Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
….another faith by the same Spirit, - 1 Cor 12:4-7,9
Gift of Faith
Faith; what is it; who has it; and how do you get it? The definition according to Hebrews 11:1 is
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
The word hope used here and in most of scripture is not the same as the word we use today. We tell people “I hope you feel better,” or “I hope you have a nice day.” Children say “I hope I get what I want for Christmas.” Webster’s dictionary defines this word hope as
A desire of some good, accompanied with at least a slight expectation of obtaining it, or a belief that it is obtainable.
The biblical word hope indicates more than a slight expectation of obtaining it, but rather complete trust, fully expecting to obtain it. Faith gives us the assurance, the confidence, that what we hope for, or trust in, will be obtained. A great example is salvation. Salvation is a basic, fundamental doctrine of Christianity. We have faith, that is we completely trust in the fact that we have eternal life through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; - Eph 2:8
So how does one obtain faith? According to the bible:
So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. – Rom 10:17 NKJV
So faith comes by hearing the word of God. Does this mean that everyone who hears the word of God will have faith? No. Remember the parable Jesus told about the sower?
Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: “Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” – Matt 13:3-9
