Search
In speaking of the faith in previous chapters, we said that different doctrinal views should not be regarded as the faith. In order to keep the fact and principle of the oneness of the church, we must recognize that there is only one faith and that we cannot include different doctrinal views in our consideration of the one faith. If we include different doctrinal views, difficulties will immediately arise concerning the one faith spoken of in Ephesians 4:5.
The one faith in Ephesians 4:5 means that there is only one faith. This one faith is not based on the experience of faith but upon the object of our experience of faith. We believe in Christ; He is the object of our faith. Therefore, Christ is our faith. Christ is all-inclusive. God is in Christ, and Christ has become the Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45b). We have God because we have Christ, and this Christ is realized in us as the Spirit. Thus, our faith is the Triune God. Those who have a problem with the Triune God have a problem in their basic faith.
When we speak about the one faith, we should not separate it from the Bible. It is good when a person says that he believes in the Triune God, including the matters of the Father being in the Son, the Son becoming the Spirit, and the Spirit entering into us because the Son accomplished redemption on our behalf through the shedding of His blood and resurrected from the dead so that we might have life. However, if he does not believe that the Bible is the word of God, his faith will not be very dependable.
To someone like this, I would ask, “How did you come to know the Triune God? How do you know that the Father is in the Son and that the Son became the Spirit? How do you know that Christ shed His blood for the redemption of sins and that He resurrected from the dead and became the life-giving Spirit to live in us so that we may have life?” The source and basis of these matters are the Word of God. If someone believes in the Triune God but does not believe that the Bible is the word of God, his faith has no basis, and it is not secure. We do not know that God is triune because of some random theory or just some feelings. These are entirely unreliable. We believe with conviction because the Bible says, “I have written these things to you that you may know that you have eternal life, to you who believe into the name of the Son of God” (1 John 5:13). The word of God is the basis of our faith. The object of our faith is God Himself, but the basis and assurance of our faith are the word of God in the Bible.
We cannot believe in the Triune God on the one hand and view the Bible from a position of disbelief on the other hand. Even though the reality of a Christian’s faith involves faith in the Triune God, it also includes faith in the authority of the Bible. Anyone who does not believe in the authority of the Bible will have problems believing in the Triune God. Those who have truly been saved have no doubt regarding the Bible being the word of God. If someone says that he has been saved but doubts that the Bible is the word of God, then there is a problem with his salvation, and we cannot accept such a “believer.” If a person truly believes in the Triune God, he will believe that the Bible is the word of God, because the Bible is the basis of his faith.
When we believe in God and in the Bible as the word of God — believing that throughout the ages God used prophets and apostles to record His speaking in the Bible, preserving it to this day, so that by these words we could know Him — we all have the one faith. Nevertheless, when we read the Bible, one may see the rapture as occurring before the tribulation (Rev. 12:5), another may see the rapture as occurring after the tribulation (1 Thes. 4:15-17), and yet another may see a partial rapture. Can we say that these different views mean that there are different faiths? No. Our faith is absolutely one. These are merely differences in doctrinal interpretations of the Bible, but those who have these views share the same faith in the Bible.
In church history, apart from the apostles, there has hardly been a person who believed that the Bible was the word of God more than J. N. Darby. His belief in and reverence for the Bible as the word of God was undeniable. Based on his study, Darby was the first to emphasize a pretribulation rapture. B. W. Newton, a contemporary of Darby, also believed that the Bible is the word of God, and he studied the Bible according to the original Hebrew and Greek. He too greatly revered the word of God. However, Newton had a posttribulation view of the rapture. He felt that Darby was incorrect and mistook the posttribulation rapture for a pretribulation rapture. Darby disagreed with Newton, because he believed that God would not make believers who had been saved by the Lord’s precious blood go through the great tribulation. Darby felt that Newton’s interpretation did not have enough regard for the Lord’s redemption, thus lessening its effectiveness. Both Darby and Newton had a deep faith in the Bible and feared God in the matter of His word. Nevertheless, they argued vehemently regarding the matter of the believers’ rapture. This shows that believing in the Bible is one thing, whereas interpreting the Bible is another thing. We should never allow different doctrinal interpretations of the Bible to be the basis of the Christian faith. Most of the troubles in the church over the past two thousand years are due to Bible scholars making doctrinal interpretations into items of the Christian faith. This is the source of most of the difficulties in the church.
Those who hold to baptism by immersion believe in the Bible, and those who hold to baptism by sprinkling also believe in the Bible. Both groups believe that the Bible was written by men borne by the Holy Spirit (2 Pet. 1:21). Those who hold to immersion state that baptism in the original Greek means “submersion in water”; consequently, they say that the practice of baptism should involve submersion in water. Those who hold to sprinkling say that the Bible does not clearly state that John immersed the Lord into the water. They also say that if John had immersed the Lord completely into the water, the Bible should have recorded it. Consequently, this group says that the practice of baptism by sprinkling is correct. Both groups believe in the Bible, but regarding the matter of baptism, they have completely different views. Nevertheless, we cannot say that they have different faiths, because they are not arguing over a matter of the faith but over differences in doctrine and interpretation. Even though they are vehement in their disagreement, they believe in the Bible and absolutely confess that the Bible is the word of God.
With regard to the Sabbath, some hold strongly that New Testament believers need to keep the Sabbath, but a greater number of people argue against keeping the Sabbath. Both parties quote verses from the Bible, and while debating, each party expresses their faith in the Bible as the word of God. Thus, both parties hold to the one faith, even though they disagree on this doctrine. There is intolerance only because there are different interpretations of the Bible. Thus, we should not elevate different doctrines to the status of the faith. Doing so only causes division in the Body of Christ. There is only one faith.
Some views are wrong, and others are correct. Some are relatively incorrect, and others are relatively correct. Nevertheless, these are all matters of interpretation. In Romans 14 we see Paul’s spirit and attitude. He says that some believe that they can eat all things and that some eat only vegetables. Paul was very clear about who was correct, because he writes, “There is nothing unclean of itself” (v. 14). Thus, the one who believed that he could eat all things was correct, whereas the one who ate only vegetables was considered to be weak (v. 2). However, Paul did not regard the correct view as part of the basic faith of God’s children; he says that one eats or does not eat to the Lord and that one keeps certain days or does not keep certain days to the Lord (v. 6). This shows that he did not regard correct doctrinal views as the faith. Although Paul knew the correct view, he did not regard a different interpretation as a serious problem. His attitude toward different doctrinal views was to not care one way or the other. He says, “He who eats, let him not despise him who does not eat; and he who does not eat, let him not judge him who eats, for God has received him” (v. 3). We cannot cut off or reject others because of doctrinal differences. Later, Paul says, “Therefore receive one another, as Christ also received you” (15:7). Thus, the one who eats all things must receive the one who eats only vegetables, and the one who eats only vegetables must receive the one who eats all things because Christ has received both. Christ has received both based on the one faith, not based on the eating of meat or vegetables. The one who eats only vegetables has the faith, and the one who eats meat also has this one faith in Christ. We must receive those whom Christ has received. The basic faith is the one faith; any views outside of the one faith involve man’s interpretation and opinion.
We need to learn to differentiate between the basic faith and different doctrinal views. The basic faith is a matter of believing into the Triune God. The God we speak of today is different from the God of Islam and even of Judaism. The God they speak of does not include the Son or the Spirit. They believe in only a unique God who created the heavens and the earth. The God we are speaking of today is triune. We believe that God in the Son has become our Savior, shedding His blood and dying for us, and resurrecting from the dead to become the Spirit to enter into us so that we may have His life. This is our faith, and this is the one faith. Aside from this, nothing else can replace the basic faith. Taking any other view or concept as the faith causes division in the church. When there are many views and concepts, there is no way to have oneness.
Hopefully, these words can prevent many future problems. We should not think that only other people’s thoughts are strange; our thoughts may be even stranger. We may think that we have seen “new light” and force others to receive it. But any such new light cannot be counted as a new “faith.” Once it is considered as such, problems will arise, and there will be division in the church.
In northern China there was a group of devout Christians. Every man who came into their midst had to shave his head and wear canvas shoes, and every woman had to wear short tunics or skirts; they could not wear Chinese-style dresses. Anyone who refused to do so was chased away. This was quite strange. In another group a preacher asked the congregation to pray together audibly and simultaneously, but then someone told him there was a regulation in their creed prohibiting corporate, simultaneous prayer. Both regulations are not the faith. We do not have a creed concerning either individual prayer or corporate, simultaneous prayer. Such opinions are unrelated to the faith.
When a brother in Hong Kong came to our meetings, he saw some of us praying audibly and simultaneously in the meeting, and he said to me, “Praying together simultaneously is truly a blemish among you.” I did not respond, because this was surely only man’s opinion. There is no verse in the Bible that says that we cannot pray together audibly and at the same time. If we debated these things, it would be endless.
Some brothers say that they find it unbearable when people in a certain denomination quiver and shake when they pray. However, if the Lord Jesus can bear it, why can we not bear it? The Lord has received them, so we must receive them. We have to learn to be as broad as the Lord, bearing people’s differences. We may not do a certain thing in a particular way, but we should not criticize those who do. This is because doctrines and practices are not the faith.
From church history we can see that there have been and still are many different doctrinal views among Christians. A single verse in the Bible can have countless interpretations. Many Christians are devout, believing in the Triune God and in the Bible being the word of God, but they have many different interpretations. There is only one faith, but there can be many interpretations, views, and opinions. We need to have the correct view, but we need the apostle’s broad attitude toward those who have incorrect views.
I believe that everyone is clear in principle about these matters, but we still have difficulty in practice. For example, a brother asked, “What should we do if someone comes with leavened bread when we gather to break bread? What should we do if some brothers say that we should baptize a new believer by sprinkling after preaching the gospel and saving him?” Such situations do pose difficulties in practice; they require that we be broken severely, having learned serious lessons. I do not think that it would be good to bring two kinds of bread to the bread-breaking meeting, and I do not think that it would be good to argue over baptism by immersion or by sprinkling after someone has been saved. When these things happen, we face a serious test of our purity, a test of the strength of our self, a test of our faithfulness to the Lord, a test of our willingness to be subdued, a test of how much our opinions influence us, a test of the largeness and broadness of our heart, and a test of our faithfulness and forbearance. This is a severe testing.
First Corinthians 11:19 says, “There must even be parties among you, that those who are approved may become manifest among you.” Difficulties in the church are unavoidable. They are severe tests that cause us to be approved by passing through them. We absolutely believe that baptism by immersion is correct, but what should be done if a group of brothers, who love the Lord and who are useful to the Lord, still feel to baptize by sprinkling? I was once in a place that was faced with this difficulty. One way that a brother tried to “solve” this problem involved rushing to be the one to baptize a new believer. When he heard that a decision had been made to baptize a new convert by sprinkling on a certain day, he rushed to baptize the new convert by immersion the night before. Another way that was tried was even more forceful. Those who held to baptism by immersion refused to follow those who practiced sprinkling and would forcefully immerse people. Both ways were full of the flesh and full of the self. God does not want man to accomplish His good pleasure by using man’s cunning and man’s force. Such fighting does not come from God. Even if we do something fully in accord with God’s principles, it will still not be of God; it will be the flesh doing something according to God’s principles. God’s principles may be maintained, but the flesh will be fully expressed. Those who have learned this lesson before the Lord cannot and will not do such things.
Even if some ask, “What if all the saved ones are forced to be baptized by sprinkling?” we should not worry. When the Ark was about to fall, God did not want Uzzah to use his hand to take hold of it (2 Sam. 6:6-7). If God wants the Ark to fall, why would we not want the Ark to fall? Our hand is unable to help God. If God wants the Ark to fall, it should fall. Being cunning to baptize in advance is of the flesh, but forcing a baptism in a particular way with a heavy hand is even more of the flesh. We should be very pure, without any personal feelings and without any hidden intention to fight for ourselves. We should fellowship with the brothers simply and purely based on the light that we have seen. Even if we debate, our heart needs to be very pure and clean. Once we have spoken a faithful word concerning what we have seen, we can ask the brothers to sympathize with our conscience and consider this before the Lord. However, if the brothers are not able to sympathize and continue to insist on their way, we should not say anything more. Rather, we should tell them that we are not willing to be divided over this and that we do not want to rush ahead to do something different. If the brothers feel peaceful, we should be willing to do it their way.
Those who have learned this lesson will happily allow the brothers to proceed. Of course, we may still be mournful before the Lord for them, but that is another matter. When the brothers bring a newly saved one who has been baptized by sprinkling to break bread, we should be able to shake his hand happily and say, “Praise the Lord, brother, you are saved and have come into God’s house.” Can we do this? If we have learned this lesson, the Lord will work and eventually open the brothers’ eyes, and they will see the light because of our being broken before the Lord. At the very least, the brothers will come to us the next time and ask, “How do you think we should baptize this new one?” At such a time we should still say that we are peaceful to do it their way. Then they may say, “Brother, this time we will do it according to your way.” This is to see light partially, but before long, God’s Spirit will lead them to have the same view in this matter.
If we say that the practice of sprinkling is clearly wrong and that we will not tolerate such a mistake, this will bring confusion into the church. If God tolerates it, we cannot be stricter than Him. We can only bring ourselves to a certain point, being a faithful and loving brother. If, after our fellowship, the brothers still want to proceed in the way of sprinkling, we should have nothing more to say.
We need to see that opinions are insignificant; only the faith is important. If a brother advocates idol worship, this cannot be tolerated. We should fight for this because it is a matter of the faith, related to God Himself and to the Lord’s person. Yet even in fighting for this, we must be proper. Most matters are not as serious as idol worship. If we are willing to learn this lesson, many problems will disappear. In many things, we need to learn to put aside different doctrinal views and practice according to the same view.
Throughout the past thirty years we have kept this principle. All the brothers who served the Lord did not have the same views, but we all shared the principle of not insisting on holding on to differing views. Thus, there were no difficulties. If we really learn the lesson in this matter, there will truly be very few difficulties. Even if some brothers do not learn the lesson so well and insist on doing something based on a different view, we should let them do it. Eventually, a day will come when their way of doing things loses its flavor. We do not need to defend, interfere, or limit them with our own hands. We have to learn to be broken in these matters and to tolerate others’ views, even if they are incorrect. Eventually, others will see the light because of our tolerance.
Such tolerance is not related to being nice; it is a tolerance that comes from paying a price. If we do not care whether leavened or unleavened bread is used, this is not right. Such an attitude of “tolerance” is without any value. We should feel pained when breaking leavened bread, but we should still be able to tolerate it with joy. We should let the brothers know that our tolerance is not related to being indifferent or to being nice, but that it comes with significant inner pain.
Among God’s children, there are many different sects. Are these sects related just to matters of the truth? Are these sects just for the truth of baptism by immersion, for the truth of church administration through the presbytery, or for the truth of the pursuit of holiness? No. These are matters of opinion; division comes from man’s flesh. Fallen man likes division, and the division-seeking flesh is hidden behind the spiritual signboards of the many different sects. We speak these things not to condemn others but to warn ourselves. We are no different from others. We have to continually learn the lesson that we can stand only on the basis of the one faith, that is, on the keeping of the one faith. We do not need to be concerned about either immersion or sprinkling, about the sisters covering or not covering their heads, or about using leavened or unleavened bread. If we learn this lesson, we will prostrate ourselves and pray genuine prayers before the throne, saying, “Lord, if You tolerate this situation, then why can’t I? If You allow the Ark to fall, why should I attempt to hold it up? If You want the Ark to stand, Your hand will come forth, and my hand will follow.” If we have learned this lesson and take this attitude, I believe that the Lord will gradually take away all the differing views; but even if they do not pass away, they will not cause great harm. As long as we have learned this lesson well, there will be no difficulties in practice.
