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Today's Little Lift
by Jim Bullington
God placed constraints on religious unity; because of that, we can go too far in the pursuit such unity. We must never mistake the overzealous pursuit of unity for The Love of the Truth or vice versa. The believer must never forget that unity is a product of The Love of the Truth and unless that love is present, biblical unity can never be achieved. Biblical unity demands more than uniformity of practice; it demands unity of heart and that unity proceeds from The Love of the Truth!
Both of the New Testament passages which specifically mention unity are passages which “put a hedge” about it; it is not an end in itself! In Ephesians 4.3, it is “the unity of the Spirit.” In Ephesians 4.13, it is “the unity of the faith.” In both cases, unity is qualified by a possessive noun; in one case it is Spirit and in the other, it is faith. Likewise in both cases, the definite article the precedes Spirit and faith. It is not just any spirit, it is the Spirit; it is not just faith, it is the faith. As a final technical note, please pay attention to the fact that the limitations on unity are strengthened by the definite article before the possessive expression; it is “the unity of the Spirit” and it is “the unity of the faith.” Because of this, the hedge about unity could be said to be twofold!
The Spirit of God revealed and defined (to the extent possible and necessary) the nature of God. God is One; God is changeless; God is truth; God cannot lie. The unity of the Spirit is certainly directly connected to the nature of God. Just as God the Father is One, changeless, truth, and incapable of lying, so is the Spirit. That selfsame Spirit superintended the revelation of “the faith!” “The faith” which this Spirit revealed is referred to in the New Testament well over thirty times. To demonstrate the significance of these references, we will examine a few of these passages.
First, we will demonstrate that the term “the faith” has reference to an objective body of truth. The inspired apostle John wrote in his apocalyptic book, “Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.” (Revelation 14.12). Notice that the faithful ones described by this passage “...keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.” It is obvious that the faith in this text refers to the gospel system.
Paul alluded to this body of truth [the faith] on a number of occasions. For instance, he wrote to the brethren at Philippi, “Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel...” (Philippians 1.27). Once again pay close attention to the fact that the believers to whom Paul addressed this great epistle were admonished to strive for the faith of the gospel. It was not their faith; it was the faith of the gospel! It belonged to the gospel and was defined by the gospel. It was an objective body of truth that could be identified and striven toward in the lives of believers.
Are there limitations to our quest for unity in religious matters? The answer is unequivocally and irrevocably yes! The unity that is blessed by God is the unity that results from adherence to His doctrine regarding matters spiritual. This body of doctrine is available and identifiable. It has a name, specifically The New Testament of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It consists of 27 books and can be purchased at the local bookstore for a few dollars as well as in scores of other places. The Love of the Truth is birthed by embracing this body of doctrine and from making a diligent effort to understand and apply it to our daily lives!
Questions:
1. About how many times does the expression the faith appear in the New Testament?
2. How can we be sure that this expression refers to an objective body of truth and does not simply refer to the subjective faith that each of us holds?
3. What is the faith? How can it be identified?
4. Can one achieve The Love of the Truth apart from embracing the faith?
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