In the words of Christ, the verb phrase “to believe” is regularly followed by the preposition into, to express change or motion. For instance, He says:
“You believe in [literally, into] God, believe also in [literally, into] Me.” (John 14:1)
This brings out the fact that the verb phrase “to believe” is associated with a process of change or motion. It is not enough to believe “in” Christ with mere mental acceptance of the facts of His life or the truths of His teaching. We must believe “into” Christ – we must be moved by heartfelt faith out of ourselves and into Christ, out of our sin and into His righteousness, out of our weakness and into His power, out of our failure and into His victory, out of our limitations and into His omnipotence. This scriptural faith of the heart always produces change. It is always believing into Christ and into righteousness; and the result is always something definite, experienced here and now, not something merely hoped for in the future.
For this reason, in John 6:47 Christ uses the present and not the future tense. He says, “He who believes... has everlasting life” – not shall have, but already has, everlasting life. Scriptural faith into Christ produces everlasting life here and now within the believer. It is not something that we hope to have in the next world after death. It is something that we already possess, something that we already enjoy, a reality, a substance within us.
So many people have a religion which they hope will somehow do them good when they reach the threshold of eternity. But true Bible faith gives the believer a here-and-now experience and an assurance of everlasting life already within him. His faith is a real substance within him. Because of this present faith he also has a serene hope, a sure confidence concerning the future. A hope that is based on this kind of faith will stand the test of death and eternity; but a hope that lacks this present substance of faith is mere wishful thinking, doomed to final, bitter disillusionment.
Heavenly Father, what an immense grace that I do not need to have this bitter disillusion, simply because my faith is the solid ground for the things I hope. What grace, Lord Jesus, that You loved me so much that I am saved forever! Amen.
