Christmas Family Devotional Guide

Jesus—the Author and Perfecter of Our Faith

“The author and finisher of our faith” does not speak only of our faith in Jesus for salvation; neither does it point only to faith that keeps and perfects us. All believers are predestined to be conformed to the image of God’s dear Son—but the statement here goes much further than that.

Jesus is the author of faith, He is the object of our faith—but He Himself also practiced faith of which He is the author. God the Son trusted God the Father before His incarnation, even before the creation of the world. It is inconceivable that the Son who was in the bosom of the Father should ever distrust the Father. There could never have been a moment in the eternity behind us when the Son did not fully trust the Father.

Therefore, Jesus was the originator of the principle of faith. He perfected faith, and put perfect faith on display when He surrendered His position in the bosom of the Father, when He gave up His original glory with the Father and stepped down to a body made like unto sinful men. In that body He demonstrated perfect faith in God by walking on earth as man, totally dependent upon God in all things. The Son who was in the bosom of the Father (John 1:18) was the first to trust the Father, and thus He became the author (the originator) of faith.

While Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, facing the cup He was to drink, He endured such agony of soul that His perspiration became “as it were great drops of blood.” He cried out, “Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done! (Luke 22:39-44). In this prayer, Jesus demonstrated unshakable faith in the Father. He knew the Father would do what was eternally best. He thereby testified to His faith in God the Father and become the author of saving, trusting, keeping, delivering and rewarding faith.

On the cross, the Lord Jesus Christ demonstrated faith in its highest conceivable development. It was on the cross that He perfected faith, for no higher faith could ever be demonstrated. He cried out, “It is finished!” In other words, “The victory is won. Redemption’s price is fully paid. It is accomplished!” No other person in heaven or on earth has ever exercised such perfect faith as did Jesus on the cross. There, He brought faith to the point of absolute perfection.

John wants us to understand that he knows what he is talking about: “We have seen and heard this message—that which was from the beginning, THE WORD OF LIFE; and we declare unto you what we have seen and heard, that you may have fellowship with us. (And our fellowship is with God the Father and with the only begotten Son, Jesus Christ). And these things write we unto you, THAT YOUR JOY MAY BE FULL.”

“This then is the message. . . that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.” With God there is no such thing as twilight, no such thing as semi-darkness. God is blazing light—no shadows; and “if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin!”

But let us go a step further: “He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth no God hath made Him a liar; because he believeth that the record that God gave of His Son. AND THIS IS THE RECORD, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and He that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; THAT YE MAY KNOW that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us: And if we know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him.” (I John 5:10-15)

Now what do we have? The MESSAGE is: “God is light, in Him is no darkness, and the blood of Jesus cleanes us from all sin.” The RECORD is: “God has given us eternal life, and the life God gives is in His Son.”

If we have the Son, we have life; and these things are written that we may KNOW that we have eternal life, and that we may have confidence in Him, knowing that if we ask anything according to His will He will hear us; and if He hears us, then we know that we have the petitions we desire of Him.

To refuse to believe these truths is to make God a liar! With such promises and such assurance laid down by Him who cannot lie, why should a believer ever doubt, worry, be anxious, or fear and fret?