What Faith Won't (Or So The Bible Says)

If there were anyone able to teach The Church, both ancient & modern, concerning faith in God, surely it would be The Lord Jesus Christ Himself. I believe this to be so. Therefore, we need to treat His methodology & doctrine as a masterclass. What Jesus taught on faith runs contrary to the teaching of word of faith advocates. Of that I have no doubt. The Lord did not say the things that this abhorrent movement claims He said about faith. I can still count the bruises that run up & down my left leg, where I have continually kicked myself for ever being drawn into such a stream of falsehood. Don’t misunderstand me. No one forced me to believe what I was being taught & no one strongarmed me into saying or doing the things that I said & did. I had to have my eyes opened & I had to acknowledge the fact that I had been deceived. This affected me in two primary ways. The first, was me being brought to a place of repentance. The second, is what I do here & now.

The Church has been lied to, but not by God. It is impossible for Him to lie (Numbers 23:19, Titus 1:2). The Church has been deceived, but not by Christ. He warned us against deception. He is the truth. (John 14:6, Ephesians 4:21). The Church has been led astray, but not by The Holy Spirit. He leads us into all truth (John 15:26 & 16:13). Who then has lied to us, deceived us & led us astray? An enemy has done this & his chief agency has been certain men. Paul warned the elders in Ephesus of the wolves who would arise from among their own ranks after his departure. Men who would not spare the flock (Acts 20:19-31). He identifies them as enemies of the cross (Philippians 3:18-19).

13-15 For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no great surprise if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will be according to their works. (2^nd Corinthians 11:13-15).

1-3 There were indeed false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, and will bring swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their depraved ways, and the way of truth will be maligned because of them. They will exploit you in their greed with made-up stories. Their condemnation, pronounced long ago, is not idle, and their destruction does not sleep. (2^nd Peter 2:1-3). 

4 For some people, who were designated for this judgment long ago, have come in by stealth; they are ungodly, turning the grace of our God into sensuality and denying Jesus Christ, our only Master and Lord. (Jude 4).

This surely highlights the need for believers to come to know The Scriptures & their Divine Author intimately. If we do not engage in this process as part of genuine discipleship, we will be exposed to error. Paul told Timothy that the words of Our Lord Jesus Christ are wholesome words (1^st Timothy 6:3). The Apostle instructed him 13 “Hold on to the pattern of sound teaching that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.” (2^nd Timothy 1:13). Word of faith rhetoric is not sound. It is not wholesome. Their teachings are not the words of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Their doctrine is false. It is insidious. It is poisonous. Yet countless millions blindly adhere to the word of faith. Let’s look at another twisted foundation in their flawed teaching; the belief that you can have what you say.

22 Jesus replied to them, “Have faith in God. (Mark 11:22).

I am not a grammarian, nor am I a theologian, but I can read. In this verse we hear what Jesus said; but what did He mean? Have faith in God seems pretty straight forward to me. God is the One in Whom we are to place our trust. That makes Him both originator & object of our faith. The Church had believed this for centuries, until the word of faith began to be taught extensively. Suddenly, there was a new clarity being brought to these seemingly obscure words of Christ. Little did The Church know, realize or even care that this new light was actually new thought, sprinkled with a hint of new age. Its introduction was subtle.

“Let us focus our attention on the statement, ‘Have faith in God’ (v. 22) or, as the margin reads, "Have the faith of God." Greek scholars tell us this could have been translated, Have the God kind of faith.”

Kenneth E. Hagin, Exceedingly Growing Faith, Copyright © 1983 RHEMA Bible Church AKA Kenneth Hagin Ministries, Inc.

This statement is patently false. The author is mistaken at best, or a blatant liar at worst. Whereas it is true that the margins of some Bibles do have the alternative rendering ‘..faith of God’, it is not true that ‘Greek scholars tell us this could have been translated, Have the God kind of faith’. Which scholars tell us this? Weust? Swete? Worrel? Kittle? Lightfoot? This is a rather slick trick & a smooth bait & switch. Those holding to the ‘God kind of faith’ theory have no doubt gone to the writings of A. T. Robertson, who said the following.

“Thus Mark 11:22 exete pistin theou we rightly translate ‘have faith in God,’ though the genitive does not mean ‘in,’ but only the God kind of faith.”

A. T. Robertson., A Grammar of the Greek New Testament In the Light of Historical Research. (emphasis added)

Robertson is my go-to guy for Greek grammar. His works are a great read. It’s important to remember that here, he is describing the use of what is called the objective genitive. He is not discussing the subject of faith as taught by modern word of faith protagonists. Neither is he confirming the blasphemous belief that God possesses faith. It is a supreme trust in Almighty God. It is a faith of that kind. Well, it has been said that a commentary isn’t authoritative Scripture, is it? No, I wholeheartedly agree; a commentary is not authoritative Scripture. Mark 11:22 is though & Jesus said, ‘Have faith in God’. He meant what He said. Those who listen to word of faith teaching will rarely question its authenticity, because it fits the nefarious narrative that has been crafted around the subject of faith; grammar & theology go hand in hand. The translators have been faithful to the text. I maintain my belief that it is not true that ‘Greek scholars tell us this could have been translated, Have the God kind of faith’, because Robertson’s statement is misunderstood & misapplied. If we take the time to look at some English translations, we shall see this more clearly.

DRA: And Jesus answering, saith to them: Have the faith of God.

YLT: And Jesus answering saith to them, Have faith of God;

GNV: And Jesus answered, and said unto them, Have the faith of God.

RGT: And Jesus answered, and said to them, Have the faith of God.

WYC: And Jesus answered and said to them, Have ye the faith of God;

ISV: Jesus told his disciples, Have faith in God.

KJ21: And Jesus answering, said unto them, Have faith in God.

ASV: And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.

AMP: Jesus replied, Have faith in God [constantly].

AMPC: And Jesus, replying, said to them, Have faith in God [constantly].

BRG: And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.

CSB: Jesus replied to them, Have faith in God.

CEB: Jesus responded to them, Have faith in God.

CJB: He responded, Have the kind of trust that comes from God.

CEV: Jesus told his disciples: Have faith in God.

DARBY: And Jesus answering says to them, Have faith in God.

DLNT: And having responded, Jesus says to them, Be having faith in God.

ERV: Jesus answered, Have faith in God.

EHV: Jesus replied, Have faith in God.

ESV: And Jesus answered them, Have faith in God.

ESVUK: And Jesus answered them, Have faith in God.

EXB: Jesus answered, Have faith in God.

GW: Jesus said to them, Have faith in God.

GNT: Jesus answered them, Have faith in God.

HCSB: Jesus replied to them, Have faith in God.

ICB: Jesus answered, Have faith in God.

PHILLIPS: Have faith in God, replied Jesus to them.

JUB: And Jesus, answering, said unto them, Have faith in God.

AKJV: And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.

LSB: And Jesus answered and said to them, Have faith in God.

LEB: And Jesus answered and said to them, Have faith in God.

TLB: In reply Jesus said to the disciples, If you only have faith in God.

MEV: Jesus answered them, Have faith in God.

MOUNCE: And answering, Jesus said to them, Have faith in God.

NOG: Yeshua said to them, Have faith in God.

NABRE: Jesus said to them in reply, Have faith in God.

NASB: And Jesus answered and said to them, Have faith in God.

NASB1995: And Jesus answered saying to them, Have faith in God.

NCB: Jesus said to them, Have faith in God.

NCV: Jesus answered, Have faith in God.

NET: Jesus said to them, Have faith in God.

NIRV: Have faith in God, Jesus said.

NIV: Have faith in God, Jesus answered.

NIVUK: Have faith in God, Jesus answered.

NKJV: So Jesus answered and said to them, Have faith in God.

NLV: Jesus said to them, Have faith in God.

NLT: Then Jesus said to the disciples, Have faith in God.

NMB: And Jesus answered and said to them, Have confidence in God.

NRSVA: Jesus answered them, Have faith in God.

NRSVACE: Jesus answered them, Have faith in God.

NRSVCE: Jesus answered them, Have faith in God.

NRSVUE: Jesus answered them, Have faith in God.

NTFE: Have faith in God, replied Jesus.

RSV: And Jesus answered them, Have faith in God.

RSVCE: And Jesus answered them, Have faith in God.

TLV: And Yeshua answered, saying to them, Have faith in God.

WEB: Jesus answered them, Have faith in God. 

It interests me as a layman that the vast majority of translations have stayed with the words ‘Have faith in God’, while only a few have used the alternative ‘Have the faith of God’. I have never found a single genuine Bible version that translates this verse from Mark 11, using the words ‘Have the God kind of faith’. Therefore, I would hazard a guess that this is because there isn’t one. But why would anyone want to insist that ‘Have the God kind of faith’ is the correct translation of these words of Christ? Well, if they can change what He said, they can change what He meant. In the word of faith cosmos, these verses have to be made to fit snugly around Hebrews 11 & Romans 4. This doctrinal tailoring is accomplished by twisting the related passages. Faith has to be a law or a force in order to work & if the words of The Lord Jesus appear to affirm & confirm these falsehoods, there’ll be no arguing with Him. I believe that Jesus said what He meant, despite the circus tricks that our word of faith associates attempt to mesmerise their followers with. God is both originator & object of our faith. Scripture affirms this historically. Jesus taught this consistently. The Apostles taught this faithfully.

Even if we were to adopt the translation ‘Have the faith of God’, as some have rendered it, this is still a world apart from the disfigured statement ‘Have the God kind of faith’. The latter only works when it is viewed as part of a perverted faith formula. The Lord Jesus had just given His disciples an object lesson in His Divine authority & Messiahship. He said something that only He could say. He did something that only He could do. These things have to be understood in their context, not in the heretical-metaphysical-law-of-attraction-mind-science-new-age perspective that has been violently imposed upon the text.

My dear friends; we cannot simply place wings on a slug & then attempt to pass it off as a butterfly.

As a layman, I would have to conclude that the vast majority of translators have remained faithful to the rendering ‘Have faith in God’, because that is the best interpretation of what The Lord Jesus both said & meant. Also, for centuries it prevented the doctrinal downturn that the word of faith movement, among others, has so surreptitiously pushed to the fore. This is the worst kind of opportunism, equaled only by the audacity of the serpent in the garden. Our enemy’s tactics have not changed.

23 Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. (Mark 11:23). 

There you have it; you can have what you say. Jesus said so, therefore it must be true. Who in their right mind would dare to argue with The Son of God? Not me. I willingly concede that there is no debating The Lord Jesus Christ. However, I will fervently duke it out theologically with any claims that Messiah is teaching His disciples & us by extension, the principle of the power of our words. This is a lie. Henry Barclay Swete has a helpful note along these lines.

“The Twelve were crossing the Mount of Olives; below them, between the mountains of Judaea and the mountains of Moab, lay the hollow of the Dead Sea. ‘Faith, cooperating with the Divine Will, could fill yonder basin with the mass of limestone beneath their feet.’ The metaphor was in use among the Rabbis….Faith is regarded as the normal attitude of the heart, not a sudden emotion or isolated act.”

Henry Barclay Swete, Commentary on Mark’s Gospel (emphasis added).

As we look at the Gospels, we can see that this may not have been the only occasion on which The Lord sought to instruct the twelve concerning having faith in God. See Matthew 17 & 21, as well as Luke 17. The words of Christ concerning the moving of mountains would not have been totally lost on the disciples either. This designation was more common than many of us know. Herod the Great was known as a mountain mover. His palace structure, Herodium, was built to celebrate a great victory over the Parthians around 40BC & to declare Herod’s influence & might. Blokes, eh. They never change.

“Jesus was teaching against the backdrop of Herodium in the distance. Herodium was the mountain palace built by King Herod as a lavish memorial for his own fame. In pride and by oppression, Herod used slaves to artificially raise the hill of his palace to become the highest peak in the area.”

If a sinful, earthly king was able to do this, using forced slave labour, what can The King of Kings accomplish, with those who are His willing bond servants?

Jeremy Carr, Pruitt Health Foundation (emphasis added).

Distinguished Rabbis who were skilled in argumentation were also known as mountain movers or uprooters of mountains.

“However, and not insignificantly, the same expression is also used to describe Rabbi Meir Baal HaNes, one of the greatest Tanna [Tannaim; Rabbinic Sage] of the fourth generation (135-170): the Mishnah remembers him well. This confirms the use of this nickname at least three centuries before the aforementioned Talmudic references. It seems that the expression “moving mountains” (oker harim) began to apply to rabbis with great skill in the art of dialectic of Hellenistic origin, whose appearance in the land of Israel coincides with the bet Hillel (contemporary with the emergence of early Christianity), the first to use and disseminate the art of interpretation based on the fusion of hermeneutical rules of both Greek and Jewish origin. Consequently, these Talmudic texts (others could be added as well) clarify that Judaism, since the earliest times, used the appellation or circumlocution “moving, uprooting mountains” to refer to people with considerable teaching charism. In particular, the expression “mountain mover” (oker harim) designates rabbis who were able, with their art of argumentation, to change the point of view of people particularly rigid in their convictions, or immovable like a mountain.”

Pasquale Basta, Faith so as to Remove Mountains, Pontifical Urbaniana University (emphasis added)

Remember the words of The Apostle Paul to the Corinthians; 4-6 “since the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but are powerful through God for the demolition of strongholds. We demolish arguments and every proud thing that is raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to obey Christ. And we are ready to punish any disobedience, once your obedience is complete.” (2^nd Corinthians 10:4-6). Of course, Paul penned these inspired words much later than the Gospel account, but the disciples would have had other Scriptures to consider, as Jesus taught them.

6-10 But I protested, “Oh no, Lord GOD! Look, I don’t know how to speak since I am only a youth.” Then the LORD said to me: Do not say, “I am only a youth,” for you will go to everyone I send you to and speak whatever I tell you. Do not be afraid of anyone, for I will be with you to rescue you. This is the LORD’s declaration. Then the LORD reached out his hand, touched my mouth, and told me: I have now filled your mouth with my words. See, I have appointed you today over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and demolish, (Jeremiah 1:6-10).

1-3 God is our refuge and strength, a helper who is always found in times of trouble. Therefore we will not be afraid, though the earth trembles and the mountains topple into the depths of the seas, though its water roars and foams and the mountains quake with its turmoil. Selah (Psalms 46:1-3).

These disciples, with their obedient faith firmly placed in God would themselves move mountains. Their ‘saying to the mountain’ would be the anointed preaching of The Gospel. Confirming Christ’s Messiahship to the Jews & affirming His salvation to the nations. Perhaps with these truths in view, the disciples may have considered the words of the Prophet Micah; 18-20 “Who is a God like you, forgiving iniquity and passing over rebellion for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not hold on to his anger forever because he delights in faithful love. He will again have compassion on us; he will vanquish our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. You will show loyalty to Jacob and faithful love to Abraham, as you swore to our ancestors from days long ago.” (Micah 7:18-20).

24 Therefore I tell you, everything you pray and ask for—believe that you have received it and it will be yours. (Mark 11:24).

In this context, verse 24 mirrors verse 23. With our will surrendered to God in true faith, our biblical mandate before us & His Gospel in our mouths, He will give us or place certain desires within us.

14-15 This is the confidence we have before him: If we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears whatever we ask, we know that we have what we have asked of him. (1^st John 5:14-15).

A dear brother in Christ who is an Assemblies of God minister recently broadcast a video on his YouTube Channel along these lines. His name is Chuck Lewis. Please find his channel via the link supplied, like, subscribe and hit the notification bell. He read through his denomination’s position paper on the word of faith, which was published in 1980 & said the following, which nails down what I have attempted to do in these seven articles.

“What the Assemblies [of God] is talking about here is faith in God; and I would say that even more so today, it is more important than it was even 40 years ago, because this word of Faith has just burned through especially American Christianity, and has just become a cancer to the body of Christ that's just spread. You see churches that may have been on the right track and teaching good biblical things and somehow, they just get off into this stuff and they just got weird.”

Charles Lewis, Sheep Among Wolves, ‘Unpacking the Assemblies of God’s 1980 Rejection of Positive Confession’ Broadcast March 15^th, 2025 (emphasis added). 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j45tfevufe0

If you are a part of the word of faith movement & your eyes are being opened, I implore you to step back from it. I pray that you will be led out of it by The Lord & by looking again at what The Scriptures actually teach. Most importantly, I would encourage you with the wholesome words of our Lord & Saviour Jesus Christ; Have Faith In GOD.

From the series: Have Faith in God, by, David Samuel Parkins.

Originally posted: March 17th, 2025.

You can follow David on his blog: The Discernment Quarterly

All Scriptures taken from the CSB unless otherwise noted.