Paul recognized that he of himself did not hold the power to dispense revelation. Revelation is God’s prerogative, so Paul prayed this in Ephesians in 1:17-18.

“That …the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: ¹⁸The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance IN the saints (believers),”

By this explanation we can see that the exercise of objective faith in Christ leads us to subjective believing that comes when we receive revelation of “the word of truth” by the Lord’s Holy Spirit. When we receive “revelation” concerning Christ, we can’t keep ourselves from ‘believing.’ Faith is then spontaneously infused INTO our soul; we automatically ‘believe’ in the fuller truths concerning Christ and what He has done and is doing. We must first humbly exercise objective faith in Paul’s gospel of grace “unto salvation.” (Rom. 1:16).

Upon salvation we will have the witness of the Spirit in us (Rom. 8:16). We must come to believe that Christ lives in us to be our life supply, our everything, including our faith. When we have Spirit revelation we have seen or gained vision of the indwelling of Christ as our Savior and our keeper, we have no choice but to believe. We will have the witness of the indwelling Spirit in us that we are His and He is ours, personally.

Because we have had revelation regarding the content of our new, intimate, living relationship with the Lord, we can’t help believing in what we have seen spiritually. We’ve been infused with the ability to believe; this is subjective faith manifested as believing trust. Paul writes of being saved by grace through a “faith… not of ourselves” (Eph 2:8-9). Henceforth, it is Christ’s faith that we live by daily.

Gal. 2:20 “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 (body) I live by the faith of (from) the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for ‘me.’”

Now let’s consider these verses.

1 Thes. 1:8 For from you sounded out the word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place ‘your faith’ to God-ward (toward God) is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak any thing.

1 Thes. 3:2 And sent Timotheus, our brother, and minister of God, and our fellow labourer in the gospel of Christ, to establish you, and to comfort (encourage) you concerning your faith (what you believe):

Romans 3:22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ (His faith) unto all and upon all (superimposed, as distributed to) them that believe (your faith): for there is no difference:

Jesus Christ distributes His faith to all those who will ultimately personally believe.

In both of the Thessalonian verses Paul refers to “your faith.”  Paul is referring to the Thessalonians’ personal faith. In these verses, faith is not only subjective, referring to the saints’ faith by believing, but also objective, referring to what they believe in. Objective faith can also refer to what we may call our general belief of God – our general view and understanding of the Lord. The word belief denotes ‘what’ we believe in. The words “your faith” in the two verses above really is the broader term relating both to our objective general Godward view and also what we’ve seen by revelation and ‘hold to’ by faith personally.

Our subjective faith is based upon the degree of revelation that we personally have of the Lord and our relationship with Him – it is what we then believe personally.

• First, there is a view of God, as a broad scene before us.
• Then we gain revelatory ‘sight’ to see added elements of this view as they apply to us personally.

Suppose you are sharing the gospel to a group of unbelievers. Hopefully, what you speak to them is not only in word, but also in “the power of the Holy Spirit,” spoken in assurance. You share Paul’s gospel of grace by first relating how God loves them, how He sent His Son to be a man and die on the cross for them and rose. As you are speaking, you are not merely telling the gospel story-you are presenting a view, a broad scene. Those to whom you are speaking begin to see this view.

They realize something about being needy of the Lord; seeing that there is God and Jesus Christ, the cross, and His resurrection life to come and indwell anyone who receives Him … so that He may ultimately come to indwell them as their new life, as “the life-giving Spirit” (1Cor 15:45). This view portrayed in the sharing of the gospel is God's revelation to a man. As soon as unbelievers come to ‘see’ with spiritual eyes, faith is spontaneously produced in them, and they automatically believe, they trust Him for salvation.

Rom. 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth… They believe in what they saw. This is faith that is of (from) God.

Ephes. 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: