Unbounded goodness and love enter into the very essence of the Godhead. Remember this or you may fall into error by fixing your minds so much upon the faith which is the channel of salvation that you forget the grace which is the fountain and source of even faith itself. Faith is the work of God's grace in us. No man can say that Jesus is the Christ but by the Holy Ghost. So that faith, which is coming to Christ, is the result of divine drawing.
Faith occupies the position of a channel .
It is a great pity when the channel is broken. It is a sad sight to see around Rome the many noble channels which no longer convey water into the city, because the arches are broken and the marvelous structures are in ruins. Still, I again remind you that faith is only the channel and not the fountainhead, and we must not look so much to it as to exalt it above the divine source of all blessing which lies in the grace of God. Never make a Christ out of your faith , nor think of as if it were the independent source of your salvation. Grace is the powerful engine, and faith is the chain by which the carriage of the soul is attached to the great motive power.