Christ's Doctrine of Faith: A Study of "Believing" in John's Gospel (John 12:47)

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In John 12:47, we find the seventy-seventh occurrence of "believing" in John's Gospel. In this passage, we see the Lord Jesus Christ saying: "And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world" (KJV). As always, we will examine both the immediate context of this passage and some facts about faith that can be gleaned from this passage. And, this time, I will finally be able to give more than one fact! Anyway, let's begin!

First, the immediate context. Right after the Lord Jesus Christ declares that He came as a Light into the world so that whoever believes in Him would not abide in darkness, He says that, if any man hears His words and believes not, He does not judge him, because He came, not to judge the world, but to save the world. This is the immediate context of John 12:47!

Second, some facts about faith. The first fact is that belief in Jesus means belief in His words. Because, right after Christ talks about believing in Him back in verse 46, He talks, in verse 47, about the other category of people: those who hear His words and believe not. So, to believe in Jesus means to believe in His words, while unbelief in Him is unbelief in His words. Second, belief in Christ's words brings spiritual enlightenment (also see Psalm 119:130). Because Jesus says that the one who believes in Him would not abide in darkness (thereby implying the believer is in the light, instead-also see Ephesians 5:8). And, given what we previously covered, since unbelief in Christ's words is unbelief in Christ Himself, we can reasonably conclude that belief in Christ's Word brings light, while unbelief in Christ's Word worsens the spiritual darkness the sinner already finds himself in. These are some facts about faith from John 12:47!