Author: Ryan Moody

Introduction

The doctrine of Sola Fide states basically that we are saved by faith or belief in Jesus Christ alone and not by any of our meritorious works. But it’s not true that we’re saved by faith alone for the simple reason that we’re not saved by faith. We’re saved by faithfulness to our Lord Jesus Christ because this is the gospel that Jesus Himself preached:

“Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?” (Matthew 24:45)

“His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. … His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.” (Matthew 25:21, 23)

“And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season?” (Luke 12:42)

“He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man’s, who shall give you that which is your own?” (Luke 16:10-12)

“And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities.” (Luke 19:17)

The Greek pistis (Strong’s 4102) appears almost 250 times in the New Testament and is almost always translated as “faith” but should be rendered “faithfulness” instead. The key statement that proves this is Paul’s quote from Habakkuk, “The just shall live by faith [pistis 4102]” (Rom 1:17; Gal 3:11; Heb 10:38), “but the person of integrity will live because of his faithfulness” (Hab 2:4 NET), “But the righteous will live by their faithfulness to God” (Hab 2:4 NLT). Paul was not ashamed of the gospel that Jesus Christ Himself preached and it was the message of faithfulness, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ … The just shall live by faith [faithfulness]” (Rom 1:16-17).

The gospel message from the beginning

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. … And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. (John 1:1-5, 14)

God left us without excuse as to discerning the true saving gospel message because it was the message preached in the very beginning. John began his Gospel by teaching that the message of salvation had been preached in the creation by the Creator. He called the Person of Jesus Christ the Word or the Message, and the message preached in the beginning is that darkness would be upon mankind but the Message would become a man and preach light into the darkness, “And God said, Let there be light” (Gen 1:3), “And the light shineth in darkness” (Jhn 1:5).

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. (Genesis 1:1-5)

And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. (Genesis 1:16-18)

The message from the beginning is not Sola Fide. It’s not a belief that some facts about Jesus Christ are true but rather faithfulness to Jesus Christ as Lord or Ruler. The Message came into the dark world and spoke “Let there be light” so that the light would be divided from the darkness and called either day or night. Those of the day would be ruled by the Greater Light and those of the night would be ruled by the lesser light, “Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness” (1Th 5:5), “For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light” (Eph 5:8). Therefore, the true saving gospel message is that we must be of the day, faithfully serving our Ruler Jesus Christ in obedience to everything He commanded.

Is the true saving gospel message what scholars and theologians teach today? Is it what the reformers taught a few hundred years ago? The Lord Jesus Christ is the Message from the beginning and He taught that salvation is by faithfulness to Him. Our loyalty should be to Him and His gospel message, not to scholars, theologians, reformers, or anyone else who teaches something different. “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.” (Gal 1:6-8).

Obedience of faithfulness

The two statements “for obedience to the faith [faithfulness] among all nations” (Rom 1:5), “to all nations for the obedience of faith [faithfulness]” (Rom 16:26), form the bookends of Paul’s letter to the Romans. While most claim that the theme of Romans is righteousness by faith, my humble opinion is that it’s obedience of faithfulness among all nations—that all nations are saved by faithful obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ.

These bookends are also joined by the two statements “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ” (Rom 1:16), “according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ” (Rom 16:25). That it was “my gospel” meant that Paul took ownership of it. Like a homeowner, as opposed to a renter, bears the burden and responsibility of home maintenance, Paul owned Christ’s gospel message and the suffering that accompanied it. To not be ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ is to own it! It’s to stand for what Jesus Christ Himself taught and preached regardless of any personal consequences. After all, we no longer have personal consequences now that we’re His slaves.

Jesus Himself taught this same principle, “The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep” (Jhn 10:13). Employees don’t have the same care for a company and bear the same burden as the owner of the company. When things go south and the company goes out of business, employees just go and find another job. Paul was not a renter or an employee but an owner. We also are to not be ashamed of the gospel message but to own it along with the burdens and sufferings that come with ownership.

It’s not calling Him Lord but obeying Him as Lord

Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. (Romans 6:16-18)

Further into Romans, Paul elaborated upon “obedience to the faith [faithfulness]” by teaching that we’re not servants of whom we confess as Lord but of whom we actually obey as Lord, “his servants ye are to whom ye obey.” And this is the gospel that Christ preached, “And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (Luk 6:46).

When we were “baptized into Jesus Christ” (Rom 6:3), we “became the servants of righteousness” (Rom 6:18). In other words, baptism is the point in which we’re committing ourselves to be faithful servants and slaves of the Lord Jesus Christ for the rest of our lives and to live righteously as He commanded. We now have a duty to serve Him in righteousness, fulfilling the commitment we made. That you “obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine” refers to the pattern of Jesus Christ’s teaching, particularly in the Sermon on the Mount. What Christ taught was not meant to be exhaustive in that it addressed every possible situation we might encounter but was an overall form or pattern of doctrine.

“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” (Mat 28:19-20). Discipleship has nothing to do with teaching new converts to memorize Bible verses on index cards. Just try memorizing what your boss at work told you to do without actually doing it and see how long you keep your job! It matters not that we hear and even memorize what God said if we’re not doing it. Discipleship is all about teaching new converts obedience to the commandments and teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Baptism is our commitment to faithfully serve and obey the commandments of our Lord Jesus Christ for the rest of our lives and we must live to the standard of righteousness that he commanded to enter His Kingdom, “For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Mat 5:20). If righteous living ultimately doesn’t matter then there was no point in Jesus teaching the rest of the sermon. The form or pattern of doctrine Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount is the standard of righteousness by which we must live or we will not be entering His Kingdom.

And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him … For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. (Hebrews 5:9, 12-14)

Notice that Christ saves all of them that obey Him, and by implication doesn’t save those who disobey Him. Therefore, mature servants of Christ are to teach babes in Christ obedience or “the word of righteousness.” We’re to teach them obedience to Christ’s commandments, “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.” And we’re to teach them righteous living to the standard Christ commanded, “That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.”

Paul said later in Romans, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved” (Rom 10:9). Now, this statement is often quoted as a formula for salvation—that all we have to do is make a faith confession and we’re good to go. But in context, however, Paul was teaching righteousness by faithfulness to the Lord Jesus Christ:

But the righteousness which is of faith [faithfulness] speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above🙂 Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith [faithfulness], which we preach. (Romans 10:6-8)

For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it. (Deuteronomy 30:11-14)

To “confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus” is not a faith confession but a faithfulness commitment! We’re committing ourselves to faithfully hear and do everything our Lord Jesus Christ commands. This is what Moses had prophesied and this is what Paul meant by quoting from him. It’s the word or message of faithfulness he was preaching, “obedience to the faith [faithfulness]” (Rom 1:5).

Also, the second half of that statement “believe [pisteuo 4100] in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead,” is not simply about believing the resurrection happened as a historical event because Paul had already taught earlier “But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe [pisteuo 4100] on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead” (Rom 4:24). The Greek pisteuo appears over 250 times in the New Testament and is translated primarily as “believe” but would be better rendered as “trust.” It’s not simply about believing that the resurrection event actually happened, but about living in a trusting relationship with God that raised our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead.

Paul went on to say, “For with the heart man believeth [is trusting] unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made [is being confessed] unto salvation” (Rom 10:10). In the Greek, the verbs are in the present continuous tense. It’s not a one-time belief and confession but a continual trusting relationship with God and confession of Jesus Christ as our Lord that saves us. This is the gospel, the message of faithful obedience that Paul was not ashamed to preach.

We must live righteously to be saved

The doctrine of Sola Fide asserts that we’re saved by faith or belief and not by any of our works. But all three of the main passages used to support this teaching are actually about Christ’s faithfulness, not our faith.

For no one is declared righteous before him by the works of the law, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin. But now apart from the law the righteousness of God (which is attested by the law and the prophets) has been disclosed – namely, the righteousness of God through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:20-23 NET)

We are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners, yet we know that no one is justified by the works of the law but by the faithfulness of Jesus Christ. And we have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by the faithfulness of Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified. … I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So the life I now live in the body, I live because of the faithfulness of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside God’s grace, because if righteousness could come through the law, then Christ died for nothing! (Galatians 2:15-16, 20-21 NET).

More than that, I now regard all things as liabilities compared to the far greater value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things – indeed, I regard them as dung! – that I may gain Christ, and be found in him, not because I have my own righteousness derived from the law, but because I have the righteousness that comes by way of Christ’s faithfulness – a righteousness from God that is in fact based on Christ’s faithfulness. (Philippians 3:8-9 NET)

There is no such faith versus works issue in Scripture. This is an artificial distinction necessary for supporting Sola Fide. Paul taught in these three passages that righteousness or a right relationship with God is based on Christ’s faithfulness to God in giving Himself as a sacrifice for our sins. The real issue is that we’re right with God by Christ’s faithfulness to die for our sins versus trying to be right with God by our works under the Law of Moses.

Because Paul taught that we can’t be right before God by our works under the Law of Moses, it’s then assumed that we just can’t live up to the standard of righteous living that God requires. However, Paul also taught that under the New Covenant we not only can but must live according to God’s standard of righteousness to be right before Him.

For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature [physis 5449] the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts … Therefore if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision? And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature [physis 5449], if it fulfil the law, judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law? (Romans 2:13-15, 26-27)

The Greek physis translated here as “nature” is about the natural state in which all male babies are born—uncircumcised. Therefore, to “do by nature the things contained in the law,” “keep the righteousness of the law,” and “fulfil the law” means that Gentiles actually can keep the righteous requirements of the law in their natural uncircumcised state. But how can they do this? They’re able to do it by “the work of the law written in their hearts.”

The commandments given by Moses under the Old Covenant were written on stone tablets but the commandments of Jesus Christ under the New Covenant are written on our hearts by the Spirit, “written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart … Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones” (2Co 3:3, 6-7). And Paul called this “the ministration of righteousness” (2Co 3:9). In our human strength we can’t live to the standard of righteousness God requires, but by the strength of the Holy Spirit in our hearts we can. He went on to say, “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2Co 3:18). It’s by the Spirit of the Lord in our hearts that we are conformed to the image of Christ’s righteousness.

Christ saves those that obey Him, “And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him” (Heb 5:9), and it’s by obedience to His commandments written on their hearts, “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people … In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old” (Heb 8:10, 13). Both Jews and Gentiles can live according to God’s standard of righteousness by the strength of the Spirit in their hearts.

Paul said that we “keep the righteousness of the law … fulfil the law” (Rom 2:26-27), then later explained, “That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit … And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness” (Rom 8:4, 10). We all die because we’ve all sinned, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23), “for that all have sinned” (Rom 5:12). But if the Spirit of Christ dwells in us then the Spirit will raise us from the dead to eternal life because we fulfilled the righteous requirements of the law, “the Spirit is life because of righteousness.” We’re not saved from death by believing some facts are true. We’re saved by fulfilling the righteous standard required by the law through the ability of the Spirit of Christ in our hearts.

Later he will say “for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law … love is the fulfilling of the law” (Rom 13:8, 10). Keeping Christ’s one commandment, “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Rom 13:9), fulfills the righteous standard required by God. The ability to keep this commandment comes when we “put on the armour of light … put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom 13:12, 14). In our strength we can’t live up to this standard. However, when we become servants or slaves of the Greater Light, “the greater light to rule the day” (Gen 1:16), then we have His strength as if clothed with His armor. Since we now have the strength to live according to God’s standard of righteousness then we have no excuses for living below this standard. Therefore, we not only can but must live righteously to be saved.

Again, Paul said at the beginning of his letter, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ” (1:16), and the gospel of Christ is “That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Mat 5:20). Now, if Christ was speaking only of an imputed, reckoned, or counted righteousness then what’s the purpose of the rest of His sermon? Why teach the Sermon on the Mount at all if we don’t have to live according to its standard of righteousness? But Christ ended His sermon with “Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them … And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not” (Mat 7:24, 26). Moses prophesied that God’s people were to hear the Prophet that would come, “The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken” (Deu 18:15), “… that we may hear it, and do it? … that we may hear it, and do it? But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it” (Deu 30:12-14). Doing what He commands means living to His righteous standard.

In practical terms, how can we live according to this standard? How can we raise our standard of daily moral living to what God requires? The only way we can do this is by becoming spiritually minded, “That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” (Rom 8:4-6).

The gospel Jesus taught is “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal” (Mat 6:19-20). A treasure is anything that is of value or importance to us. And what’s more valuable than living in a right and pleasing relationship with God? Therefore, to have “treasures in heaven” is to please the Father in heaven by living righteously according to the commandments of His Son. Being “spiritually minded” is treasuring what pleases the Father, and what pleases the Father is faithful obedience to His Son.

What do we treasure?

I suffered from anxiety for over ten years. I was on medication and received regular counseling that only helped slightly and superficially. But when all else failed, I found that rather than trying to get rid of the anxiety, I just needed to change my treasure. God created us with the capacity to feel anxiety. Therefore, He can take it away from us if He so chooses. I learned that when I simply focused on pleasing Him above all else and became content with the anxiety as being His will for me then He eventually took it away. To fight against the anxiety was to fight against Him. Essentially, my healing came when I forsook my own self-image and began being conformed to the image of Christ. My treasure is no longer caring what people on earth think about me but what my Father in heaven thinks about me, “whose praise is not of men, but of God” (Rom 2:29), “not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts” (1Th 2:4).

I’m convinced that the reason Christians keep struggling with endless personal problems is that their treasure is still here on earth. They’re trying desperately to solve their earthly problems because they’re protecting their earthly treasure. The devil is a master distracter. He will be sure that we have plenty of problems to keep us occupied and not doing God’s will. We say to ourselves, “If I can just get more time, more money, and get this problem and that problem out of my life then I’ll start obeying Christ and loving others.” But if we’re slaves owned by Him then our personal problems are His while His sufferings are ours! If we’ll just take care of His business, He will take care of ours, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Mat 6:33).

“Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith [faithfulness]; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Heb 12:2). We’re to look unto Christ’s example of faithfulness to His Father of being despised, rejected, falsely accused, beaten, spat upon, flogged, and put to death. It doesn’t mean necessarily that we will suffer to this same degree but that we’ll suffer unjustly to a certain degree after the same image. If we treasure the recognition, acceptance, and praise of men then we’ll try to portray a skewed image of ourselves to gain the recognition, acceptance, and praise of men. On the other hand, if we’re being conformed to the image of Christ, we’re “being made conformable unto his death” (Phl 3:10), “even the death of the cross” (Phl 2:8). We’re willing to die even the death of a criminal if it comes to that, not caring about the image we portray to others but only about Christ’s image and His glory.

Job’s problem was that “he justified himself rather than God” (Job 32:2). He kept trying to justify himself before his three friends to protect his own image when he should have just kept his mouth closed and trusted God to eventually justify him. Because he relished the former days when people honored him, “My glory was fresh in me, and my bow was renewed in my hand. Unto me men gave ear, and waited, and kept silence at my counsel.” (Job 29:20-21), and loathed their current contempt upon him, “And now am I their song, yea, I am their byword. They abhor me, they flee far from me, and spare not to spit in my face.” (Job 30:9-10), he tried desperately to gain their approval. He was too worried that they thought his suffering was because of some sin he had committed so he kept giving longwinded speeches about how good he had been. But he actually had been good, “Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man” (Job 1:8, 2:3). He was a good and faithful servant but his faithfulness was being tested and tried, “Knowing this, that the trying of your faith [faithfulness] worketh patience [hypomone 5281]” (Jam 1:3), “Ye have heard of the patience [hypomone 5281] of Job” (Jam 5:11).

Peter said that baptism saves us, “The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ” (1Pe 3:21). However, it’s not getting wet that saves us but what we do after we get dried off! It’s living righteously thereafter with good conscience toward God:

For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. (1 Peter 2:19-24)

Christ didn’t open His mouth and try to justify Himself when He suffered wrongfully. He kept quiet and “committed himself to him that judgeth righteously.” He didn’t care what anyone thought about Him. Now that we are “dead to sins” we also “should live unto righteousness.” Our sins are forgiven so that we can now live righteously after the example and image of Christ. We’re to suffer wrongfully with conscience toward God—to not care what anyone thinks about us or might do to us because we trust Him to judge righteously and vindicate us.

Being conformed to the image of Christ requires relinquishing our image, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus … But made himself of no reputation” (Phl 2:5, 7). Christ didn’t care about His image and reputation but only about doing the will of His Father. Therefore, He was willing to die with the reputation of a criminal. Think about that for a moment: are we willing to be falsely sentenced and put to death with everyone thinking we’re a criminal? This is essentially what Paul meant by “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.” It’s about living and dying in service to Christ with no regard to our reputation and image. Christ didn’t try to make a name for Himself, therefore His Father has “given him a name which is above every name” (Phl 2:9). Are we trying to make a name for ourselves? Are we trying to get the glory? If we are then we don’t have the same mindset as Christ. “Nor of men sought we glory, neither of you” (1Th 2:6), “for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ” (Gal 1:10).

Imputed righteousness

Paul taught about imputed righteousness or justification in Romans chapter four, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness … Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead” (Rom 4:3, 23-24). However, he had already taught earlier “For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified” (Rom 2:13). In other words, we must keep the righteous standard the law requires to be justified before God. But how can these two seemingly contradictory teachings be reconciled?

When Paul taught about imputed righteousness he said “Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt” (Rom 4:4). We can’t work to pay off the sin debt we owe—we must be forgiven of it. God therefore, imputes righteousness to us by forgiving our sin debt and no longer counts it to us, “Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.” (Rom 4:6-8). But His forgiveness is conditional.

Jesus told the parable of a king that had compassion on one of his servants and forgave him all of his debt, “Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt” (Mat 18:27). But his compassion toward him was contingent upon his servant’s own compassion toward his fellow servants, “Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?” (Mat 18:33). Therefore, his master put all of his debt right back on his account, “And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him” (Mat 18:35). Although he had been counted or imputed right before his master, he was once again counted his debtor. And this is how it is with the righteousness of God, “So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses” (Mat 18:35). We can be forgiven and right with God but then later no longer forgiven and right with God. This is the gospel that Jesus Christ Himself preached.

Was the man in this parable forgiven and right with his master initially? Yes, he was. Was this man still forgiven and right with his master later? No, he was not! Once Saved, Always Saved (OSAS) is not the gospel Jesus preached. We can be forgiven but then later no longer forgiven; counted righteous then later counted debtors. But those who tout OSAS make the claim that people who fall away never were truly saved or forgiven in the first place.

“Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no such commandment” (Act 15:24). This is what John meant by “I write no new commandment unto you” (1Jo 2:7), “They went out from us, but they were not of us” (1Jo 2:19). This has nothing to do with people leaving their local church and thus proving they never were saved in the first place. It was about false teachers that went out from the Jerusalem church, commanding Gentiles to be circumcised. Though they went out from them—from the apostles and leaders in the Jerusalem church—they were not sent by them with that message. They were antichrists and liars. Lifting John’s statement “They went out from us, but they were not of us” from context to prove OSAS is simply running roughshod over sound hermeneutics.

God freely gives us righteousness through the precious shed blood of His Son Jesus Christ. But this imputed righteousness is conditioned upon our faithful service to His Son in obeying His commandment of love toward our fellow servants. Therefore, we must live according to the righteous standard Jesus Christ commanded to be saved. Jesus concluded His Sermon on the Mount with: “Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man … And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man” (Mat 7:24, 26). Christ’s gospel is that we must not only hear but also do what He said. Imputed righteousness by the shed blood of Christ gets us right with God—righteous living by serving Christ and repenting when we sin keeps us right with God.

James wrote about having faithful obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ, “My brethren, have not the faith [faithfulness] of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons” (Jas 2:1). Christ’s gospel is that unprofitable servants will be cast out, “And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Mat 25:30), and this is what James taught, “What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith [faithfulness], and have not works [ergon 2041]? can faith [faithfulness] save him?” (Jas 2:14). In other words, what profit are we to our Lord if we just say that we’re faithful to Him but we’re not actually faithful to Him? We’re unprofitable servants that will be cast out.

Now, it’s unfortunate that the Greek ergon was translated here as “works” because it implies meritorious works or earning salvation apart from Christ. Of course this passage has fueled the ongoing debate between Protestants and Roman Catholics about faith versus works for hundreds of years. But recognizing the true message James was communicating leaves no issue here to debate.

James was simply speaking of our actions, specifically of doing what our Lord commands, “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (Jas 1:22), as our Lord Himself said, “Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them … And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not” (Mat 7:24, 26). It’s “deceiving your own selves” to “say he hath faith [faithfulness], and have not works.” In other words, we’re deceiving one another when we’ve publicly confessed and committed ourselves to faithfully obey Jesus Christ as our Lord yet we don’t have works of obedience to Him as our Lord. Saying we’re faithful but not actually being faithful is a hypocritical deception, “A double minded [dipsychos 1374] man is unstable in all his ways” (Jas 1:8). A dipsychos is a man of two souls or a man living a double life—a hypocrite! And this is exactly what Jesus preached against, “as the hypocrites do … thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are … be not, as the hypocrites” (Mat 6:2, 5, 16). Hypocrites say they’re faithful and might even appear to be faithful but are not faithful.

Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith [faithfulness] wrought with his works, and by works was faith [faithfulness] made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed [trusted] God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith [faithfulness] only. (James 2:21-24)

James was saying that Abraham was “justified by works” or was in a right relationship with God as long as he faithfully obeyed Him. The Scripture says “And he believed [trusted] in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness” (Gen 15:6), but James said that this was fulfilled many years later when God tested Abraham by telling him to offer his son Isaac, “when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar … And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed [trusted] God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness.”

When Paul said, “(As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed [trusted]” (Rom 4:17), he had this passage in mind, “I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect … Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee” (Gen 17:1, 5). He was saying that Abraham continued to be counted righteous so long as he continued to walk “before him whom he believed [trusted].” He had to continue to trust and obey God to maintain a right relationship with Him, “And he believed [trusted] in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness” (Gen 15:6).

Paul went on to say, “He staggered [contended] not at the promise of God through unbelief [unfaithfulness]; but was strong in faith [faithfulness], giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.” (Rom 4:20-22). Abraham was faithful to God because he didn’t contend or argue with Him about what He had promised. Rather, he was “strong in faith [faithfulness], giving glory to God.” Faithful obedience to God glorifies Him. Paul’s conclusion was “And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.” In other words, Abraham’s continued righteousness before God was contingent upon his continued faithfulness to Him without disagreeing with Him. Imputed righteousness is not a one-and-done deal so to speak but a daily walk before God in relationship with Him.

This is also what James concluded, “And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed [trusted] God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness.” But this fulfillment was within the event of God testing him in offering his son Isaac. He had been counted righteous up to this point and was continued to be counted righteous by his obedience at this juncture, “And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice” (Gen 22:18). What if Abraham had disobeyed God and not followed through with this? Would he have continued to be right with God? Would God have said to him, “Well, that’s okay. It was just a test. No big deal!” A right relationship with God is contingent upon trusting Him and being found trustworthy by Him because relationships are not one-sided. If we’re not doing what He said, why should He do anything for us?

Also, we learn from this event that God even counts willingness as obedience because Abraham was said to have obeyed even though he was stopped short of actually doing it, “because thou hast obeyed my voice.” This is why obedience is from our hearts, “but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you” (Rom 6:17).

Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe [trust] on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification. Therefore being justified by faith [faithfulness], we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith [faithfulness] into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. (Romans 4:23-25, 5:1-2)

Imputed righteousness is a position “wherein we stand” before God, and a position or a standing can be compromised. That our standing before Him is contingent upon continued trust in Him is seen “in the steps of that faith [faithfulness] of our father Abraham” (Rom 4:12). As God tested Abraham, He tests all of us regularly by putting us in difficult situations where we’re forced to trust Him, to either obey or disobey. This is the imputed righteousness by which we stand before Him. It’s a daily walk before Him, “walk before me” (Gen 17:1), “before him whom he believed [trusted]” (Rom 4:17).

We are debtors

Because we’ve all sinned against God the Father, we owe Him a sin debt we can never repay. This is what Paul meant by “Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt” (Rom 4:4). Trying to be righteous or right before God by our works is impossible because all of our efforts are like paying interest on a loan without ever paying down a penny of the principal.

God gave His Son Jesus Christ who paid-in-full our sin debt on the cross. When we make Jesus our Lord and Master, He purchases us as His slaves along with all of our debt and frees us from it. For example: when someone purchases a company, they not only purchase all of its assets but also assume all of its liabilities. Christ purchased us and freed us from all of the sin debt we owed. We rightfully rejoice in Christ that we’re now forgiven of our sins and didn’t do anything to earn it. It’s in that sense we’re not saved by our works.

However, what’s not emphasized or even realized by many is that although we’re no longer indebted to the Father, we’re now completely indebted to His Son! Jesus Christ purchased us as His slaves and it’s now our duty and obligation to obey whatever He commands, “So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do” (Luk 17:10). This is what Paul meant later in Romans, “Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh” (Rom 8:12). We owed a sin debt we couldn’t pay but now owe a righteousness debt we must pay! We’re now completely indebted to love, “Owe no man any thing, but to love one another” (Rom 13:8). Because we’re indebted to our Lord, and our Lord commanded us to love, we’re now indebted to love one another. This is not optional for salvation but essential.

Lowering God’s standard of righteousness

In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said “That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.” (Mat 5:20). He then repeatedly quoted what the scribes and Pharisees had been saying followed by His own sayings or commandments: “Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time … But I say unto you …” (Mat 5:21-22, 27-28); “It has been said … But I say unto you …” (Mat 5:31-32); “Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time … But I say unto you …” (Mat 5:33-34); “Ye have heard that it hath been said … But I say unto you …” (Mat 5:38-39, 43-44). The righteous standard being taught by the scribes and Pharisees was lower than what God requires.

In Luke 16:1-8, Jesus told the parable of the unjust servant who gained favor with people by writing-off his master’s debts for pennies on the dollar, “Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty … Take thy bill, and write fourscore” (Luk 16:6-7). This was illustrative of the Pharisees teaching a lower standard of righteousness than what God requires, and they knew that this story was about them, “And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him” (Luk 16:14). Jesus then spoke to them sarcastically, “And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations” (Luk 16:9). In other words, make people your friends rather than being faithful to your master!

As Jesus Christ’s servants, we’re indebted to Him and must live according to the standard of righteousness He commanded. Unfortunately, the doctrine of Sola Fide lowers His standard as if selling His debts for pennies on the dollar. When we think we’re saved by only believing some facts are true, we don’t have a compulsion to faithfully obey Jesus Christ as Lord. Why try to pay a debt that we don’t even know we owe?

The doctrines of Sola Fide and OSAS lower God’s standard of righteousness and diminish the fear of the Lord because when the consequences of sinful living are removed, there’s no longer a fear of God’s wrath. This is why many Christian men have no urgency to turn from pornography. Why should they when they’re supposedly saved by believing some facts are true and that they can never lose this salvation? People don’t want to hear the standard of righteousness Jesus Christ preached to be saved—they want to hear Sola Fide and OSAS. Unfortunately these doctrines sell Christ’s debts and make friends.

Walk after the Spirit

“For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another” (Gal 5:14-15). Snakes bite their prey with venom then devour them whole. When we don’t serve the Lord Jesus Christ by obeying His commandment of love, we’re like serpents devouring dust, “upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life” (Gen 3:14), “for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return” (Gen 3:19). Since we’re all dust, when we’re not walking in love toward one another, we’re moving on our bellies like snakes and eating dust—devouring one another.

Paul continued, “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh” (Gal 5:16). The key to overcoming the works of the flesh, “Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like” (Gal 5:19-21), is not by trying to overcome these sinful works in our strength but by walking in the Spirit. When we truly walk in the Spirit we won’t have problems with our flesh. We won’t!

“For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.” (Rom 13:9-10). Except for a few positive commandments such as “Remember the sabbath day … Honour thy father and thy mother” (Exo 20:8, 12), the laws of the Old Covenant consisted primarily of negative “Thou shalt not” commandments. It was mainly about what not to do. But the law of the New Covenant written on our hearts and minds is embodied in the one positive “Thou shalt” commandment. Living righteously before God isn’t accomplished by striving to not do what we shouldn’t but by striving to do what we should! “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.”

The wretchedness Paul experienced formerly under the law was that “for what I would, that do I not … For the good that I would I do not” (Rom 7:15, 19). And this is what he meant by “so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law” (Gal 5:17-18). The law written on stone tablets didn’t give him the ability to do what he would—it only told him to stop doing what he shouldn’t. The indwelling Holy Spirit, however, is like having the law written in our hearts because now we actually can do the things that we would. And by doing the things that we would, we won’t do the things that we wouldn’t.

“Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself … let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light … But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof” (Rom 13:9, 12, 14). Faithfully keeping the one commandment of love is what clothes us in His armor so that the lusts of the flesh have no place or provision to operate. Christ strengthens us by His Spirit when we faithfully obey Him, “to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith [faithfulness]” (Eph 3:16-17), “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” (Eph 6:10-11). When we’re striving to be faithful to Him, He gives us the strength and ability we need to be faithful to Him.

Christ’s commandment of love is not the family and friends plan—it includes our enemies as well, “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you” (Mat 5:44). We don’t have the natural strength and ability in ourselves to sincerely and consistently love our enemies from our hearts. But something wonderful and amazing happens when we have the Holy Spirit in our hearts and we’re truly striving to walk in love toward others—Christ gives us the strength supernaturally to do it.

It’s by our love that we’re known, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another” (Jhn 13:35). And this love is the example of love Jesus showed to Judas Iscariot. Day and night for over three years He had never treated him any differently than the other eleven because when He said “one of you shall betray me” (Jhn 13:21), they had no clue who it would be, “Then the disciples looked one on another, doubting of whom he spake” (Jhn 13:22). That all men will know we are His disciples isn’t so much by washing the feet of our eleven friends but the feet of our one enemy.

Jesus taught, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Mat 5:16). The good works that they see which glorify our Father are primarily the things that they can’t do—sincerely love our enemies. “Love your enemies … That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven” (Mat 5:44-45). We’re truly one of God’s children when we sincerely love our enemies from our hearts.

When we focus on Christ’s commandment “all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them” (Mat 7:12), we won’t have problems with our flesh. I’ve come to learn in my walk with God that when I’m struggling with my flesh it indicates that I’m neglecting something in my walk of love toward others. Therefore, my flesh has become the gauge of my love walk. Once I correct the deficiency in what I’m neglecting to do to others then I find that the problems in my flesh subside. The reason it works like this is that since God knows the thoughts and motives of our hearts and minds, then when our hearts and actions please Him, He cuts away the works of the flesh from our lives by His Spirit. And there’s actually a Biblical term for this—the circumcision of Christ, the circumcision made without hands.

The circumcision of Christ

“In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ” (Col 2:11). This circumcision is “in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh” which he later says “put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth” (Col 3:8). Circumcision in the flesh is a literal cutting off or putting off of flesh from our body. The circumcision of Christ, on the other hand, has nothing to do with our literal flesh or body being cut—it’s a cutting off or putting off of the works of the flesh, “Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like” (Gal 5:19-21).

How is this possible? How do we get the works of our flesh cut off from us? We must “walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” (Rom 8:1, 4), “But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof” (Rom 13:14), “Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh” (Gal 5:16). If we’ll just focus on pleasing the Father by keeping His Son’s one commandment, “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Gal 5:14), He will cut off from us the works of our flesh! This is the circumcision made without hands.

“For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God” (Rom 2:28-29). The name Jew means “praise.” Therefore the Jew being praised by God is truly a Jew, or truly living up to his name. What exactly is this circumcision that is of the heart?

The gospel Christ preached is: “Blessed are the pure in heart” (Mat 5:8), “But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart” (Mat 5:28), “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Mat 6:21). Again, the reason many Christian men are addicted to pornography is because their treasure is on earth and not in heaven—they love the pleasures of sin more than pleasing God. But if they don’t repent and begin living righteously then sadly they will perish as Christ said, “and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell” (Mat 5:29-30).

Our hearts will be wherever our treasure is. Therefore, to change our hearts we must change our treasure. We must treasure pleasing God above all else. But if we’re supposedly saved by only believing some facts are true then why turn from sin and live right?

When we treasure praise from men, “before men, to be seen of them” (Mat 6:1), “that they may be seen of men” (Mat 6:5), “that they may appear unto men” (Mat 6:6), then the motives of our heart for the things that we do will not be right. But when we treasure receiving praise from God then we’ll have pure motives in our hearts toward others, “Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently” (1Pe 1:22). Our love will be warm and genuine care for others. Jesus said, “And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold” (Mat 24:12). Sin is the reason we’re not genuinely warm and caring toward one another.

The circumcision of the heart comes by getting our treasure right so that our hearts will be right. Once we’re doing what’s right from a pure heart then God will cut off the works of the flesh from our lives. Therefore, the result of seeking praise from God is being circumcised by Him, “circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.”

The world teaches self-help and self-improvement. There are enetire sections in book stores filled with hundreds of books dedicated to teaching us how to improve ourselves. But this is exactly the problem! Self-help and self-improvement are simply selfish. Christ commanded us to love others not ourselves. When we stop trying to improve ourselves and just focus on obeying Christ’s commandment of love, God performs the necessary self-improvement on us by His in dwelling Spirit. I came to learn that rather than using my introverted personality type as an excuse for not loving others, that if I just began sincerely striving to walk in love from my heart and trusting God to help me do it, He began circumcising the works of my flesh and improving myself. Of course I continue to fail many times but I repent and keep striving to move forward.

The Father of lights

When James said, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning” (Jas 1:17), he was referring to the two great lights, “And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth” (Gen 1:16-17). The Greater Light came down from above, from the Father.

This is the gospel Jesus taught, “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust” (Mat 5:44-45). The Father doesn’t just shine sunlight upon the crops of good people but then leave evil people in the darkness of shadows—He shines equally upon all without turning the sun away from anyone, “with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” Thus we’re to treat all people, including our enemies, the same. If we’re ruled by the Greater Light and treating everyone without partiality or favoritism then we’re living like children of our Father.

James will go on to say, “But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish” (Jas 3:14-15). Those who are bitter against others and envying them are not serving the Greater Light from above but are serving the lesser light which is “earthly, sensual, devilish.” The wisdom from above is the Greater Light that came down from above and taught us to be wise, “Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock” (Mat 7:24). The wisdom from above is hearing and doing what the Greater Light taught and commanded.

Be doers and not hearers only

But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. (James 1:22-25)

James illustrated the law of loving our neighbor as ourselves by the analogy of looking into a mirror. Who do we see when we look into a mirror? We see ourselves! Since we’re all created after the image of God, in a sense we’re seeing ourselves when seeing our neighbor. The image of God in other people reflects upon us so that we know how to treat them simply because we know how we also would want to be treated. Since we’re all equal in value and all have the same needs, struggles, and desires, when we see our neighbor in need, we’re seeing ourselves in need.

To answer the question “And who is my neighbour?” (Luk 10:29), Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan, “And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.” (Luk 10:31-32). This is what James meant by “beholdeth himself, and goeth his way.” The priest and the Levite were beholding themselves when they saw this man yet went their way. But the one who was “a doer of the work” was the Samaritan, “Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.” (Luk 10:36-37). The mercy this Samaritan showed is the gospel Jesus preached.

James will go on to define the “law of liberty” as the law of love, “If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well … So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty. For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.” (Jas 2:8, 12-13). God shows mercy to us if we’ve loved our neighbor and shown mercy. On the other hand, we’ll be judged without mercy if we’ve shown no mercy.

Showing mercy is prompted by recognizing the reality that people behave the way they do because they’re in bondage to sin and serving evil spirits, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Eph 6:12). People are not ultimately the problem but their rulers—the lesser lights depicted in the night sky. Mercy recognizes this reality and loves sincerely expecting nothing in return, “Recompense to no man evil for evil … Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good” (Rom 12:17, 21). Mercy does to others all things we would want done unto us without any thought of what they might do in return.

Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh [logizomai 3049] no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think [logizomai 3049] on these things. (Philippians 4:8)

The Greek logizomai means to “impute,” “reckon,” or “to take into account.” It’s the same word used for God counting or imputing righteousness to us, “For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted [logizomai 3049] unto him for righteousness.” (Rom 4:3). As God’s children, we’re to be following the Father by counting and imputing righteousness to others as He is to us. Therefore, to “think [logizomai 3049] on these things” is to count to others what we know to be true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtue, and praise. We’re to “thinketh [logizomai 3049] no evil” or to not impute anything to anyone that we don’t know to be true, but always assume the best.

God gives us right standing with Him through the precious shed blood of His Son Jesus Christ then has confidence in us to walk worthy and live up to that righteousness before Him. He puts the burden on us to prove Him right or wrong, and this is how we are to be in our relationships with others. We’re to count others as righteous before us, sincerely assuming the best about them unless they prove us wrong.

Of course God knows our hearts and minds. He knows how we’re thinking about people when we’re around them and when we’re not around them. Therefore, Christ’s commandment of love is not just how we treat people with our words and actions but with our every thought and intention about them all the time. This is God’s standard of righteousness in which we must live or we will not make it in according to the gospel Jesus Christ preached, “For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Mat 5:20).

Conclusion

Christ preached His gospel message in the beginning when He said “Let there be light: and there was light” (Gen 1:3). But this was prophetic of Him coming into this dark world to say “Let there be light” again when He preached the saving gospel message. The message from the beginning is NOT Sola Fide. It’s not a belief that some facts about Jesus Christ are true but faithfulness to Jesus Christ as Lord and Ruler. This was seen in the creation of the sun and moon, “the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night” (Gen 1:16). None of us lives to ourselves but we are all ruled by either the Greater Light or the lesser light. Salvation, therefore, is by keeping our commitment to faithfully serve the Greater Light in obedience to His commandments.

We’re not servants of whom we confess as Lord but of whom we actually obey as Lord, “his servants ye are to whom ye obey” (Rom 6:16). This is the gospel Christ preached, “And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (Luk 6:46). Discipleship is teaching new converts by word and example to obey the commandments of Jesus Christ, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” (Mat 28:19-20). Getting wet in baptism doesn’t save us but it’s living with a good conscience toward God after getting dried off, “The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ” (1Pe 3:21).

Jesus Christ’s gospel is that we must live to the standard of righteousness He taught and commanded or we will not be entering His Kingdom, “For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Mat 5:20). If all we must do is believe some facts are true then why teach righteous living in this sermon?

Paul’s statement, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved” (Rom 10:9), is not a formula for salvation because within the context of what Moses said it’s about hearing and doing what our Lord Jesus Christ commanded, “that we may hear it, and do it? … that we may hear it, and do it? … that thou mayest do it” (Deu 30:11-14). Confessing Him as Lord means that we’re making a public commitment to hear and do everything He commands.

Paul taught that with the Spirit of Christ in our hearts we not only can but must live according to God’s standard of righteousness to be justified and saved. We can do this by “the work of the law written in their hearts.” Jesus said, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Mat 6:21). People’s hearts are not right because their treasure is not right. For people to do the right things with the right motives in their hearts, they must first treasure pleasing God above all else. A treasure is anything valuable or important to us. Pearls are not valuable to pigs, “neither cast ye your pearls before swine” (Mat 7:6). The problem, therefore, is not the pearls but the pigs. People’s hearts need to be changed by the Spirit of God so that they’ll no longer be a “dog” or a “pig” but one of God’s people, treasuring a right relationship with Him and pleasing Him above all else.

Jesus said, “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him” (Jhn 4:23). The Father is seeking those who truly worship Him for who He is, not for what He can do for them. Nobody, including God, wants to be used. Genuine relationships involve sacrifice. Therefore, God is constantly testing our love for Him with difficulties and hardships that compel us to make sacrifices and prove our love for Him. After all, it’s easy to love someone and stay faithful when everything is going well. He is seeking those whose hearts sincerely want whatever He wants—to genuinely submit to His will and be content in any circumstance. He proved His love for us by His sacrifice. When we prove our love for Him by our sacrifices, He will move heaven and earth for us so to speak.

God gave His Son Jesus Christ who paid-in-full our sin debt on the cross. When we make Jesus our Lord and Master, He purchases us as His slaves along with all of our debt and frees us from it. Although we’re no longer indebted to the Father, we’re now completely indebted to His Son! Jesus Christ purchased us as His slaves and it’s now our duty and obligation to obey whatever He commands. We owed a debt we couldn’t pay but now owe a debt we must pay, “Owe no man any thing, but to love one another” (Rom 13:8). We don’t owe anything to anyone except one thing—to love them. As servants indebted to our Lord, He made us indebted to love each other. Therefore, we must pay this debt of love or we’re not serving the Lord Jesus Christ and we won’t be saved.

The Pharisees taught a lower standard of righteousness than what God requires as illustrated by the parable of the unjust servant who gained favor with people by writing-off his master’s debts for pennies on the dollar, “Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty … Take thy bill, and write fourscore” (Luk 16:6-7). They were making people their friends rather than being faithful to their master. The doctrines of Sola Fide and OSAS are similar in this regard.

Paul said, “Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh” (Gal 5:16). The key to overcoming the works of the flesh is not by trying to overcome these works in our strength but by walking in the Spirit. When we walk in the Spirit we’ll not have problems with our flesh. When we focus on doing “all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them” (Mat 7:12), we won’t have problems with our flesh because when our hearts and actions please God then He cuts away the works of the flesh from our lives. This is called the circumcision of Christ, the circumcision made without hands. “In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ” (Col 2:11). Circumcision in the flesh is a literal cutting off or putting off of the flesh but the circumcision of Christ is a figurative cutting off or putting off the works of the flesh.

God imputes righteousness to us by forgiving our sin debt and no longer counts it to us. However, this forgiveness is conditional. The gospel Jesus preached was about a king that had compassion on one of his servants and forgave him all of his debt. But his compassion toward him was contingent upon his servant’s own compassion toward his fellow servants. This servant was forgiven and right with his master initially but his master put all of his debt right back on his account. He was forgiven but then no longer forgiven.

James taught that the gospel message was preached from the beginning, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning” (Jas 1:17). These “lights” are the “two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night” (Gen 1:16). The Greater Light came down from above and taught us, “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust” (Mat 5:44-45). The Father shines the sun equally upon all with no variation or shadow of turning away. Christ’s commandment of love is not the family and friends plan! As God’s children, our love is to shine upon all whether they’re our friends or our enemies.

Paul quoted from Psalm 19 concerning the gospel, “And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! … But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.” (Rom 10:15, 18). This Psalm is about the Greater Light ruling over the day and the lesser light over the night, “Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun” (Psa 19:2-4). Every day and night for 6,000 years—that’s almost 2.2 million times—the gospel has been preached to all people of all languages. Everyone is serving one of two masters but not both, “No man can serve two masters” (Mat 6:24). Salvation is a change of master, from serving the lesser light to serving the Greater Light.

Many Christians think they’re secure in their salvation because they believe some facts about Jesus are true yet they’re not striving to keep Christ’s commandment of love—they’re hearers but not doers. I consider this the greatest problem in churches today. The gospel is obeying Christ as Lord yet Sola Fide has convinced many Christians that obedience isn’t that important and even that it’s unnecessary. Sola Fide is not the gospel of Jesus Christ. The gospel of Christ is the message He preached in the beginning when He created all things and has continued to preach every day by what He created. His gospel is that we must faithfully serve Him according to the standard of righteousness He taught and commanded.

The Hebrew noun [emuwnah 530] in Habakkuk’s famous statement “but the just shall live by his faith [emuwnah 530]” (2:4), actually means faithfulness and not faith as it is translated. It appears around 50 times in the Old Testament and always indicates faithfulness in every context. About half of its occurrences describe God’s faithfulness. Obviously it’s not speaking about God having belief in something or someone else but rather about Him showing faithfulness to us. It’s rather suspicious that in the King James Version, Habakkuk 2:4 is the only place out of 50 where emuwnah is translated as faith! A few translations (CJB, GW, LEB, NET, NIV, NLT, NOG, VOICE) do render it correctly as faithfulness. Furthermore, the Septuagint includes a possessive pronoun that would be rendered into English as “But the just shall live from my faith [faithfulness].” Of course Habakkuk 2:4 is quoted three times in the New Testament (Rom 1:17; Gal 3:11; Heb 10:38), and if Habakkuk truly meant faithfulness then this meaning would not have changed in its NT counterpart of the Greek pistis.

The Greek noun [pistis 4102] appears almost 250 times in the NT and is always translated as faith in the King James Version except in just three places where the context forces it to be rendered faithfulness or fidelity (Rom 3:3; Gal 5:22; Tit 2:10). The word pistis also appears about 30 times in the Septuagint (Deu 32:20; 1Sa 21:12, 26:23; 2Ki 12:15, 22:7; 1Ch 9:22,26,31; 2Ch 31:12,15,18, 34:12; Neh 9:38; Psa 33:4; Pro 3:3, 12:17,22, 14:22, 15:28; Sng 4:8; Jer 5:1,3, 9:3, 15:18, 28:9, 32:41, 33:6; Hos 2:20; Hab 2:4), and all but two (Deu 32:20; Hab 2:4) are rendered as “faithfully,” “faithfulness,” “truth,” “trust,” “loyalty,” “reliable,” “steadfast,” “assuredly,” and on one occasion the proper name “Amana.” And the contexts of the two exceptions don’t force the meaning of faith but only allow this possibility. In fact, the majority occurrences weigh in favor that these two exceptions also mean faithfulness. The point is that in the KJV and most other translations, when liberty allows pistis to be translated as faith then that liberty is taken. However, the Septuagint translators used it consistently with the meaning of faithfulness.

Look at how the New English Translation and the New Testament for Everyone render Romans 3:22, 26: “the righteousness of God through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction … This was also to demonstrate his righteousness in the present time, so that he would be just and the justifier of the one who lives because of Jesus’ faithfulness” (NET); “God’s covenant justice comes into operation through the faithfulness of Jesus the Messiah, for the benefit of all who have faith. For there is no distinction … This was to demonstrate his covenant justice in the present time: that is, that he himself is in the right, and that he declares to be in the right everyone who trusts in the faithfulness of Jesus” (NTE). Back in the first chapter of Romans, this is also what Paul meant when he said “For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from [ek 1537] faith [pistis 4102] to [eis 1519 faith [pistis 4102]: as it is written, The just shall live by [ek 1537] faith [pistis 4102]” (Rom 1:17). Paraphrasing, he was saying that God’s righteousness is on the basis of Christ’s faithfulness to the end result of our faithfulness; as it is written, the righteous shall have eternal life on the basis of Christ’s faithfulness.

Was Martin Luther correct in his understanding of “The just shall live by faith” to mean that we are saved by belief? The argument of Sola Fide is that we are saved by only believing some facts are true and nothing else, otherwise we are trying to save ourselves by our works. But does “by faith” mean to believe some facts are true or does it mean faithfulness to God?

The three main passages where Paul stated emphatically that righteousness is not by the works of the law, he juxtaposed it with the faithfulness of Jesus Christ: “For no one is declared righteous before him by the works of the law, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin. But now apart from the law the righteousness of God (although it is attested by the law and the prophets) has been disclosed—namely, the righteousness of God through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction” (Rom 3:20-22 NET); “yet we know that no one is justified by the works of the law but by the faithfulness of Jesus Christ. And we have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by the faithfulness of Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.” (Gal 2:16 NET); “and be found in him, not because I have my own righteousness derived from the law, but because I have the righteousness that comes by way of Christ’s faithfulness—a righteousness from God that is in fact based on Christ’s faithfulness” (Phi 3:9 NET). Rather than it being an issue between working versus believing, Paul taught that it’s an issue between the Law of Moses versus Christ’s faithfulness.

He quoted from Moses about Christ’s faithfulness to come down from heaven, die for our sins, and be raised up again: “But the righteousness which is of faith [faithfulness] speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above🙂 Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) But what saith it? The word [rhema] is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word [rhema 4487] of faith [faithfulness], which we preach … So then faith [faithfulness] cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word [rhema 4487] of God” (Rom 10:6-8, 17). Was he saying in verse 17 that faith or belief comes by repetitiously hearing God’s word? Actually, he was saying that the message of Christ’s faithfulness to die for our sins comes by hearing, and that people hear this message by the word or declaration Paul was sent to preach.

He taught the same to the Galatians: “I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So the life I now live in the body, I live because of the faithfulness of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Gal 2:20 NET), “This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith [faithfulness]? … He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith [faithfulness]?” (Gal 3:2, 5). This “hearing of faithfulness” is hearing his preaching of Christ’s faithfulness to give Himself for us, “But they had heard only, That he which persecuted us in times past now preacheth the faith [faithfulness] which once he destroyed” (Gal 1:23).

In this passage, “Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith [faithfulness]; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Eph 2:5-9), Paul meant that we are saved by grace through faithfulness. He will go on to say, “For through him we both have access [prosagoge 4318] by one Spirit unto the Father” (Eph 2:18), “This was according to the eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and confident access [prosagoge 4318] to God because of Christ’s faithfulness” (Eph 3:11-12 NET). We now have access to the Father because Christ is seated at His right hand. Therefore, we are saved by God’s grace through Christ’s faithfulness to die for our sins because we died with Him, were made alive with Him, were raised with Him, and are now seated with Him at the Father’s right hand.

The gospel of Jesus Christ

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith [faithfulness] to faith [faithfulness]: as it is written, The just shall live by faith [faithfulness]” (Rom 1:16-17).

That “the gospel of Christ” is the message that Christ Himself preached is evident by what Paul said at the end of Romans, “Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ” (Rom 16:25). Therefore, the primary litmus test that the Greek pistis means faithfulness would be through examining what Jesus Christ Himself preached.

Looking at just a few passages from the Gospel of Matthew: “When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith [faithfulness], no, not in Israel” (8:10); “And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith [faithfulness] said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee” (9:2); “But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith [faithfulness] hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour” (9:22); “And when Jesus departed thence, two blind men followed him, crying, and saying, Thou Son of David, have mercy on us … Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith [faithfulness] be it unto you” (9:27, 29); “Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith [faithfulness]: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour” (15:28).

Did Jesus mean that it was their faith or belief that healed them? If so, then maybe we really should be listening to “Word of Faith” teachers claiming we can be healed by our faith! But notice that the two blind men were crying out “Thou son of David.” What happened is that Jesus healed these people because of their faithfulness to God in receiving Him as their Messiah. This is indeed what Christ preached, “Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead [nekros 3498] works [ergon 2041], and of faith [faithfulness] toward God” (Heb 6:1). These “dead works” are the blood of animals, “the blood of goats and calves … the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer … purge your conscience from dead [nekros 3498] works [ergon 2041]” (Heb 9:12-14). Christ preached to Israel that they should turn from these dead works and be faithful to God in receiving Him as their Messiah.

The Jews who reject Jesus of Nazareth as their Messiah are not walking in the steps of Abraham’s faithfulness, “walk in the steps of that faith [faithfulness] of our father Abraham” (Rom 4:12). God had promised Abraham that he would have a biological son for his heir, “This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir” (Gen 15:4), and Abraham later considered Ishmael to be the fulfillment of that promise. However, God had not yet indicated the woman through which his heir would come. He would later reveal to him, “As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be. And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her” (Gen 17:15-16). Did Abraham joyfully embrace this? On the contrary, he argued with God about it, “O that Ishmael might live before thee!” (Gen 17:18). Paul said that “He staggered [diakrino] not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith [faithfulness], giving glory to God” (Rom 4:20). The Greek diakrino means “to contend with.” Although Abraham did initially contend with God, he quickly submitted as evidenced by circumcising himself and his household that same day. He forsook his hope of Ishmael to a new hope of Isaac, “Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be” (Rom 4:18). He accepted that the promise of “So shall thy seed be” (Gen 15:5) would actually be fulfilled through Sarah. These are his steps of faithfulness to God and these events were meant to teach us about God’s plan of salvation, “Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar” (Gal 4:24).

Paul revealed that Abraham’s steps of faithfulness to God in turning his hope from Ishmael to Isaac was figurative of what the Jewish people were to do in turning their hope of righteousness from the Law of Moses to the faithfulness of Jesus Christ. Therefore, those who reject Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah are contending with God and saying “O that Ishmael might live before thee!” They are not following the steps of Abraham’s faithfulness by submitting to God’s righteousness.

When Paul said “from faith [faithfulness] to faith [faithfulness]” (Rom 1:17), he meant that righteousness is on the basis of Christ’s faithfulness with the result of our faithfulness. Christ’s faithfulness to the Father in obedience to death “became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Phi 2:7-8), results in our faithfulness to Him as Lord. Faithfulness to Him as Lord is indeed the gospel He preached: “Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?” (Mat 24:45); “His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord” (Mat 25:21); “And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man’s, who shall give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” (Luk 16:12-13); “And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities” (Luk 19:17).

The just shall live by faithfulness in Galatians

“So then they which be of faith [pistis 4102] are blessed with faithful [pistos 4103] Abraham. For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith [pistis 4102].” (Gal 3:9-11).

When Paul said “So then they which be of faith [faithfulness],” he was referring back to the faithfulness of Jesus Christ: “yet we know that no one is justified by the works of the law but by the faithfulness of Jesus Christ. And we have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by the faithfulness of Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified” (Gal 2:16 NET), “I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So the life I now live in the body, I live because of the faithfulness of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Gal 2:20 NET). Therefore, to be “of faithfulness” is to be seeking justification by the faithfulness of Jesus Christ and not by the works of the law.

The Greek pistos in “faithful Abraham” is an adjective depicting his faithfulness to God. But some Bible versions render it as a verb “believing Abraham” (DBY, NKJV), or even a noun “Abraham, the man of faith” (NIV), “Abraham the believer” (NET). It seems these translations are an attempt to make the text agree with the erroneous assumption that Abraham was justified by faith or belief. But since Paul was teaching about faithfulness then this supports the understanding of “The just shall live by faith [faithfulness].” As Abraham was justified by being faithful to God, we also will be blessed by our faithfulness.

The just shall live by faithfulness in Hebrews

The faithfulness that Jesus Christ taught, “the doctrine of Christ … faith [faithfulness] toward God” (Heb 6:1), is expounded upon later in Hebrews, “Now the just shall live by faith [faithfulness]” (Heb 10:38), “Now faith [faithfulness] is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Heb 11:1). Faithfulness being the assurance of things or matters hoped for is that our faithfulness to God gives us a confident assurance that we can put our hope and trust in Him. After all, why should He do anything for us if we are not being faithful to Him? Therefore, if we are not being faithful to Him then we have no basis for hope and trust. And faithfulness is the convicting of matters not being seen because “By faith [faithfulness] Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house” (Heb 11:7). Because of Noah’s faithfulness, God warned or convicted him of the flood that was not yet seen. He then moved with fear and faithfully obeyed, “Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he” (Gen 6:22).

“For by it [faithfulness] the elders obtained a good report … But without faith [faithfulness] it is impossible to please him” (Heb 11:2, 6). The good report God gave of the Old Testament saints indicates that faithfulness is what pleases Him. We understand that since God gave by inspiration the Scriptures that record their faithfulness to Him then faithfulness is what pleases Him. “Through faith [faithfulness] we understand that the worlds [aion 165] were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear” (Heb 11:3). This statement is not about the creation of the material world in the beginning but rather the aion or ages being framed and ordered throughout history so that Christ would come into the world and save us from our sins. For four thousand years God spoke to faithful people to bring about the historical events which transpired or the “things which are seen.” History didn’t just happen by chance. These events had to have happened the way they did so that the geographical, political, religious, ethnic, social, economic, and linguistic climate would be exactly the way it was for God’s Son to come and die for us.

Enoch, Noah, and Abraham were faithful to God because they all walked with God:

“By faith [faithfulness] Enoch” (Heb 11:5), “Enoch walked with God” (Gen 5:22, 24)

“By faith [faithfulness] Noah” (Heb 11:7), “Noah walked with God” (Gen 6:9)

“By faith [faithfulness] Abraham” (Heb 11:8), “walk before me” (Gen 17:1)

Earlier in Hebrews we were told “And Moses verily was faithful [pistos 4103] in all his house, as a servant” (Heb 3:5), which corresponds to “By faith [faithfulness] Moses” (Heb 11:24). The Greek adjective pistos is the same that was used to describe Abraham in Galatians, “So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful [pistos 4103] Abraham” (Gal 3:9). It was because of Moses’ faithfulness to God that he “refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season,” “forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king,” “kept the passover, and the sprinkling of blood,” and “passed through the Red sea as by dry land” (Heb 11:24-29). Moses faithfully obeyed God as a servant, “My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house” (Num 12:7). And he died faithfully serving, “So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab” (Deu 34:5), “These all died in faith [faithfulness]” (Heb 11:13).

The testing of our faithfulness

James taught that our faithfulness, not our faith, is what will be tried or tested, “Knowing this, that the trying of your faith [faithfulness] worketh patience” (Jas 1:3). He later cited the testing of Abraham’s faithfulness as an example, “Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?” (Jas 2:21), “And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt [nacah 5254] Abraham” (Gen 22:1).

The Hebrew nacah is also used several times for God testing or proving Israel: “that I may prove [nacah 5254] them, whether they will walk in my law, or no” (Exo 16:4); “for God is come to prove [nacah 5254] you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not” (Exo 20:20); “to prove [nacah 5254] thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no” (Deu 8:2); “for the LORD your God proveth [nacah 5254] you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul” (Deu 13:3); “That through them I may prove [nacah 5254] Israel, whether they will keep the way of the LORD to walk therein, as their fathers did keep it, or not” (Jdg 2:22); “Now these are the nations which the LORD left, to prove [nacah 5254] Israel by them” (Jdg 3:1).

The debate over the centuries between Roman Catholics and Protestants about faith versus works in James 2:14-26 is bogus because James wasn’t even talking about faith but faithfulness, “Even so faith [faithfulness], if it hath not works [ergon 2041], is dead, being alone” (Jas 2:17). The Greek ergon simply means actions. It’s not an issue of belief versus meritorious works but rather of only saying we are faithful versus actually being faithful! It’s our actions that show our faithfulness, “though a man say he hath faith [faithfulness], and have not works [ergon 2041]?” (Jas 2:14), “shew me thy faith [faithfulness] without thy works [ergon 2041], and I will shew thee my faith [faithfulness] by my works [ergon 2041]” (Jas 2:18).

Repeatedly James emphasized that actions must accompany faithfulness, “have not works [actions]” (Jas 2:14), “hath not works [actions]” (Jas 2:17), “without thy works [actions]” (Jas 2:18), “without works [actions]” (Jas 2:20, 26), “not by faith [faithfulness] only” (Jas 2:24). Tested and proven actions complete or perfect our faithfulness, “Seest thou how faith [faithfulness] wrought with his works [actions], and by works [actions] was faith [faithfulness] made perfect [teleioo 5048]?” (Jas 2:22). Faithful actions must accompany confessed faithfulness otherwise faithfulness is left incomplete and alone.

God told Abraham “I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect [tamiym 8549]” (Gen 17:1). The Hebrew tamiym is used about 40 times in Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers to describe the requirement of a sacrifice being “without blemish.” Of course Abraham’s faithfulness was not perfect or complete until it was tested by offering his son Isaac as a sacrifice. His faithfulness was seen in his obedient actions, “for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me” (Gen 22:12), “because thou hast obeyed my voice” (Gen 22:18). It’s easy to be faithful to Christ when everything is going well and we don’t have to give up anything. The test of our faithfulness is seen when things are not going well and when we must make sacrifices of the things that are important to us. Walking before God in faithfulness requires sacrificial actions.

James taught that everyone confessing faithfulness must be proven, “What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith [faithfulness], and have not works [actions]? can faith [faithfulness] save him?” (Jas 2:14). How is a master profited when his servant is not being faithful? Christ preached “And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Mat 25:30). And Paul taught that we are slaves, not necessarily to whom we confess to obey, but to whom we actually obey, “Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?” (Rom 6:16 NKJV).

He also taught, “And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience [dokime 1382]; and experience [dokime 1382], hope” (Rom 5:3-4). This follows what he had just taught about righteousness being imputed to Abraham, “it was imputed to him; But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed … Therefore, being justified by faith [faithfulness]” (Rom 4:23-24, 5:1). The Greek dokime translated here as experience actually means proof. He was saying that patiently serving through trials and tribulations proves our faithfulness to the Lord Jesus Christ and therefore gives us reason to hope.

Peter taught that tested and proven faithfulness to the Lord Jesus Christ is far more valuable than gold, “That the trial of your faith [faithfulness], being much more precious than of gold that perisheth” (1Pe 1:7), because the result of faithfulness is salvation which is more valuable than any amount of gold, “Receiving the end of your faith [faithfulness], even the salvation of your souls” (1Pe 1:9).

Various statements

That pistis means faithfulness and not faith is also evident by various statements that make the most sense when understood this way. One example is the parable of the mustard seed: “The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs” (Mat 13:31-32), “If ye have faith [faithfulness] as a grain of mustard seed” (Mat 17:20). Typically this is taken to mean that if we have just a tiny amount of faith then we can accomplish great things. But it’s actually about making ourselves the least as faithful servants, “But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant” (Mat 23:11). A seed planted in the ground is figurative of death and resurrection from death, “Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die” (1Co 15:36). Since a seed produces “after his kind” (Gen 1:11-12), “and to every seed his own body” (1Co 15:38), then it follows “For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection” (Rom 6:5). As with a mustard seed, Christ made Himself the least in His death and became the greatest in His resurrection. Likewise, we will be resurrected “after his kind,” after the mustard seed kind so to speak. In other words, if we are also planted in the ground as the least, we will be resurrected to be great.

Another example is this statement: “And he that doubteth [diakrino 1252] is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith [faithfulness]: for whatsoever is not of faith [faithfulness] is sin” (Rom 14:23). How is it that anything we do that is not out of belief is sin? What in the world does that mean? But since the context is about the servant and master relationship, “Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.” (Rom 14:4), then what makes the most sense is that anything we do which is not out of faithfulness to our Master the Lord Jesus Christ is sin. The Greek diakrino translated here as doubt actually means contend. The idea is that a servant contending with what his master has told him to do is not faithfully serving his master. Therefore, Jewish and Gentile brothers in the Lord shouldn’t be pushing upon each other their convictions about meats and observing of days because both groups are striving to be faithful to the same Lord.

Another final example is this statement: “For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith [faithfulness] which worketh by love” (Gal 5:6). How is it that belief works by love? How could we believe more by loving more? In context, the commandment of love satisfies all of the commandments of the law, “For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Gal 5:14), which is the law of Christ, “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ” (Gal 6:2). The reason it is Christ’s law is because He commanded it, “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), “And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” (Mat 22:39-40). Therefore “faith [faithfulness] works by love” makes the most sense because faithfulness to our Lord Jesus Christ can only be accomplished by keeping His commandment of love.

Trusting God

As with the Greek noun [pistis 4102], its verb form [pisteuo 4100] also appears almost 250 times in the NT and is always translated as believe in the KVJ except in just eight places where the context forces it to be rendered commit or trust (Luk 16:11; Jhn 2:24; Rom 3:2; 1Co 9:17; Gal 2:7; 1Th 2:4; 1Ti 1:11; Tit 1:3). And similarly as with pistis, when liberty allows pisteuo to be translated believe then that liberty is taken. The Complete Jewish Bible (CJB), on the other hand, is one English version that consistently renders pisteuo as trust.

To support this contention that pisteuo actually means trust rather than believe, Abraham again is the example: “For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed [trusted] God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness” (Rom 4:3), “Even as Abraham believed [trusted] God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness” (Gal 3:6), “And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed [trusted] God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness” (Jas 2:23).

The Scripture “And he believed [trusted] in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness” (Gen 15:6), was fulfilled many years later when Abraham’s faithfulness was tested, “Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? … And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed [trusted] God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness” (Jas 2:21, 23). This indicates that imputed righteousness is not a one-and-done event but is contingent upon continued faithfulness. Would God still have counted Abraham righteous had he disobeyed? What would have been the point of the test?

God had told him “walk before me” (Gen 17:1), which Paul referenced “before him whom he believed [trusted], even God, who quickeneth the dead” (Rom 4:17). Abraham trusted God to raise his son Isaac from the dead, “By faith [faithfulness] Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac … Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead” (Heb 11:17, 19). Nobody else was on that mountain to witness what Abraham was about to do. Therefore, his faithful sacrifice was in God’s sight alone, “And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen” (Gen 22:14). Although multitudes witnessed the crucifixion of Jesus Christ as a common criminal between two thieves, only God saw His faithfulness as the sacrificial Lamb sent by Him, “God will provide himself a lamb” (Gen 22:8).

Walking before God means that we obey in His sight regardless of how other people see us or if they see us at all. As living sacrifices (Rom 12:1), we obey God even when we know we’ll be misunderstood and mistreated by other people. We’re willing to be seen as fools, deceivers, ignorant, unscholarly, troublemakers, unimportant, etc. It’s an inverse correlation—the less glory we get on account of faithfulness to Him, the more glory He gets. This is why Abraham “was strong in faith [faithfulness], giving glory to God” (Rom 4:20).

Christ didn’t seek a good reputation among people but willingly died with the reputation of a criminal, “But made himself of no reputation … and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Phl 2:7-8).

And we are to have this same mindset, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus” (Phl 2:5). Our lives are to be “made conformable unto his death” (Phl 3:10). But if we are seeking to have a good image in front of people then we are not being conformed to the image of Christ.

Jesus Christ taught faithfulness and Paul was not ashamed of the gospel Christ taught, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth [trusts]; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith [faithfulness] to faith [faithfulness]: as it is written, The just shall live by faith [faithfulness].” (Rom 1:16-17).

The statement Paul later makes “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe [trust] in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved” (Rom 10:9), is often quoted to claim that if we just make a confession and believe that Christ was resurrected then we are saved. However, he had already taught earlier “if we believe [trust] on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead” (Rom 4:24). As Peter also conferred, “Who by him do believe [trust] in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith [faithfulness] and hope might be in God.” (1Pe 1:21). It’s not about simply believing that the resurrection happened, it’s about trusting in God that made the resurrection happen! We must live in faithful service to the Lord Jesus Christ, trusting God the Father to defend and reward us, “I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward” (Gen 15:1). This is what Jesus Christ taught: “reward of your Father which is in heaven” (Mat 6:1), “thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly” (Mat 6:4), “thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly” (Mat 6:6), “thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly” (Mat 6:18). “But without faith [faithfulness] it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Heb 11:6).

Conclusion

Abraham’s example is not that of faith and belief but rather of faithfulness and trust. Now, of course faith and belief are certainly components of faithfulness and trust because we’re not going to be faithful to someone we can’t trust and we can’t trust someone we don’t believe. However, the doctrine of Sola Fide has dwindled salvation down to a single element comprising the whole. This is not the gospel of Christ.

I contend that Martin Luther was wrong in his understanding of “The just shall live by faith” to mean belief. But who am I to speak? I’m not a scholar, theologian, or even a seminary graduate. I’m just a follower of “unlearned and ignorant men” (Act 4:13), a follower of fools, “We are fools for Christ’s sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye are honourable, but we are despised … Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me” (1Co 4:10, 16). If I’m seeking the glory of being esteemed as a great author, scholar, or theologian then I’m the one getting the glory. But if I’m being scorned, ridiculed, mocked, rejected, seen as a fool, and even seen as a false teacher on account of faithfulness to my Lord Jesus Christ then He is being glorified, “strong in faith [faithfulness], giving glory to God” (Rom 4:20). Being like Christ means that we become like a mustard seed. He didn’t seek a good reputation among people or to make a name for Himself, therefore God gave “him a name which is above every name” (Phl 2:9). We must walk in faithfulness to Him regardless of how we appear to others, “For we walk by faith [faithfulness], not by sight [appearance]” (2Co 5:7).

The mystery hidden from the beginning

In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul used the Greek word mysterion six times (Eph 1:9, 3:3,4,9, 5:32, 6:19) to indicate a message that had been hidden but then later made known: “Having made known unto us the mystery” (Eph 1:9); “the mystery of Christ) Which in other ages was not made known” (Eph 3:4-5); “the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God” (Eph 3:9); “that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel” (Eph 6:19). It was the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ that God hid within the historical narrative of the Scriptures, “the mystery of Christ” (Eph 3:4), “the mystery of the gospel” (Eph 6:19). This mystery extends back to the very beginning of history within the creation narrative, “And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery [mysterion 3466], which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ” (Eph 3:9), “For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery [mysterion 3466]: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.” (Eph 5:31-32).

Paul’s purpose for writing this letter was so that the Christians at Ephesus and all Christians later following could come to understand this hidden message: “The eyes of your understanding [dianoia 1271] being enlightened” (Eph 1:18), “Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand [noeo 3539] my knowledge in the mystery of Christ” (Eph 3:4), “Having the understanding [dianoia 1271] darkened” (Eph 4:18). Since the first of the two great commandments Jesus gave is “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind [dianoia 1271]” (Mat 22:37), then it’s imperative that we understand this hidden message to fully obey this commandment. We cannot be loving God with all of our mind and understanding if we are neglecting to understand this mystery.

After his wife had been created by being taken out of himself, Adam spoke this statement, “And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.” (Gen 2:23-24). Paul quoted Adam’s words concerning his relationship with his wife and revealed that it contained a hidden message concerning Christ and the church, “For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.” (Eph 5:31-32).

In his other letters, Paul equated Adam as being a type or figure of Christ, “Adam’s transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come” (Rom 5:14), “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. … And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.” (1Co 15:22, 45). That he was “the figure of him that was to come” indicates that the coming of Christ into this world to save us from our sins and get the victory over death had been foretold but hidden in a mystery within the creation narrative of Adam and his wife. When Adam concluded “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother,” Paul emphasized the cause or the reason, “For this cause shall a man leave his father and his mother.” In other words, the reason a man leaves his home and is joined to his wife is so that his wife will share in his flesh and bones, “This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh” (Gen 2:23). Likewise, the reason Christ left his home in heaven and came to us was so that we would share in the resurrection of His flesh and bones, “Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have” (Luk 24:39), “For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones” (Eph 5:30).

Establishing and acknowledging that the gospel message of Christ hidden in the beginning narratives of Scripture was Paul’s purpose for writing this letter, is essential to properly understanding what he wrote. Many short statements, particularly in the first chapter alone, make the most sense when understood within his intended contextual framework: “in heavenly places” (Eph 1:3), “chosen us” (Eph 1:4), “before the foundation of the world” (Eph 1:4), “predestinated us” (Eph 1:5), “the spirit of wisdom” (Eph 1:17), “the eyes of your understanding being enlightened” (Eph 1:18), “the hope of his calling” (Eph 1:18), “every name that is named” (Eph 1:21), “put all things under his feet” (Eph 1:22), “the fullness of him” (Eph 1:23).

Calvinists, on the other hand, don’t employ this proper context that the author himself prescribed but rather force an alien meaning into such statements as “chosen us” and “predestinated us” based upon their own theological and soteriological system. They persuade people to understand these statements within the packaging of an artificial, man-made context. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, they’re employing this very letter meant to help us understand the Scriptures, to contrarily add even more confusion and misunderstanding! Paul was an apostle of Jesus Christ sent to teach us the truth so that we would mature in our understanding, “And he gave some, apostles … That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive” (Eph 4:11, 14). He wrote this to mature us out of deception, not so that we would be further deceived.

In heavenly

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly [epouranios 2032] places in Christ” (Eph 1:3). Here at the beginning of Ephesians, as well as four other places (Eph 1:20, 2:6, 3:10, 6:12), Paul used the Greek adjective epouranios for heavenly but did not supply a noun for it to modify. The translators, evidently considering that he was talking about heaven as a place, inserted places to supply the missing noun. But Paul left us with no doubt as to what he was talking about when he stated toward the end of his letter, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [epouranios 2032] places” (Eph 6:12). He was alluding to the mystery contained within the creation of the heavenly bodies:

And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. (Genesis 1:14-18)

Hidden within the creation of the heavenly bodies was the message about the Lordship of Jesus Christ at the right hand of the Father, “the greater light to rule the day,” “set him at his own right hand in the heavenly [epouranios 2032] places” (Eph 1:20), and the rule of principalities and powers, “the lesser light to rule the night,” “the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [epouranios 2032] places” (Eph 6:12).

On the first day of creation, before man had even been made, God showed that there would be two distinct classifications of people, “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night.” (Gen 1:3-5). Then on the fourth day He showed that these two groups of people would be under the rule of a master, “And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night” (Gen 1:16).

Since it was Jesus Christ who created all things, “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made” (Jhn 1:3), therefore it was He who spoke “Let there be light” in the beginning. But John goes on to indicate that Him speaking light into darkness in the beginning was figurative and prophetic of His ministry on earth, “And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not” (Jhn 1:5). In other words, the creation contains this hidden message in a mystery that the world would be in spiritual darkness but the Word would become flesh and preach the light of the gospel as if once again speaking “Let there be light.”

But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:3-6)

Paul revealed this same truth to the Corinthians that God speaking light into darkness in the beginning is indeed figurative and prophetic of the gospel of Jesus Christ as if light was shining into darkened hearts. Therefore, when He “called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night” then set rulers over them “the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night,” the message is the Lordship of Jesus Christ over the day and the “god of this world” over the night.

Recognizing the truth of this mystery is crucial for the proper context in which Paul’s letter to the Ephesians can be understood. Of the five places the phrase “in heavenly [epouranios 2032]” appears, the first three speak of the Greater Light at the right hand of the Father: “all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ” (Eph 1:3), “set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places” (Eph 1:20), “made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Eph 2:6). The other two times are about the lesser light ruling over the darkness: “the principalities and powers in heavenly places” (Eph 3:10), “against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Eph 6:12).

That Christ is the Greater Light means that He is stronger and more powerful than all principality and power, “set him at his own right hand in the heavenly [epouranios 2032] places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion” (Eph 1:20-21). Therefore, when Paul began his letter with “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly [epouranios 2032] places in Christ” (Eph 1:3), he was beginning to lay the groundwork for later teaching the whole armor of God:

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [epouranios 2032] places. (Ephesians 6:10-12)

We are no match for the devil and evil spirits. Unless we are serving Jesus Christ as our Lord, we are under the power of evil spirits and we are serving sin. The only way to be free from the power of sin is by obeying from our hearts the doctrine of Jesus Christ, “But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.” (Rom 6:17-18). When we become servants or slaves of Jesus Christ, we belong to Him and are protected by Him in His strength over the enemy. We have His strength and authority in our lives as though we are seated together with Him at the right hand of the Father, “And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly [epouranios 2032] places in Christ Jesus” (Eph 2:6). This is what is meant by the armor of God.

The whole armor of God

The armor of God taught at the end of Ephesians is essentially a summary of what Paul had been teaching throughout his letter beginning with “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly [epouranios 2032] places in Christ” (Eph 1:3). Of course armor is simply a concrete example being used metaphorically to help us understand how things are spiritually. By serving Jesus Christ as Lord and trusting Him, He defends us from the devil as if we are a soldier wearing His armor.

One of the main tactics of the devil is deceiving us to thinking that people are the problem, “that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood” (Eph 6:11-12). He gets us fighting, envying, blaming, and complaining about each other. But the real problem is that people are serving “the rulers of the darkness of this world” because they live under their deceptions. If someone can deceive someone else into doing what they don’t want to do, or into not doing what they want to do, then they have power over them. Paul spoke of his life before Christ as a slave to sin, “I am carnal, sold under sin. For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I” (Rom 7:14-15). The devil’s power over people is deception and the only solution is for them to learn the truth and turn from sin to serve Jesus Christ as Lord.

The first piece of armor is “having your loins girt about with truth” (Eph 6:14). Notice that he didn’t say “having your loins girt about with assumptions.” It’s truth that protects us from the enemy, not what we assume to be the truth but really is not. If our loins are girt about with false assumptions then we have a chink in the armor—we are vulnerable to the enemy even though we think we are safe. Paul had already taught earlier, “But ye have not so learned Christ; If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus” (Eph 4:20-21). The belt of truth is living according to the truth that Christ taught particularly in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapters 5-7.

The next piece of armor is “and having on the breastplate of righteousness” (Eph 6:14). Again, Paul had taught earlier that this righteousness consists of putting off the old man and putting on the new: “That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness” (Eph 4:22-24). The breastplate of protection is living righteously in conformity to the image of God in which we were created.

We must be “renewed in the spirit of your mind.” Our vain and darkened minds “in the vanity of their mind, Having the understanding darkened” (Eph 4:17-18), need to be enlightened with the truth that Jesus taught “have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus” (Eph 4:21). Therefore, we are to turn away from the old person we used to be and begin living righteously as a new person conformed to the image of Christ as we were originally created. We are to put off the fig leaves of our own righteousness “and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons” (Gen 3:7), and put on the skins of the Lamb that God sacrificed for us, “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them” (Gen 3:21).

“And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace” (Eph 6:15). Our feet are what take us from one place to another. Since people are serving sin and being ruled by evil spirits, we must bring the gospel of Jesus Christ to them. Preaching “the gospel of peace” means that they hear the message of reconciliation with God through Jesus Christ, “And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.” (Eph 2:16-18). People are serving sin rather than the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, they need to hear about Him.

“Above all, taking the shield of faith [pistis 4102], wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked” (Eph 6:16). The Greek pistis does not mean faith but faithfulness—it’s not a shield of belief but a shield of faithfulness and loyalty to our Lord Jesus Christ. If we are faithfully serving Him then we can trust Him to defend us against the fiery darts of people’s tongues, “And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members” (Jam 3:6). Ultimately our struggle is not against the fiery arrows launched from flesh and blood: slander, gossip, false accusations, complaining, whispering, mocking, arguing, and belittling.

Christ is our example of faithfulness and trust, “Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously” (1Pe 2:23). He didn’t try to defend Himself of false accusations but committed His case to the Father to justify and vindicate Him:

I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting. For the Lord GOD will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed. He is near that justifieth me; who will contend with me? let us stand together: who is mine adversary? let him come near to me. Behold, the Lord GOD will help me; who is he that shall condemn me? lo, they all shall wax old as a garment; the moth shall eat them up. (Isaiah 50:6-9)

Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy. No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD. (Isaiah 54:16-17)

We shouldn’t fear the blacksmith that creates weapons to be used against us or the waster that wields the weapons against us, but we should fear God who created both the blacksmith and the waster! Taking the shield of faithfulness means that we serve the Lord and allow Him to defend us against the tongues that rise against us. We seek His righteousness and vindication.

“And take the helmet of salvation” (Eph 6:17). The helmet is our hope of salvation, “for an helmet, the hope of salvation” (1Th 5:8). This salvation is deliverance from death in resurrection from the grave at Christ’s return, “But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.” (1Th 4:13). We have been saved from our sins and have forgiveness and reconciliation with God right now, but we have not yet been saved from death. We are still hoping for that salvation.

God pronounced the curse upon the creation including death “till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return” (Gen 3:19). He did this in hope of saving us from death, “For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope … For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.” (Rom 8:20, 24-25).

The final piece of armor is “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word [rhema 4487] of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints” (Eph 6:17-18). It has been rightly observed that this is the one piece of armor we can use offensively against our enemy. But this sword has two edges—the word of God and prayer.

The Greek here for word is rhema which is a spoken word out of the mouth. Christ Himself demonstrated this weapon against the enemy during His temptation, “But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word [rhema 4487] that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Mat 4:4). When we are being tempted, we must speak God’s words and not our own because His words carry authority. When tempting thoughts come to our minds or when we are placed into tempting situations it’s not enough to just try to avoid the thoughts and temptations. We must understand God’s message through the Scriptures so that we can speak in His authority against the temptations.

The other edge of this sword is praying always for our fellow brothers and sisters as Paul had already demonstrated in the two prayers he voiced for them earlier in this letter (Eph 1:16-23, 3:14-21). We all need prayer because we are all under attack from evil spirits every day. Once again, we are deceived if we think that people are the real problem, “the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood.” When people mistreat us, they need our prayers. “Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good” (Rom 12:21).

These pieces that comprise the whole armor of God are the spiritual blessings “in heavenly” that we have been blessed with, “blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ” (Eph 1:3). Because Christ was set at the right hand of God, “set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places” (Eph 1:20), when we wear this armor we have the victory over the enemy as though we are seated with Christ, “made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Eph 2:6). His armor enables us to stand “against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Eph 6:12).

When writing to the Romans, Paul called this armor the armor of light, “put on the armour of light … But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom 13:12, 14). This armor of light is more specifically the armor of the Greater Light, “the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night” (Gen 1:16). John saw “a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet” (Rev 12:1). She is the church clothed with Christ and seated with Him, “set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places … And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church” (Eph 1:20, 22).

In Christ Jesus

The phrase “in Christ Jesus,” in its various forms such as “in Christ,” “in him,” and “in whom” appears about a dozen times in the first two chapters of Ephesians: “to the faithful in Christ Jesus” (Eph 1:1), “in heavenly places in Christ” (Eph 1:3), “made us accepted in the beloved” (Eph 1:6), “gather together in one all things in Christ … even in him” (Eph 1:10), “In whom also we have obtained an inheritance” (Eph 1:11), “In whom ye also trusted” (Eph 1:13), “in heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Eph 2:6), “created in Christ Jesus unto good works” (Eph 2:10), “But now in Christ Jesus” (Eph 2:13), “for to make in himself of twain one new man” (Eph 2:15), “In whom all the building fitly framed together” (Eph 2:21), “In whom ye also are builded together” (Eph 2:22).

Within the context of these “in Christ” statements the church is said to be His body, “gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body” (Eph 1:22-23). And Paul will later equate the church with what Adam said after his wife had been taken out of him, “For we are members of his body … For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh … Christ and the church” (Eph 5:30-32). The church, therefore, is “in Christ” as it was with Adam’s wife:

“And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.” (Genesis 2:21-24)

The woman was “in Adam” so to speak and created by being taken out of him. She was created “in him” and so it is with the church and Christ, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Eph 2:10). No doubt this is what Paul had in mind with “created in Christ Jesus” because he later quoted from the very passage of the woman being created in Adam, “For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh” (Eph 5:31).

The “good works” are the husband and wife roles that God had before ordained from the very beginning, “Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee … In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return” (Gen 3:16-19). Paul will go on to emphasize these roles later in his letter, “Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth” (Eph 4:28), “Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord” (Eph 5:22).

He will write the same in his first letter to Timothy, “For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety” (1Ti 2:13-15), “But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel” (1Ti 5:8). This “saved in childbearing” statement is not that she will be saved from a bad stigma as many teach. Rather, he was saying that men and women cannot rebel against these God-ordained roles and still be saved. It certainly doesn’t mean that a woman must give birth to a child to be saved but simply that we must embrace and walk in the roles of these “good works” without affirming or living contrary lifestyles.

All things under His feet

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. (Genesis 1:26-28)

David coined the expression “under his feet” when writing about this dominion God created man to have, “Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.” (Psa 8:6-8). This same expression used of Adam’s dominion over the animals is quoted three times in the New Testament concerning the dominion of Jesus Christ:

For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him. (1 Corinthians 15:25-27)

Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all. (Ephesians 1:20-23)

Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands: Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him. (Hebrews 2:7-8)

Adam naming all of the animals was not so that we would marvel about what a great memory he must have had! It foretells of Christ’s dominion at the right hand of God over “every name that is named … And hath put all things under his feet” (Eph 1:21-22). That Adam named all of the animals would mean, of course, that he also named the serpent. Thus Christ has dominion over the devil and “all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named.” But this dominion given to the man would be not just for him but also for his wife, “let them have dominion … male and female created he them.”

And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. (Genesis 2:18-19)

Before giving Adam this dominion over every name that he would name, God had already stated His intent of creating a helper for him, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.” This helper would later be taken out of him which can only mean that she was already “in him” when he was given this dominion. This is how Paul wanted us to understand our position “in Christ” seated at God’s right hand in heavenly, “Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places” (Eph 1:20), “And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Eph 2:6).

Everything God made by the end of the sixth day was very good, “And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good” (Gen 1:31). But earlier on the sixth day He stated that it would not be good for the man to be alone in his dominion, “It is not good that the man should be alone.” The church is Christ’s wife which is His body, “And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all” (Eph 1:22-23). She complements Him as a helper. Therefore, she is “the fullness of him” in the sense that being alone in His dominion without her would not be good.

God’s chosen people

After the Exodus of His people from Egypt, God began raining bread down from heaven and introduced to them the Sabbath day of rest: “To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the LORD … Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the sabbath, in it there shall be none. … See, for that the LORD hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day” (Exo 16:23, 26, 29). God would later give them the priestly service of rotating the showbread also patterned after the Sabbath day:

And thou shalt take fine flour, and bake twelve cakes thereof: two tenth deals shall be in one cake. And thou shalt set them in two rows, six on a row, upon the pure table before the LORD. And thou shalt put pure frankincense upon each row, that it may be on the bread for a memorial, even an offering made by fire unto the LORD. Every sabbath he shall set it in order before the LORD continually, being taken from the children of Israel by an everlasting covenant. And it shall be Aaron’s and his sons’; and they shall eat it in the holy place: for it is most holy unto him of the offerings of the LORD made by fire by a perpetual statute. (Leviticus 24:5-9)

God also told His people when giving the Ten Commandments that this Sabbath day of rest following six days of work was based upon the creation week:

Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. (Exodus 20:8-11)

Now, how are we to understand this? Isn’t it obvious that God had already purposed this from the very beginning? Are we to think that He created everything in six days and rested the seventh with no particular reason in mind then later came up with the idea of using this as a pattern for His people to follow? Actually, this six-day work week with a seventh day of rest model was intended for His people from the very first day of creation. Therefore, within the very creation, God showed that He intended to later choose a people unto Himself.

What about all the times Jesus healed people on the Sabbath day? Couldn’t the man with the withered hand wait just one more day? Jesus did this seemingly with the very intent of infuriating the corrupt religious leaders. He told them, “The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath” (Mar 2:27). God made the Sabbath for man, not for Himself—He can do anything He wants on any day! Therefore, it was as if these men were saying, “No God! You shouldn’t heal people on the Sabbath!” In fact, the ruler of the synagogue said exactly that, “There are six days in which men ought to work: in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the sabbath day.” (Luk 13:14). That Jesus was doing the works that only God can do on the day that only God can work proved the He is from God.

Are we to consider that it was Jesus’ own idea to heal people on the Sabbath? Rather, we should conclude that the very creation week event defined what would transpire about 4,000 later in the Son of God’s ministry on the earth. God created the Sabbath with the very intent of the conflicts that would be caused by His Son’s healing ministry. The Sabbath was purposed from the beginning to be one of the very catalysts in the Son of God being put to death to save us from our sins.

Since “The sabbath was made for man” (Mar 2:27), yet God Himself “rested on the seventh day from all his work” (Gen 2:2), then the message from the beginning was that God would become a Man, do the works of God as a Man, then forever rest from all of His work. The writer of Hebrews concluded this as well, “For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works … There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.” (Heb 4:4, 9-10). Therefore, the chosen people of God were indeed intended from the very beginning of creation by God’s purpose of sending His Son to them, “I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Mat 15:24), “Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God” (Rom 15:8).

What about the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost? “And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete: Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the LORD” (Lev 23:15-16). This Feast was based upon the Sabbath week which was based upon the creation week. Therefore, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit with the gift of tongues on the Day of Pentecost was purposed from the very creation. This event with God’s chosen people—the 120 Jews in the upper room along with an additional 3,000 that came to Christ that day—was purposed from the beginning.

Not only this, the first and fourth days of creation anticipated that humanity would be grouped under two different rulers, “God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night.” (Gen 1:3-5), “And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night” (Gen 1:16). “Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness” (1Th 5:5). The “children of light” are God’s own people divided or separated from the rest of the world.

Finally, what about clean and unclean animals? “The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.” (2Pe 2:22). Didn’t God create dogs to practice this deplorable behavior instinctively, and pigs with an inherent satisfaction for being unclean? Did He create them this way for no particular reason then realize later that it could be used for a spiritual application? Animals were created before humans and the unclean animals are figurative of Gentiles. Therefore, God’s chosen people and all other people are seen in a mystery within the creation of the animals.

All of this substantiates Paul’s proposition at the start of his letter, “According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation [katabole 2602] of the world” (Eph 1:4). The Greek katabole here doesn’t carry the meaning of founding or creating but instead of “casting down” what was already created. In fact, the writer of Hebrews used this same statement in reference to the sentence of death pronounced upon man in the curse, “For then must he often have suffered since the foundation [katabole 2602] of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Heb 9:26-27). Thus the katabole of the world is about the cursing of the ground in which it was appointed for man to return, “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return” (Gen 3:19).

This word katabole also speaks of the serpent being cursed and cast down upon his belly, “And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life” (Gen 3:14). John used its verb form kataballo when writing about the serpent:

And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down [kataballo 2598], which accused them before our God day and night.” (Revelation 12:9-10)

God proorizo or predetermined before the curse that He would choose a people to Himself that would be His children, “According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated [proorizo 4309] us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will” (Eph 1:5). “Ye are the children of the LORD your God: ye shall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead. For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth.” (Deu 14:1-2).

Before cursing the creation, “For the creature was made subject to vanity” (Rom 8:20), He already foreknew and determined His people, “For whom he did foreknow [proginosko 4267], he also did predestinate [proorizo 4309] to be conformed to the image of his Son” (Rom 8:29), “God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew [proginosko 4267]” (Rom 11:2). These people would be His adopted sons and daughters conformed to the image of His only begotten Son.

The church

Paul taught that the operation of a local church gathering can be understood somewhat like the functioning of the human body in that both are composed of many unique members with different duties yet all work together in unity toward the same end, “From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love” (4:16), “For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another” (Rom 12:4-5), “For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ” (1Co 12:12). But Paul didn’t just come up with this analogy himself—it’s an aspect of the mystery revealed to him that God had purposed in the creation of the human body.

Since Christ created all things, “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made” (Jhn 1:3), and He created both male and female after His image, “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness … So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them” (Gen 1:26-27), then He purposed from the beginning that the husband and wife relationship would be analogous of Himself and the church.

The woman is figurative of a local church. Her body is composed of many unique members that function corporately for the health of the whole but ultimately for the sake of her husband for whom she was created, “Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man” (1Co 11:9). This mystery within the creation of the man and woman is the gospel message of Christ and His body the church. Therefore, the local church with Christ as its head was God’s plan from the very beginning.

God’s chosen people were shown within the mystery of the woman created out of the man, “According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world” (Eph 1:4). They are members of the woman’s body as it is with individual members of a human body. Ultimately they are Christ’s body as a woman is one flesh with her husband. Paul used the same Greek phrase hagios kai amomos for both God’s chosen people and for the church indicating that they are synonymous groups of people, “chosen us in him … that we should be holy [hagios 40] and without [kai 2532] blame [amomos 299]” (Eph 1:4), “a glorious church … that it should be holy [hagios 40] and without [kai 2532] blemish [amomos 299]” (Eph 5:27).

The New Covenant was made with Christ’s Jewish disciples, “And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Mat 26:26-28). Although the church began with God’s chosen people only, “who first trusted in Christ” (Eph 1:12), Samaritans and Gentiles were later included and allowed to partake of the same spiritual blessings within the same local gatherings, “In whom ye also trusted” (Eph 1:13).

Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. (John 4:22)

And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree; Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee. (Romans 11:17-18)

And again he saith, Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with his people. (Romans 15:10)

It hath pleased them verily; and their debtors they are. For if the Gentiles have been made partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister unto them in carnal things. (Romans 15:27)

That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world. (Ephesians 2:12)

For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. (Hebrews 8:8)

The hope of His calling

“That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling [klesis 2821], and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints” (Eph 1:17-18).

And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. (Genesis 3:6-10)

This “spirit of wisdom” of which Paul spoke is what the woman was deceived into thinking she would get by disobeying the commandment of God. But the true wisdom that was prophesied here in the fall of mankind is the teaching of Jesus Christ, “Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock … And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand” (Mat 7:24, 26). “But ye have not so learned Christ; If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus” (Eph 4:20-21). Our spiritually blind eyes become enlightened by hearing and obeying the truth taught by Jesus Christ. The hope of His calling, our only hope of salvation from death, is to live as a wise person in obedience to Jesus Christ.

I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation [klesis 2821] wherewith ye are called, With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling [klesis 2821]; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. (Ephesians 4:1-6)

The Greek klesis rendered as vocation here is the same word used in the statements “the hope of his calling [klesis 2821]” (Eph 1:18), “one hope of your calling [klesis 2821]” (Eph 4:4). Paul was referring to the calling of God to Adam after he sinned, “And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?” (Gen 3:9). The hope of His calling is that the Seed of the woman would come and bruise the serpent’s head. It’s the hope of redemption from the curse placed on the creation, “For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope” (Rom 8:20).

In these seven “one” statements that begin with “one body,” Paul was not speaking of singularity as if saying there is only one body as opposed to two or three, but rather of unity which the context imposes, “the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” He meant that both Jews and Gentiles should be in peace and unity with each other because they are all members of the same body of Christ, have the same indwelling Spirit, share the same hope of His calling, serve the same Lord, are saved by the same faithfulness, were baptized in the same name of Jesus, and are children of the same Father God. That Paul was speaking of peace and unity between Jews and Gentiles is evident from what he taught earlier:

For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. (Ephesians 2:14-18)

As Paul taught the Colossians, “And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all” (Col 3:10-11). In other words, at the time of creation there were no Greeks or Jews, no distinction between Circumcision and uncircumcision, and no Barbarians, Scythians, bond or free. All people are created after the image of God. Therefore, the calling to Adam is “the hope of his calling” for all people through Jesus Christ.

The Chief Cornerstone

As stated earlier, the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost is based upon the Sabbath week which in turn is based upon the creation week. Therefore, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit with the gift of tongues on the Day of Pentecost was purposed from the very creation. And what about the Tower of Babel? Did God not anticipate the gift of tongues on the Day of Pentecost when He confused the languages to begin with?

“For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people … Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste” (Isa 28:11, 16). Isaiah was prophesying about the Day of Pentecost in Jerusalem when the Holy Spirit would be poured out along with the gift of tongues—this event would be like the laying of the main stone in the foundation of the Temple. Zion is the name of Jerusalem under the reign of King David, “In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months: and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty and three years over all Israel and Judah … Nevertheless David took the strong hold of Zion: the same is the city of David” (2Sa 5:5, 7).

The optimal time and place for the resurrection of Jesus Christ to be either proved or disproved was at that time in Jerusalem with the empty tomb. That David’s tomb was still occupied, “Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day” (Act 2:29), meant that David’s prophecy about resurrection before the body decayed “neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption” (Act 2:27), could not have been about himself. Furthermore, this supernatural gift of immediate fluency in a foreign language upon the followers of Jesus was confirmation from God of their eyewitness testimony that He is alive. This event upon these Jewish followers of Jesus Christ, therefore, became the foundation of the faith upon which everything in the church would be based.

The gift of tongues poured out upon the Jews at the beginning of the church was the basis upon which the Jews concluded the salvation of the Gentiles, “For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter, Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?” (Act 10:46-47), “And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning … When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.” (Act 11:15, 18).

The Jewish people were those “he hath chosen” (1:4) as can be deducted by the creation week, Sabbath week, and Feast of Weeks. They were allowed to hear the gospel first before the Gentiles: “Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.” (Act 3:26), “Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.” (Act 13:46), “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek” (Rom 1:16).

“That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed [sphragizo 4972] with that holy Spirit of promise” (Eph 1:12-13). Gentiles “were sealed” means that they were approved or confirmed by God through this same sign gift as also being saved, “Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life” (Acts 11:18). It has nothing to do with locking salvation or the security of the believer. This is how the Greek sphragizo was used with Jesus Christ being approved by God as the Messiah, “Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed [sphragizo 4972]” (Jhn 6:27), “Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know” (Act 2:22).

The Gentiles received “that holy Spirit of promise” (Eph 1:13), “That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith” (Gal 3:14), as the Jews received on the Day of Pentecost, “Therefore, being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear” (Act 2:33).

Jesus Christ was resurrected by the Holy Spirit because His Father promised resurrection to Him, “having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost.” It’s because both Jews and Gentiles have the same Holy Spirit in their hearts that they share the same “hope of his calling,” the hope of resurrection promised to us by faithfulness to our Lord Jesus Christ.

In summary Paul’s letter to the Ephesians is all about helping them understand the message God communicated through the Scriptures from the beginning but hid in a mystery. The message is the gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ. This gospel message had to be hidden for it to have been carried out and accomplished, “But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hiddenwisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory” (1Co 2:7-8). Now that Paul revealed the message God spoke since the beginning, there can be no legitimate arguments made about salvation coming some other way than through serving Jesus Christ as Lord.