Source: Building One Another: A Letter of Encouragement, Volume 8, No. 11; March 17, 2009. www.buildingoneanother.org
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Dear Friend,
Dozens of times in the Gospel according to John we read the words “believe in.” For example, Jesus said, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me.” John 14:1*
Here’s an interesting thing. John wrote the Gospel of John in the Greek language and wherever we read in English “believe in God” or “believe in Jesus,” John used the preposition “into.” Believe into God. Believe into Jesus. The preposition “in” gives the sense of location or position. You are in a car or in a room.
The proposition “into” offers the sense of movement. We step “into” the car. We walk “into” a sanctuary.
Believing in our day is often limited to the intellectual exercise of affirming some reality. “I believe in God” merely means I believe God exists.
The New Testament understanding of believe is that we both affirm the reality of something or someone and entrust ourselves to what we believe.
If you are sitting in a chair, you believe “into” it when you sit in it! You affirm its reality and you entrust yourself to its ability to hold you up.
So to believe into Jesus is to both affirm that you believe Jesus exists and it is to hand yourself over to Jesus.
“But to all who received him, who believed in(to) his name, he gave power to become children of God.” John 1:12
With joy - E. Stanley Ott
