The Faith that Pleases God is Wrought by Christ Alone
To rightly understand the nature of true spiritual belief, we must look at who produces it. Scripture explicitly declares that it is strictly
by Christ that we believe in the True God. Look at the definitive text in
1 Peter 1:20–21:
“Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.”
The Greek text uses the phrase
di' autou (δι’ αὐτοῦ), meaning
through Him or
by means of Him. This means Jesus Christ is the sole causal author of our belief.
This truth completely redefines how we must read the famous declaration in
Hebrews 11:6:
“But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”
Man’s religion isolates Hebrews 11:6 to argue that faith is an autonomous human condition that a dead sinner must perform to make God happy. But when you synthesize this with 1 Peter, the conditionalist framework completely collapses.
If it is impossible to please God without faith, and if the only way anyone can believe in God is
by, through, and because of Jesus Christ, then the faith that pleases God is an absolute gift of sovereign grace!
The Author and Finisher of Our Faith
To hammer this home permanently, look at the explicit title given to the Savior in
Hebrews 12:2:
“Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
The Holy Spirit leaves no room for human coordination here:
- The Author (Archēgos): He is the chief leader, the pioneer, the originator, and the sole source from which our faith flows.
- The Finisher (Teleiōtēs): He is the completer, the perfecter, and the one who brings that faith to its successful, absolute consummation.
Christ did not merely die to make salvation a possibility if our natural will cooperates. He was foreordained, manifest in time, raised from the dead, and glorified for a specific, successful purpose:
so that your faith and hope would infallibly be in God. Jesus doesn't stand by waiting to see if you will supply the condition; He is the sovereign King who authoritatively creates the faith in His elect and perfectly finishes it. We do not supply the faith to activate the cross; the cross successfully secures and bestows the faith to the elect! 35
