THE GOOD FOUNDATION - Matt 7:21-27

The Bible tells us of our need to please God. To do this we need faith.
Faith is simply submitting to the Word spoken to us by Jesus Christ. By doing this we also become wise people with lives established upon the "rock foundation" Jesus refers to in Matt 7: 24 – 27.

Our focus now turns to see what the Lord has to teach us about the foundation upon which our lives will be established, and to ensure we have been established upon the rock foundation of Jesus' sayings.
These commands, doctrines and ways of life "guarantee" a stable and eternal life. They form what is illustrated as a rock foundation.

THE APOSTOLIC FOUNDATION

The Apostle Paul recognised the need for a firm foundation to be established in a Christian’s life and so he laid this foundation wherever he preached. 1 Cor 3: 10

According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. 1 Cor 3: 11
For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 2: 19 – 20

19. Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners but fellow citizens
with the saints and of the household of God.
20. And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone.

Notice from these above verses how Paul identifies himself with the wise builder that Jesus spoke about in Matt 7: 24. Then he warns us to take care to build wisely once having obtained that foundation. He clearly tells that Jesus Christ is this foundation and there is no other foundation for the Christian faith, to enable those who desire it. Other instruments were used to propagate the sayings and principles of Christ. They were the Apostles and Prophets. It is, therefore, important to become familiar with the teachings of these prophets and apostles. Paul is quick, in this verse, to again draw our attention to the fact that while their ministry forms part of the foundation laying, Jesus is the "Chief corner stone", or the key to its location and dimensions.

We conclude from these verses that our Christian life, while totally dependant on Jesus, requires a careful interest in and acceptance of these teachings of the Apostles and Prophets of the Bible.

JESUS SENDS THE APOSTLES

If the apostles were included in the formation of the foundation of the Christian faith, then when we look at the official commissioning (sending) of the apostles we will not only be made aware of their authority but will also get a more detailed account of the principles they were given to form our foundation. Let us first record some of the Bible references to their calling:

Matt 28: 18 - 20
18. And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth.
19. Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptising them in the Name of the
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
20. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you, and lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
Mark 16: 15
And He said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature. Luke 24: 47 - 49
47. And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
48. And ye are witnesses of these things.
49. And behold, I send the promise of My Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.

Acts 1: 2, 3, 4, 8
2. Until the day in which He was taken up, after that He through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom He had chosen.
3. To whom also He shewed Himself alive after His passion by many infallible
proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.
4. And being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith He, ye have heard of Me.
8. But ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
By reading the context of these verses you will note that Jesus was giving His disciples instructions about the work He was sending them to do. This He was doing just before He ascended back into Heaven.

He knew that these were His last moments of being with them physically, so He was teaching them the important aspects of their commission, i.e. His final important instructions.
Important features of the discussion that Jesus held with His disciples are: -

A. Teach and preach to all nations.
1. The Gospel
2. To observe all things whatsoever He had commanded them
3. Repentance and remission of sins

B. Baptise in the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

C. Tarry for power from on high.
1. To be witnesses
2. For signs following

The disciples had a specific task to perform on behalf of Jesus as they took their place in the foundation of the Christian faith. As seen above the three avenues were Preaching and Teaching, Baptising, and Receiving the Power of God for service.
With such a vital responsibility the disciples would have been obedient to this call. So further light can be derived if we look at their lives to see what they did as they fulfilled their responsibility. In the verses above specific reference is made to their calling rather than the details of the doctrines. Our interests do not lie in what they were called to do but rather in principles they were given to give to the church to form our Rock Foundation.

THE DISCIPLES RESPOND TO JESUS’ COMMANDS

As we examine the scriptures, in search of the valuable details of our rock foundation, we find that the disciples obeyed the Lord Jesus in every way.

GATHERED TOGETHER FOR POWER Acts 1: 13 - 15
13. And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alpheus and Simon Zealotes, and Judas the brother of James.
14. These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the
women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brethren.
15. And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples ...

Acts 2: 1, 4
1. And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
4. And they were filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other
tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Preach the Gospel Acts 2: 21, 36, 38
21. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
36. Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.
38. Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Preach to all Nations Acts 2: 5
And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation
under heaven.

Baptise Converts Acts 2: 41
Then they that gladly received His word and were baptised.

Observed all Things Acts 2: 42
And they continued steadfastly in the Apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in
breaking of bread and prayers.
In Acts 2:1 onwards we read of the disciples gathering together at Jerusalem as they were commanded. The Holy Ghost was poured out as Jesus promised. They preached the Gospel and you will notice that as Jesus commanded they preached "repentance and baptism".
They were to share with all nations and Acts 2:5 tells us that men of all nations were present to hear their preaching. There were wonderful results to the obedience of the disciples. Three thousand souls were added to the church and were baptised.
It is important to note here how the disciples would lay the foundation in the lives of these new believers.
Look at what happened immediately after the 3000 souls were converted in
Acts 2:41,42. After they were baptised they "continued steadfastly" in: -

A. THE APOSTLES' DOCTRINE
B. FELLOWSHIP
C. BREAKING OF BREAD
D. PRAYERS
The teaching given by the Apostles to those new converts was a passing on of the sayings or principles committed to them by Jesus and thus the "rock foundation" teachings.
These teachings caused these new converts to become faithful in four different Christian practices, which no doubt, any Christian wishing to become established on the firm foundation of Jesus, would want to participate in.
What then are these four Christian practices that are necessary for our lives?

A. PRAYERS
The need to be in communication with the God in whom we have now put our
confidence is essential. He is the source of life in every way. By means of prayer we are able to make our requests known before Him and so know the answer. Pray together with other fellow Christians.

B. BREAKING OF BREAD
The Communion service is when we partake of the emblems, bread and wine, in remembrance of covenant rights now made ours through the shed Blood of Jesus. Jesus commanded that we as His disciples partake of the emblems. It is an Ordinance and not a sacrament – the Sacrifice was Paid at Calvary!

C. FELLOWSHIP
This is an avenue practiced by Christians whereby they are able to share their
common blessings and convictions, and encourage one another in their holy faith.

D. APOSTLES' DOCTRINE
This is the teaching of Apostles, imparting the principles Jesus gave them, and which must become part of the believer's life. He should continue in these doctrines, as they are his foundation. To continue in the apostles’ doctrine we must know specifically what they are.

THE APOSTLES' DOCTRINE
As we have followed the scripture thus far we have concluded that
The Sayings of Jesus
The Rock Foundation
The Apostles’ Doctrine are all the same foundation teaching.
It is important to know these titles because by them God tells us what they should mean to us. Our question now is - WHAT IS THE APOSTLES’ DOCTRINE?

Whatever these teachings were that were given to the new converts, they produced “faithful” Christians living as those who gladly received the word of the Apostles. It also proved a “fruitful” way if we look at the results of the Apostles’ work.
To find out what was taught it would be important to note who was doing the preaching in Acts 2. Verses 14, 37 and 38 tell us that Peter was the spokesman. If we follow the teachings of Peter in his Epistle, we will find out more of the doctrine he presented to the new converts. Peter, writing a letter to the Christians, refers to what he was given by Jesus that formed the important foundation teachings.

1 Peter 1:22, 23, 25
22. Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit
unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:
23. Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth forever.
25. But the Word of the Lord endureth forever, and this is the Word which by the Gospel is preached unto you.
1 Peter 2:1, 2, 3
1. Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings.
2. As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the Word that ye may grow
thereby.
3. If so be that ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious. Here Peter refers to the Gospel that he was commanded to preach and says, “This Word
endures forever”. Again the Spirit of the Lord is saying that the word of Jesus, given to the Apostles to teach, forms a solid foundation because it ‘endures forever”.
In verse 2 he calls the believers to “grow” in their faith, and then refers to the newly converted Christians as being “babes”. For these new spiritual babes to grow, he says they need to desire the “sincere milk of the Word’.
Whatever the milk of the Word might be, it is the same teaching that caused the growth in the new converts of Acts 2.
As new converts who now desire to grow in our spiritual life, our interest will be to discover the meaning of “the milk of the Word”.

THE MILK OF THE WORD
Peter says by this Word of truth we have “purified our souls” (verse 22), “we have been born again” and also by this Word, in milk form, “we grow”. To a baby milk is the elementary food that holds all the required nourishment, and is simple to digest. This must apply to the meaning of the word which Jesus instructed Peter to give to the new converts.
Paul takes up this line of thought, referring to young Christians who have yet to mature in their spiritual strength to resist the power of sin, and be strong disciples free to serve the Lord.

1 Corinthians 3:1-3
1. And I brethren, could not speak to you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal,
even as unto babes in Christ.
2. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat; for hitherto ye were not able to
bear it, neither yet now are ye able.
3. For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?
Paul shows the difference between a spiritual and a carnal disciple. The carnal Christian, or babe, cannot take the deeper spiritual truths of the teachings of Jesus, which he calls the “meat”. They need the milk, which will strengthen them to overcome the carnal behaviour of fightings, strivings and grudges, or envying. The Christians Paul was speaking to here were divided, and so he saw it needful for elementary truths to be given to them to encourage them to again be settled on the firm foundation of Jesus, as a
building that cannot be moved.
Later Paul again dealing with carnal Christians, or babes, gives us further insight into the “milk teaching”.
Hebrews 5:11-14
11. Of whom (Jesus) we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing.
12. For when for the time ye ought to be teachers ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk and not strong meat.
13. For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.
14. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by
reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

THE FIRST PRINCIPLES OF THE ORACLES OF GOD
Once again Paul shows that Christians that bicker and strive are carnal and so cannot understand the meat of God’s Word, but need the milk that will enable them to grow and mature.
In verse 12 above, Paul calls the milk doctrine “the first principles of the oracles of God”, which means he looks upon the Apostles’ doctrine as being “the primary fundamental truths of the Divine revelation of God”.

So, as we put the teachings of Peter and Paul together from these verses, we get a picture of a Babe or Carnal Christian who needs milk. From this summary we can judge to see if we need to know more about the milk of the Word so that we might grow: Peter’s signs of being a babe are: Envy, strife, division, malice, guile, hypocrisies, evil speakings, walk as men (void of influence of God) dull of hearing, untaught in the Word, unskilful in the Word of righteousness, senses that have not been exercised to discern between
good and evil.

Any Christian who is guilty of any of the above items definitely needs to know more about the Apostles’ doctrine so that he might grow. God graciously gives us a checklist like this not to condemn us as unworthy and hopeless, but that HE might provoke the understanding of our need that we might DESIRE THE SINCERE MILK OF THE WORD.

In Hebrews 6 Paul gets down to a more direct title to the milk of the Word by relating these doctrines to Christ.

Hebrews 6:1-3

1. Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto
perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith towards God,

2. Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgement.

3. And this we will do if God permit.
John in his epistle follows the Apostle in the acceptance and importance of the doctrines of Christ stating that, not to accept and apply them, jeopardises the Christian’s salvation and thus his relationship with God. He even denounces any fellowship with those who deny these doctrines.

2 John: 9,10

9. Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.

10. If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house neither bid him God speed.

THE PRINCIPLES OF THE DOCTRINE OF CHRIST

(The fundamental truths of the teachings of Christ)
The different titles we can now apply to the important sayings of Jesus that are needed by the newly converted, and those the disciples of Acts 2 continued in, are:

The Foundation Teaching

The Rock Foundation

The Apostles’ Doctrine

The Milk of the Word

The First Principles of the Oracles of God

The Principles of the Doctrine of Christ

Though different names are used, they all refer to the same basic teachings of Jesus.
Now if we look carefully at Hebrews 6:1 and 2, we will notice Paul not only gives further dimension to the titles of these doctrines but God gives him the headings of the doctrines incorporated in the Apostles’ doctrine. They are:

1. Repentance from Dead Works
Deals with man’s start to make right with God.

2. Faith toward God
How to appropriate the promises of God

3. Doctrine of Baptisms
In this teaching there are four different baptisms:

A) Into the Body of Christ - Our Salvation

B) Into Water - The attitude of our walk

C) Of the Holy Ghost - The power in our walk

D) Of sufferings - Resistance to opposition and endurance

4. Laying on of Hands
Sharing with others the indwelling Christ

5. Resurrection of the Dead
Inner Motivation to focus on eternal values

6. Eternal Judgement
Settling of Accounts and eternal consequences

7. Going on unto Perfection
The incentive to hear, receive, know, believe, OBEY and Declare Doctrines 1 – 6

Each of these will now be carefully studied, that, in receiving the milk, the believer may be established upon the foundation of God that stands sure.

WE MUST KNOW – BELIEVE – OBEY – THE FIRST PRINCIPLES OF THE DOCTRINE OF CHRIST – IT is VITAL to our SALVATION – Amen

A Study book – The First Principles of the Doctrines of Christ is available from Christian Truth Ministries – 043 722 1520 – truthmin@mweb.co.za