Wednesday: The Faith of Christ
Daily Lesson for Wednesday 4th of February 2026
Paul’s main point must not be missed. There was a wonderful exchange that he experienced on the Damascus road, trading his old, law-based life for the presence of Christ Himself—“that I may gain Christ and be found in Him” (Philippians 3:8-9, NKJV).
To be found “in Him,” that is, in Christ, is an interesting expression. Read Ephesians 1:4, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Colossians 2:9, and Galatians 2:20. Based on these passages, what do you think Paul means by this idea?
Image © Kevin Carden at Goodsalt.com
Paul’s reference to being in Christ has been widely discussed. Not surprisingly, perhaps the best explanation of it comes from Paul himself: “That in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him” (Ephesians 1:10, NKJV). That has been God’s purpose from the start. And Paul makes clear how that happens: “You are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption” (1 Corinthians 1:30, NKJV).
Being “in Christ” comprehends everything that the plan of salvation encompasses, from the dawning of our spiritual intelligence (wisdom), to justification by faith (righteousness), to preparation for heaven (sanctification), and finally to glorification at the Second Advent (redemption). Salvation is Christ’s work from start to finish—for us and in us. Thus, by gaining Christ, we have everything we need.
Read Philippians 3:9. What two things does Paul contrast, and why is this contrast important to always remember?
As Paul came to realize, having one’s “own righteousness” is not real righteousness because the law cannot give life (see Galatians 3:21-22); only Christ can, through faith. And not just any faith. After all, the devils believe and tremble (James 2:19). The only saving faith is “the faith of Christ.” Only His faith has obeyed fully and can obey. (The Greek word for faith, pistis, also means faithfulness.) So, if we are in Christ and He lives in us (Galatians 2:20), then we live by His faith through our faith in Him.
Paul uses the phrase “In Christ” or similar about 100 times in his epistles. What did he mean? I think an illustration is called for.
A few days ago I was out photographing birds when I noticed a large passenger plane flying over. It was low enough so that I could that it was an American Airlines Boeing 777 and a quick check told me that it was enroute between Sydney and Los Angeles. I know quite a bit about these planes. On a flight between Sydney and Los Angeles they burn about 140,000 litres of fuel. For comparison, my Mazda CX-5 holds about 45 litres of fuel. They typically have a crew of 4 pilots on long-haul flights and a cabin crew of 12-15. They carry between 350 and 400 passengers.
I have been in a Boeing 777 plane flying between Sydney and Los Angeles. And I have to say that being in one is a very different experience to standing stationary on the ground watching one fly over and quoting its vital statistics. The plane does the work, but we must be in it to get anywhere!
Does that comparison give you some idea of what Paul meant when he used the phrase “In Christ”? Paul describes “In Christ” as a participatory experience, not as an exercise in description. “In Christ” is about going somewhere, a sense of direction, and a purpose. It is the real thing, and not just a static display.
What is the difference between the “faith of Jesus” and “faith in Jesus”? Which one saves us?
The “faith of Jesus” means Jesus’s own faith which took Him to the cross. Jesus trusted His Father completely to the point He died for sake of mankind.“Not my will, but Yours be done.” (Luke 22:42). Jesus’s unwavering trust, commitment and loyalty to die on the cross is what yielded salvation for mankind. What Jesus did for us by His faithfulness, obedience to His Father to the point of death is what rescued mankind from eternal destruction. Therefore, the faith that Jesus had in what He was doing is what brought salvation.
Faith in Jesus is our trust (faith)t in what Jesus has done for us. for us. This is our response to accept the faith of Jesus. This is our acceptance of what Jesus did for us on the cross as the remission of our sins. Faith in Jesus is our declaration to surrender our lives to Jesus to save us. Therefore, faith in Jesus is a personal act of authorising Jesus to transform us into His own likeness. In essence, faith of Jesus saves and faith in Jesus receives the salvation. We can conclude by saying that we are saved by the faith of Jesus and not the strength of our faith. In other words, the faith of Jesus causes salvation and faith in Jesus is the means to receive that salvation.
This is a beautiful illustration of what it means to have the Faith of Jesus and to have faith in Jesus, thank you for helping me to understand this concept!
Habakkuk 2:4b provides two translations: “The righteous will live by his faith”, and, “The righteous will live by His faithfulness.”
Well put my brother.
Christ is the answer to all of our challenges! He is the beginning and the end, He is all in all. From the perspective of Christ’s companionship, life takes on a different meaning. May we walk with Him today!
In Jesus Christ, our faith in God is solidified. That’s why salvation by faith also means that we rests our faith in Jesus’.
Jesus’s faith in His Father to accept the sacrifice of His life to save us is what makes salvation possible for us. Therefore, we can only be saved by accepting Jesus, through faith, as the righteousness of God, for our salvation.
Without the faith of Jesus, we would have no way to be saved. So, all in all, all our hope for salvation is in Christ, because we have no righteousness of our own. We have faith, only because of His faith in His Father to see us through His righteousness.
Our righteousness is in Christ alone and our faith to receive that righteousness comes only from Christ. It’s a gift, we as sinful human beings can only accept by the faith, made possible by Christ Himself. Christ is our only hope of experiencing the glory of God.
“So, if we are in Christ and He lives in us, then we live by His faith through our faith in Him.” This lesson addresses ‘Faith’, but it does not address what leads us to live by faith.
I consider Paul having experienced ‘living by faith’ twice – faith in his own efforts to achieve righteousness, and ‘living by faith’ through believing that Jesus Christ’s faith accomplished for us what we can not do for ourself through works – Eph.2:8-9.
Can love for God lead out in both ways? Paul certainly was zealously defending God’s Law, expressing His love for Him while doing so. He might have been afraid that his world would be turned upside down by the followers of Jesus – undermining what he so jealously guarded – Acts 26:14.
Jesus knew that Saul loved God and chose him to to teach others the right Way to express this love. But he needed him to embrace a new understanding of how to love God rightly – loving God by loving His Son instead of by defending His Law.
Though both ways express love for God, only one is the Way God established for us – faith, inherent in the love one has for God, and expressed by trusting His Son with our life – faith based on trusting God to have chosen the right Way to work out our salvation by Grace through faith – Phil.2:12.
I like the illustration of our travel in jets. It gives us a better picture of in Christ which is another way of stating righteousness by faith alone.
Let’s say you are sitting in row B of ABC. You may have the opportunity to let your light shine to both, but sharing your faith in word may come only on the right of you.
Matthew 5:16, ESV. “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”
Since we are in Him, we listen to the Holy Spirit prompt us when to talk to our fellow passengers about Christ or just get to know the person, be friendly and smile is all you may have the opportunity to talk about. It is called earning the right to share your faith(the love of God)with others. Ephesians 6:19.
What is our motive to be in Christ. Yes, it does have a lot to do with our beliefs, and our faith in Christ. Paul reminds us believers that we were redeemed or chosen in Christ if you prefer before we were converted. Ephesians 1:4-10. Let’s not get off the plane on our 1st stop or layover. Yes, there is not that chance on a non-stop flight.
God bless you Maurice for putting on our thinking caps again. 🙏