By: Dale Weckbacher
John 4:23-24
23 But the hour is
coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit
and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must
worship in spirit and truth."
NKJV
A true worshiper of God the Father is one who has learned
the balance of worship in spirit and truth.
Their worship is one full of the spirit of a love for God the Father and
His son Jesus Christ. It is a worship
flowing out from a heart full of the Spirit of God and as such, is a spirit
reaching out to the lost and hurting of this world. It is also a spirit without hate for it knows
Jesus Christ died for all humanity, desires that none should parish but that
all would come to him, and receive the gracious gift of salvation. However, this spirit of love must stand upon
a solid foundation of truth for we live in a world dominated by evil and as
such, God’s people have suffered throughout history and must have a solid
foundation of truth upon which to stand.
If you have ever had the opportunity to witness the
construction of a tall building, you have seen how the construction begins with
the digging down into the ground to find solid bedrock upon which to lay the
foundation for this building. This is
because the architects know that the building will have to endure stormy winds,
floods, and even earthquakes. Without
building upon a solid foundation, we could end up with a modern day leaning tower of Pisa
Solid foundations upon which to build our faith as believers
in Jesus Christ are just as important as the solid foundation upon which we
build a building. As statements of the
solid foundation of truth of the Christian faith, several creeds have developed. (1) Most notable of these creeds are the Nicene
Creed (2)
and the Apostles Creed. (3)
Both of these creeds are similar and state the belief in
1) God
Almighty (The Father Almighty) with the Nicene Creed going further by declaring
Him the creator of heaven and earth. (2) Without
this foundational declaration of truth, humanity is left to its own devices
which history had shown to be devices of destruction and not love and
peace. This is precisely why God was
required to boot both Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden before the evil in
their hearts resulted in the destruction of all of God’s creation. Fortunately, this Almighty God is also
merciful and instead of obliterating humanity from the planet, gave them the
promise of a savior (Genesis 3:15) before booting them out of paradise.
2) Jesus
Christ the only Son of God with the Apostles Creed declaring He was conceived
of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.
(3) The Nicene Creed declares that Jesus was
begotten of his Father God before all worlds “God of God, Light of Light, very
God of very God, begotten not made.” (2) It
might appear these two creeds have a disagreement about whom Jesus was the
begotten of. However, the foundation of
the Christian faith is the belief in one God, manifested in three persons,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. There is
therefore no disagreement here for whether Jesus was begotten of God the Father
or the Holy Spirit, Jesus is the begotten of God and part of the Trinity. The
Nicene Creed does provide some clarification of this supposed discrepancy by
stating that Jesus was “made incarnate” or became flesh by the Holy Ghost (i.e.
Holy Spirit). (2) Both creeds declare that
Jesus was crucified under Pontius Pilate, died, was buried, rose again on the third
day, ascended into heaven, sat down at the right hand of God the Father, and is
returning to judge the living and the dead.
3) The
Holy Spirit who the Nicene Creed declares as the giver of life (Genesis 2:7)
who proceeds from God the Father and God the Son and together with them is
worshiped, a further declaration of the Trinity, (2)
4) The
remission of sins, resurrection of the flesh, and life everlasting. These speak of the atoning work of salvation
offered to humanity through the blood of Jesus Christ, the hope of resurrection
of the flesh upon the Lords return and the promise of life everlasting with God
(John 3:16).
These are the solid foundations, the bedrock of the
Christian faith. Faith built upon this
solid foundation is a faith that can withstand any storm, trial, tribulation,
or persecution it encounters. Church
history has demonstrated that people and churches built upon this foundation
stand. However, the Enemy is crafty and
has managed to creep into many churches today, eroding away this solid
foundation.
Many churches seem more interested in big numbers and
attracting these numbers instead of building upon a foundation of truth. These churches have softened their stand on
issues like gay marriage, abortion, etc. so as not to offend potential
members. In essence, these churches are
building in a spirit of tolerance of sin, at the expense of eroding the solid
foundation of truth upon which they are to stand. Should we allow this to occur, our churches
will become like the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and eventually topple over and
fall.
A recent Pew
Research Center
1. The Hall of Church
History. Creeds, Confessions and Catechisms. www.spurgeon.org. [Online]
The Hall of church History. [Cited: August 15, 2015.]
www.spurgeon.org/~phil/creeds.htm.
2. Spurgeon.org.
The Nicene Creed. www.spurgeon.org. [Online] Spurgeon.org. [Cited:
August 15, 2015.] www.spurgeon.org/~phil/creeds/nicene.htm.
3. —. The Apoostles'
Creed. www.spurgeon.org. [Online] Spurgeon.org. [Cited: August 15,
2015.] www.spurgeon.org/~phil/creeds/apostles.htm.
4. Pew Research
Center America ’s
Changing Religious Landscape. www.pewforum.org. [Online] Pew Research
Center
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