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Statement of Beliefs:
Access to the Father

October 19, 2013

We have started a discussion regarding a Statement of Beliefs for those who identify as First-Century Apostolic Christians, those of us who believe our practices are closely aligned to the practices of the first-century church. We began to look at how we believe that Christian faith includes a life of faith with works and that to live a live with one without the other is dead. Last week , we examined our belief that Jesus is our Lord and Savior. Today we will consider verses that support our believe that access to the Father is through Jesus.

We believe that access to the Father is through Jesus, originates with the Father, and requires obedience to Jesus and the obedience that Jesus had towards the Father including observing the commandments, weekly Sabbath and Holy Days.

Consider these verses:

John 6:44
No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

Jesus taught his disciples that it was by the will of the Father that people would be drawn to Jesus. Without this calling, no man is able to come to Jesus.

Hebrews 9:11-14
But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

Paul writes that it is through the sacrifice of Jesus that we have eternal redemption, and it is this redemption that allows Jesus to raise us up at the last day.

1 John 2:1-11
My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked. Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning. Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth. He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now. He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him. But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.

John shows that this eternal redemption is connected to keeping commandments and shows this means the commandments as given by God reflected by the light of the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 22:36-40
Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

When asked about the great commandment in the law Jesus replied that love to God and love to fellow man are the two commandments that all others are based.

John 15:10
If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.

Keeping commandments allow us to live in the love of Jesus and the Father.

1 John 5:2-3
“By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.

John shows in order to love fellow man, we must first love God by keeping his commandments.

1 John 1:3
That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.

The commandments and obedience to them are what allow us to fellowship with the Father and Jesus Christ.

Matthew 12:1-13
At that time Jesus went on the Sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat. But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the Sabbath day. But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him; How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests? Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the Sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless? But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple. But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of man is Lord even of the Sabbath day. And when he was departed thence, he went into their synagogue: And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath days? that they might accuse him. And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the Sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the Sabbath days. Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other.

Jesus taught others that the Sabbath was not the burden developed by man and was a day to restore whole and do well.

John 2:23-25
Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did. But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men, And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man.

Jesus observed the Passover and would later become our Passover Lamb.

Acts 2:1-4
And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

The Holy Spirit was first given to the church on the Day of Pentecost, one of the Feasts of God the Father.

1 Corinthians 16:5-8
Now I will come unto you, when I shall pass through Macedonia: for I do pass through Macedonia. And it may be that I will abide, yea, and winter with you, that ye may bring me on my journey whithersoever I go. For I will not see you now by the way; but I trust to tarry a while with you, if the Lord permit. But I will tarry at Ephesus until Pentecost.

Years later, perhaps as much as twenty or twenty-five years later, Pentecost was observed by the church. If another holiday were celebrated, Paul would have likely referenced that holiday instead.

1 Corinthians 15:51-57
Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul uses trumpets from the Feast of Trumpets to show when we will be raised from the dead.

Romans 5:11
And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.

The Romans learned that it is through Jesus that we receive atonement that gives us access to the joy in God.

John 7:37-40
In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.) Many of the people therefore, when they heard this saying, said, Of a truth this is the Prophet.

Jesus observed the Feast of Tabernacles and used the last great day of the feast to show that the holy spirit would be made available as John points out after Jesus was glorified.

Living a life of faith as Christian requires us to believe believe that access to the Father is through Jesus, originates with the Father, and requires obedience to Jesus and the obedience that Jesus had towards the Father including observing the commandments, weekly Sabbath and Holy Days. By having these beliefs we allow the Holy Spirit to flow from us to others. There is much more to explore regarding this topic. A Statement of Beliefs is not intended to fully represent all of our beliefs, and is intended to provide a reasonable summary so that others can succinctly understand what we believe. It can also provide us with a reflective consideration of our own religious faith. The more we understand who we are and what we believe, the more we can help others understand who we are and what we believe, the more we will be able to celebrate what is good, embrace what is good, and do what is good.

All verses are from the King James Version.
This site provided by Tom Laign. To all who may believe differently, I also extend peace and love.