Jesus was speaking to His disciples in the Upper Room when He commanded them to "believe also in Me" (John 14:1). These were men who were already believers - every one of them! Judas, the betrayer, has left the room. Only believers remain, yet Jesus ordered them to believe. Why?
The answer is found in the tense of the verb "believe" (πιστευετε). This is a present tense verb. The present tense emphasizes continuing faith - ongoing faith - no matter what comes. They could not know the crucible they were being thrown into in the next few hours. The fires of hell would soon test their faith. We too cannot know the severe tests that will search our faith, and we must obey the command to continue to believe no matter what comes. True faith is persevering faith.
A saving faith is a growing faith. Jesus says, "believe in Me" (εις εμε). The "in me" is emphatic. The preposition (εις) indicates motion towards a person or thing. There is a sense of movement in real faith. We are not merely convinced that the teachings of Jesus are true or that he lived in history. We are moving into a deepening sense of His nearness to help and His power to meet our needs.
"There is a faith that accepts the words spoken and a faith that accepts the person who speaks. The former is only part of the latter" (S. Lewis Johnson, Private notes).
We are growing to trust Him not just His words. We trust His character not just His teachings. We trust His love not just His doctrine. We trust He will never let us down even when we don't know how He will hold us up.
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