question is; "Is Christ set forth evidently among the people?" Is their verifiable 'evidence' that God is among us?God Bless,-Robert

Oh most definitely you are right on target RobertW.But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: [John 1:12]This was the original scripture that this thread is meditating upon, and asking 'Believe means what, exactly?' The following Scripture has many elements of this as well; don't you think?:The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe. And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.Joh 20:25-31 In Jesus.A.:-P

But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: [John 1:12]To confess (hom-logeo)what the Word of God states concerning our sin and His Christ.I was thinking on Abraham. The scripture states that he believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness. Oft times in his life he did not live like he believed God, absence of faith, so to speak. After chpt 20..... something happened, he started living his faith manifested.preacher_ish

Could it be that because Christ is not set forth evidently among the people that the whole message has to be altered and manipulated in order to get folks to 'respond.' For example; to present God as a God of holiness without some sort of demonstration of His majesty would yield 'pharisee' converts. There are not many people n that line in this generation- so the message gets watered down because there is no demonstration of God's majesty in order to encounter the one whom they are being asked to come into covenant with. What happens? The terms of the covenant are watered down in direct proportion to the absence of His majesty. And we wonder why there are so few converts?God Bless,-Robert

Oh you are so right on target, RobertW.'Could it be that because Christ is not set forth evidently among the people that the whole message has to be altered and manipulated in order to get folks to 'respond.'I was washing dishes and thinking and listening to Tozer on the mp3 player. 'Why some can't receive the Holy Spirit.' It is evident that though man changes the Gospel, God does not change his standard. I have this strong conviction inside me that the term 'believe' in context [John 1:12} means a complete surrender of the will to Jesus Christ. Philippians 2:9-11[check this text]I think it is time to reel in the big guns, you know the old commentaries etc....The older the better, does anyone have a commentary of this by Martin Luther, or Erasmus. Or older.... Oh we are so lost without proper understanding. Lord, open the eyes of my heart.Here we go,In Jesus.A.:-P