Paul tells us that all of these men that were given to the called out in those last days or the end of the age(s), were given until some things were accomplished o fulfilled. If one applies these four phrases in verse 13 to the development of the body of Christ to include Jews and Gentiles as fellow-heirs, then attaining to the unity of the faith is certainly accomplished by tearing down the hostilities and the law contained in ordinances, and the temple, etc. The New International Version has it, “until we all reach unity in the faith.” In this blog, we will consider the first of these phrases – “until we all attain to the unity of the faith.”
First, we need to address the use of the word “faith.” A distinction is made in the Scriptures between the personal faith of individuals and the system of faith that stands in contrast to the old system of law. For example, Paul writes to Philemon in verses 4-6, ‘I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, because I hear about your love for all his holy people and your faith in the Lord Jesus. I pray that your partnership with us in the faith may be effective in deepening your understanding of every good thing we share for the sake of Christ.” In the same context, a distinction is made between Philemon’s personal love and faith and “the faith” in which he has partnered with Paul. Paul once tried to destroy the faith that he later preached (cf. Ga.. 1: 23). Galatians 3:23-25 reads, “Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.” There was a time when the old system of the law served as a guardian or tutor until the faith was revealed. What precipitated this discussion was Peter and Barnabas withdrawing from a Gentile table when some Jews walked into the room. Paul “saw that they ‘they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in front of them all, “You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs” (Gal. 2:14-16). The truth of the gospel is the “faith of the gospel” as when Paul writes in Philippians 1:27, “…whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel.” The Bible speaks of being “strengthened in the faith as you were taught (Col. 2:7), “standing firm in the faith (1 Cor. 16:13), being sound in the faith (Tit. 1:1), being “obedient to the faith” (Acts 6:7), “remaining true to the faith” (Acts 14:22), or “keeping hold of the deep truths of the faith” (1 Tim. 3:9, cf. 1 Tim. 1:19). Paul speaks of Timothy being nourished on the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed.
However, it also speaks of denying the faith (1 Tim. 5:8), “wandering from the faith (1 Tim. 6:10), departing from the faith (1 Tim. 6:21), and “turning from the faith” (Acts 13:8).
The connection between the faith of the gospel and the personal response of faith is that the faith of the gospel has to do with the teaching regarding justification by faith in Christ Jesus apart from the works of the law (cf. Gal. 2:14-17). Some had abandoned this faith by leaving that teaching and going back to the demands of the law of Moses. To do this was to fall from grace (cf. Gal. 5:2-4).
We will continue to explore the word “unity” in this phase in our next blog.