By Samuel Matthews
"4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, ONE FAITH, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all” (Eph. 4:4-6). KJV Loved ones, in our above text, the Bible speaks of seven "ones." These seven "ones" represent God's Divine Plan of Unity (vs. 3)... One Body; One Spirit; One Hope; One Lord; One Faith; One Baptism; and One God. Now most believers will agree that the ONE GOD is the Father; the ONE LORD is Jesus, the Christ; the ONE SPIRIT is the Holy Spirit; and the ONE HOPE is our hope of Eternal Life in Heaven through Jesus. Believers should also agree concerning the other three "ones" ...the ONE FAITH, the ONE BODY, and the ONE BAPTISM! In this post we will speak plainly about the one faith and the one body. The Bible says there is one faith, and Christians must earnestly contend for it (Jude 3)! In Part 1 of this series, we named more than 25 different “faiths” from the Adventist to the Universalists. We know they are all different because you can't become one by obeying the teachings of another. You get the Baptist faith by attending a Baptist church and hearing and obeying the Baptist word (whatever they teach). You get the Catholic faith by attending a Catholic church and hearing and obeying the Catholic word (whatever they teach), etc. You cannot become a Baptist by attending the Catholic church. WHY NOT? Because the Catholics do not teach the same thing that the Baptists teach. Neither do the Mormons teach the same thing that the Adventists teach, etc. The Bible, however, does NOT teach believers to be in different “faiths” (1 Cor. 1:10; 2 Cor. 13:11). Including the cults, these 25+ different “faiths” are looked upon in the eyes of the world as “Christianity.” The Bible says nothing about “Christianity”; i.e., different faiths. The Bible teaches that God has ONLY one Faith – the faith of the Son of God (Galatians 2:20) – the Christian faith (1 Peter 4:16). Hopefully, you are now asking, "How can one obtain God's one faith?" Well, we know how to obtain any one of the “faiths” of so-called “Christianity”… simply attend their worship service, hear what they preach, and obey what they teach! To obtain God’s one Faith, the Bible says, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Rom. 10:17). Since the Bible (66 books) is the only written word of God, we must study, hear, believe, and obey what it teaches (2 Tim. 2:15; John 6:44-45; Matt. 7:21; Luke 6:46), especially the 27 books of the New Testament. If you have not heard (believed and obeyed) God's word, you do not have God's one faith, and you are NOT pleasing to HIM (Heb. 11:6). God wills to “gather together in one all things in Christ” (Eph. 1:10). Therefore, God wants all who believe that Jesus is the Son of God to be ONE (John 17:20-23; 20:30-31). The question should now be asked, "Since most denominations claim to teach the Bible, why do we have so many different faiths?" Well, the Holy Spirit said in 1 Tim. 4:1, that some would depart or leave “the faith”; i.e., the faith that comes by hearing and obeying the word of Christ (Heb. 5:8-9). After departing from the word of God they would begin “giving heed to” (listening to and obeying) the “doctrines” or teachings of Satan. These hypocritical doctrines would be teaching lies because the conscience of those who advocate them are “seared with a hot iron” (1 Tim. 4:2). Unfortunately, many believers and some of their leaders (reverends, fathers, apostles, etc.) are blind to the fact they are following the creeds of men (Acts 17:23; Matt. 15:7-9; 2 Cor. 4:3-4). Being raised from birth in a particular faith, they take for granted that their "church" was built by the Lord... when in fact, they are following a man-made faith organization which one day will be rooted up (Matt. 15:13-14). [Please take a moment and Google the history of your particular faith. Except for the Catholics, it may surprise you to learn that it is less than 600 years old]. This naturally leads into a discussion of the ONE BODY (Eph. 4:4). The Bible says there is one body (1 Cor. 12:12, 20, 27; Eph. 4:4)! Whose or what body is it? The church of Christ is the body of Christ! Jesus established only one spiritual body, or one church, of which He is the Head (Col. 1:18). God has given Jesus, “22 To be the head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body” (Eph. 1:22-23). There is only one body; therefore, there is only one church... the body of Christ (the church of Christ). Jesus didn't say He would build His “churches” (plural), but He did promised to build His church (Matt. 16:18). Friends, only the church of God belongs to Christ (Acts 20:28). Thus, being uncontented with what the Lord has established, men have formed many different “religious bodies” and have encouraged people to, "Join the church of your choice." There are too many “religious bodies” in the world to count; however, these man-made bodies are not the ONE body of Christ. Rather than calling people into the many different “religious bodies” founded by men, the Lord calls all people into the one body He established (Col. 3:15; 2 Thess. 2:14). Rather than directing people to be baptized into one of the many different “religious bodies,” the Holy Spirit instructs all people to be baptized into Christ’s one body (1 Cor. 12:12-13; Gal. 3:27). Rather than directing people to try and be reconciled to God in the church of their choice, the Bible places reconciliation to God in the one body of Christ (Eph. 2:16). History proves that all denominational and world religion churches were built and named by man. Most western denominational bodies claim they teach and follow the Bible! Well my loved ones, that just can't be true. The fact is (as we have already discussed above in speaking about God’s one faith), denominational doctrines teach you how to follow their particular faith... whether it be Methodist, Lutheran, Nazarene, or whatever... they all teach you how to follow their particular faith; and thus, become a member of their particular body, their church. Knowing these things would come about, the Holy Spirit warns the deceived members of man-made churches that they are following the doctrines and commandments of men, and worshipping God in vain (Matt. 15:8-9). The Psalmist said, “Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it” (Ps. 127:1). Friends, Jesus built only one church... His church... His body (Col. 1:24). Jesus has first place (preeminence) in only one church (Col. 1:18). Jesus purchased with His blood only one church (Acts 20:28). Jesus adds the saved to only one church (Acts 2:47; 1 Cor. 12:13; Mark 16:16). Jesus will return one day for only one church... His church... the church of God – the church of Christ (Acts 1:11; 1 Corinthians 15:24; 2 Thess. 1:7-10; Rom. 16:16). To be continued… “God has ONE Baptism.” To the God of heaven be the Glory as His Will is done (1 Corinthians 10:31). Please pray for wisdom, for me and my wife, Cynthia, and for the Liberty NW church of Christ meeting in Portland, Oregon, USA. We are praying for you, and we love you all so much. Samuel.
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