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Wednesday September 9, 2026

Faith is substance

“Faith is substance. That substance does not come from us who do the believing and committing, but comes from that to which we have committed ourselves. The substance is the food, not the faith that takes it. The substance is the chair, not my faith that commits myself to it. And now the substance, the certainty, is that by some means, at some time–often immediately but not always–the witnessing Spirit inwardly confirms to me that it is He, no longer I, living my life. I know. I knew fifty-one years ago, fourteen years after my first knowing of salvation, and, of course, I know the same reality today. It is as natural to me as my initial experience of salvation, only greatly enlarged and established as years have gone by. The ‘believings’ of the first part of the last chapter in John’s First Epistle have dissolved into ‘knowings’ by the last half, and the key word comes in the middle (1 John 5:10): ‘He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself.’ Then John continues: ‘These things have I written to you that believe…that ye may know that ye have eternal life….We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not…and we know that we are of God…and we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know Him that is true; and we are in Him that is true’ (vss. 13, 18, 19, 20).

So you see, we don’t ‘work up’ the knowing. Should you be reading this and say, ‘Well, I’ve said that ‘word of faith’; I have believed, but I can’t say I know,’ then don’t, don’t try to know. Knowing does not come from self-effort; that would be back under the law of ‘you ought’ again. The knowing comes from the Spirit. So what you do is to keep firmly affirming that you are what you have now said you are by faith. Your job is to maintain the affirmation. The confirmation comes from him, and any trying or searching of your own will only insert a fog of unbelief which hinders the Spirit from giving the confirmation. But there is the confirmation.”

Taken from: Yes, I Am

By Norman Grubb

Pages 126-127