A Word from the WORD: "THE THREE DIMENSIONS" (Article 227)
Life Fellowship
The Three Dimensions
“They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead- Jesus who rescues us from the coming wrath” (1 Thessalonians 1:9-10 NIV).
In the introductory remarks of his first letter to the Thessalonian believers, the apostle Paul describes the three dimensions of the Christian life in terms of its commencement, continuation and climax. After thanking God for His work in their lives and acknowledging how they were a model to other believers, he speaks of these fundamental matters.
1. Its Commencement- “They turned to God from idols”
The people of Thessalonica responded to the message of the Gospel with a ‘turning from’ and a ‘turning towards’. These steps speak of the two foundational elements which constitute Christian initiation- ‘repentance’ and ‘faith’.
A. Repentance
The word ‘repent’ means literally “to change one’s mind” or “to think again”, particularly with reference to past behaviour. To repent is to think about things from God’s point of view, to agree with His analysis and accept His verdict.
Scriptural repentance involves three aspects: thought, word and deed. In passing through these mental, verbal and practical phases, there is a movement from the ‘inward heart’ to the ‘outward life’.
Thinking differently about former actions needs to be followed by speaking differently about them- sins need to be confessed (Matthew 3:6, 11). Words of repentance need to be accompanied by works of repentance. John the Baptist, Jesus and Paul are a few examples of those who expected repentance to be demonstrated in practical ways (Luke 3:8; 19:1-10; Acts 26:20).
The Scriptures clearly teach that “the past needs to be put right” wherever this is possible: Some of this putting right will take the form of ‘negative action’. For example, the putting away of idols (1 Thessalonians 1:9), the destruction of objects belonging to the kingdom of darkness (Acts 19:19), the ending of wrong relationships (1 Corinthians 6:11). Much of the putting right will take the form of ‘positive action’. Reconciliation and restitution are examples in this category (Matthew 5:23-24; Luke 19:8-10).
B. Faith
There are five fundamental facets which together constitute full faith, according to apostolic doctrine: historical, personal, verbal, practical and continual.
Faith is Historical: Faith is based on facts, not feelings. It is the facts that are believed which make faith effective. Saving faith is based on historical events, which have already taken place or will yet do so. The heart of it lies in those crucial events which revolve round a historical human being called Jesus around 2000 years ago- His death on a cross, burial in a tomb and resurrection with a body (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).
Faith is Personal: Christian faith begins in the mind and is transferred to the will. It is not only believing ‘that’ Jesus died and rose again; it is also believing ‘in’ the Jesus who died and rose again. To stop at the historical dimension would turn faith into a creedal confession, an intellectual acceptance. The usual sense in which faith is used by the New Testament writers is as ‘an attitude of trust’.
Faith is Verbal: Our faith needs to be put into words. But the emphasis is not on the persons ‘by’ whom they are expressed; it is on the persons ‘to’ whom they are addressed. The first and foremost direction of this verbal expression is calling on Jesus by name when seeking salvation (Acts 2:21; 22:16). And this is followed by confessing “Jesus is Lord” before people.
Faith is Practical: Faith is something we ‘do’ rather than something we ‘have’. It is not just accepting the truth of God’s word; it is acting on that truth. It is ‘faith in action’ that saves (James 2:14, 17).
Faith is Continual: In both the Hebrew and Greek languages, the words used for ‘faith’ and ‘faithfulness’ are exactly the same word. Faith needs to be exercised and expressed till the end of our life’s journey. The apostle Paul never rested on his past step of faith on the Damascus road. In the middle of his pilgrimage, he relied on a present faith (Galatians 2:20). At the end of his life, he was able to testify that he had kept the faith (2 Timothy 4:7).
2. Its Continuation- “To serve the living and true God”
We are saved for a purpose- to serve the living and true God. Jesus gave Himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for Himself a people that are His very own, eager to do what is good (Titus 2:14). God has saved us so He may now work in us to progressively restore us to the original image in which He created us and which is perfectly seen in the character of Christ (Colossians 3:9-10).
Paul summarises it very clearly in his letter to the Corinthians. He writes, “Christ died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised again” (2 Corinthians 5:15).
One of the basics of the Christian life has been forgotten today- that life is not about us, it is about God (Colossians 1:16; Revelation 4:11). Many wrongly assume that Christianity is a means, a sure way, of getting one’s desires fulfilled. There is a popular message being proclaimed today which puts man’s needs at the centre and portrays God as One who is present to meet all of them and make him happy in the process.
But we must understand that God does not exist for us- instead we have been created for His pleasure (Isaiah 43:7; Romans 11:36). We have been placed on this earth by Him to do His will and bring Him glory, even at the cost of our own life, pleasures and comfort. Jesus categorically told people that they must “deny themselves and carry their cross daily” if they ever wanted to follow Him (Luke 9:23). This clearly means that if we wish to be His disciple, we must be willing to “die to our right to ourself and of living to promote own own interests” for He is calling us to a life where “we cease to live for our own sake and now live for His sake”.
3. Its Climax- “And to wait for His Son from Heaven, whom He raised from the dead- Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath”
Salvation has a future aspect. While it has begun in every believer, It is not yet complete in any of them. The first name for the Christian faith was “the Way” (Acts 18:25, 26; 19:9, 23), indicating a progressive journey, rather than a destination we have already arrived at.
The future stage of the process of salvation is called ‘glorification’, when we are set free from the ‘presence’ or ‘possibility’ of sin altogether- the time when we will live in a world where there is nothing that we can’t enjoy and in which there is no evil. This completion or consummation of our salvation will take place at the return of Christ. At that time, we will be saved- fully and permanently.
Christians are urged in the Scriptures to prepare thoroughly and wait patiently for this great Day. In keeping with the hope of our calling, we are exhorted to encourage one another (1 Thessalonians 4:18; 5:11; Hebrews 10:25), to not become lazy but to be diligent (Hebrews 6:11-12), to not throw away our confidence in the midst of persecution (Hebrews 10:35), to be thankful and worship God acceptably with reverence and awe (Hebrews 12:28-29), to purify ourselves (1 John 3:3), to lead holy and godly lives (2 Peter 3:11), and to make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with the Lord (2 Peter 3:14).
The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you!
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