Colossians 2;12.

" buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with [him] through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead."
Faith...
Here the believer is told that it is "of" ( from ) the operation of God.

Just as faith is the gift of God ( Ephesians 2:8 ) and is "of" the Son of God ( Galatians 2:20 ) who is the Author and Finisher of it ( Hebrews 12:2 ) , so it is also of the operation of God.

The believer's faith begins with God's operation, not our "operation".
God's people contribute nothing for their salvation, and never did.

Their faith is the evidence ( Hebrews 11:1) of their salvation, not a condition to be met in order for God to then grant them eternal life.

"...Not of works, lest any man should boast". ( Ephesians 2:9 ).

 

The pardon of sin is received by faith, whereby the soul is really made partaker of it. That's from Owen, and you can see how then you might say that you are by faith receiving something already done for you rather than the view that Flowers has. Flowers calls himself a Provisionist and tends to teach that God has provided the things necessary for salvation and then it is up to us to make use of the provisions provided.

Owen says regarding the order of faith and regeneration, "I place these two together, and shall not dispute as to their priority in nature, but in time the one doth not precede the other."

So it seems to me that the real difference here is whether you look at this as God having provided what he deems needed for salvation, being then moved to save those in whom he finds faith, or is God more active in saving people and having a plan using means to effect the salvation of those who are eventually saved.

 

Where does faith come from in the Col 2:12 passage and what role does it play in the salvation of a person ?

 

It's YOUR faith, YOUR choice, YOUR decision....you have to keep those 'bragging rights', don't you. Free-willers are all the same.

 

It seems that you do not understand that Biblical faith is not an act of the creature, it is the gift of God. Matthew 16:17

 

It never fails, you always evasive, even when you start a thread

 

You do have a point there. Does anyone know of a scripture passage where faith itself is described as a work? It seems it is always contrasted to works.