THE COMMON FAITH


    Titus 1:4
    To Titus, genuine child according to the common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.

  1. CONCERNING THE BIBLE

    1. THE BIBLE IS THE WORD OF GOD

      1. Divinely Inspired by God

        Peter 1:20-21

        1. Knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of one's own interpretation;
        2. For no prophecy was ever borne by the will of man, but men spoke from God while being borne by the Holy Spirit.

      2. The Breath of God

        2 Timothy 3:16
        All Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for conviction, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,

  2. CONCERNING GOD

    1. GOD IS UNIQUELY ONE

      Deuteronomy 4:35
      You were shown these things that you might know that it is Jehovah who is God; there is no other besides Him.

      Deuteronomy 4:39
      Know therefore today and bring it to heart that Jehovah is God in heaven above and upon the earth below; there is no other.

      Deuteronomy 6:4
      Hear, O Israel, Jehovah is our God; Jehovah is one.

      Psalm 86:10
      For You are great, and You do wondrous deeds; You alone are God.

      Isaiah 44:8
      Do not tremble and do not be afraid. Have I not related to you from that time and declared it? And you are My witnesses. Is there a God besides Me? Or is there any other Rock? I do not know of any.

      1 Corinthians 8:4
      Therefore concerning the eating of things sacrificed to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world and that there is no God but one.

      1 Timothy 2:5
      For there is one God and one Mediator of God and men, the man Christ Jesus,

    2. GOD IS TRIUNE: (DISTINCTIVELY THREE BUT NOT SEPARATE)

      1. Distinctively Three

        Genesis 1:26
        And God said, Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of heaven and over the cattle and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.

        Genesis 3:22
        And Jehovah God said, Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, lest he put forth his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat and live forever¯

        Genesis 11:6-7

        1. And Jehovah said, Behold, they are one people, and they all have one language; and this is only the beginning of what they will do; and now nothing which they purpose to do will be kept from them.
        2. Come, let Us go down and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.

        Isaiah 6:8
        Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send? Who will go for Us? And I said, Here am I; send me.

        Matthew 3:16-17

        1. And having been baptized, Jesus went up immediately from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming upon Him.
        2. And behold, a voice out of the heavens, saying, This is My Son, the Beloved, in whom I have found My delight.

        Matthew 28:19
        Go therefore and disciple all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

        1 Corinthians 12:4-6

        1. But there are distinctions of gifts, but the same Spirit;
        2. And there are distinctions of ministries, yet the same Lord;
        3. And there are distinctions of operations, but the same God, who operates all things in all.

        2 Corinthians 13:14
        The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

        Ephesians 2:18
        For through Him we both have access in one Spirit unto the Father.

        Ephesians 3:14, 16-17

        1. For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father,
        1. That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit into the inner man,
        2. That Christ may make His home in your hearts through faith, that you, being rooted and grounded in love,

        1 Peter 1:2
        Chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father in the sanctification of the Spirit unto the obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied.

        Revelation 1:4-5

        1. John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is coming, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne,
        2. And from Jesus Christ, the faithful Witness, the Firstborn of the dead, and the Ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has released us from our sins by His blood

      2. Not Separate—The Son with the Father

        John 8:29
        And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.

        John 16:32
        Behold, an hour is coming, and has come, that you will be scattered each to his own place and will leave Me alone; yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me.

        John 10:30
        I and the Father are one.

        John 14:8-11

        1. Philip said to Him, Lord, show us the Father and it is sufficient for us.
        2. Jesus said to him, Have I been so long a time with you, and you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how is it that you say, Show us the Father?
        3. Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak from Myself, but the Father who abides in Me does His works.
        4. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; but if not, believe because of the works themselves.

      3. Not Separate—The Son through the Spirit

        Matthew 1:18, 20

        1. Now the origin of Jesus Christ was in this way: His mother, Mary, after she had been engaged to Joseph, before they came together, was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit.
        1. But while he pondered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife, for that which has been begotten in her is of the Holy Spirit.

        Matthew 12:28
        But if I, by the Spirit of God, cast out the demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

        Hebrews 9:14
        How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

  3. CONCERNING THE PERSON OF CHRIST

    1. THE COMPLETE GOD

      Isaiah 9:6
      For a child is born to us, A son is given to us; And the government is upon His shoulder; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.

      John 20:28
      Thomas answered and said to Him, My Lord and my God!

      Romans 9:5
      Whose are the fathers, and out of whom, as regards what is according to flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all blessed forever. Amen.

      Colossians 2:9
      For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily,

      Hebrews 1:8
      But of the Son, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, and the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Your kingdom.

    2. THE PERFECT MAN

      Luke 23:4
      And Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, I find no fault in this man.

      Hebrews 4:15
      For we do not have a High Priest who cannot be touched with the feeling of our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all respects like us, yet without sin.

      1 Peter 2:22
      Who committed no sin, nor was guile found in His mouth;

  4. CONCERNING THE WORK OF CHRIST

    1. INCARNATION

      John 1:1, 14

      1. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
      1. And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us (and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only Begotten from the Father), full of grace and reality.

      Philippians 2:5-8

      1. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus,
      2. Who, existing in the form of God, did not consider being equal with God a treasure to be grasped,
      3. But emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave, becoming in the likeness of men;
      4. And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, becoming obedient even unto death, and that the death of a cross.

    2. REDEMPTION

      John 1:29
      The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

      1 Corinthians 15:3
      For I delivered to you, first of all, that which also I received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures;

      Ephesians 1:7
      In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of offenses, according to the riches of His grace,

      Hebrews 9:28
      So Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time to those who eagerly await Him, apart from sin, unto salvation.

      Hebrews 10:12
      But this One, having offered one sacrifice for sins, sat down forever on the right hand of God,

      1 Peter 2:24
      Who Himself bore up our sins in His body on the tree, in order that we, having died to sins, might live to righteousness; by whose bruise you were healed.

      Revelation 5:9
      And they sing a new song, saying: You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, for You were slain and have purchased for God by Your blood men out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,

    3. RESURRECTION

      Acts 13:33
      That God has fully fulfilled this promise to us their children in raising up Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm, “You are My Son; this day have I begotten You.”

      1 Corinthians 15:4
      And that He was buried, and that He has been raised on the third day according to the Scriptures;

      1 Peter 1:3
      Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has regenerated us unto a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

    4. ASCENSION

      Acts 1:9
      And when He had said these things, while they were looking on, He was lifted up, and a cloud took Him away from their sight.

      Acts 2:33-36

      1. Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God and having received the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father, He has poured out this which you both see and hear.
      2. For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, “The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at My right hand
      3. Until I set Your enemies as a footstool for Your feet.”
      4. Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made Him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you have crucified.

    5. COMING BACK

      1 Corinthians 11:26
      For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you declare the Lord's death until He comes.

      1 Thessalonians 1:10
      And await His Son from the heavens, whom He raised from the dead, Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath which is coming.

      1 Thessalonians 2:19
      For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at His coming? Are not even you?

      1 Thessalonians 3:13
      So that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints.

      1 Thessalonians 4:15
      For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are living, who are left remaining unto the coming of the Lord, shall by no means precede those who have fallen asleep;

      1 Thessalonians 5:23
      And the God of peace Himself sanctify you wholly, and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

      James 5:7
      Therefore be long-suffering, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer eagerly awaits the precious fruit of the earth, exercising long-suffering over it until it receives the early and late rain.

      Revelation 2:25
      Nevertheless what you have hold fast until I come.

      Revelation 3:3
      Remember therefore how you have received and heard, and keep it and repent. If therefore you will not watch, I will come as a thief, and you shall by no means know at what hour I will come upon you.

      Revelation 22:20
      He who testifies these things says, Yes, I come quickly. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

  5. CONCERNING OUR SALVATION

    1. A SINNER MUST REPENT TO GOD

      Acts 2:38
      And Peter said to them, Repent and each one of you be baptized upon the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

      Acts 20:21
      Solemnly testifying both to Jews and to Greeks repentance unto God and faith in our Lord Jesus.

      Acts 26:20
      But declared both to those in Damascus first and in Jerusalem and throughout all the country of Judea and to the Gentiles that they should repent and turn to God, doing works worthy of repentance.

    2. A SINNER MUST BELIEVE IN CHRIST

      John 3:16
      For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that every one who believes into Him would not perish, but would have eternal life.

      Acts 16:31
      And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved, you and your household.

  6. CONCERNING THE CHURCH

    1. COMPOSED OF ALL GENUINE BELIEVERS IN CHRIST AS THE BODY OF CHRIST

      Ephesians 1:22-23

      1. And He subjected all things under His feet and gave Him to be Head over all things to the church,
      2. Which is His Body, the fullness of the One who fills all in all.

      Colossians 1:24
      I now rejoice in my sufferings on your behalf and fill up on my part that which is lacking of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for His Body, which is the church;

    2. UNIVERSALLY ONE

      Ephesians 4:4
      One Body and one Spirit, even as also you were called in one hope of your calling;

    3. LOCALLY ONE - (THE EXPRESSION OF THE BODY OF CHRIST IS LOCALLY ONE—ONE CHURCH, ONE CITY)

      Revelation 1:11
      Saying, What you see write in a scroll and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamos and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.

  7. CRUCIAL MINISTRY

    “THE SPECIALITY OF THE CHURCH LIFE”, CHAPTER 1, PAGES 7-11

Copyrights © 2001-2002. Christian Websites. All Rights Reserved