Believe = have faith that sth is true = 相信
Believe in = put faith in sth = trust in/on = 信任, 信靠
Believe God = 相信神
Believe in God = 信任、信靠神
相信有神 = 相信神是真的
——R. C. Sproul (Surprised by Suffering)
“It is one thing to believe in God; it is quite another to believe God.”
“First, He called the disciples to an act of faith. He said, “You believe in God, believe also in Me” (John 14:1). He was saying simply, “Trust Me.” Jesus does not ask for a leap of blind faith. When He asked His disciples to trust Him, there was a backlog of history to support His request. It was as if Jesus were saying: “Look, I’ve never let you down. My Father has never broken a promise. I haven’t either. I have proven Myself to be trustworthy. Now, when I go away, it’s time to trust Me on the force of My promise. You believe in God, now believe in Me. The key to putting your troubled hearts to rest is to trust Me for the future.
“This is the heart of Christianity. This is why we speak of the Christian faith, not the Christian religion. Religion has to do with the outward cultic practices of human beings. Christianity, the Christian faith, has to do with trusting God for our very lives. The step Jesus asked His disciples to take was a big step. It is one thing to believe in God; it is quite another to believe God. This is a major step in practice, though in theory it should not require any step at all. Our distinction between believing in God and believing God should be a distinction without a difference, a sheer exercise in sophistry. In truth, if we really believe in God, we will believe whatever God tells us.
“Yet in terms of concrete reality, there is often a gap between our theoretical faith in God and our actual trust in what He says. Our faith is not pure. Like gold that is marred by dross, so our faith is often mixed with doubt. We cry out, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief” (Mark 9:24).”
——John Calvin
“We declare that we believe in God, both because our mind reclines upon him as true, and our confidence is fully satisfied in him. This cannot be said of the church, just as it cannot be said of the forgiveness of sins, or the resurrection of the body.” (Institutes of the Christian Religion, 4.1.2)
If one truly believes that God exists or God is real, he will believe everything God says. Therefore, believing God implies believing in God, and vice versa. Actually, those two phrases are both used in the Bible. For example:
John 5:24 = “believes Him who sent Me”
John 6:29 = “believe in Him whom He has sent”
John 14:1 = “You believe in God, believe also in Me.”
John 3:16 = “… everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life.”
Romans 4:3 = “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.”
Hebrews 11:6 = “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him.”
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