The Teaching of Christ
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TITLE: The Teaching of Christ
SUBJECT: The Great Commission
PROPOSITION: Christian unity is based upon the teaching of Christ. We are united as Christians and without the teaching of Christ we are not Christians. This teaching is summarized in the list of seven “ones” in Ephesians 4:4-6.
OBJECTIVE: Each person should understand that for us to have unity as Christians we must adhere to the same standards of the teaching of Christ.
INTRODUCTION:
1. Read: Ephesians 4:4-6
2. About the Text:
1) Remember Matthew 28:18-20 – “Teaching them all things….”
2) Paul has already referred to having the right attitudes for unity in verses 1-3.
3) He turns to another prong of Christian unity—teaching.
4) These seven “ones” constitute a summary or core of Christian teaching.
5) Christian unity depends upon our adhering to these standards.
3. Ref. to S, T, P, O, and A.
DISCUSSION: If we are going to have Christian unity we must understand that there is . . .
I. One body – the church.
1. Matthew 16:18 – Jesus taught one church, His church.
2. Ephesians 1:22, 23 “And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.”
3. Col.1:18 “And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.”
4. Any other body causes division.
II. One Spirit – the Holy Spirit
1. John 15:26 “But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:”
2. 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.”
3. Any other spirit/creed brings division.
III. One Hope – Heaven
1. John 14:1-3
2. 2 Cor.5:1 “For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.”
3. “Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3:13).
4. Any other hope causes division.
IV. One Lord – Jesus the Christ
1. Peter’s confession. Matthew 16:16 “Thou are the Christ the Son of the living God.”
2. “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36).
3. Heb.1:1-3 “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.”
4. Any other Lord or confession brings division.
V. One Faith – The system of belief that God left for us to live by.
1. “Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, ‘If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free’” (John 8:31-32).
2. 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.”
3. Jude 3 “Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.”
4. 2 Cor.13:5 “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?”
5. Any other faith brings disunity.
VI. One Baptism – The defining act of salvation.
1. Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:15-16
2. Acts 2:38 “Repent and be baptized…”
3. Col.2:12 “Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.”
4. Preaching any other baptism results in dissension.
VII. One Father – The physical and spiritual creator of us all and our Father.
1. “I and My Father are one” (John 10:30).
2. “Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven” (Matthew 23:9).
3. Gal.4:6 “And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.”
4. 1 John 3:1 “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.”
5. Holding to any other father creates division.
CONCLUSION: For us to have Christian unity, we must adhere to Christian teaching . . .
1. One body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one Father.
2. Invitation