European Bible Study Meeting, 2002Making Peace by the Blood of His CrossApril 4th, 2002, Evening Lecture Part 2He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.  Colossians 1:13-14One Faith, One BaptismLet’s turn to Ephesians chapter 4 and read from verse 1. I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.  verses 1-3Just as God told Adam to maintain the garden of Eden (see Genesis 2:15), the apostle Paul told the saved believers to maintain the unity of the Spirit. He said this because people keep inserting their own work into the work of God, coming up with outrageous ideas and destroying what God is doing.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.  Ephesians 4:4-5Here it says there is one faith. We all believe in the same way.In hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began and at the proper time manifested in his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Savior; To Titus, my true child in a common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.  Titus 1:2-4Here again Paul writes of “in a common faith.”Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.  2 Peter 1:1Here, Peter writes of “a faith of equal standing with ours.”Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. For certain people have crept in unnoticed.  Jude 1:3-4Here it says, “our common salvation” and, “the faith that was once for all.” Each individual needs to consider whether there was a day on which this faith began in his or her heart. Let’s take another look at Ephesians chapter 4 verses 4 and 5.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.Here it says there is one baptism. There are people who do not receive baptism after salvation because they were christened as a baby. There are also people who think it would be wrong to be baptized again since they have already been baptized or christened. It is absolutely not the case that saved people will go to hell if they are not baptized. Also, when it says there is one baptism, this definitely does not mean that all the born-again people in the world must be baptized together in the ocean at one time.What is baptism? The Gospels tell us that when Jesus came up out of the water at his baptism, the Holy Spirit descended upon him like a dove and voice was heard from heaven saying “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (see Matthew 3:16-17, Mark 1:10-11, Luke 3:22). When a person is baptized, it is a way of saying to those who have been saved through the Holy Spirit on this earth—the brothers and sisters who have the same faith—that he or she, too, now has the same faith, and saying to the devil, “Now I will no longer live under your power; I will live through faith in Christ.” Baptism is the first step that marks the beginning of a life of faith.The Bible does, of course, say, “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Galatians 3:27). This baptism comes first. First, John the Baptist came to the Jews, those who knew the elementary principles of the way of Christ, and taught them about the baptism of repentance. Then in the book of Acts we read that after the Holy Spirit came down on the day of Pentecost, when the Gentiles were born again, they, too, were baptized. We find that when Gentiles who knew nothing of baptism or the elementary principles of Christ were saved through faith, they were baptized by full immersion as a form of testimony. This is different from the baptism of repentance received by the Jews before the Holy Spirit came down on the day of Pentecost.A person cannot be brought to God through a christening randomly mixed with manmade doctrines by people who are not able to rightly distinguish the word of God. Only the precious blood of Christ is able to bring a person before God. For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.  Corinthians 12:12-13When we are born again, we are baptized as a form of testimony and the first step in our faith. Then we take part in a communion service in which we break bread and drink wine with the saints. Through them we testify to one another of our faith and praise God.One God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.  Ephesians 4:6This is talking about the God who said, “Do I not fill heaven and earth?” (Jeremiah 23:24).But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore it says, “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.” (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers.  Ephesians 4:7-11The positions of apostle, prophet, evangelist, shepherd (“pastor” in most other translations), and teacher referred to in this passage have continued throughout the past two thousand years as the history of the church has unfolded. There are no prophets or people who prophesy in the church today, although in the book of Acts we come across some prophets who were a little different from those of Old Testament times. In the church at that time, there were apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. Just as there is one body but many parts to it, in each age people are appointed to various duties, and even now many people each have their own role as the church is being accomplished.What is the purpose of this?To equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.  Ephesians 4:12Its purpose is to build up the body of Christ. How is it built up? Gathering together and chatting away happily is not building up the body of Christ. The work of building up the body of Christ is a matter of continually making childrens of God who have the same faith that we have received. When fellowship does not include any expression of life, it is necessary to think again and reconsider what we are doing wrong. Until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.  Ephesians 4:13This is how the church grows and moves actively. Then the will of the Lord is expressed through the body of the church. This is extremely different from the statue in the book of Daniel that is unable to move (see chapter 3). There is life in the church. So that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness

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