“The Just Shall Live By Faith”
New King James Version Written by: David Hicks
Romans 1:17 “ For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "The just shall live by faith."
Galatians 3:11 “But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for "the just shall live by faith."
Hebrews 10:38 “Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him."
“Articles of Faith”
The Church of Christ
(A Study in Ephesians)
Lesson 12 - Walk in Unity:
Beginning in this chapter and continuing through the remainder of the epistle, Paul is exhorting these Christians to walk in a manner worthy of their calling. The first of Paul's exhortations is that they walk in unity. Remember that Christ has torn down the middle wall of division, making one ‘new man' of both Jew and Gentile, thus making peace.
In Chapter 2:14 , Paul says, “For He Himself is our peace” . The ‘He' is a pronoun referring to Christ, the ‘our' is a pronoun referring to both Jews and Gentiles. These two groups had been separated religiously by the partition wall of the Mosaic law which was given for the Jews only. This wall was removed by canceling the religious function of the Jewish system, and giving a new one through Christ, adapted to the needs of Jews and Gentiles. This was accomplished by His death on the cross ( Vs.15 ), whereby He nailed the Old Law to the cross ( Colossians 2:14 ) and opened the way for the New Law of the Gospel. This sacrifice provided access for ‘all' believing people. Access means the privilege of approaching the Father to receive the divine favors.
Since we have been created in Christ ( Chapter 2:10 ), we must learn to walk worthy of our calling. This brings us to our text and lesson:
Ephesians 4:1-6
“I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, 2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, 3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit , just as you were 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.”
As we discussed in our last lesson, to walk worthy of our calling, is to conduct one's self in a manner suitable to his vocation. The word calling here means chief vocation or occupation. A Christian's chief occupation or vocation is service to the Lord.
Assignment: Before we get into Vs. 2-3 , please read – Colossians 3:12-14; Philippians 2:1-4 .
- With All.
Here in Vs. 2-3 , Paul is going to list several graces involved in a unified walk that is worthy of our calling. Because he begins with the statement, ‘with all', denotes that the mastery of one is good, but all are necessary for the desired unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace.
Lowliness and gentleness are virtually the same in meaning, but when used together in combination, the first pertains to a state of mind and the second denotes the manner of approach. This entire phrase symbolizes a spirit of humility. Fact! You cannot truly submit to the will of God or love your brother until you humble yourself in the sight of the Lord (Your will not mine be done!). It is God who rises up those who humble themselves to Him ( James 4:10 ). This true humility is the mandatory essence required to maintain the church of Christ in the form that God set up and the Son suffered to bring forth.
Longsuffering does not indicate the least degree of compromise where principles of right and wrong are involved. It means patience in dealing with those who are uninformed or weak in knowledge of the word and who thereby are led to make things unpleasant for others. Bearing one another is to understand each one's needs and to prioritize them as if they are yours.
Love being the motivational super glue that holds all these things together. In today's society, ‘me' is the emphasis in virtually everything. This has spilled over into the church of the Lord. There is so much said about what am ‘I' getting out of worship or ‘I' am not growing for this reason or that! This service doesn't really move me!
The fact of the matter is that true love carries with it such concepts as honoring, cherishing, and acting in the best interest of the one you love. In presenting yourself to God in worship, who are you really there for? If you love God, do you really act in His best interest? If you love God, do you really care for His children?
If you are not growing, and you know that Christ has made you alive from a death of sins and trespass and has made you a new creature in the eyes of God, there can be no doubt that your love for God is misplaced and what you truly love is yourself!
A pulpit moment !
All who are ‘IN' Christ's church are partakers of the one Spirit that animates the spiritual body, note:
1 Corinthians 12:13 “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body--whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free--and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.”
Ephesians 2:18 “For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.”
In this formal sense all members of the body of Christ are a unit since they are in the one and only institution that has been organized by the Lord. However, members of the church sometimes make their unity doctrinal only, and while maintaining a united front against the encroachments of false teachings and organizations of men (that must be maintained); they may not observe the degree of love for each other that they should. This doctrinal only observation often alienates brethren at different spiritual maturity levels (thus the bond of peace is not achieved). The united front that protects the body of Christ from human encroachment can always be maintained if motivated by love for God, His Son, and His children, note:
2 Timothy 2:24-26 “And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all , able to teach , patient , 25 in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth , 26 and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.”
- Facts of Unity.
Having introduced the subject of unity, Paul will now deliver the facts of unity as they pertain to the last statement concerning God in Vs. 6 .
One body and one Spirit are completely logical. Since it is universally accepted that there is only one Spirit, there could not be more than one body (the church of Christ ), as there would be bodies without the Spirit and thus dead.
There can only be one hope as God has called us to life in Christ ( Chapter 2:1-10 ).
One Lord is explained in Chapter 1:20-23 . The greatest fact of unity in the church is that God has only given one head, Christ.
One faith which comes from the word of God (which was the work of the Spirit in revelation) and requires obedience ( Romans 1:5 ). Keep in mind that there is only one inspired word of God ( Jude 3; I Peter 1:22 -25; James 1:18 , 25; II Timothy 3:16 -17 ) thus it will only produce one faith ( Romans 10:17 ). This makes what the world says about the acceptance of multiple faiths completely false in the eyes of God and His work through Christ.
One baptism; this means immersion or to be overwhelmed. The New Testament talks about four baptisms in its pages (suffering, fire, Holy Spirit, and water Matthew 20:22 -23; 3:11 ; Acts 1:5; 8:36 -38 ). Although Paul was aware of these he states that there is only one. The simple explanation is that there is only one baptism required of sinners ( Acts 2:38 ) and that is water baptism for the remission of sins.
All of these facts of unity have been given by God (His name of Deity) the Father (His relationship to His children as their heavenly Parent). God, whom Paul states as above all and in everything He has created, has produced these facts of unity for us and in us.
Before we can truly walk worthy of our calling, we must know with assurance the true banner we walk behind. God did not say, “I have created, but go ahead and customize it to your liking, O man” The facts of unity show the great work of God in the church of His Son . This one church and its never changing pattern embody everything God envisioned, note:
Ephesians 1:23 “which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all .”
Ephesians 3:10-11 “to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, 11 according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord ,”
Next: “ Tools of Unity ”