From the ministry archive
The apostle Paul said a mouthful when he said that there is [only] one faith (Eph
The apostle Paul said a mouthful when he said that there is [only] "one faith" (Eph. 4:5). It was a far more simplified mouthful than what almost anyone realizes, but a mouthful nonetheless. In fact anywhere in the new testament writings where ANY of the apostles referred to the faith of Christ, it was always called THE faith. Two of the most notable references to THE faith are two that need to be very soberly and diligently considered by everyone in the body of Christ today: "Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for THE faith which was once delivered unto the saints" (Jude 1:3). And this one: "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from THE faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils" (I Tim. 4:1). What has happened is that the admonition of Jude was not widely enough regarded and heeded, and the prophecy of Paul has been fulfilled as a result. Now I want to say what I meant by Paul speaking a "simplified" mouthful when he said there is only one faith. The truth of the matter is, there has NEVER BEEN anything BUT one faith! From the first recorded worship of God with righteous Abel, till this very moment, and until all eternity; it was, is, and will be absolutely impossible for there to be anything but one faith. If it were any other way, it would mean that God has changed at some point, or that he is going to change at some future time; none of which is possible (Mal. 3:6; Heb. 13:8; Jas. 1:17). The righteous faith of Abel was made manifest by God's words to Cain, whose offering was refused: "If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door" (Gen. 4:7). Cain was rejected because he had not DONE well BEFORE his offering; and the reason was, as God said, sin. The beloved apostle also confirmed this for us: "For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous" (I Jn. 3:11,12). So we see that Abel was accepted because his DEEDS were righteous. The Christian tradition of Abel being accepted because of "the blood sacrifice," and Cain being rejected because he brought the fruit of the ground, is totally erroneous. There is absolutely no scripture to support that tradition, and we have just seen the scriptures show us what IS the truth of the matter. Cain was a tiller of the ground and that is why he brought the produce thereof (Gen. 4:2). Abel was a shepherd and that is why he brought the animal sacrifice. When the law was given at Mt. Sinai there were in fact provisions made for both of those types of sacrifices. It is not the act of worship that makes or brakes us in terms of being accepted by God, but rather how we have been conducting our lives BEFORE we worship: "The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD: but the prayer of the upright is his delight" (Prov. 15:8). In fact, the prophets are replete with the reality that God continually rejected the worship of his people because they were NOT DOING WELL, like Cain. It was very rare that the prophets reproved Israel for NOT WORSHIPING God, but rather FOR worshiping God at the same time that they were disregarding his commandments for their lives: "To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the Lord: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats... Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them. And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood. Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow" (Isa. 1:11,14-17). And that was the norm for the prophets, not the exception.
Now let's get back to what that one faith actually is. The apostle Paul defined it this way: "Now the end of the commandment is [love] out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned" (I Tim. 1:5). The "end of the commandment" means the sum total of the fulfillment of the law, which is the faith of Christ. And yes, it really is that simple. But as Paul went on to say next, what has happened is that because the simplicity of that beautiful truth has just never been quite enough for most folks, the following has taken place on a mass worldwide scale: "From which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling" (I Tim. 1:6). My friend, anything other than what the apostle Paul stated as being "the end of the commandment," is nothing but "vain [religious] jangling." The vain jangling he referred to was people who were "desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm" (I Tim. 1:7). And anytime God's people, or those who think they are God's people and are not, are determined to have things some other way than the ONE simplistic way that God has forever ordained; it is always so that they can become teachers and learners of something "deeper," and more "enlightening." I don't care what you want to call it, if it isn't all about the divine love of God for both him and one another, it is no more than vain jangling; and it is an abomination to God. Jesus called it exactly the same as Paul: "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets" (Mat. 7:12). It is just that simple my friend, and it is just that pure. And knowing man's propensity to being discontent with the beauty of God's simplicity, Jesus went directly from that statement to say the following: "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it" (Mat. 7:13,14). This is the one faith that Noah kept, and Abraham, and Moses, and the prophets; and it is ALL THAT JESUS DID AND PREACHED! Read the sermon on the mount between Matthew 5-7, and you will see what I'm trying to say. Not only so, but Jesus got all of the ceremonies of the law out of the way so that the spiritual fulfillment of it all could be the all in all for new testament believers Eph. 2:15; Col. 2:14; Jn. 4:23,24). ALL of the carnal, symbolic ceremonies under the law were pointing to Jesus, who had NOT yet come and fulfilled it all (Col. 2:16,17; Heb. 10:1). But now he has done exactly that, and it is HE who is the centerpiece and totality of our faith (Rom. 10:4). And how does what I am saying here figure into the "one faith" reality? The following scriptures tell the story just like it is: "Now the Lord IS that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty [from sin]" (II Cor. 3:17). And this; "And hope maketh not ashamed; because the LOVE of God is shed abroad in our hearts BY the Holy Ghost which is given unto us" (Rom. 5:5). So there is still only one faith if the truth would be told, and that faith IS the Lord Jesus Christ himself, who "IS that Spirit," which "sheds abroad the love of God in our hearts" if and when we receive it. And that would be the same love of God which is "the end [sum total] of the commandment [of God]." And with that said I will let Jesus, and "the disciple whom he loved," finish the matter for us here today: "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another" (Jn. 13:34). And John; "And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another" (II Jn. 1:5). Sounds good enough to me. Amen.
