Obedient Steps of Faith – BT14:  Faith in God’s faithfulness for Jesus to be Lord for our salvation

 

 

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Obedient Steps of Faith – BT2 we touched on the fact that pistis faith is never in a THING but in the pistis/pistos faithfulness or trustworthiness of God, but especially of Jesus Christ as the Messiah.  We know that “God ongoingly IS-defined-as/exists-as [singular] agape Unconditional-Love” (a) period, just as “the [singular] fruit/essence/nature of the Spirit ongoingly IS-defined-as/exists-as [singular] agape Unconditional-Love” (b), but then Paul lists adjective-nouns without punctuation or conjunctions that further describe this agape Unconditional-Love like flavors of wine that ‘open up’ in the mouth over time:  “joy, peace, makrothumia ‘long-suffering-patience before expressing retributive-force from anger’, kindness, goodness, pistis faith/faithfulness, gentleness, self-control/mastery” (c).  Paul expounds on the characteristics of agape Unconditional-Love in his other letters (d).  <Notes> a) 1 John 4:8, 16; 2 Corinthians 13:11, b) Galatians 5:22; cf. Colossians 1:8; Romans 5:5, 15:30; 1 Corinthians 4:21; 2 Corinthians 6:6, 13:14; Philippians 2:1; 2 Timothy 1:7, c) Galatians 5:23, d) 1 Corinthians 4:21, 8:1, 13:4-7; Romans 12:9-10, 13:10, 14:15, 15:30 “unconditional-love of/belonging-to the Spirit”; Ephesians 4:2, 15-16; Philippians 2:1.

 

Notice that “long-suffering, patience” is associated with pistis trusting-relying-faith (a), even through long-suffering (b) that turns our faith into faithfulness that brings reward (c), and also associated with agape Unconditional-Love as we’ve seen above (d)!  Therefore, ‘long-suffering, patiently-enduring’ pistis faith/faithfulness is the nature of unconditional-love that is the nature of God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit!  It saves us from the wrath of God wiping us out in “retributive-force from anger” for our sin – see Obedient Steps of Faith – BT16 about enduring faith. <Notes> a) 1 Timothy 1:16; 2 Timothy 3:10; Hebrews 6:12; Revelation 2:19, b) Philippians 1:29; 2 Timothy 1:12; 1 Peter 5:9, c) Revelation 2:10 versus Numbers 14:33, d) cf. 1 Corinthians 13:4; 2 Corinthians 6:6; Ephesians 4:2; 2 Timothy 3:10; Revelations 2:19.

 

It also makes sense that if we have more of the Holy Spirit’s nature manifesting Himself in us, we will not only have more faith in the Faithful or “Trustworthy One,” but be more faithful to the Lord simply because we will be more “full of faith” – one of the meanings of pistos faithful, as we will explore next.

 

We saw in Obedient Steps of Faith – BT2 that the Greek word pistos can emphasize “those who have fullness of pistis trusting-relying-faith or loyalty to pistis trusting-relying-faith, thus having faithfulness or trustworthiness.”  This is especially true of Father-God keeping His promises, even to Sarah to have a child in her old age (a), just as we should keep our promises (b), in Father-God calling us (c) into the fellowship of His Son (d), in giving us unwavering public confession of hope [traditionally at water-baptism] for the Day of Christ’s return for us (e), not letting us be tempted beyond our ability to find the way of escape that He has provided (f), establishing and/coupled guarding us against the evil one (g), and so we should entrust our souls to a faithful Creator, even while long-suffering as we do good (h).  <Notes> a) Hebrews 11:11, b) 2 Corinthians 1:18, c) 1 Thessalonians 5:24, d) 1 Corinthians 1:9, e) Hebrews 10:23, f) 1 Corinthians 10:13; g) 2 Thessalonians 3:3, h) 1 Peter 4:19.

 

Jesus is the “witness to the peoples, a leader and commander” (a) or “faithful witness” (b) or “faithful and true witness” (c) of Father-God, “bearing witness to The Truth” (d), “to what WE have seen” (e) and “heard” (f), accurately conveying God’s logos gospel message by “specific words and sayings” (g).  Even “if we are faithless, Christ remains faithful for He cannot deny Himself” (h) <Notes> a) Isaiah 55:4, b) Revelation 1:5, c) Revelation 3:14, 19:11, d) John 18:37, e) John 3:11, 8:18,  cf. 5:31, 8:13-14, f) John 3:32, g) John 8:26, 40, 12:49-50, 15:10 [10:18], 15:15, 17:8, 14, h) 2 Timothy 2:11-13.

 

This enduring-faith doesn’t mean we deny we have sinned or will again sin, but that “if we presently-ongoingly confess our sins [that’s the condition to meet, then] He is actually, presently-ongoingly pistos trustworthy-faithful in order to definitively-wholly forgive us our sins and/coupled righteous-just to definitively-wholly cleanse/purify us from ALL unrighteous-injustice” (a), because Jesus is a “merciful and/coupled pistos trustworthy-faithful high priest in the service of God presently/ongoingly to-make-propitiation (b) for the sins of the people” (c).  Who are these people?  John says about Jesus: “He ongoingly IS-defined-as/exists-as the propitiation for our sins, and/but not for ours only but/also for the sins of the whole world” (d).  <Notes> a) 1 John 1:9, b) atoning-sacrifice transference of our unrighteousness for His righteousness by His blood,  c) Hebrew 2:17, d) 1 John 2:2.

 

But does this propitiation get applied to ALL the people of the world?  Peter tells the God-fearing Gentile-proselytes to Judaism:  “Everyone routinely/habitually having trusting-relying-faith eis toward-and-reaching-the-goal-of the name/authority of Christ [they are the ones that] lambano ‘grabs to receive’ forgiveness of sins” (a).  Sure Jesus was sent to the world to be its Savior by taking away its sins and drawing pas ‘all/every of a kind/class/category of’ people to Himself by His crucifixion (b), but “not all obeyed the gospel” (c), and so “all may be condemned who did in-possibility-NOT have trusting-relying-faith-in The Truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness” (d), for “those who are of self-interest and/coupled routinely/habitually are disobeying The Truth but instead routinely/habitually obeying unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury” (e).  The Universalist and Unitarian churches will be ‘dead in their sins’ wrong on Judgment Day.  <Notes> a) Acts 10:43, b) 1 John 4:14; John 1:29, 4:42, 12:32, c) Romans 10:16, d) 2 Thessalonians 2:12, e) Romans 2:8.

 

Everybody loves to quote Jesus’ preached gospel in John 3:16 about “God so unconditionally-loved the world that He gave His only Son” but they forget to quote verse 18 that gives only 1 condition to EXPERIENCE God’s saving love:  “Whoever is routinely/habitually having trusting-relying-faith eis toward-and-reaching-the-goal-of Christ is absolutely-in-fact-NOT presently/ongoingly judged, but the [one] in-possibility-NOT routinely/habitually having trusting-relying-faith already has been [with ongoing results] judged because he has in-possibility-NOT already had [with ongoing results] trusting-relying-faith eis toward-and-reaching-the-goal-of The Name/Authority/Person of the only-begotten (a) Son of God.”  You must meet that 1 condition to be saved – see Salvation.  <Notes> a) monogenes: one-of-a-kind, unique child.

 

Saving faith is found only in God’s pistos faithfulness through Christ.  King David hoped for it:  “O God, in the abundance of your steadfast unconditional-love answer me in Your saving faithfulness” (a).  But it’s Jesus that says: “Your trusting-relying-faith has saved you” (b), and “makes you well” (c).  James 5:15 also recognizes that “the euche wishing/vowing-prayer of The Trusting-Relying-Faith (The Christian Faith) shall indeed save the one who is sick.”  Paul says we are “saved dia thru-the-realizing-channel-of trusting-relying-faith” (d). <Notes> a) Psalms 69:13, b) Luke 7:50, c) Mark 10:52; cf. Mark 5:34; Matthew 15:28; Acts 3:16; 1 Corinthians 12:9, d) Ephesians 2:8; cf. Acts 15:11, 16:31; Romans 10:9-10; 1 Corinthians 1:21.

 

Since by definition soteria salvation is “a process of being delivered, rescued, and restored/healed to wholeness,” Peter says that Christians are being “guarded by God’s enabling-power through trusting-relying-faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the Last Time . . . they obtain the outcome of their trusting-relying-faith – the salvation of their souls” (a). Yet Jesus speaks of situations that akouo hearing/listening-to-understand/know the logos message of the gospel does NOT result in “faith that can save you” (b).  Clearly not ALL people in the world will be saved!  <Notes> a) 1 Peter 1:3-5, b) Luke 8:12; cf. John 12:47.

 

Paul’s mission is to preach the gospel, not write the New Testament, even though 51% are Paul’s writings:  “God made a choice among you that dia thru-the-realizing-channel-of my mouth the Gentiles should akouo hear/listen-to-understand/know  the logos message of the gospel kai and/moreover (a) to have trusting-relying-faith” (b).  He preached it even in prison, and when his jailor asked ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’ Paul answered: ‘[I strongly urge you to definitively/wholly] have trusting-relying-faith in the Lord Jesus and/thus you shall indeed be saved, you and your household. . . . and they all were water-baptized’” (c). <Notes> a) kai has other meanings than “and/coupled” like “still, besides, also, moreover, likewise, even, indeed, namely, specifically”, b) Acts 15:7, c) Acts 16:31-33,

 

Paul confirms it:  “For by the means of unconditional-loving-favor-of-grace you have been saved thru-the-realizing-channel-of trusting-relying-faith” (a), since “the gospel is [singular] enabling-power of God eis toward-and-reaching-the-goal-of salvation to everyone who routinely/habitually has trusting-relying-faith” (b). Thus “we preach to save those routinely/habitually having trusting-relying-faith” (c).  Clearly you need routine/habitual trusting-relying-faith in Christ in order to be saved!   The whole world isn’t going to be saved!  <Notes> a) Ephesians 2:8, b) Romans 1:16, c) 1 Corinthians 1:21.

 

The “people of God” (a) are “absolutely-in-fact-NOT of the [whole] world” (b), just as Christ “is absolutely-in-fact-NOT of the world” (c), just as His “kingdom is absolutely-in-fact-NOT of this world” (d), just as “not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel” (e).  As with mankind, “only a remnant of them will be saved” (f).  They are those having “salvation by the means of [singular] holiness/sanctification of/belonging-to the Spirit and/coupled [by the means of] trusting-relying-faith of/belonging-to [singular] Truth” (g). <Notes> a) Matthew 1:21; Luke 1:68, 77; Hebrews 4:9, 11:25; 1 Peter 2:10; Revelation 21:3, b) John 15:19, 17:14-16, c) John 17:14, 16, cf. 8:23, d) John 18:36; Satan owns the world’s kingdoms: Matthew 4:8; Luke 4:5; but in the end Christ owns them:  Revelation 11:15, e) Romans 9:6, f) Romans 9:27, 11:5; Acts 15:17, g) 2 Thessalonians 2:13.

 

Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:15 that “the sacred gramma writings” (see note ‘2B’ of Logos Word of God – BT4 that limits the writings in mind) that Timothy “from childhood was acquainted with . . .[are limited to] the ones that are able to make you wise eis toward-and-reaching-the-goal-of salvation dia thru-the-realizing-channel-of trusting-relying-faith in Christ Jesus.”  This is only 2.6% of the OT used to convert Jews and keep Jewish-Christians from lapsing back to the Law, absolutely not all of the OT as many pastors misinterpret the pas graphe “All scripture” in v. 3:16, because pas most often means ‘every/all of a portion/category/kind/class/group of,” just as I showed above, as also the case here by understanding the Greek meaning of vv. 3:15-16  – see Logos Word of God – BT5,  – BT6 and –BT7.

 

 

 

 

 

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