One Faith (Ephesians 4 5) — Tim Conway

One Faith in Ephesians 4:5

We are going to be in Ephesians this morning looking at the next item here in v. 5 of chapter 4. Ephesians 4 reads this way, beginning in v. 1,. "'I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you've 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.'".

The unity of the Spirit is that which gives way in Paul's mind to v. 4, 5, and 6. There's a unifying reality behind these facts. There's one body, v. 4, 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. Today we're in v. 5 dealing with one faith. And the question of the hour is this, what is that? What does Paul mean? One faith. It's interesting to me, oftentimes I've told some of you before, one of my favorite Internet tools for commentaries is Study Light.

What's interesting is as I was filing down through the different commentaries, you get to one, the guy is absolutely adamant about what one faith means. You go to the next one, he's absolutely adamant that it isn't what the guy right before just said.

Not that he's combating that guy or disagreeing specifically with that guy. He just has another opinion about what this means. Theories abound. One faith. Now when Paul says it, I don't think that it was meant to be mysterious to the Ephesians, but it seems to be pretty mysterious to the commentators.

One guy adamant. Absolutely adamant that this has to do with our own personal believing. Another guy will be just as adamant that it does not have to do with our own personal believing. It has to do with the overall doctrine and body of truth.

So, here's the thing. There's a couple of things that make this difficult. One is that Paul gives us no explanation like with the rest of these things. He says one faith, no explanation, no definition.

That's one thing that makes it difficult. The second thing that makes it difficult is this. The word faith does have different meanings. And it doesn't just have two meanings. It actually has more than that.

But primarily, it seems like the commentators wrestle over two of the most probably common meanings in Scripture. And I want us to think about that. Faith can mean different things. And here's two of the things it can mean.

Subjective Faith as Personal Belief

And perhaps both of them lend something to what one faith might be. But think about this. On the one hand, faith means the act of believing. That's subjective. That has to do with me, the individual. Faith can be our own act of believing.

And you know, Jesus spoke this way all the time. He looked at people. You remember when they lowered the guy down through the roof? It says He looked at their faith. And He said to that man, your sins be forgiven you.

He would say to His disciples, oh, you of little faith. He said one day, I have not found such great faith in all of Israel. That's the way Jesus talked. You of little faith. According to your faith, be it done unto you.

Your faith. According to your faith. It was very subjective. It was very individual. It was the individual believing for themselves, personally believing. This is one meaning of faith. It refers to the specific individual's own confidence in the Gospel or own particular personal trust in Jesus Christ or particular person's own conviction of the truth of God's Word.

We all understand that. Your faith. Personal. Individual. But it is also used commonly in Scripture to refer to not the act of believing, but objectively, outside of self. Subjectively is my faith. Me believing.

But then you have the body of truth that's outside of yourself. The truth that we find in this book. That's objective. That's true outside of me, outside of anything that I believe. And faith is also used to refer to that.

The Objective Faith Once Delivered

One of the classic texts where this comes across is found in Jude. Now listen to this. Listen to how Paul talks about himself in Galatians. They only were hearing it said, he who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.

Or Jude. Jude says it like this, 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.

Now this is clearly not a reference to our individual faith, but to the body of revealed Gospel truth that we might call the Apostles' Doctrine. It's that which comes from Scripture. When Jude speaks of the faith, he's speaking about objective truths vital to the Christian faith that were obviously in danger of being distorted and therefore needed to be contended for.

So that's another way faith is used. Now, remember, the question of the hour is this. Right there in Ephesians 4, verse 5, you see right in the middle, bookended by one Lord and one baptism, you find this concept of one faith.

What is that? What's Paul thinking about? Is he mainly thinking about our own personal belief? Is he thinking about this objective body of truth outside of ourselves? Whatever one faith means, I think we can all agree with this.

It is flowing out of the concept of the unity of the Spirit. All these items in verses 4, 5, and 6 are meant to unite us. The unity of the Spirit. That we know. So, me? Subjectively? Is that what this has to do with?

Is it me believing? Is it my faith? Is it my act of believing? Is it the objective truth of God's Word outside of ourselves? What is it that unites us? That's what we need to be asking. What is it? Let me ask you this.

Think about yourself. Think about yourself believing. Can the act of me believing unify us? Does that unify us? It only unifies us. See, as I'm wrestling with this and I'm hearing these guys go back and forth, I think many of these guys are just arguing the wrong thing.

Because here's the reality. Me, subjectively. My faith, my faith, my individual believing does not unite us unless objectively my faith is here and your faith is here. And you can look at it from the other side too.

The objective truth in this book doesn't unite us unless you subjectively believe it and I subjectively believe it. I don't think it's necessary to make that kind of distinction or that kind of division.

Listen, the reality is this, Jude may talk about the faith. He talks about the faith. But the reality is, the fact is, yes, something exists called the faith, but it doesn't unite us unless we both contend for it.

And the truth is, we won't contend for it unless we're convinced about it. And so both of these things come in. Both of these things are necessary for us to be united. What unites us is when the objective meets the subjective.

That's where we're bound together. The faith must be your faith. The faith must be my faith. And when the faith is both of our faiths, that's what unites. When we can contend for the same thing. How is it said in the Philippian letter that they were striving together shoulder to shoulder for this, we could say, faith or the Gospel.

So, I don't think we want to fight for one or the other. Listen to how Luke puts it. Don't turn to these, but just listen. In the book of Acts, the Word of God continued to increase. The number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem.

And a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith. Now think about that. Priests. Whether you're in unity with the priests or you're a priest and I'm a priest, and how are we united? We're only united not because there's the faith which is external to both of us.

The only way we're united is if we both become obedient to the faith. So there's this body of truth that we both need to subjectively become obedient to. That's the way Scripture speaks. Or think about this.

You know Paul and Barnabas there in Acts 14. Strengthening the souls of the disciples. Encouraging them to continue in the faith. Saying that through many tribulations, we must enter the Kingdom of God.

There it is again. We have to continue in the faith. What unites us is when you continue in it and I continue in it. Then we're united. Then we're striving together for the sake of the same thing. We're contending for the same thing.

We're believing the same thing. One faith. One faith unites us. And it doesn't unite us unless you believe it. You may be here today. You're not a believer. Yes, there is something called the faith or one faith.

But it doesn't unite you to the rest of us unless you're contending for it, you're obedient to it, and you're continuing in it. That's the reality. We're united when there's one faith objectively. We both subjectively argue for that one and same thing.

One Faith and the Unity of Jew and Gentile

Now here's the thing. I think it's interesting for us to grasp Paul at this point. I think it's necessary. I think it helps us to develop this thing. We think of unity. You know, as elders, we may hear, well, some sister was offended with another one or some brother's jealous of another.

We think of unity on this level. You've got Jodea and Syntyche there in the Philippian church, and there's this Cyzic or true companion. I forget how it's pronounced in Greek, but Paul's telling him, help these ladies resolve this problem.

A lot of times, that's how we think about unity. But I want you to think about something. I want you to get the big picture. When you and I think about unity, yes, those things, any potential squabbles or whatever in the church, that's obviously part of this.

But Paul isn't talking about unity in a vacuum. He never does. And if you pay close attention when he brings this topic up, you'll find that he goes someplace all the time. What so astounded Paul was the fact that both Jew and Gentile are in this thing together.

Now look, I know, you don't feel this. You don't get this. It doesn't really amaze us at all. This Jew-Gentile thing that seemed to be on Paul's mind all the time, it's not on our mind. We don't think about it like he does.

It doesn't amaze us like it amazed him. And I'm not necessarily saying that it ought to the same way it did to him because he was coming out of that Jewish system. He had a mindset about Gentiles being unclean.

To him, this thing was stark. This was vivid. This was real. This was in your face. This was part of the culture. It's not part of ours. I don't know any of you that are a Jew. And so this just doesn't hit us like it did him.

But, and I recognize, the idea of unity goes beyond Jew and Gentile. But, it seems that in Paul's mind, that's where the whole thing started. And I want you just to see this. I want you to think with me about this.

There's one body. There's one Spirit. There's one hope. There's one Lord. There's one faith. There's one baptism, one God. Think with me here. Just watch. Turn in your Bibles to Ephesians 2 .16. Just turn back a page.

Remember, the first thing in the list. One body. In Ephesians 2 .16, Jesus Christ reconciles us both. Who's that? Who's us both? We'll go back up to Ephesians 2 .11. Remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh called the uncircumcision by what is called the circumcision.

There you have them. The uncircumcision and the circumcision. Remember that you, you Gentiles, you that he's talking to, the uncircumcision, you were separated from Christ, alienated all the way down.

And what we find here is that Jesus Christ reconciles us both to God. Both. Jew and Gentile in one body. That's the body of Christ. That's one body. He does this in one collective body of Jew and Gentile.

Think one Spirit. Oh, where do we find that at? Look at Ephesians 2 .18. For through Christ, we both have access in one both. It's always interesting to me that when you look through Paul's writings, what you find is when there's one body, it's got to do with both.

When you have one Spirit, it has to do with both. You see, this is unifying. You say, does this keep going? Well, yes, it does actually. There's one hope. If you turn back to chapter 1, notice with me, in v. 11, in Him we...

Now, if you just read that we, you might think Paul was including himself with the Ephesians, but that's not what he's doing. Watch. In Him we have obtained an inheritance having been predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, so that we...

Who is the we? We're the first to hope. See, the third thing here is there's one hope. Who are the first to hope? Well, you remember the Gospel. Jesus said it would go first to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, the uttermost parts of the world.

Who were the first? The first were Jews. The Gospel started there. He told His disciples, Jesus did in the beginning, don't go out to the Gentiles. You stay right here. They were the first to hope. They have an inheritance.

What's the hope? The hope is this inheritance. The hope is the glory. 13, in Him you also. You Gentiles, you also. When you heard the word of the truth, the Gospel of your salvation, believed in Him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit who is the guarantee of our inheritance.

See, they have the inheritance too. The Spirit of God guaranteeing it. Both. Those who first believed, they have an inheritance. Those who come along later, you also. You too. One hope. One inheritance.

You keep going here. Let's look at Romans. Turn with me to Romans 10. I'm just showing you something about Paul's idea here about unity and how Jew and Gentile were so much in his mind behind one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, and one faith.

One Lord and Equal Access to Salvation

But now we're to one Lord. And you see the same thing come at us again. Romans 10 v. 12. There's no distinction. No distinction between who? Again, Jew and Gentile. What's uniting? The same Lord. One Lord.

For the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing His riches on all who call upon Him. This is uniting. And in Paul's mind, the most amazing thing was that Jew and Gentile were being united in one church. You have to know that the reason why is because it was the most amazing because it was the most divisive thing in a natural state.

They were so at opposite ends. The last people in Paul's mind who could have ever been brought together were these two groups. Now, you say what about one faith? Okay, look at Romans 3. Because we're going to see that in Paul's mind, same thing.

Faith is bringing these two people together. Romans 3 v. 28. We hold that one is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. Or is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles also?

Yes, of Gentiles also. So you see, Jews and Gentiles. That's on the table. Now notice, v. 30 is the verse that I want you to see. Since God is One who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith.

See, there it is. Again, in His mind, circumcised, uncircumcised, both faith. Now, I mean, the question is, okay, is this what He means by one faith? Is this it right here? One faith. They both share the same faith.

I'm going to say yes it is and I'm going to show you in a second, but I want to ask this. Look at v. 30. Why does Paul have to say it this way? God will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith.

Now some people have really got hung up over the two different prepositions. Oh, look, since the prepositions are different, it means the faith must be different. That is to absolutely miss what Paul's saying here.

But let me ask this question. Why doesn't Paul just say that God will justify anyone by faith? I mean, that's what he says in v. 28. Why does he have to say it like this? Why does he need to be so specific and show us in very pointed fashion that the circumcised are justified by faith, but he has to separately say the uncircumcised are likewise justified by faith?

Why? I think the reason's simple. Because we have a tendency to think that it's easier for some people to be saved than others. Now that was the big hang-up that Paul recognized existed in the world then.

But you know, we think the same way. It's not just about the other person in the church, but it's that mindset that some have an advantage. No advantage. It's an equal playing field. Brethren, it's just true.

We have a tendency to think that it's easier for God to be kind to certain people over against other people. But what he's showing us is faith cuts through all that. The circumcision of the one doesn't in any way put him forward.

It doesn't give him an advantage. The uncircumcision of the other, that doesn't leave him behind. The justifier of them both is one and the same God and the basis of their justification, faith. God looks past a man's lineage, a man's performance.

What this does is it paves the way for sinners of all stripes, all color, to achieve a right standing with God, no matter who they are, no matter where they've been born, whether or not they're the physical seed of Abraham.

And the thing was, to Paul, he couldn't get over this. It blew him away. This was stunning to him. We don't feel it. We don't get it. And I'm not necessarily trying to preach today so that you do feel it and you do get it.

But I know this, the fact there's one faith is a very unifying reality and that we should feel. That we should have an idea. Can we call what we find there because both have this faith, can we call this one faith?

If the circumcision by faith, the uncircumcision through faith, is this the one faith? And I would answer yes, as long as what I said before holds true. The objective and the subjective have to come together.

The subjective is me believing. And that's what you see in v. 30. You see the uncircumcised believing. You see the circumcised believing. But that has to be united with a truth that's outside of ourselves.

There's something the Jew must place his faith in for God to justify him and the Gentile must place his faith in exactly the same thing for God to justify him. Then it's one faith. Then it unites us. Then it overcomes all lineage and all ethnicity.

Certainly, this isn't just faith in anything. He's not saying, well, the uncircumcised by faith in anything and the circumcised by faith in anything, that's not it. There's something outside of ourselves.

The Faith of Abraham and Justification by Faith

The way Paul emphasizes the oneness of this faith is interesting. Right after this in Romans, notice what he does. Look at Romans 4 .16. That is why it depends on faith. What's it? Well, righteousness.

The righteousness that God gives to us. Justification, you might say. That's the it. You can trace it back to v. 13. The righteousness of faith. And he says that is why it depends on faith. "...In order that the promise may rest on grace be guaranteed to all His offspring, not only to the adherent or those who are of the law, but also or actually to the one who shares the faith of Abraham.".

Now notice that. Shares. Who gets this? What's the it? It depends on faith. But notice the faith. It's the one who shares the faith of Abraham. You want to go somewhere in Paul's writings where he's showing one faith.

This is a place right here. One faith. We all share this faith. So what does the faith of Abraham look like? Well, he goes on to describe it. Look at v. 20. "...No one in belief made him waver concerning the promise of God.

But he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God. Fully convinced that God was able to do what He had promised.". There's the basis of his faith. Fully convinced that God was able to do what He had promised.

That is why his faith was counted to him as righteousness. But notice, the words that was counted to him were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe. Believe what?

Who share the faith of Abraham back there in v. 16. Counted to us who believe. In Him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord. Now, look, when we talk about the Christian faith, what I recognize is this, that when you really begin to search Paul's writings, yes, there is a faith.

We could define the Christian faith most broadly as maybe everything that was written in this book. But I can tell you this, when you look carefully at Paul's writings, do you know what he's concerned with?

He's concerned with those elements of the faith that justify the sinner. When you want to boil this down, one faith that unites us, you know full well. You know full well that there are true Christians that are not united on every point in this book.

But if you boil it down to the absolute minimum, you would have to say this, that one faith that unites is that which is essential to be believed. That objective truth that must be believed. That minimal amount of God's revelation that must be believed for you to be justified.

I'll tell you, that's what unites us. Being justified. No matter what you believe, if you're not justified, we're not united. When you're talking about the one faith, the faith of Abraham, we must share in the faith of Abraham.

He's talking about the faith by which we obtain it. That is why it depends on faith. This is the reality of justification. What is the minimal amount of truth that must be embraced to be saved? And here's what's interesting.

As Paul is talking about the faith of Abraham and the fact that he was fully convinced that God was able to do what He had promised, notice what happens. Notice what he does. Look at v. 24. "...It will be counted to us who believe.".

There's the it again. Righteousness. "...We will be counted righteous who believe in Him, the Father, who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord.". Now notice this. "...Who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.".

That is very interesting. He was raised for our justification. But you want to make sure that you define that in light of v. 24. How was Christ Jesus raised for our justification? V. 24 explains it. God raised Him from the dead.

And by believing in Him who did this, we're counted righteous. How is Christ being raised for your justification? Well, you're only justified by faith. Faith. One faith. By embracing this one truth. That's how you're justified.

What does the resurrection have to do with it? Your faith. If we're looking for minimal aspects of saving faith, justifying faith, you better not miss this. You better not miss the resurrection. Christ was delivered up for our trespasses.

He died in our place and then He was raised. To prove to us that our sins were indeed paid for and that the Father was satisfied. The Father did this. This you must believe. You must believe in this God who raised Jesus Christ from the dead.

The resurrection is at the heart and the soul of this justifying faith. The faith. One faith. And in so believing, it will be counted to us who believe. It. The righteousness. We will be counted righteous.

God counts us righteous by believing this. Is that all? I mean, that's one thing that He sets here. You. You can't get away from it. Verse 24, it will be counted to us. This is at the heart of salvation.

God counting you righteous. Whatever you may be unified in, it doesn't matter if you're not unified in this reality. Because if you're not unified in this reality, you're not saved. You don't know the Lord.

And you're going to perish in the end. Whatever one faith is, you can be certain of this, it is that which unifies the true people of God. It is that belief, that faith. You can't get away from the fact that it's the resurrection.

It's the Father who raised Him from the dead. His being raised from the dead. Raised for our justification. But is that all? Is there more? Now notice this. Go back to chapter 3. Look with me at verse 25.

"...Whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood...". Now notice these words. "...to be received by faith.". Okay, Paul, teach us. What is the minimal truth? What is the essential truth? What is the heart and soul of that which must be believed if I'm going to be justified?

If I'm going to be declared righteous by God? Me, who am unjust. Me, who am ungodly. Me, who am a sinner. What must I do? Now, notice that. "...To be received by faith.". What? Well, that which he has just got done saying.

Let's move back. Move back to verse 21. Let's pick this up in the fullness. "...Now the righteousness of God.". That's the it. Because this righteousness of God is not talking about the attribute of God.

This righteousness of God in verse 22. Notice it. 22, the righteousness of God through faith. That's how it comes. Through faith in Jesus Christ. Notice, it's not His attribute. It's His righteous requirement for man.

And it says it's for all who believe. See, that's the gift. And notice this, there's no distinction. Notice he comes back to the Jew-Gentile thing again. No distinction. No Jew, no Gentile, no circumcised, no uncircumcised.

There's no distinction here. The righteousness. Notice, faith in Jesus Christ. No distinction. Keep reading. "...For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.". And when he says all, you know what he means.

You know what's in his mind. Jew and Gentile alike. "...And are justified by His grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood.". There it is.

What we just read there, that is to be received by faith. That is at the heart, the soul. Propitiation. You see that word? Propitiation by His blood. Propitiation is that which brings a change in God's attitude towards the sinner.

It's that which moves Him from being at enmity with us to being for us. Through propitiation, we are restored to fellowship, favor, with a previously offended God. That's what's behind this word. God is appeased.

Jesus Christ did that on the cross that was necessary to put away our sins. And He's satisfied. He placated God's wrath. That's the issue. This is the very essence of salvation. This is what's to be received by faith.

And then he goes into this. V. 30, Since God is one, He will justify the circumcised by this faith and the uncircumcised through this faith. One faith. One faith in the objective sense. And it's embraced likewise in the subjective sense.

This is the personal act of believing being exercised by both the uncircumcised and by the circumcised. And this is one faith in the objective sense. It's one faith in Jesus Christ. It's one faith in the fact that there is redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

That's the purchase price. We've been bought. God put Him forward. You need to recognize this. God provided a way for you to be saved. God put His Son forward to appease His own wrath, to propitiate His wrath by His blood, by His suffering, by His death on that cross.

This is the essential. This is the faith if you're looking for something that is unifying to us. Whatever faith you have, listen, brethren, whatever faith you have, if God doesn't justify you and count you righteous as a result of that faith, it is not the one faith.

The One Faith Revealed in Christ

Now, turn with me to Galatians 3. Again, Paul is going to speak to us about faith. And he does it in a way that's a little bit mysterious, but I think you'll see from the context what he means. Galatians 3 .22.

And I'll just tell you, he's talking about faith. He's going to talk about that which justifies us. And he's going to tell us there's no distinction between Jew and Gentile. It's so typical with Paul.

No distinction. No Jew. No Gentile. This is the faith that justifies. And notice how he describes it. Galatians 3 .22. The Scripture imprisoned everything under sin so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.

Verse 23, Now before faith came, now let's just stop right there. In the original, this literally reads the coming of the faith. Before the coming of the faith, we were held captive under the law. Now what does that mean?

The coming of the faith? Before the coming of the faith, we were held captive under the law. What? When I read Hebrews 11, I read that faith was around all the way back since the times of Abel. What do you mean when faith comes?

What is this? What does that mean? The faith. The coming of the faith. Notice, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. Again, there's an article before faith.

It's literally the faith about to be revealed. The faith. Both places here, both of these last two usages in verse 23, there's an article. The faith. The coming of the faith. The faith about to be revealed.

How is faith being used here? It's not individual faith. But nor is it just, listen, the big chunk of this book that was written. That had already come. What does he mean by the faith? He's certainly not talking about the whole body of truth found in Scripture, nor is he talking about your personal faith.

What's he talking about here? What is this? Verse 24,. So then the law was our guardian until Christ came. Now that's interesting. He's talking about faith coming. And then he just inserts instead of faith, he says until Christ came.

So faith came when Christ came. I mean, basically what he's doing is it looks like he's using faith interchangeable for the object of faith in order that we might be justified by faith. Verse 25,. But now that faith has come.

Again, there's an article here. The faith having come is how it literally reads. The faith. This one faith having come. Paul has reference to the time of Christ's coming. Now that faith has come. Now that Christ has come.

That's the idea. It was then that faith and the object of faith were fully revealed. When that happened, when Christ came, what happened? The veil was rent. The old covenant system. It says we're no longer under a guardian.

For in Christ Jesus, you're all sons of God through faith. Again, there's an article there. It literally in the Greek reads through the faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

And notice this, there's no distinction again. There is neither Jew nor Greek. Now he goes on to speak about others, but that's always where he starts. That's where all of this oneness, one body, one spirit, one hope, one Lord.

He has in His mind of Jew and Gentile alike. Now listen, some think of the doctrines of grace as being like the chief thing. Some dwell on eschatology. Some dwell on the law. But if there's one faith to contend for, what we want to contend for is that faith in Jesus Christ that justifies.

And you're not going to get away from it unless it's faith in that one Jesus Christ who is Lord. That one Jesus Christ who has made redemption, who has propitiated God, set forth as a propitiation by His blood, and has to be received by faith.

This Christ. This is at the heart. This is the faith. The one faith that justifies both circumcised and uncircumcised so that there's neither Jew nor Greek. And I would just say this, Paul is very careful to show us how it unifies.