The Faith

Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.

Jude 1:3

What is, ‘the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints?’  This is not just faith as in ‘have faith.’  It is not ‘a faith’ of several ‘faiths’ or even many ‘faiths.’  It is ‘the faith.’  How may we determine from the context what ‘the faith’ is?  We know from the previous reference in the verse that this faith is connected to ‘the common salvation.’  We also know from the end of the verse that this faith was delivered to ‘the saints.’  The next verse tells us that whatever this faith is, it acts in contrast to the behavior that turns ‘the grace of God into lewdness and denies the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.’  From these various indicators we conclude that this is the ‘one faith’ to which Paul refers in Ephesians 4:5.  We also see that this faith is the one for which we will have to contend, that is, we will have to reaffirm it, defend it, and uphold it.  Simply put, ‘the faith once for all delivered to the saints,’ is the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ.  It is not one of many faiths, but ‘the faith,’ of which Christ is the Author and Finisher.  This is ‘the faith’ we proclaim.

Our Gracious God and our Heavenly Father,
we rejoice at the faith which You have displayed before us.
We praise You that Christ has authored it,
finished it, and included us within it.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning