Setting The Boundaries Of The Faith : Part 1

SETTING THE BOUNDARIES OF THE FAITH:

PART I

In this lesson we will discuss the boundaries of the faith. Who set them? What are they and how were they set? First of all, a boundary is a limit; a line; a border; the edge; parameter; something that dictates a stopping point. In order to rightly divide the Word, we must do so within the stopping points or within the boundaries of the faith of Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 1:10

Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

The scriptures declare that we all should be speaking the same thing, but today we hear many different doctrines being preached from the same Bible. Those outside the Body of Christ, as well as some of those within the Body of Christ, are confused and are not sure who, or what, to believe. However, I’m certain that we can all agree that Jesus Christ qualifies as the one to set the boundaries.

St. John 5:39

Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.

The Life of Christ makes up the boundary of the faith. Everything that we will learn, study, know, or experience of the New Covenant is the Life of Christ. The entire New Testament illustrates the Life of Christ. Jesus declared to the scribes and Pharisees that all of the Old Covenant pointed to Him.

The Old Covenant (Old Testament) points to Christ. The New Covenant (New Testament) is about Christ; His life. It’s not about His 33 and one-half years on earth, but about the life that was from the beginning; that made all things; and that is now living in us.

We must understand when we study the Word of God, we must study it from God’s perspective. In this instance, perspective is defined as seeing as God sees and knowing as God has ordained. This is a crucial component of setting the boundaries of the faith. One of the primary reasons we have so many different doctrines is because they each come from a different perspective.

Now that we have established who set the boundaries, and that the material used to construct them is the life of Christ, let us also establish that the perspective must include the fact that His life is now in us. He is not going to help us live our life. He is our life.

THE METHOD GOD USED

In the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), Jesus Christ gave us an outline. In the epistles, the Apostles filled in the outline. You will not find anything in the epistles that Jesus did not teach while He was here on earth. In other words, Jesus gave us the principles, and in the epistles, the apostles told us how to achieve and apply those principles. When a ministry is led by a true apostle, the “how to” is contained within the message. Real apostles don’t just give you a principle; they tell you how to achieve the principle and where you are failing.

St. John 17:8

For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.

After the resurrection, Jesus stayed here for forty days, continuing to teach His apostles the things of God. After Jesus ascended back to the Father, the apostles spent ten days in the upper room. At the end of the tenth day, the Holy Ghost fell. After being filled with the Holy Ghost, they understood what Jesus had been teaching. The Spirit of God revealed what the mystery really meant.

INSIDE THE BOUNDARIES

The boundaries are determined by the apostles’ doctrine; that is our limit; our stopping point. We are not to minister anything outside of the apostles’ doctrine. We should not study it nor allow our minds to entertain it. God preserved sixty-six books, and anything outside of those sixty-six books should not be entertained. For example, Josephus was a Jewish historian. We cannot allow his teachings to interpret scripture. It is history and we are to keep it as such. Never replace the scriptures with the teachings of other authors.

St. Matthew 13:10-11

10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?

11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.

When Jesus left to go back to the Father, those twelve men, who became apostles, were the ones who had the revelation. Although there were 120 people in the upper room on the day of Pentecost, only those twelve apostles had the revelation of the message.

In this scripture, together means united. There were twelve apostles and 3000 members in one church. The thing that united them is that they all believed and spoke the same thing. They all believed and spoke the things Jesus taught them. Though it is difficult today to find preachers who all believe the same thing and all of their congregations who believe the same thing, that doesn’t mean that it is not the intent of God that we all believe and speak the same thing; that we all be united.

We cannot judge the scriptures or the intent of God by what we see going on in the world or the church. When we all believe the same thing, we will be united in the faith.

Steadfastly means to be stable; strong; unyielding; unshaken; anchored. At that time, there were only twelve men on the earth who knew the heart and mind of God. If we said that today, many would find it hard to believe and would declare that there is no way that all those others could be wrong. However, when we look at the first apostles, they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine.

Acts 2:44

And all that believed were together, and had all things common.

Acts 2:42, 45-46

42 And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.

45 And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.

46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart.

St. John 17:19-20

19 And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.

20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;

The apostles did not deviate from the doctrine that Jesus taught them. They did not teach another doctrine. This tells us that if we are going to minister the truth, we have to stay within the apostles’ doctrine. This doctrine was given by Jesus and the first apostles did not teach anything new. So, we can also define boundary as staying within the apostles’ doctrine.

Apostle Paul declares that if an angel comes preaching any other doctrine, let it be a curse to him. The apostles’ doctrine is the only doctrine that will get us into heaven. Therefore, let us not despise the Word of the Lord. In fact, without the apostles’ doctrine, you cannot know the heart and mind of the Father.

Ephesians 3:1-4

1 For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles,

2 If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward:

3 How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words,

4 Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)

God made known to Paul the mystery of Christ. A true apostle’s knowledge comes straight from God. Those apostles will have a complete revelation. They will have wisdom and knowledge of the scriptures that can only come from God. We must stay within the boundaries of the faith. The apostles’ doctrine sets those boundaries.

Galatians 1:8

But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.

FINALLY, BRETHREN

A mere man (human), no matter how learned, cannot interpret the scriptures. Jesus said to Nicodemus, “You must be born again.” This scripture is about us. Jesus said not of blood, because God is Spirit. The Lord said in the Old Covenant that the life of a creature is in his blood.

If we were born again of flesh and blood (human), we would have inherited human life. On the contrary, when we were born again, it was not by the blood of our humanity (ancestry) being passed on to us.

1 Corinthians 2:12

Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God.

Jesus declares that we were born of the water and spirit. In other words, we were born of the Word and of the Holy Ghost; not of the blood of humanity. Christ’s life is literally what we have become. “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God” (John 1:12).” We are now created by the will of God alone. We have left one state of being and are now in another state of being: of the spiritual race; a son of God. God is the father of spirits, not of flesh.

1 Corinthians 15:50

Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption

We were born into the family of God. It is by the Spirit that we become the sons of God. We have not received a human spirit or the spirit of iniquity again.

St. John 1:12-13

12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

Romans 8:9, 15

9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear;

but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

Anything outside of the Life of Christ is death. It is by the Spirit that the boundaries of the faith are set and maintained. Only the sons of God have the ability (power) to rightly divide the Word. The power is of the Holy Ghost.

St. John 16:13

Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.