SOME BASICS OF FAITH-A very brief Summary
By Bernard Gowens

        The subject of faith has varied uses in different contexts of Scripture. Faith given in regeneration (e.g., Eph. 2:8) is an intrinsic faith -- a faith that is inborn in one at the time of the new birth. It is by this intrinsic faith that one is made to know God. Before the new birth, one does not have faith in any Scriptural sense (2 Thes. 3:2). Imparted (and/or implanted) intrinsic faith is that which is given by God to every one who is regenerated and at the very time of his/her regeneration (Rom. 12:3). This intrinsic faith is a responsive faith, one that reciprocally responds to God at the very point of receiving the effectual call in the new birth. This faith is received by God's child involuntarily, i.e., without the works and efforts of the creature. Regeneration is the effectual call of God (2 Tim. 1:9) to the covenant object of God’s love, a calling out of a death state in sin to a life in Christ Jesus. The God-given intrinsic faith in the new-born creature is that innate faith that responds by answering God to His holy call in regeneration. This is to say that in a life-speaking Voice, God calls His love-object in the new birth, and in His act of regeneration, God instantaneously and immediately imparts faith innately, and that implanted faith then given in the soul answers God's effectual call below the level of the elect's consciousness. This 'answer' is performed by the renewed soul’s responding faith, delivering the message back to God that “Divine life and knowledge of Thee is immediately received”. In a word, this faith responds involuntarily on the part of the creature by the Spirit of God’s Son in our hearts crying Abba, Father (Gal. 4:6). This ethereal faith is the instantaneous and perpetual testimony in the soul that the Divine Call of God is in fact effectual. The "washed" and “renewed” person (Tit. 3:5), established by grace via regeneration in an object of God’s love, thus responds to God through innate faith (i.e., below the level of intellectual cognizance). Such can indeed transpire, because the elect has been made willing in the day of God’s power (Psa. 110:3). (Regeneration is certainly a day of God's power. By this act, one is delivered vitally from the power of sin and the guilt of it.) It is thus that this ‘responding’ faith functions below the level of a regenerate’s consciousness. This intrinsic faith is given in the instantaneous and immediate act of the Spirit’s imparting eternal life to the object of God’s love. Every elect of God, the infant and the adult alike, when born again, is in possession of this particular faith. Thus, salvation comes vitally to the object of God’s love in regeneration by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8). The soul is immediately taught to know God through this spiritually intrinsic faith. This intrinsic faith is inborn-faith, innately existing at the very point of the new birth. This salvation -- this grace through faith -- is eternally unconditional and involuntary on the part of the recipient elect, unlike that of Gospel (evangelical) faith.
        It has been stated by certain scientific researchers and by men of those particular kinds of empirical specialties that a normally new born infant knows its mother at birth for it has been conceived in her womb for many months. Therefore, they say, it is intrinsically familiar with her smell, certain of her mood swings, and her voice. This particular knowledge about an infant's mother is thus innate in the normal newly born infant. But the infant must be born (separated from the womb) before it can actually see her, for it to progressively and cognitionally learn her name, and to consciously and incrementally learn about her, and to sentiently learn from her teachings. On the other hand, this new born babe does not have this intrinsic (innate) knowledge of its biological father. After birth, the infant must learn his father's smell, his mood swings, his voice, etc.
        The newly born elect of God immediately (i.e., at the very point of regeneration) intimately knows and loves God from the heart the very lightening moment it is born, like that of Saul of Tarsus (Acts 9). This intimate knowledge is through God's gift of intrinsic faith (Eph. 2:8). This faith becomes innate with the one at the very point when he/she is born from above, of God. This new birth is immediate, meaning that it occurs without any human instrumentality or of any external means outside of God whatsoever. The new birth is an eternal deliverance that occurs without any help of man in any way, and even occurs without the preaching of the Gospel being used as an instrument. Regeneration is the vital application of Christ's righteousness (as contrasted to legal imputation, which imputation occurred forensically by way of Christ's death and righteousness on the cross). The application of eternal salvation (i.e. of Christ's righteousness) is eternal life vitally applied to a person of the elect. Intrinsic faith is freely given in regeneration below that level of a person's consciousness. Therefore, this aspect of faith is subconscious -- innate within the soul's new creation. It is below the level of, and antecedent to, one's intellectual cognizance.
        On the other hand, within the “time-salvation” subject taught in Romans 10:17, the italicized word cometh means (in context) "stirred to action", or "is made to grow", or "is made manifest" by the preached word. This aspect of faith, then, has reference to "Gospel" or "evangelical" faith and is 'cognitional faith'. In a word, this faith is a regenerate's 'spiritual intellectual consciousness', which may be exercised in the process of acquiring and growing one in knowledge about spiritual things with the evidence provided by the Gospel word of God. It is by this Gospel- or evangelical- faith that a regenerate person is made to know about God and what He has done for us in obtaining salvation for us. Thus, this evangelical faith denotes a “day” salvation (Isa. 49:8, Exo. 14:13, 1 Sam. 11:13, 1 Chron. 16:23, Psa. 71:15, Psa. 96:2, Isa. 25:9, Isa. 26:1, Lk. 19:9, 1 Thes. 5:8), a “now” salvation (1 Pet. 3:21, Rom. 13:11, Phil. 2:12, Rev. 12:10), a “time” salvation (2 Cor. 6:2, Isa. 33:2, Isa. 49:8, Rom. 13:11). This timely phase of salvation is a temporal salvation – a receiving of God’s blessings in the conditional performance of a regenerate’s operation of one’s Gospel-faith. This evangelical faith is manifested by one’s righteous works (James 2:17,18).
        Gospel faith (which is an aspect of faith, a growing faith, outside the context of Ephesians 2:8) comes conditionally on the part of the recipient -- i.e., conditioned on one’s hearing, believing, and obeying the Gospel. One's Gospel faith is that which is externally publicized by his/her works before the courtroom of people (James 2:17,18). Gospel faith is a "timely", "daily", and “now" manifestation of temporal salvation. Only a remnant out of the entire circle of God's elect people will receive and manifest the 'operations' of this Gospel/evangelical faith during this "time" world.
        After the new birth is implemented by God, then when one hears the evangelical proclamation of the Gospel body of faith (see Jude 1:3), Gospel faith becomes the conduit by which one is taught intellectually to know about God. Thus, one is enabled to grow in grace and knowledge of the truth (2 Pet. 3:18). This intellectual knowledge about God is revealed by the Spirit of God’s wisdom (1 Cor. 2:10-14), which knowledge is provided through the preaching, the study, and meditating upon His inspired, revealed, and preserved word. This, then, provides a justification by faith in the court of the regenerate's own conscience (Rom. 5:1) and brings vividly to one's intellectual cognizance the blessed assurance of one’s eternal salvation -- not the application of it – but the evidentiary assurance of it. This blessed assurance of one’s eternal salvation, then, ‘should’ promote obedience and godliness during one's temporal life. (However, not every regenerate person becomes ‘justified-by-faith’ in his/her own conscience and, thus, falls far short of publicly glorifying God for His graces and mercies.) Conditionally, on the regenerate’s part, this is called temporal or "time" salvation (see 2 Cor. 6:2). One’s growth in Gospel faith will provide assurance of eternal salvation; whereas, regeneration of the soul and the material bodily resurrection provide the complete application of eternal salvation to every one of God's elect. Conclusively, eternal sonship and temporal discipleship are two distinct salvations. So many, many, many, of God’s children miss the temporal discipleship of conditional time salvation.
        The preached word epitomizes and exemplifies differing degrees of evangelical faith as regenerates may be hearers and believers of the Gospel, the results of which manifest diversities of gifts. Romans 12:6 says, "Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith." Perhaps every regenerate has the same "measure" of intrinsic faith, but the Gospel provides to its hearers various proportions of faith (proportions means a part in consideration of the whole). Evangelically or Gospelly, not every regenerate has the same proportion of faith. Not all regenerates have the privilege of hearing and believing the Gospel.
        In summary and in panorama, I perceive three principle aspects or virtues of faith. I call these the three "O's" of faith. The "Origin" of faith, of which God Himself is the origin; the "Object" of faith, Who is Christ Jesus our Lord and Redeeming Saviour; and the "Operations" of faith which is the faithful functionalities in the temporal activities of a child of God. Sometimes, Scripture speaks of faith's Origin; often of faith's Object (Christ); and frequently of faith's Operations by the disciples of Christ Jesus. Understanding these distinctive virtues of faith helps one to rightly divide the word of truth (2 Tim.2:15) and to earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints (Jude 3).
        Intrinsic/’regeneration-in-born’ faith gives an elect the internal (below cognizant) KNOWLEDGE Of God—i.e., by regeneration an elect is made to KNOW God (cf. John 17:2-3). Again, in regeneration, God’s gift of faith is the GIFT to KNOW God from within one’s heart. Gospel/evangelical faith, intellectually--with cognizance--teaches a previously regenerated person ABOUT God, and ABOUT the faithfulness of God and ABOUT His complete workings Who purposed to accomplish His everlasting will. “…yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it” (Isa. 46:11).

May God richly bless His truths to our understanding in love and respect of each other,

Bernard Gowens
September 10, 2002