Faith of God or Faith in God?

"Have faith in God". (Mark 11:22 in modern English translations)

"You have faith of God" (Mark 11:22 in the original Greek)

It's pretty easy to notice the renderings of Mark 11:22 I have above, don't match.

The English translation reads as a command. The Greek, as an assertion.

These were the first words out of Jesus mouth when He responded to His disciples inquiry about how a fig tree He cursed the day before had died so quickly. They were understandably amazed by this and Jesus used their amazement to give them a lesson on speaking in faith (vs 23) and praying in faith (vs 24) that still amazes us to this day.

In fact, it's a faith lesson so amazing that Mark 11:22-24 are the only three verses in the Gospels, I know of, that turn believers into unbelievers so quickly.

There's just something about Jesus words in these verses that make people think He didn't really mean what He said. Whether that something is their commitment to a naturalistic approach to life, regardless of the fact that they say they believe a supernatural gospel. Or perhaps their Church tradition has quashed the reality that such things are for today. Or it's purported that such things were reserved for the likes of those "above normal" human disciples that supposedly existed in Jesus day. Even though the gospels make clear the disciples were actually very common and carnal men, often just a step above a bumbling clod.

In setting forth to create a series of articles to present the "other side of the coin" when it comes to the teachings of the Word of Faith movement, I'm taking the time to focus on this one verse because in the 1990's it became the setting of a battlefield. How Mark 11:22 should be translated into English became a focal point for the critics of the Word of Faith movement in their attacks on how faith was being taught within WOF circles. The critics were adamant that though it was true you could translate the original Greek, as I have it rendered above, that was not the way it should be translated and therefore those within Word of Faith were teaching faith in an incorrect way.

The teachers within Word of Faith never formally responded to the criticisms of how they taught the subject of faith but I'm going to. I want to examine what the critics were searching out in their opposition to how WOF handled Mark 11:22. The nature of faith.

There was a time when these two variations of Mark 11:22 were both noted in Bible translations. The original Greek rendering, I have above, being put into a margin note in the Bible. Though I've never owned such a Bible, I make that assertion from the testimony of Bible teachers of the past, who possessed such Bibles and from Evangelical authors of the past, who when teaching on faith, occasionally noted that there was a second option for the verse. I also understand there are some modern study Bibles that do so but I have checked over several and not found one that contains both renderings.

To discuss the Word of Faith position on this verse, I have to first examine the verse as it exists in the original Greek that we translate it from. This was the battlefield of the critics. I know it may seem yawningly technical but I assure you there's really nothing hard in understanding what the argument over this verse was about.

Jesus answer to the disciples, in Mark 11:22 is just 3 words:

"Exete (You have) pistin (faith) Theou (of God)".

The last word Theou (of God) is in the Greek Genitive Case. A case that normally expresses possession or ownership and therefore origin of what it is attached to in a sentence. The battle the critics waged over this verse is whether Theou should be translated as a Subjective Genitive or a Objective Genitive. If it is translated as a Subjective Genitive it makes God the performer of the action. In this verse, God would be the supplier of the faith the disciples possess. If it is translated as a Objective Genitive it makes God the receiver of the action. Again, in this verse, God would be the One to whom the disciples are directing their faith.

As well, if Theou is translated as a Subjective Genitive then the Greek word Exete (the words You have in "You have faith of God") would need to be expressed in the indicative mood, making Jesus' words an assertion. An assertion that His disciples already posses faith and that this faith was from God.

If Theou is translated as a Objective Genitive then the Greek word Exete (the word Have in "Have faith in God") would need to be expressed in the imperative mood, making Jesus' words a command. A command that the disciples are to direct their faith God-ward. Complimenting the fact that God is the receiver of the faith the disciples are exercising. The one who their faith is looking to.

The contention that Jesus' words in Mark 11:22 should be translated as "Have in faith in God" rather than "You have faith of God" isn't based as much on a grammatical argument as it is a theological argument. Very often theological perspective of a translator (how they understand the Christian faith) determines how a verse or passage is translated into English when a text holds the possibility of being rendered more than one way.

I state that because I want to impress upon you that there is nothing grammatically incorrect in translating Mark 11:22 "You have faith of God". It is a legitimate translation based on the Greek text. It is in fact the most literal rendering of the verse, grammatically. To make it a little less clunky in the English you could also translate it: "You have faith from God" or "You have God's faith".

Why the critics of WOF don't like that rendering of Jesus' words, and believe WOF is teaching its namesake subject the wrong way, lies within their theological perspective that God does not have or use faith. That God is only, ever, the object of faith. And from that perspective they make the studied decision that Theou (of God) is therefore an Objective Genitive and Jesus' words are a directive to the disciples that they should be resting their faith on God, who can do anything, and the outcome of the tree would not be so amazing to them.

I also want to point out that apart from "theological viewpoint" there is no hard and fast grammatical way to decide whether Theou is a Subjective Genitive or Objective Genitive, because there were no hard and fast rules of grammar to make such a distinction when the verse was penned. If you would have picked up a Greek grammar book in ancient Rome (should they have had such a thing) you would not find a chapter dedicated to Subjective and Objective Genitives. Those terms were created and established as rules of Greek grammar in the 19th century. Among those in ancient times, who spoke and wrote the Greek language, the distinction was deduced more on an intuitive level, using clues of context and word order.

Word of Faith understands and teaches Jesus' words in Mark 11:22 from the perspective of it being a Subjective Genitive. That's why Kenneth Hagin, who some call the father of the Faith Movement, would often talk about, "The God Kind of Faith". Meaning the believer's faith came from God, through a direct action by Him, and was to be utilized in the same manner in which God does. Through expression of the mouth.

Like many field ministers of his era, Kenneth Hagin never had a formal theological training nor studied the biblical languages. What he did have (and greatly appreciated later in his life) was that as a young Assemblies of God minister he, along with other young Assemblies ministers, often had the opportunity to sit under the teaching of P.C. Nelson, who was fluent in biblical Greek and Hebrew. Gifted with ability in languages, it is said Nelson became proficient in up to 25 languages. It is from P.C. Nelson that Hagin learned about the Subjective Genitive rendering of Mark 11:22 and used it as a foundation for his teachings on faith.

So, is it valid to teach Jesus' words in Mark 11:22 from a Subjective Genitive point of view?

Yes, because as I've already stated the Subjective Genitive rendering of "You have faith of God" is a legitimate translation of Jesus words. Jesus asserting to his disciples that they possess faith by virtue of an action of God to their lives. That assertion being followed up in verse 23 by Jesus showing them they could use that faith to speak as He had spoken to the fig tree and see incredible outcomes.

The first way we can affirm that Mark 11:22 can be translated as a Subjective Genitive is that It says in Romans 12:3:

"For I say through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has given to each one a measure of faith."

Paul clearly states in this verse that God gives faith. Exactly what is being contended for in the Subjective Genitive rendering of Mark 11:22. That the disciples have already been the recipients of faith and that the source of that faith was God.

In fact that is not just true for Christians. All people on earth are endowed by design of creation (Genesis 1:28) with the ability to believe. They may not (in biblical terms) believe the right thing but they are 24/7 believing something.

There is nobody that is alive on the earth, at this moment, that is believing nothing.

In point of fact, faith is used every day by every person on the earth. It is used without the slightest strain and with no religious connotations whatsoever. We use faith throughout our daily lives simply by trusting (placing faith in) the information coming to us through our five senses and acting upon that information. In WOF this is called "Sense Knowledge Faith".

For instance, you're going to a concert and you enter an auditorium filled with chairs. Without even being conscious of what you are really doing, you scan those chairs with your eyes and through the sensory data you receive you choose one of them, believing the one you've chosen can hold you. You then act on that faith by sitting down. That's faith in action. We do that same thing in a multitude of ways throughout every day of our lives. Acting upon unproven data, that comes through our senses, because we trust (believe) the sensory data we receive.

The very fact that every human being can and does do this; that we have the ability to act upon the unknown and the unproven with faith, reveals that, in some dimension, this is a reflection of our Creator and witness to the fact that God has faith. He has it in the form of self assurance. Assurance (an inner knowing) is what we recognize is present when faith is formed within our spirits.

"For with the heart one believes..." (Romans 10:10)

God possesses absolute SELF Assurance in every word He speaks and action He performs. Resting that assurance on nothing and no one but Himself.

Jesus' words to His disciples, in Mark 11:22, could be interpreted as nothing more than reminding them of the reality that they (and we also) possess by endowment of being created in God's image, a "built in" ability to believe and act in faith (used everyday on the natural level) and thus warrant the Subjective Genitive rendering of the verse.

We could stop right here but there's also a second way we can affirm that Jesus' words in Mark 11:22 can be translated as a Subjective Genitive.

When you move beyond the natural realm into the spiritual realm, that is unseen and where we cannot evaluate, believe, and act on our faith by data coming to us through the five senses, assurance must be formed by way of revelation. Light imparted to the "eyes of our heart" (Ephesians 1:17-18).

2 Corinthians 4:6 (in the context of verses 1-6) says that is how every Christian got born again.

"For it is God who commanded light to shine out of darkness who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ."

And likewise, it says of our salvation in Ephesians 2:8-9:

"For by grace you have been saved, through faith, and that not out of (ek-a preposition expressing origin) yourselves; it is the gift of God."

These verses express that the only reason you and I came out from under the blinding work of Satan is because God "gifted us" revelational light through the Word preached (Romans 10:17). Illumination from the Holy Spirit by which the eyes of our hearts could now see the reality of truths and events that we are not able to witness with our physical eyes.

When that illumination occurred, a knowing was produced within us. A knowing that caused us to "detach" our believing (for we were not believing nothing) from the lies of darkness and "attach" it to the truth of the Word revealed to us. And in that moment, we were born again. Not faith where there had never been faith but an exchange of what our faith rests upon, by virtue of the light received.

And that process of illumination is not just limited to the beginning of our faith. The prayer in Ephesians 1:15-23 shows us that we never lose the need for revelational light. It is how we grow in faith and the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

And because Jesus was (and is) the light of the world; a walking, talking, revelation of God the Father among those He was with (John 1:4-9, 1:18). And because the disciples were with Him daily, hearing Him teach, seeing Him do miracles, participating in miracles, and receiving the "mysteries of the Kingdom". They received the light of revelation (Rom 10:17) by which Jesus could say to them in Mark 11:22, "You have faith of God".

Again, we could stop here, but there is also a third way Jesus' words in Mark 11:23 could be understood from a Subjective Genitive point of view. Though this would apply to believers after Pentecost and used only in an expository way to explain yet another way in which a disciple of Jesus Christ could be said to have "faith of God".

That is by the New Testament revelation that God sometimes "gives" faith through a direct manifestation of His Spirit within the spirit of the believer.

In 1 Corinthians 12:9 Faith is listed as one of the gifts (vs 4) or manifestations (vs 7) of the Holy Spirit in a believers life. The words "But the manifestation of the Spirit..." expressed as a Subjective Genitive in verse 7. With verse 11 summing up verses 4-10 by saying:

"But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing (manifesting Himself) to (or within) each one individually as He will."

Then in Galatians 5:22, faith is listed as a fruit of the Holy Spirit that flows from God's Spirit into the believer's spirit as Vine to Branch. Going back to the picture used by Jesus in John 15.

Here it is also expressed as a Subjective Genitive. God as the source and giver of faith.

So here, in these two verses, we have "impartations" of faith from God within the believer. A Spirit to spirit transaction as Christ dwells within the believer through the Holy Spirit. Since these are direct manifestations, of the Spirit of God, it is hard to get away from the fact that God "has" and "gives" faith. Not just the creative ability to believe and act by faith. No just the gifting of revelation light, by which faith can be formed and exercised in relation to spiritual realities. But by direct impartation of the Holy Spirit.

What a direct, Spirit to spirit, impartation of faith looks like in a person is best described by an incident in the life of R.A. Torrey, a Pastor who lived in the 19th century, who took over D.L. Moody's Church, in Chicago, at the end of Moody's life.

In his book, "The Power of Prayer and the Prayer of Power", Torrey relates how he was praying for the healing of a young dentist one day and found something very unexpected happening within him. He says:

"There was a young dentist in my congregation whose father was a member of our Church. The Dentist was taken very ill with typhoid fever. He went down to the very gates of death. I went down to see him and found him unconscious. The doctor and his father were by the bedside and the doctor said to me, 'He cannot live. The crisis has passed and it has turned the wrong way. There is no possibility of his recovery'."

"I knelt down to pray and as I prayed a great confidence came into my heart-an absolute unshakeable confidence that God had heard my prayer and that the man was to be raised up. As I got up from my knees I said to the father and to the doctor, 'Eddie will get well. He will not die at this time'. The doctor smiled and said, 'That is alright Mr. Torrey from your standpoint, but he cannot live. He will die'. I replied, 'Doctor, that is alright from your standpoint. but he cannot die. He will live'."

"I went to my home. Word was soon brought to me that the young man was dying. They told me what he was doing and said that no one ever did that except when they were dying. I calmly replied, 'He is not dying. He cannot die. He will get well'. I knew he would. He did. The last I knew he was still living, and his healing took place forty to forty five years ago."

Regardless of being far removed from the Charismatic or Word of Faith movements, R.A. Torrey had a manifestation of the Spirit as a gift of faith that produced an unshakeable assurance that the man he was praying for would not die but live. Experiencing this manifestation within his spirit Torrey also, without conscious thought, exampled another aspect of Word of Faith, which I will not elaborate on in this article but simply point out. He modeled 2 Corinthians 4:13 to a tee.

 "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."

Torrey's mouth worked in perfect alignment with his heart as he declared the word of faith, to the doctor and the father at the patient's bedside, that Eddie would be healed. And then Torrey maintained a confession of his faith to all who came later to dissuade him that the man would live. He could not do otherwise. "For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks" and Torrey's heart was abundantly filled with a Holy Spirit manifestation of the gift of faith. A manifestation of God's "self assurance" within his spirit.

Now having seen that God both possesses faith (in the form of an absolute self assurance in all He says and does-directed only within Himself) and can manifest that assurance in the heart of a born again believer or produce it by gifting revelational light, let's return back to Mark 11:22-24 and close out this teaching article.

"Exete (You have) pistin (faith) Theou (of God)".

The final indication that these words of Jesus can be comfortably translated from the perspective of Theou (of God) being a Subjective Genitive is what follows in Mark 11:23, where the application of Jesus statement in verse 22 is given.

"For assuredly (amen) I say to you, whoever says to this mountain 'Be taken up and thrown into the sea', and does not doubt in his heart but believes that those things which he says happen (come to be, come into existence) he will have that which he says."

Remember, the critics position is that Jesus' words in Mark 11:22 are best translated from the perspective of Theou (of God) being an Objective Genetive because God does not have or use faith but is only, ever, the object of faith. That faith does not come from God, it goes to God. God being the One upon whom our faith rests for its fulfillment.

I have no difficulties at all acknowledging that many times in the New Testament faith is presented from the perspective that it is directed towards God. God being the One upon whom it rests to find its fulfillment. In fact, Mark 11:24 which shifts to prayer, exhibits that very dynamic.

But in Mark 11:23, the first follow up words of Jesus to his statement in 11:22, please note that the faith is not only Godward. In fact, Jesus says, it is the the words that the person is speaking that the faith is to "follow after" and "rest upon" in order to see what is spoken come to pass.

"...but believes that those things which he says happen (come to be, come into existence) he will have that which he says."

Faith following after what has been expressed is what R. A. Torrey exampled after praying for the young dentist. Ultimately it will be the Spirit of the Lord within the believer that brings the words to pass but until that is accomplished Jesus said the faith expressed is to rest upon the words spoken, while also resting the performing of the action itself, within the hands of the Lord. Ours is the saying part, His is the doing part.

Because of that reality there is a sense in which the distinction of Subjective Genitive or Objective Genitive is something of a "either, or" fallacy when surrounding the subject of faith. A false dichotomy presented by the critics of Word of Faith where only one option was the right option and that option was their own.

Yes, the words of Jesus must finally be rendered in one sense or the other and yes that rendering should be done according to the best understanding of the translator. However, when we talk of faith, that "inner knowing" we call "assurance" which we have seen the Bible clearly establishes as produced by a gift of God in our lives; that assurance will most certainly put our eyes upon the Lord Himself. And it should.

We never want to depersonalize our faith and make it something a thing unto itself. As I stated, even in Mark 11:23 where Jesus says our faith is to rest upon the words spoken out of our mouths that focus is combined with the reality that the Spirit of God Himself is going to be the one to fulfill the words. So we must not back off or be dissuaded from what we have spoken while at the same time resting in the confidence that the Spirit of God is bringing it to pass. The assurance of our heart recognizing both realities and erasing what seems like a contradiction.

May you be blessed.