I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Galatians 2:20

Whose faith are we to live by: Our own personal faith or Jesus’ own personal faith which He imparts to us through the indwelling Holy Spirit?

Galatians 2:20, when read as a subjective genitive, suggests that it is Jesus’ very own personal faith we are to live by and NOT our own. But, in other passages, Jesus and the New Testament writers frequently use the term “your faith” in a sense of causative commendation: “We have heard of your faith” or “your faith has made you whole.”

So which is it? Our faith or His?

Well, here is a fun allegory to help us better understand the relationship between our own human faith and the divine faith of the son of God.

In the early SUPERMAN comics, Clark Kent had to live by his own human identity’s limitations UNTIL he could get into a phone booth and quickly change into Superman. Then, He could spontaneously soar into the supernatural realm of power which His birthplace bequeathed Him.

Clark Kent’s faith had limitations. Superman’s faith did not. But for Clark Kent, the good news was that there was a phone booth always just a few feet away, a city block at the most. Clark Kent’s faith just had to get him to the nearest phone booth, but Superman’s faith always took over once inside. Clark Kent’s faith did only a slight thing, but it was vital to unleashing the power of an indestructible life.

So too with us…

Our own personal faith is needed for one thing and one thing only — to get us to the nearest phone booth of prayer where we can then devotionally and intentionally “put on the Lord Jesus Christ” … in other words, His own personal faith.

Jesus’ nature IS the armor of God we are to don (Ephesians 6:10-17).

Jesus’ nature IS the mind of Christ we are to wear (1 Corinthians 2:16).

Jesus’ divine nature IS our inheritance of BEING (2 Peter 1:3-5).

It is Jesus’ organic faith we are to live by, not our own faith. It is putting on the very PROPASSIONS (Westminster Dictionary of Theological Concepts) of Christ: His very emotional and mental states of being which are always in the abiding rest of righteous standing. Righteousness, under this view isn’t something just imputed, but imparted. We don’t contribute to it, but we must cooperate with it, a cooperation which consists of us “putting on (and diligently keeping on) Christ.”

As for Moses, he still lived by his own righteousness rather than the righteousness which is OF God through the indwelling of the divine nature (see Romans 10). Old Testament saints all did not have the Pentecostal ABIDING and INFILLING of the Holy Spirit, which is just another way of saying they did not have the imparted “faith of Christ” which we were given to live by through the gift of the Holy Spirit. This is why Hebrews says they all died without receiving the promise; that is “the promise of the Spirit.” With the coming of the Spirit, men could finally enter the Hebrews 4 Sabbath of resting from their own works, i.e. their own self-generated faith and works, and instead live by the faith OF and WORKS of the son of God.

To pray in Jesus’ name is to use our personal faith to put on His “nature,” His very nature which now abides in us through the indwelling Holy Spirit. Galatians 2:20 exhorts us to no longer live by our OWN faith, but rather to “live BY the faith OF the Son of God.”

When Scriptures promise that we will receive whatever we “pray for” in Jesus name, it is not suggesting that the mechanical recitation of His name performs some magic spell. No, it is urging us instead to “put on” His very divine nature — His faith, His love for His Abba and all creation, His virtuous valor, His energetic expectancy, His powerful passion, and His miraculous mindset.

The goal is not to fix the old man. The goal is to “put on the new man” created in righteousness and truth. He is already fixed (see Ephesians 4:24 & Colossians 3:10.

Or, let me put it another way. Put off the first Adam and put on the second Adam. Put off Clark Kent and put on Superman.

“Put on the Lord Jesus!” (Romans 13:14). But, “HOW DO WE PUT HIM ON?” you may well ask. Where are all our phone booths of transformation located?

If God exhorts us to do this, then rest assured we CAN do it. It’s a promise. So, once we believe we “can,” then it’s time to “do.”

Just like we go into our closet to “put on clothes” as our covering in the physical, we need to have a devotional closet of transformation wherein we put on the faith of Jesus’ as our covering in the Spiritual.

This is done by a directed heart and an intentional mind. The Hebrews called this simple meditation technique “kavanah,” a spiritual focus which acts in faith by praying “as if the Lord’s presence is opposite,” face to face and heart to heart in other words. The Lord’s nearness is our good. 

This is what devotional prayer really is. This is also what communion really is, discerning the Lord’s divine nature, His body, and then putting it on by heart-consuming it as “our necessary food.” Jesus called it eating His flesh and drinking His blood, partaking of His divine nature in other words. Our sanctified imagination helps us during prayer/meditation to visualize partaking of His nature, putting on His armor, putting on His virtues, putting on the mind of Christ, putting on the Spirit of Christ.

Remember: Our personal faith is important. But for only one thing — to get us to the nearest spiritual phone booth to openly transform and manifest the faith OF the son of God. If we neglect to apply our own faith, we will never release His faith which resides deep within us. Our individual and corporate “neglect of our so great a salvation” will keep us grounded and inert. 

So, be focused and be intentional. Put on the divine nature of Christ. Do it first each day. Do it throughout the day whenever carnal impulses or fear starts to rob you of peace. Don’t delay. Be quick and intentional.

As Superman always said upon exiting the phone booth of transformation, “Up, up, and away.” Our own personal phone booth of transfiguration awaits. “Up, up and Yahweh!”