Spiritual laws of faith - part I

Originally I intended to leave the general paradigm of the sovereignty of God and the laws of faith this week and start dealing with another faulty paradigm. But during the week I got a message from one of my nephews who is reading my blog, with a theological question. That was really encouraging. Before I continue, I would like to take some time and thank all my readers for your interest and encouragement. On Friday I was at a Christian meeting where a few people told me that they were reading my blog and getting blessed by it. That was very encouraging.

A question from my nephew

So here’s the question I was asked by my nephew. “If God has established laws in the natural realm through His word, and He does not break them, how come Joshua in the bible asked God once to keep the sun shining, so that he could finish his battle, and God actually did it and prolonged the day for several hours? (Joshua 10:12) Obviously God intervened in the “normal” state of affairs and changed them for the sake of one person, who asked Him to do it. Was that an exception? Does that not contradict what I was saying about the trans-personal laws that God has established and that He himself abides by? – Thanks for that question! I’m glad you asked!

The spiritual trumps the physical

God’s word tells us, that the physical laws that God has created are actually not absolute in the sense that they are “unbreakable”. (Einstein discovered the same principle – the relativity theory. But that’s another day’s work). Although the physical laws are very reliable and always relevant, they are subject to influence from the spiritual realm. God is spirit and He created the physical world out of the spiritual realm. And the spiritual laws are of a higher order than the physical. They can actually overcome or transcend the physical laws. But that does not happen haphazardly. It is also always very ordered and according to a higher law that “overcomes” the lower law.

Even in the physical realm we can overcome one law by effectively applying another. The law of gravity is always in effect and it makes us stay on the ground. We as human beings are not able to fly and overcome the law of gravity on our own. But clever engineers discovered that by an effective use of the laws of aerodynamics we can actually overcome the law of gravity to such a degree that we can fly in an airplane. But the airplane is still operating within the confinements of the law of gravity.

God has created both the spiritual and the physical laws. But the spiritual laws are of a higher order, so that they can overcome the physical laws. In my last post I told the story of a boy in India who was electrocuted accidentally by touching a live wire. But that was not the end of the story. A lady of faith was sent by the pastor to pray over the dead body of the boy, and after a few hours the boy was brought back to life. This is one example of a physical law clearly overcome by a spiritual law.

The miracles of Jesus and the disciples

The miracles that Jesus and the disciples performed were clear examples of physical laws that were overcome by spiritual laws. Jesus could walk on water, and Peter did it too. That is clearly not possible within the confinements of just the physical order of things. They did it by way of the spiritual order overcoming the physical. The multiplying of food, turning water into wine, healing diseases and infirmities by just speaking or laying on of hands are all examples of this same principle. I used to believe, like most evangelical Christians who believe the bible, that these miracles were somehow connected to God personally governing them and willing them. But a close look at the biblical record actually reveals that these miracles were working according to trans-personal spiritual laws. Otherwise Jesus would have been very unfair and unjust to get so frustrated about His disciple’s inability to perform a miracle and heal the demon possessed boy. (Matthew 17: 14-22) If it were all down to God’s personal guidance and will, then why would Jesus rebuke them? Obviously Jesus expected them to be able to operate in the spiritual laws that would get the boy delivered by the power of God, but they could not do it this time.

Spiritual laws of faith

According to the biblical world view there is a real, consistent spiritual world that permeates the physical world. God is Spirit and He created the physical universe by His word. (Genesis 1-2/John 1:1-14). Now the Christians are not the only ones who believe that. Most if not all religions of the world believe that the spiritual world exists and that it can be accessed in some way or another. New Age people, Neo-pagans as well as people who practice witchcraft and worship Satan also strongly believe in the existence of the spiritual world. Some of them are able to perform acts of miraculous power that are quite remarkable. In the bible we are told that the sorcerers of Egypt were able to mimic some of the divine miracles that Moses and Aaron performed by way of their magic spells (Genesis 7 and the following chapters). So how can we know the truth about the spiritual world and the God-given laws that govern it?

God’s Word as the only true guide

There is only one source that will guide us correctly in relation to God and the spiritual world. And that is the Bible, the living Word of God. The bible is the revelation of God’s truth, of how things really are in the spiritual realm (John 17:17). Well, some of my readers of a non-Christian persuasion (if there are any) may say, “How do you know? What gives you the right to elevate the bible above all the other sources of knowledge about the spiritual world? Is it not just down to believing? You believe the bible and I believe my stuff. There is no way of knowing for sure who is right and who is wrong.” – This is not so. The bible is true, because what it says about God, His love, His power and might actually does WORK in real life. It can be validated by people’s experience. And the spiritual power that comes from God to people through the bible is higher than any other. BUT they have to learn how to appropriate it and apply it in faith. It does not work automatically. No sorcerer, Satanist, or adherent of any religion on the face of the earth can make a similar claim and prove it. 

In the bible we read that the sorcerers of Egypt had to admit that the Power of God was superior to their power (Exodus 9:11). The prophet Elijah actually challenged the adherents of the pagan religion of Baal along these lines. He said to them: “Let’s have a competition. The God who answers with fire from heaven and actually does something in answer to prayer is the true God.” And God honored his faith and sent fire from heaven and consumed the offering. (1 Kings 18) I am very tempted to tell you modern day stories that prove that principle. But the space is limited, so I will have to restrain myself. I just wanted to establish this principle that the only legitimate and valid way for us Christians  (and for every human being) to ever learn anything about the spiritual world and the laws that govern it is the bible. 

In the bible God strongly forbids and warns His people about trying to access the spiritual world in any other way. Why? - Because it is very dangerous and harmful, and it leads into all kinds of errors and deceptions. (Leviticus 19:26  etc.) Not everything that is supernatural and works is actually of God. There is an evil force active in the spiritual world that has the goal to deceive and lead people astray. The devil has the agenda to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10), and he can appear as an angel of light, trying to persuade people that he is actually the good guy (2 Corinthians 11:14). His most successful lie is to say that all religions are the same, all “spirituality” is good, and there is no absolute truth, just go for what you feel best about. The bible says it very differently: There is one true God, revealed to us as the Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. He is absolute. His word is absolute truth. Jesus, the Son of God, is the “way, the truth and the life, No one comes to the Father except through HIM.” (John 14:6) – Having established that, let’s have a look at some spiritual laws that are revealed to us in the bible.

Spiritual laws revealed in the bible

The main spiritual principle in the bible is the principle of FAITH. Faith is the most important “spiritual law” that governs the way we relate to God and the spiritual realm. The apostle Paul calls it the “law of the Spirit of life” (Romans 8:2). In the book of Hebrews Faith is defined as “confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” (Hebrews 11:1) In verse 6 of the same chapter it is stated that “Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” This is a trans-personal principle that applies to everybody. As human beings we can only relate to God through faith, through believing Him. This is the first dilemma that we are confronted with: How can we believe someone whom we don’t see? How can we be assured about things we don’t see? In human terms this is impossible. We cannot make ourselves believe. We have to receive faith as a gift. And this is exactly what the bible as the Word of God does – it works faith in a person. “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. “ (Romans 8:17) True faith in God is impossible without the Word of God. We need to first hear or read it, then the Holy Spirit quickens it to us, so that it generates faith in us. Only then are we in a position to respond to God. That’s why it is so important to share the word of God with people. It is like a seed that has power in itself to grow and transform a person’s life. The word of God works faith.

Now the post has gotten really long. I will have to come back to this topic in my next post and write about the actual spiritual laws that we find in the bible. How did the people perform the miracles? How did Joshua get the sun to continue to shine? How did Elijah call fire down from heaven and raise a boy from the dead? How did Jesus and His disciples perform their miracles? – They all applied faith.  So next week I hope to be able to expand these principles or laws of faith in the bible. Be blessed and encouraged, everybody! Until next week.