How Does God Describe the Faithful?
How does God describe the faithful? #1 “You are the salt of the earth.” (Matthew 5:13). The faithful are to be the seasoning of society, the spice of life, those who make all around them better. Jesus added that, if we lose that flavor, we become no better than in discriminant herbicides. Historically, the faithful often have become wet blankets, as if anything fun must be illegal, sinful, or fattening. Instead, we must be the center of joy, comfort, and hope in a world that offers little.
How does God describe the faithful? #2 “You are the light of the world.” (Matthew 5:14). The faithful are to accomplish such astounding good works that the rest of the world skips right over saying, “Thank you,” and goes directly to extolling the character of the God whom the faithful serve (v 16). Certainly, the faithful are generous and helpful people. Unfortunately, they rarely rise above the goodness of a non-Christian philanthropist. God promised the faithful that they would have an abundance for every good work. It’s time we took Him seriously.
How does God describe the faithful? #3 “Be consistent as God is consistent.” (Matthew 5:48) The Sermon on the Mount is all about being consistent. The problem is that consistency takes some thought. Stealing someone’s life is no different than stealing property or reputation. Breaking a promise is no different whether it concerns marriage, contracts, debts, assistance, or social engagements. I must hold myself to the same standards I wish to see in others. Consistency puts to death excuses.
How does God describe the faithful? #4 “You are more valuable than many sparrows.” (Matthew 10:31, Luke 12:7, 12:24) Depression often flows from not feeling valued. People often allow themselves to be manipulated for an artificial sense of value. Whereas, if we would only accept it, God takes notice of our lives, cares what happens to us, and values us.
How does God describe the faithful? #5 “Unless you are converted and become as little children…humble” (Matthew 18:3). Both Jesus and Moses were described as exceedingly humble. A humble leader is not an oxymoron but a necessary quality for success. The humble consider the needs of everyone, tilted neither to themselves nor to others, rather facing reality objectively. Nothing is beneath them, so they are inclined to serve. No one is unimportant, so they are respectful, gentle, and patient. The first step on the path to humility is departing from self.
How does God describe the faithful? #6 “You are all brothers” so don’t use titles (Matthew 23:8). Every variety of church has its leaders and titles for them. Some such identifiers even have proof-texts to lend Biblical authority, conveniently overlooking passages like this. Jesus’ point was that titles hinder the extended family environment, promote self-importance, and detract from the leadership of Jesus. All the faithful are equal yet all are different. Celebrate the family love, not the skill sets.
How does God describe the faithful? #7 “If you abide in My word, you are truly disciples of Mine.” (John 8:31) Where we abide is where we live: our home, the place to which we always return. Jesus’ word is much more than the red letters in the New Testament, but the ideas or concepts Jesus taught. The faithful, those who learn about life from Jesus’ point of view, call that place home. Jesus promised that such people would live in reality and thereby be free from the entanglements of deception.
How does God describe the faithful? #8 “I am the vine; you are the branches. He who abides in me and I in him bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5) God resides in the faithful, the promised result of which is character development. That transformation manifests itself in many ways, from generosity to evangelism to purity, not one or the other, but all types in variable proportions. Without the root stock, a branch cannot produce. Without fruit, a branch has no purpose and is removed as dead.
How does God describe the faithful? #9 “You are not under Law but under grace.” (Romans 6:14) Law demands justice. By itself, justice is swift and sure, perhaps heartless. Grace is the collection of all of God’s character traits, including justice but interdependent with patience, gentleness, kindness, and more. Grace does not supersede law, but rather finds a way for all of God’s characteristics, including justice, to play out in harmony. God paid off justice Himself to enable His goal: an eternal family built on mutual trust and selfless concern.
How does God describe the faithful? #10 “You are slaves to the one whom you obey.” (Romans 6:16) The question is whether we would rather be slaves to that of which we can be proud, or that which we despise. Jesus paid our debt to justice. Opting for selfishness or power or wealth or evil merely enslaves us again to that which leads nowhere. Our history shows that absolute liberty is more than we can handle, so we devote our new freedom to Him who can use it best.
How does God describe the faithful? #11 “You are not in the flesh but in the Spirit.” (Romans 8:9) The spirit is perhaps best viewed as the character of the individual that will continue to exist long after the physical stops working. Thinking as a spirit is challenging because all of our information comes to us through our physical senses in a physical world. Recognizing that hurdle, God proposes to reside with the spirits of the faithful, connected to them, for the purpose of development and understanding resulting in peaceful graciousness.
How does God describe the faithful? #12 “By the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body.” (Romans 8:13) All people want to be a better than they are. But, after enough failures, we tend to settle for what we think we can realistically accomplish. The faithful are promised that they need never accept less than the best. The faithful overcome themselves not by superior self-control or dismal self-discipline. Rather, they are transformed by the Spirit of God that has been given them.
How does God describe the faithful? #13 “By His doing you are in Christ Jesus.” (1 Corinthians 1:30) God designed the Good News to make sense to ordinary people. Many want to be able to manipulate God by demanding signs. Others push understanding into the realm of the intellectuals to avoid personal responsibility. In reality, the message is as simple as “get your character repaired by God through mutual trust and selfless concern,” which is to be “in Christ.”
How does God describe the faithful? #14 “You are God’s field, God’s building.” (1 Corinthians 3:9) The faithful are those who produce fruit as a result of the message planted and watered in them. The faithful are also like a structure that can withstand the fires of life because of the quality of its building materials. But if no fruit appears or if hard times destroy, look to the quality of the worker. Certainly, each is responsible for oneself. But a generation of decline points more to the messengers. “We have met the enemy, and he is us.” (Pogo)
How does God describe the faithful? #15 “You are the Temple of God and the Spirit of God dwells in you.” (1 Corinthians 3:16, 2 Corinthians 6:16) Old Testament history shows that the Temple was important to God. As long as it had a purpose, even when it was terribly misused, God kept it going. Paul used that image to illustrate how important the faithful are, to the point that God will avenge their loss. Those who can visualize themselves as the home of the Spirit of God tend to want to keep the place clean.
How does God describe the faithful? #16 “You are in fact unleavened.” (1 Corinthians 5:7) In the illustration, the leaven (yeast) is malice and wickedness which spoil the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. A little bit of leaven spreads through the whole lump of dough. The faithful are reminded that it doesn’t take much to spoil our outreach. Certainly, God paid our debt to justice as Jesus, but we are not thereby given license to do evil. One of the major reasons the faithful work at purity through the power of the Spirit is to make the message believable.
How does God describe the faithful? #17 “You are Christ’s body and individually members of it.” (1 Corinthians 12:27) Diversity among the faithful is essential to the health of the body. When one tissue grows at an uncontrolled rate, other tissues are pushed aside and stifled; we call it cancer. Finding a congregation with people like me may be comfortable, but unhealthy. Instead, seek out faithful people from other cultures, backgrounds, income levels, and social strata. In this way we learn the difference between faith and tradition.
How does God describe the faithful? #18 “You are a letter of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 3:3) Clergy have titles and degrees. Congregations have programs and practices. Paul reminds the faithful that each one is a letter of recommendation for Jesus as each one accomplishes that which is humanly impossible through the power of the Spirit. Outsiders see character transformation and want it for themselves. They see people who can cope with whatever life throws at them – and who are genuinely full of the joy of life. That is God’s advertising.
How does God describe the faithful? #19 “We are ambassadors for Christ.” (2 Corinthians 5:20) Ambassadors speak for their country and its leader. In this case, the faithful implore outsiders to be reconciled to God before it is too late. This reconciliation is not keyed to penance, tribute, or surrender, but to becoming like Jesus. Everything we don’t like about ourselves can be left behind as we develop into the kind of people of whom we can be rightfully proud.
How does God describe the faithful? #20 “You are all sons of God through the faith that was in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:26) Many wonderful church-goers worry whether their faith will be sufficient that they be counted among the family of God. Probably not, but that is not the issue. Looking at the context, Jesus’ unwavering faith paid off the justice system once and for all so that the faithful could receive the promise of the Spirit and put on His character. By the power of the Spirit, those who trust God become Jesus’ siblings.
How does God describe the faithful? #21 “You are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28) Among the faithful, ethnic, economic, and gender biases should not exist. Yet, they do. This is not to say that everyone must be the same – the faithful have liberty. Our equality is based on considering and treating all the faithful as equally important despite marked physical differences. Perhaps our most difficult analysis arises in separating truth and freedom from bias and tradition.
How does God describe the faithful? #22 “If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.” (Galatians 3:29) The inheritance is that faith, trusting and acting upon the promises of God, results in being re-connected to God. The faithful are described as being like Abraham and sharers in his inheritance in the family of God. The big question is whether we consider ourselves as belonging to Jesus, or do we just consult Him from time to time for advice?
How does God describe the faithful? #23 “Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba, Father.’” (Galatians 4:6) How do people in general conceptualize God? The Almighty? The Creator? Awesome figure on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel? Picturing the unseen is a challenge. One of the functions of the Spirit that is given to the faithful is to create a relationship to a strong, gracious, protective father figure.
How does God describe the faithful? #24 “Therefore, you are no longer a slave but a son.” (Galatians 4:7) Whether we admit it or not, we are enslaved to that which we obey. God is not looking for that type of association. Rather, God’s eternal purpose has always been to develop a large extended family held together by mutual trust and selfless concern. The faithful need to drop the slave (obedience) mentality and adopt a family commitment.
How does God describe the faithful? #25 “We are members of one another.” (Ephesians 4:25) The faithful are the various parts of one body, not members of a club. All the parts are different, but they are joined and knit together as each does its share. All body parts are important; the other parts would suffer if any were amputated. This body is miraculous, so the functions of the parts require that they do that which they could not before being incorporated. The ability to perform each job comes from the Spirit, not from natural ability.
How does God describe the faithful? #26 “If you are led by the Spirit, you are no longer under law.” (Galatians 5:18) The faithful are promised that, if they will allow it to happen, they will be led by the Spirit. Theoretically, the church has no authority figures; each faithful person has individual authority, liberty. The authority-driven church constantly battles the works of the flesh. The Spirit-driven church produces the fruit of the Spirit.
How does God describe the faithful? #27 “Then you are no longer strangers and aliens but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.” (Ephesians 2:19) Paul was describing non-Jewish Christians, specifically those from a Turkish-Greek culture. Throughout recorded history, ethnic groups have found certain habits of other groups to be abhorrent or deficient. Among those who espoused Jesus, both sides thought the other came up short of the Scriptures. Culture taints understanding. Give the Spirit room to clean up the mess.
How does God describe the faithful? #28 “We are to grow up into all His aspects.” (Ephesians 4:15) Every faithful person is afforded the power of the Spirit to grow into the character of Jesus. But, this does not happen independently. Every faithful person contributes to the growth of all the rest. However, church-goers must believe that they can have the character of Jesus while on earth or not only the individual but also the whole body suffers. Entry into the Promised Land is based on that faith.
How does God describe the faithful? #29 “You were formerly darkness but now you are light in the Lord.” (Ephesians 5:8) The faithful should see themselves as God does: light. Standing straight, eyes ahead, purposeful and joyful, because they are flashlights helping others avoid the pitfalls on earth, plus illuminators of faith for angels. God shows an amazing amount of trust.
How does God describe the faithful? #30 “We are the true circumcision, those in the Spirit of God worshiping and boasting in Christ Jesus and putting no confidence in the flesh.” (Philippians 3:3) The faithful have a sign that identifies them as being the people of God. They readily demonstrate their understanding that God runs the universe in their best interests. They announce only the provable works of God in past and current history. They make their plans based on the promises of God, not on those of governmental or economic systems that fail repeatedly.
How does God describe the faithful? #31 “You are all sons of light and sons of the day.” (1 Thessalonians 5:5) Paul’s contrast is with those who predict the Day of the Lord (for which Jesus said no signs would be given), and with those who rest assured that the end is “mañana.” The faithful can be comfortable not knowing, trusting God that all will work out well if they are simply prepared, in the light at all times.
How does God describe the faithful? #32 “You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and vanishes away.” (James 4:14) The faithful do not take life on earth all that seriously. A great number of people assign value to physical existence in terms of financial achievement, health and longevity, influence over others, or the exploits of their favorite sports team, real or imagined. In reality, this life is a place to develop and demonstrate trust and selflessness. Graduation is to be eagerly anticipated, not greatly feared or largely ignored.
How does God describe the faithful? #33 “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession.” (1 Peter 2:9) The faithful always have had difficulty navigating the political landscape due to its high population of unscrupulous characters. Peter reminded the Jewish Christians of central Turkey that God had so much faith in them that He appointed them to represent Him. God’s confidence in the faithful continues unabated to this day.
Thomas Theology Hub 