Submission by Joyner Briceño

Most believers in Christ don’t truly know how to operate in faith. Many are walking in religious precepts and trying to imitate the Christian lifestyle rather than actually living by faith. They may claim they are walking by faith, yet when you look closely at their lives, they often suffer more and face greater struggles than unbelievers who don’t even know God. There ought to be a clear difference between you and your unbelieving neighbor.

1 John 5:4 (NKJV)
“For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.”

Many Christians use faith only to receive salvation but fail to operate in it to live a victorious life. They are waiting for the day they reach heaven to overcome. But the good news is we don’t have to wait. Because Jesus overcame the world, we can live the overcoming life here and now.

If we are truly walking in faith, we should be overcoming in every area—not just spiritually. Living a life of constant suffering, coping, and scraping by is not the picture of faith. This doesn’t mean we won’t face problems, trials, temptations, or persecution. It does mean, however, that we should walk in victory despite them.

The mistake often comes from confusing desire with faith. Many believers think faith is wishing, hoping, and petitioning God—believing He can do it—and then waiting to see if anything changes. But that’s not how Jesus operated, and it’s not how faith works under the New Covenant. Even Paul once struggled with this, asking God to remove his weakness, and the Lord replied, “My grace is sufficient for you.”

Many trust that God can do it, but doubt He will work through them. This is where countless Christians remain stuck. Faith is not merely believing God is able—it is trusting that He has already provided for every need through His finished work. It is not truly faith until we move from “God can do it” to “God has done it and given me the authority to manifest it.”

The foundation of faith rests on what we believe about the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. We have no grounds to believe for anything outside of what His resurrection has accomplished and made available to us.

To operate in faith means to exercise your God-given authority in Christ to manifest spiritual reality in alignment with the resurrection of Jesus. The Word not only teaches us to believe—it teaches us how to believe God’s grace. Just as God created physical laws to govern the natural world, He also established spiritual laws to govern the spiritual realm. In every gospel account where Jesus met a need, He operated within the very laws of faith He Himself established.

How do we learn to operate in faith?

First, you must be established in New Covenant faith. New Covenant faith is the unwavering belief that you are the righteousness of God in Christ apart from works. When you are grounded in this gift of righteousness, everything Jesus accomplished through His resurrection becomes effective in your life.

Second, you must discover your identity in Christ and learn how Jesus operated in faith in the gospels. Study how He released His faith and how others received from Him. As you do, the Lord will give you wisdom on how to apply your faith while relying on His grace.

Romans 1:17 (NKJV)
“For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘The just shall live by faith.’”

Operating in faith becomes second nature as you grow in the revelation of Christ’s grace and the gift of righteousness. The more you understand your identity in Him, the more effortlessly you will walk in faith. Notice it says, “The righteous shall live by faith.” This makes it essential to grow in the revelation of righteousness.

The problem comes when we try to operate in faith out of desperation and need rather than by the Spirit. We may apply faith principles we’ve learned, but if our hearts are not established in God’s righteousness, our foundation is unstable. Faith always works, but when it is reduced to mechanics, formulas, or mysticism, we’ve missed the heart of it. If all we needed were principles, God would have sent us a manual instead of Jesus. We are not trying to live a life of faith. Rather, the righteous will naturally live by faith.

Galatians 5:6 (ESV)
“For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.”

The gospel is the power of God. When we rest in the gospel of grace—which reveals the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, where God’s love is fully demonstrated—it empowers our faith to work.

Think of it like this: Imagine a perfect gun that never jams and never misses its target. If it isn’t working, it’s either because it has no bullets or because the trigger hasn’t been pulled. In the same way, the Holy Spirit within us is like a perfectly designed weapon—filled with the “dynamite” power of grace—activated when we pull the “trigger” of faith.