Going Back To the Roots of Our Faith

BEFORE CHRISTIANITY THERE WAS ‘THE WAY’

The very first followers of Jesus Christ were the original eleven disciples. They would become the first members of the Church on the day the Holy Spirit initially came to dwell in believers (Day of Pentecost). As they spread the good news of Jesus Christ, they became known as the followers of The Way which pertained to Jesus’ statement:

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” — John 14:6

Saul of Tarsus, before he became Paul, was a Pharisee who hunted and persecuted these early followers of Jesus. The below occurred around 33 AD.

But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. — Acts 9:1–2

Approximately ten years later, after Paul’s conversion, he and Barnabas traveled to Antioch on a missionary trip:

For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians. — Acts 11:26

It was the Greeks, the Gentiles, who were the first to dub the followers of the Way, Jesus’ disciples, as “Christians.”

UNITY = ONE FAITH

Being unified as believers is essential to be effective in our message of hope to the world.

Jesus fervently prayed for this.

“I do not ask for these only (His disciples), but also for those who will believe in me through their word (this would mean us), that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.” — John 17:20–23

Paul also emphasized this unity.

There is one body and one Spirit — just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call — one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. — Ephesians 4:4–6

Embedded within these two passages are the roots of our faith. These foundational principles are what we, as believers in Jesus Christ and those who call themselves “Christians,” should be striving for together as one Body, one Church.

PRINCIPLES OF OUR FAITH

Jesus and the Father are one. Not only is Jesus the Son of God, but Jesus is also eternal and has the same authority and power as His Father.

After Jesus returned to Heaven, the Holy Spirit was sent to dwell in all true believers. With this Spirit within us, we received the same Truth. One Spirit. One Truth.

The “one hope” is our call as believers, the message we are to share with the world. This message of hope is about Jesus who came and died in our place to pay the punishment for our sins. Because of His sacrifice, Jesus is the only one who can forgive the sins of humanity, He is “one Lord” which means He is the only way to enter the Kingdom of God.

UNITY THROUGH LOVE
Love is at the heart of this unity — between God the Father and Jesus the Son, between God and humanity, and finally, between believers.

The unity among believers is the reflection of God’s love. Our unity is to be visible as a sign to the world that Jesus was sent by God because of His love for humanity.

Instead of quarreling, let us be at peace with one another.

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” — Matthew 5:9

Let us be of one mind for we have the same Spirit of Truth in us.

“But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.” — John 15:26

NEXT— The End of the Age