This session recaps the Trail of the Truth series on the doctrine of the first church age: justification by faith, grace as a free and unearned gift, the unity and diversity of the body of Christ, the centrality of the resurrection, water baptism in the name of the Lord Jesus, and the teaching on the Godhead. It also revisits Paul’s instruction on the order of the church, restating why women were not given authority to teach and affirming that the instruction applies universally rather than to one local congregation.
Scripture Reference
For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.
Key Points: The Truth of the First Church Age
- Salvation is by grace through faith and not of works, so that no man can boast, though genuine faith is always followed by works, as James also affirmed.
- The resurrection of Christ is presented as the foundation of the faith, the first fruit that guarantees the future resurrection of every believer.
- Paul’s baptizing converts in the name of the Lord Jesus, rather than repeating a formula of titles, is presented as the Holy Spirit fulfilling Christ’s promise to guide the disciples into all truth.
- The teaching on the Godhead explains Father, Son, and Holy Ghost as the same God manifested in different ways rather than three separate persons, drawing on the prophecy that Christ would be called Emmanuel, God with us.
- Paul’s instruction that women should not teach or hold authority over men is tied back to the order established at creation and the deception in the garden, framed as a universal principle rather than one specific to the Ephesian church.