The Faith of the Son: Love, Suffering, and the Economy of Heaven

A man's faith is the direct mirror of his soul. It is a fundamental law of the spiritual realm that what you use your faith to pursue reveals what you truly love. Faith is not a neutral tool used in a vacuum; it is an engine driven by affection. If a man loves money, his faith will be spent entirely on the acquisition of wealth. If a man loves the world, his faith will be channeled into securing earthly fame, temporal safety, and human recognition. Where the treasure of the heart lies, the energy of faith will inevitably flow.

When Jesus Christ walked the earth, His faith was entirely distinct because His love was entirely pure. Jesus loved the Father with an undivided heart, and therefore, He used His faith exclusively to receive the things of the Father and to please Him in all things. As He declared in John 8:29, "I do always those things that please him." Because Hebrews 11:6 establishes that without faith it is impossible to please God, the flawless life of Jesus was the ultimate manifestation of a faith fueled by divine love. He did not use His faith to build an earthly empire, escape the hardship of the cross, or accumulate temporal wealth. His faith was the instrument through which Heaven's heart was expressed on earth.

The Divine Invitation: Drinking from the King's Goblet

To understand the magnitude of what we have been called into, we must realize that God Himself possesses His own faith. The God who spoke the universe into existence by the word of His power operates by a realm of faith that holds all eternity together.

It is an unspeakable honor that through the Gospel, humanity is not merely invited to exercise human belief toward God, but to live by the very faith of God Himself. It is as if an earthly King has invited a commoner to sit at his royal table, handing him his exact goblet and serving him the exact meal prepared for royalty. God does not offer us a lesser, diluted form of belief; He offers us the very faith of His Son.

This is why the Apostle Paul wrote in Galatians 2:20, "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." Paul did not say he lived merely by faith in the Son, but by the faith of the Son of God. We have been invited to participate in the exact posture of trust, alignment, and authority that Jesus maintained with the Father.

The First Side of the Coin: The Suffering of Christ and the Cross

The Faith of the Son is not a shallow mechanism for painless living; it has two sides, and its primary side is the suffering of Christ and the program of the cross.

Before faith can exalt a man into glory, it must first severe him from the flesh and its corrupt lusts. True faith introduces the believer to the school of grace described in Titus 2:11–12, which teaches us that "denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world."

This process of denial and death to self is often painful. The program of the cross introduces processes that are deeply unpalatable to our natural desires. Circumstances will arise that break our pride, strip away our self-reliance, and put to death the demands of the Adamic nature. However, a crucial discernment must be made during these seasons: when we are dying the death of the cross, it is only the flesh that is truly dying.

Because we have lived in fallen human bodies for so long, we have mistakenly adopted the emotions of the flesh as our personal identity. When the flesh suffers under the discipline of the Spirit, it groans, complains, and feels sorrowful. But if we look deeper into our reborn spirit, we discover a profound reality: while the flesh is agonizing, the spirit is rejoicing. The inner man leaps for joy because it recognizes that every blow to the flesh is a step closer to eternal liberty.

Wisdom dictates that we must not allow the emotional tantrums of the dying flesh to distract us on our journey in the Faith of the Son. The pain of the flesh is not the death of our destiny; it is the execution of our prison keeper. As 1 Peter 4:1 reminds us, "Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin."

The Ultimate Triumph of the Son's Faith

Jesus endured the ultimate extremity of this path. In Hebrews 12:2, we are instructed to look unto "Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God."

Jesus did not allow the agony of Gethsemane or the physical torture of Calvary to sway His focus. His spirit was fixed on the Father's ultimate joy. By walking this path of complete surrender, He broke the power of sin, disarmed the kingdom of darkness, and opened a brand new way of life for all who believe.

When we yield to the Faith of the Son, we step out of the shallow pursuit of worldly gain and enter into the profound administration of Heaven. We stop spending our faith on temporary idols and begin spending it on the eternal will of God. Though the cross may feel heavy to the flesh, the spirit within us rejoices, knowing that as we suffer with Him, we shall also reign with Him in glory.