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Life of Faith
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MESSAGE: G16
Preached: 8 June 1980 ▪ Edited: 8 Aug 2007
Introduction | Why the life of faith must centre on Christ | Life of faith in Christ in the context of His body | Concluding remarks
In this message, I wish to consider with you the truth that the life of faith is the
Christ-centred life.
In John 14, after the Lord Jesus said, “Believe in God, believe also in Me” (v. 1), He went
on to say, “I am the way, the truth and the life” (v. 6).
Christ is the truth. As faith must rest on the truth, our life of faith will be vitally
involved with Christ because He is the truth. Christ is also the way. He is not only
the way to God, but also the way to live our life. Our whole life must be one
characterised by a close walk with the Lord. And Christ is the life. In Him we have
abundant life. In Him we have the life of God. In Him, the life that God wants us to
live finds its expression. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life.
We shall consider the theological basis and framework of the life of faith. The life of
faith is the Christ-centred life. We will see how the life of faith primarily stems
from our understanding of the dilemma of man, the frailty of man and the state that
man is in – in sin and in darkness. When we are in that state, how can the holy God
bring us back to Himself? How can the infinite and almighty God have a proper,
meaningful and even intimate relationship with us, frail, finite and sinful creatures?
We will see how God answers all this through the Lord Jesus Christ; how in Him, the
infinite God can lift us up to such a high plane that we can have a very intimate
relationship with Him. It is not just about escaping punishment for our sins; it is about
relating with God in a deep, intimate, and meaningful way. How can this be accomplished?
It is God who took the initiative to accomplish this. It is God’s plan. It is summed up in
a key expression in the Scriptures: “the mystery”. The word “mystery” used in this context
does not have the same connotation as that often used in novels. There “mystery” refers to
something mysterious. But “mystery” in the New Testament, especially in the epistles of
Paul, often refers to the revelation of what is in the heart of God, His plan which was
hidden in ages past, and which is now revealed to us through the Holy Spirit. The apostle
Paul explains to us the meaning of this expression in his epistles to the Ephesians and
the Colossians. It tells us how God can lift us out of a life of darkness and sin and
raise us up to a level where we can meaningfully relate with Him. It is the revelation
of Jesus Christ – Christ in us, the hope of glory – how His coming down to the human
level is able to lift us up to the divine level so that we can be partakers of the
divine nature and can relate meaningfully with God and live a life that is effective
for God on this earth. This is the gospel – the good news of the richness of life in
Christ Jesus that God intends for all who would believe in Him.
We will consider how the beginning, the continuation, as well as the consummation of the
life of faith, must centre on the Lord Jesus Christ.
Let us first look at Romans 16:25-26.
Romans 16:25-26
25 Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of
Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which has been kept secret for
long ages past,
26 but now is manifested, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the
commandment of the eternal God, has been made known to all the nations, leading to
obedience of faith;
The main message of the Scriptures is about God revealing the mystery which has been
hidden. Paul tells us here that the revelation of the mystery is closely related to the
preaching of Jesus Christ. And he went on to say how this mystery was kept secret in ages
past but now is manifested by “the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment
of the eternal God”. This “has been made known to all the nations, leading to obedience of
faith”. The revealing of the mystery, which relates to the preaching of Jesus Christ, is
meant to lead to obedience of faith.
Hebrews 11 is a great chapter on faith. In the preceding chapter, the writer to the
Hebrews talks about faith and how we should not shrink back from living by faith
(Heb. 10:38). In Hebrews 12, he exhorts us to look to Jesus, the author and perfecter
of our faith. The Lord Jesus is therefore the One who begins our faith. Why is this
so? Why must our life of faith begin with Jesus? This is because of the kind of life
we used to live. Ephesians 2:1-3 shows this clearly.
Ephesians 2:1-3
1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,
2 in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to
the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons
of disobedience.
3 Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires
of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.
We were dead in our trespasses and sin. We were living in darkness and walking according to
the temptations of the evil one, according to the pull of this world and according to the
desires of our flesh. Such a life is in opposition to the truth. We were not living in
accordance with faith, because faith must be based on the truth and must be a proper
response to the truth. So there needs to be a turnaround. Instead of living a life of
darkness, in opposition to the truth, we should now walk in the light, in accordance with
the truth. As Jesus is the light and the truth, we now have to turn to Him that we may know
the light and the truth and walk in Him. This is the beginning of the life of faith with
the Lord Jesus Christ.
I would like to consider with you two important aspects of the beginning of the life of
faith in Christ. The first aspect has to do with reconciliation with God; the second has to
do with God enabling us to live the life of faith.
We were once in darkness and sin. While we were in that state, we were not able to walk
with God because God is light and in Him there is no darkness. Because of our sins, there
was a barrier between us and God and we were under the judgement and the wrath of God. God
will punish us for our sins and our sins therefore have to be dealt with.
Jesus died for our sins and bore our punishment on the Cross. He can cleanse us from all
our sins. He can deal with our sins and make us right with God, so that we may come back to
God and be reconciled with Him.
There is no other way to reconciliation with God. Justification, or being right with God,
is only by faith in Jesus Christ and not by works (Rom. 3:21-28). This is a central truth
prominent during the Reformation. Martin Luther was very much associated with the doctrine
of justification by faith, a doctrine that was blurred for many years because of the
prevailing teachings and practices.
The Scriptures tells us clearly that we cannot become right with God by self-effort:
“because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight” (Rom. 3:20). We
cannot settle the issue of sin on our own. We are unable to live a righteous life no matter
how hard we may try. Besides, we can never eradicate our past sins or cancel the punishment
that is due to us. So we can never come back to God and be right with God by
self-effort.
There is no other way we can come back to God except through the Lord Jesus Christ because
no one else can deal with the problem of sin. Other human beings are unable to die for our
sins because they too have sinned. They cannot even save themselves, much less save
others.
Only the Lord Jesus Christ can die on our behalf because He is the sinless Son of God.
Because He is divine and not merely a man, His death on the Cross is infinitely valuable
and efficacious and He is able to bear the weight of the sins of the whole world. So it is
clear to us that Jesus is the only way back to God because of the issue of sin.
Let us now look a little closer at saving faith. What is the saving faith that can enable
us to come back to God?
The first aspect of saving faith has to do with recognition of the truth. What is
the truth that is relevant here when we consider the issue of salvation? It is the
recognition of Jesus Christ, who He is and what He has accomplished for us. Let us look at
1 John 5:1
1 John 5:1
Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God…
The truth we should recognise from this verse is that Jesus is the Christ. He is the
Messiah, the Deliverer, God’s appointed Saviour. To have saving faith, to be born again or
be born of God, one must believe that Jesus is the Christ.
What did the Lord Jesus Himself preach concerning the gospel and concerning how we ought to
respond to it? Let us look at Mark 1:14-15.
Mark 1:14-15
14 Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the
gospel of God,
15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and
believe in the gospel.”
The Lord Jesus was preaching the gospel, the good news of God, and He says, “The time is
fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” We have to
repent and believe in the gospel.
But what is the gospel? It is summarised in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4.
1 Corinthians 15:1-4
1 Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you
received, in which also you stand,
2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless
you believed in vain.
3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for
our sins according to the Scriptures,
4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the
Scriptures,
A major thrust of the gospel is that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and was raised
on the third day. The point that Christ died for our sins is a crucial one for us to take
note of. We must recognise that we are sinful people and that we are responsible for our
sins. We are guilty before God. We must also recognise that Christ has died for our sins,
and that He has dealt with our sin problem. If we respond positively to Him, we can be
cleansed of our sins and become right with God. We must also recognise that He was raised
from the dead. The resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ is a testimony to His deity and
His triumph over the powers of darkness at the Cross (Col. 2:15). It is the stamp of God’s
approval on what He has accomplished and that His death is not in vain. He is a living
Saviour and not one who is dead.
We see then that the first aspect of saving faith concerns recognition of the truth,
recognition of the gospel, who Jesus Christ is and what He has done for us on the
Cross.
The second aspect of saving faith concerns the proper response to the truth.
Recognition of the gospel and mere assent to it is insufficient. The demons also recognise
who Jesus Christ is and they shudder. There must be, together with the recognition of the
truth, a proper response to the truth.
How do we properly respond to the truth? If we recognise that Jesus Christ has died for our
sins, a proper response to the truth would be to repent of our sins, and receive Christ
into our lives as our personal Saviour and Lord. We can then become children of God and be
born of the Spirit.
John 1:12
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to
those who believe in His name,
The Lord Jesus helps us understand the meaning of true salvation when He says, “Why do you
call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46) and “Not everyone who says to
Me, ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father
who is in heaven will enter” (Matt. 7:21). It is not enough to merely recognise and
acknowledge that Jesus is Lord. The heart’s desire must be to do the will of the Father.
There must be a determined desire to walk with Him.
This is a moral issue. We need to exercise our will to turn from a life of darkness and sin
to a life where we desire and are determined to walk in accordance with the light and
truth, that is, a life of submission to the Lordship of Christ.
When we present the gospel to someone, it is important that we explain and emphasise Christ
as both Saviour and Lord. Commitment to Christ and true discipleship is meant to take place
at the point of conversion and not some time after conversion. The Lord Jesus says, “If
anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and
follow Me” (Luke 9:23). These are the demands of discipleship. These conditions apply at
the point in time when we receive the Lord Jesus Christ into our lives.
For genuine regeneration to take place, there must be faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and a
turning away from a life of sin. But very often, because these conditions of discipleship
are not properly presented, many who respond to the Lord are not clear about the importance
of a wholehearted commitment to Him.
Salvation involves a basic change of heart and direction in life. It is not that we become
perfect or that we no longer falter, but it is a determined intention of the heart and the
will to be committed to God. It involves a turning away from the world, from
self-gratification, from living a life according to our own desires, ways and means, to
living a life for God. We must continue in this attitude of heart in the outworking of our
salvation and not return to wallowing in the mire, as Peter warns us in 2 Peter 2:22.
Let us now go on to the second aspect of beginning a life of faith with Jesus, which
concerns the enabling by the Lord Jesus.
Having our past sins dealt with is not sufficient. We now have to live a positive life, a
life in accordance with the truth. And this we cannot live on our own. God has not created
us with the capacity to live righteously on our own apart from Him. Our inability to live
righteously on our own is further aggravated by the weakness of the flesh. We are fallen
creatures, living in the midst of a fallen world and in the presence of a powerful enemy.
We will not be able to live our lives properly on our own. We need to understand how the
Lord Jesus can help us live a life in accordance with the truth, a life pleasing in God’s
sight.
Let us look at the predicament we will be in if we do not know the deliverance in the Lord
Jesus Christ. Let us read Romans 7:14-19.
Romans 7:14-19
14 For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to
sin.
15 For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to
do, but I am doing the very thing I hate.
16 But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that
the Law is good.
17 So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.
18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is
present in me, but the doing of the good is not.
19 For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not
want.
In this passage Paul tells us even when we recognise the truth and what is good and strive to live accordingly, we often fail. What we recognise we ought to do, we are unable to do. What we recognise is evil and harmful, that which we should not be doing, we continue to do.
Romans 7:22-24
22 For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man,
23 but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my
mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members.
24 Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?
This is the state of someone who does not know deliverance in the Lord Jesus Christ. We will find ourselves crying out: “Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?” We need to be set free, but who will set us free? The answer lies in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Romans 7:25
Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! ...
To live in accordance with the truth as revealed in the Scriptures, we need deliverance
through the Lord Jesus Christ. Many verses in the Scriptures talk about the richness of
life in Christ and the abundant life that He has promised to all those who love Him.
In John 10:10, the Lord Jesus declares His purpose for coming into this world: “I came that
they may have life, and have it abundantly.”
In Philippians 4:13, Paul says, “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” What
he is saying here is very different from what he says in Romans 7, where he describes a
life marked by failures. Here, he says there is now an answer. We can arrive at the stage
where we can say, “I can do all things.” And this is attained through Christ who
strengthens us. The Lord Jesus Christ is the One who strengthens us. Not only has He
reconciled us to God, He is also the One who strengthens us, who enables us to do all
things in accordance with the truth.
Paul also says, “But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved
us” (Rom. 8:37). We can live an overcoming life through the Lord Jesus Christ, by His
enabling. He has died for us, not only to set us free from the penalty of sin, but also
from the bondage to sin. Through Him, we can overcome the power of the evil one, the
temptations of sin and the temptations of the world, so that we will be able to live a life
that is victorious. But we need to be constantly mindful of the fact that apart from
Christ, we can do nothing (John 15:5). Apart from Him, we will not be able to live our
lives properly. Apart from Him, we can do nothing that is good because we do not have the
power in ourselves to live a good, holy and righteous life.
Having considered the beginning of a life of faith with the Lord Jesus Christ, we will now
go on to consider the next aspect, and that is, continuing the life of faith with the Lord
Jesus Christ.
In Philippians 1:21, Paul says, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” His
whole life is bound up with the Lord Jesus Christ and completely centred on Him. He seeks
to know the Lord Jesus in increasing measure, to know and obey His teaching, to honour Him,
to be enabled by Him, that the life of Christ may be manifested through his own life.
In his epistle to the Colossians, Paul speaks about some important truths that have
tremendous implications and significance for our lives.
In Colossians 1:25-2:10, we see that at the very heart of God’s plan is the revelation of
the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a glorious mystery that God has willed to make known among the
Gentiles. It is “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27), that Christ can come into
us and be in us. This is the way God's intentions for man can be realised.
This is a very rich truth. God’s intention is not merely that we can be cleansed and
forgiven of our sins. God wants to raise us up to a very high level of moral and spiritual
stature such that He, the infinite, almighty, perfect God, can relate intimately with us as
friends. How is this possible?
We are finite and frail creatures, but now the Lord Jesus Christ is dwelling in us. Because
Christ is living in us, He is going to transform us that we may become partakers of the
divine nature. We can then become children of God in a very deep sense. Life can be of a
very high quality. We can have deep communion with God because we are now partakers of the
divine nature. Without Christ being in us, we will not be able to relate with God in this
way.
In Colossians 2:2, Paul also tells us about the true knowledge of God’s mystery, that is
Christ. It is very important for us to recognise that Christ is at the heart of God’s
revelation. God’s mystery centres on the Lord Jesus Christ, in whom are hidden all the
treasures of wisdom and knowledge (v. 3).
Colossians 2:9-10 tells us that “in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form,
and in Him you have been made complete”. Christ is in us and we are in Him. This is a
spiritual reality, not a vain hope.
In Colossians 2:6-7, we see the importance of continuing a life of faith with
Christ.
Colossians 2:6-7
6 Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him,
7 having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith,
just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.
Having received Christ, we have to continue to walk in Him. We must be totally involved
with Him. Our faith must be established, rooted and built up in Him. Our spiritual growth
is vitally linked to our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. It is not merely
recognising abstract truths. We must respond to the truth and live our lives according to
the truth.
The Lord Jesus is the truth and a life of faith ultimately has to do with being built up in
Him, who embodies the truth. To grow in faith, we need to deepen in our knowledge of Him
and relationship with Him. Paul laboured and strived to help believers attain maturity in
Christ.
Colossians 1:28-29
28 We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that
we may present every man complete in Christ.
29 For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works
within me.
Paul proclaimed Christ, he admonished and taught every man, he laboured and strived, so that he may present every man complete or mature in Christ. Paul’s goal is that every man may be mature in Christ. This is the intention of God.
Colossians 2:1-2
1 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have on your behalf…
2 that their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love, and attaining to
all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true
knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself,
Here, we see Paul labouring and striving so that the hearts of the Christians might be
encouraged and knitted together in love, and that they might attain to all the wealth and
full assurance of understanding through the true knowledge of Christ. And all these are
vitally related to the heart of God’s revelation in Jesus Christ.
If we want to grow in our life of faith, it is crucial that we grow in understanding,
knowledge and wisdom. In Colossians 2:3, Paul tells us that in Christ are hidden all the
treasures of wisdom and knowledge. In 2 Peter 3:18, Peter exhorts us to grow in the grace
and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. As we understand more of the Lord Jesus
Christ and respond to Him in our hearts, it will lead to a deeper bond of fellowship with
Him, a deeper relationship with Him. This is how we become more and more conformed to the
image of Christ.
The Lord Jesus Christ shares with us similar truths in John 15. He tells the disciples, “Abide in Me and I in you” (v. 4). This has the same meaning as “we in Christ and Christ in us”. He says, “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing” (v. 5). We have therefore to recognise the need to depend upon Him, to look to Him so that His life may be manifested and lived out in our lives. If we understand how to live out such a life properly, it can be a very rich and fruitful life.
Some people think that the Christian life must have ups and downs, that this is inevitable. Here, I am not referring to feelings. True, feelings may fluctuate. But if we look at the Scriptures, we see that the Christian life need not have ups and downs. It is the will of God that we live a life of faith that is stable, firmly rooted in Christ and continually being built up in Him. It is possible to continually live out the abundant life. The continuation of the life of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is meant to be of this kind. Such a kind of life is expressed in Romans 8:2.
Romans 8:2
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and
of death.
The term “in Christ” occurs many times in the Scriptures. It can be very enriching to study and meditate on the scriptural revelation of being “in Christ”. Here, Paul tells us “the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death”. The description here is not a temporary, fluctuating experience but a continuing experience of the overcoming life of freedom in Christ and in the Holy Spirit. This is in contrast to the old way of life in which we constantly live in sin and defeat. If we understand the truth revealed in the Scriptures and respond accordingly, if we are determined and live in dependence upon God, it is possible for us to live in accordance with the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus, which will set us free from the law of sin and of death. This is a life of victory in the Lord Jesus Christ. It is meant to be our constant experience.
The Book of Hebrews has a lot to teach us concerning the life of faith. Hebrews 12:1-2, in particular, shows us how we ought to run the race, which is basically the life of faith.
Hebrews 12:1-2
1 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay
aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with
endurance the race that is set before us,
2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before
Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the
throne of God.
How do we run the race that is set before us? By fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and
perfecter of faith. This refers to having a spiritual vision of the Lord Jesus Christ
seated at the right hand of God in glory. Not the Jesus walking on earth, not the Jesus
lying in the tomb, but the Lord Jesus who is exalted and seated at the right hand of the
throne of God. That is where He is now. When we run the race, when we fix our eyes on
Jesus, we are looking at Him in glory, the exalted Christ in all His triumph and power and
glory. At the same time we recognise, as Ephesians 2:6 tells us, we are seated with Him in
the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. And that is how we should run the race and live out
our life of faith in Christ - from the position of Christ's victory, power and glory.
If this becomes a reality to us, we will have the assurance of constant as well as ultimate
victory for all who abide in Christ. In this fallen world, many things that come our way
tend to discourage us and make us feel that life is difficult and hopeless. But the writer
to the Hebrews tells us that we should have this spiritual vision, which will help us
tremendously. If we learn how to live like that, constantly fixing our eyes on the Lord
Jesus in this way, then there will be a deep sense of assurance because we will be looking
at life with the right perspective.
Faith is the ability to recognise the truth, the whole truth, which includes the realm of
the seen as well as the unseen. Often we are discouraged because we are not able to see
things with the right perspective. The visible things that we see around us can easily
discourage us. But if we know how to see with eyes of faith, to understand the total
reality, the total truth, the total perspective, then we need not feel discouraged in any
situation.
If we live our lives in faithfulness to God, our lives will never be fruitless or a
failure, although circumstances may suggest that. The death of Christ is a good
illustration of this point. As far as physical appearance is concerned, it appears the
greatest defeat. He who was meant to be the Saviour of the world was dying so helplessly on
the cross and His disciples were all scattered. It was a time of darkness. It all appeared
hopeless. But it was in reality the greatest triumph in history when the Lord Jesus Christ
willingly laid down His life on the Cross. It was the greatest triumph of faith and
obedience to God with far-reaching implications for the fulfilment of God's purposes, and
it laid the foundation for the advancement of God's kingdom.
If we know how to live like that, to run in this way, we can have the assurance that our
labour in the Lord will not be in vain. But it must always be in the Lord, not according to
our own whims and fancies and desires, but according to His guidance and enabling, in
accordance with God’s purposes and plans as revealed to us in the Scriptures. In the Lord,
it will not be in vain. Outside the Lord, it will be in vain, no matter how successful it
may appear to be.
Let us go on now to consider the third aspect of the life of faith. Christ is the
author and perfecter of our faith or the author and finisher of our
faith. He is the One who brings to completion our life of faith. And it is helpful to know
how to properly focus on this end.
The Lord Jesus promises us, “I will come again” (John 14:3). It is proper and healthy for
us to look forward to His Coming Again. The Scriptures reveals to us that “when He appears,
we will be like Him” (1 John 3:2), as He “will transform the body of our humble state into
conformity with the body of His glory” (Phil. 3:21), and we will then be with Him forever.
What is important in eternity and the meaning of our eternal life is very much bound up
with our knowledge of and relationship with God the Father and Christ the Son (John
17:3).
The significance of “Christ in you, the hope of glory” is not just for our life on earth,
but for eternity, when Christ will be the firstborn among many brethren (Rom. 8:29). Why
would He call us His brethren (Heb. 2:11)? Because in the future, it will not just be God
seeking to relate with frail, finite creatures but people He has raised to a high level
because we have been made partakers of the divine nature. Christ is in us. We are the
temple of the Holy Spirit. God is transforming us, in our character and in our very being.
God wants us to grow in moral, spiritual beauty and stature so that we may be increasingly
conformed to the image of Christ. God has seated us with Him in the heavenly places in
Christ “so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in
kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:7). We do not fully comprehend what all this
will mean, but we know that there is very much that we can look forward to.
Ephesians 1:9-10 presents another aspect of the mystery.
Ephesians 1:9-10
9 He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He
purposed in Him
10 with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the
summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth...
Here, we see that part of the mystery, the grand revelation of God, has to do with the summing up of all things in Christ. In eternity, it is only those who are in Christ who will have a meaningful part in the continuing outworking of God's purposes. All who belong to God will be in Christ as members of His body.
As we consider the life of faith, how we begin with the Lord Jesus Christ, continue with
Him and look forward to the glorious future in Him and together with Him, it is important
that we should view all this in the context of the church, the body of Christ.
Salvation begins with a personal response of repentance and faith in God through the Lord
Jesus Christ. Although it begins with the personal response, our life of faith in Christ is
not meant to be individualistic.
The moment we are born of the Spirit and become children of God, we are baptised into the
body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:13). We are spiritually joined to one another in the body of
Christ. This union is not only a union with the Lord Jesus Christ, but a union with all
believers in the body of Christ. And so, when we seek to live out our lives, we must always
bear in mind that our lives are lived as members of His body. There are many principles
that govern outworking of the life of the body - inter-dependence, cooperation, unity,
submission to Christ as the head, as the ultimate authority, as the One who supervises, who
guides, who enables. These are revealed to us in many passages of the Scriptures, for
example, in Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12-14.
I will now refer to two verses that provide the perspective of our life of faith in Christ
in the context of His body.
Ephesians 1:22-23
22 And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things
to the church,
23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
Christ is the head over all things to the church. And the church, which is His body, is the fullness of Christ. The church is meant to manifest the fullness of Christ. An individual can never manifest the fullness of Christ in the way that the church can, if the church is functioning properly. We are meant to express the fullness and the beauty of Christ - His love, glory, power and wisdom.
Ephesians 3:8-11
8 To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the
unfathomable riches of Christ,
9 and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been
hidden in God who created all things;
10 so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the
rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places.
11 This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our
Lord,
Here, Paul tells us that the manifold wisdom of God is to be made known through the church,
not only to men, but also to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. We will not
be able to fully grasp and understand all the implications of this, but a healthy church
functioning properly will have a tremendous impact on earth as well as in the heavenly
places.
Paul goes on to say that this is in accordance with God’s eternal purpose and that all this
is carried out in Christ Jesus. So as we seek to live out our life of faith, it is very
important that we are clear about the theological basis, the truths that God has revealed
to us. Only then can we live our lives in accordance with the truth. Only then can we live
effective lives of faith.
In this message, we have seen the importance of our life of faith being lived out in accordance with God’s revelation of His purpose in Christ and that we must live it out in consciousness of the fact that we are members of His body, the church. God’s intention is that each one should grow unto maturity in Christ. And then all of us, the whole church, should function healthily, in accordance with God’s plan and instructions, that the wisdom, power and glory of God might be manifested. As we progress well in that direction, the power and the glory of the church will also be manifested, the enemy will be crushed, those who are perishing will be rescued, and the kingdom of God will be built up.
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Scripture Quotations
Scripture quotations unless otherwise stated, are taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD Bible ®,
Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.
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Life of Faith
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