THE FIVE WORDS FOR THE INSTRUCTION OF MEN

 

Biblical text:

"Nevertheless, in Church I would rather speak five words with my mind, in order to instruct others, than ten thousand words in a tongue" (1 Cor 14:19).

 

One day, when I was reading the Bible, I came across this particular verse, and I began to wonder which five words were referred to. Paul did not specify which words and probably it was just a coincidence that he mentioned "five" which may be insignificant. However, the words are to instruct men and they must be, without doubt, teachings which would lead men to be blessed and saved. Since they are more effective than ten thousand words spoken in a tongue, they are certainly very important and are essential for the needs of the faith of the believers in general. As these five words are for instructing men, they must be related to the salvation of every man. Paul himself said, "And my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power" (1 Cor 2:4); he also said, ''For this I was appointed a preacher and apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth" (1 Tim 2:7). Teaching men to believe in the Lord Jesus and teaching them to learn about the truth are duties of preachers. This is for the edification of believers in faith, in Biblical knowledge, in love and in virtues, so that the church can be firmly established upon the foundation of the truth. If preachers teach what they have no right to teach they would upset whole families (Tit  :11 )· Some preachers "preach the gospel" on the one hand and "preach leaven" on the other, i.e. they "teach as doctrines the precepts of men" and "leave the commandment of God, and hold fast the tradition of men", or they "keep their own tradition" (Mk 7:7-9). Teaching as doctrines "the precepts and tradition of men" would lead men to the wrong faith and to the wrong path so that they would be lost. Is not this kind of worshipping a vain one? (Mt 15:9) The traditions and the precepts of men are considered as leaven; and the Lord Jesus advised us to take heed of and beware of leaven (Mk 8:15) - doctrines and teachings which are not in accordance with the Bible. The ideology of men, their vain philosophy, the modern Theology, and the heresies of idol-worshipping, Purgatory, and the Sunday-worship of the Catholic Church, cannot lead men to salvation. Such teachings please men - they regard themselves as intelligent, but they are actually foolish. What we believe and what we preach should be the gospel of the crucified Christ Jesus. He is the way, the truth and the life; He never changes; His words also never change. Amongst His thousands of words, there are five which are most important. We are to follow these words because they are directly related to our salvation.

 

Briefly they are the following:

 

I. He who believes and is baptized will be saved (Mk 16:16)

 

The Lord Jesus asked us to believe in Him Who is the Saviour sent by God. Paul had clearly said, "The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners" (1 Tim 1 :15). Men have sins and are unable to deliver themselves. Punishment and death are the consequences of sins. , In the future, both the soul and body will be destroyed, which is most frightening (Mt 10:28). Nevertheless, God does not wish that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. As such, He sent His Son as the Saviour of the world (1 Jn 4:14), to be the expiation for our sins (1 Jn 4:1 0). The Lord Jesus died for our sins; He was crucified and He bore our sins (1 Pet 2:24). Hence, the Lord Jesus is the mediator between God and man. He had to shed His blood to redeem us from sins and to deliver us from the devil so that we would belong to God. Every sinner must believe in Jesus and accept Him as the only Saviour. He also has to believe that Jesus was resurrected from death, i.e. after being buried in the tomb for three days, He arose; He was raised for our justification (Rom 4:25). Forty days after His resurrection, He ascended to heaven to prepare a place for us. At the last day, He will come again to receive us to His place (Jn 14:2-3). These are the doctrines which should be taught. After believing, one must be baptized, and this is the most important manifestation of faith. This is a Salvation grace to be received in faith. A person is baptized not merely to fulfill a procedure in accepting the faith. It is also because he is being baptized unto Christ, being dead, buried, and raised with Him; the soul which was dead in sin has now been raised through baptism (Rom 6:4,5; Eph 2:5; Col 2:12). Hence, it is known as the "washing of regeneration" (Tit 3:5). Unless a man be born anew, he cannot enter the kingdom of God (Jn 3:5). It is also a baptism for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38; 22:16) because the Lord's blood and the Holy Spirit bear witness to it (1 Jn 5:6-8). Therefore, baptism is the starting point to salvation and the beginning towards everlasting life.

 

II. You shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit (Acts 1 :5)

 

This was spoken by the Lord Jesus to His disciples just before He ascended to heaven. It was an important promise. The Holy Spirit is the Comforter. He is from God, the Father, and is given to those who believe in the gospel of the Lord Jesus (Acts 15:7,8; Gal 3:2). Ten days after Jesus had ascended toheaven, i.e. on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples and they received power (Lk 24:49; Acts 1 :8; 4:33; 6:10), gifts (Acts 1 0:45; 11 :16, 17), and they spoke in tongues, which is the proof of receiving the Holy Spirit (Acts 19:6). Such a gift manifested in the believer, which can be heard and seen, is the special feature of the baptism of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:33). The Bible records that while some believers received the Holy Spirit before they were even baptized (Acts 1 0:47), some received the Holy Spirit only after they had been baptized (Acts 8:16, 17). Thus, it can be seen that water baptism and baptism of the Holy Spirit are two different events which must not be confused. The two baptisms are equally important. Although the people in Samaria had believed in the Lord Jesus and had also been baptized in the name of Jesus, the Holy Spirit had not descended on any of them. Hence, Peter and John specially went to Samaria from Jerusalem to pray for them so that they could receive the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:14,15). It can be seen then that the baptism of the Holy Spirit is not immediately received upon believing or during water baptism; only after constant prayers can one receive the Holy Spirit. At Samaria, after Peter and John had laid their hands on the believers, the Holy Spirit descended upon the believers and some even saw the presence of the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:17,18). It can be seen that there is evidence when one receives the Holy Spirit. In actual fact, the proof is in the gift of speaking in tongues. Therefore, at Cornelius' house, Peter could see that the condition during· which the Holy Spirit was received by the Gentiles was similar to that when he first received the Holy Spirit (Acts 10:47). Moreover, after Paul had laid hands on the Ephesians, they received the Holy Spirit - the proof being that they spoke in tongues and prophesied. The number of people who received the Holy Spirit could even be counted

(Acts 19:6, 7). From here we know that the baptism of the Holy Spirit is . a phenomenon which can be heard and seen and is not something which is hidden in the heart. The most important effect of the baptism of the Holy Spirit is that we receive strength and spiritual gifts. After the apostles had received the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, the spiritual gifts and power were manifested. The apostles bravely preached the Lord's Words and they had the power to perform miracles and wonders (Acts 4:31,33; 5:12-16; 6:8). The Holy Spirit dwells in the believers to become the guarantee of inheritance (Eph 1 :13, 14). The Holy Spirit also sustains the spiritual life of men (Jn 7:38,39; Eph 3:16); instructs men on spiritual wisdom (1 Cor 2:11,12; Jn 16:13); cultivates spiritual nurture (Gal 5:22); guides men in spiritual work (Acts 8:29; 16:6,7); help in spiritual warfare (Gal 5:16,17; Rom 8:13); showers spiritual love (Rom 5:5); and motivates the body to be resurrected, to be changed and be lifted to heaven on the last day (Rom 8:11; Phil 3:21 ). Therefore, every believer should receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and be subjected to the power of the Holy Spirit, in order that our, edification may be complete and we shall truly become believers belonging to Christ (Rom 8:9).

 

Ill. You shall wash one another's feet (Jn 13:14)

 

These words were also personally spoken by the Lord Jesus. At that time Jesus knew that His hour had come to depart from this world to go to our Father. He had loved His own who were in the world and He loved them to the end. Thus, during He got up and started to wash His disciples' feet, in order to show His love for them. There are three points of significance in the Lord's foot-washing:

 

1. It shows His love. Since the disciples belonged to the Lord, He washed their feet to demonstrate His love for the disciples eternally. Hence, He said to Peter, "If I do not wash you, you have no part in me" (Jn 13:8). To have 'no part' means to have 'nothing to do with'. Therefore the washing of feet shows that believers have a close relationship with the Lord (Rom 8:35-39).

 

2. It shows that the whole body should be sanctified. Although a believer has been baptized and his sins remitted, he still has to seek sanctification of the whole body and should not defile his body by sinning again. Foot-washing implies cleansing as well. Thus, the Lord said, ''He who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet" (Jn 13:1 0). He was referring to Judas who was going to betray Him when He mentioned that the disciples were 'not all clean' (Jn 13:11 ). Therefore, foot-washing signifies that one should seek to sanctify one's whole body (2 Cor 7:1) and the church as a whole should also be perfectly holy (Eph 5:26,27).

 

3. It shows an example of humility. Washing of feet was originally performed by servants in the country of Judah. The Lord Jesus willingly humbled Himself as a servant to wash His disciples' feet personally. He said, "If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet" (Jn 13:14). Since the washing of feet by the Lord is an example of humility, we must follow the Lord's meekness and not be haughty, and to associate ourselves with the ''lowly" (Rom 12:16). Let us not be selfish or conceited, but be humble and count others better than ourselves (Phil 2:3). Following Christ's humility, loving one another and forgiving one another are important teachings of the Lord Jesus. If we are able to follow them, we shall receive the Lord's promised blessings (Jn 13:17).

 

In any case, although washing of feet must actually be performed, the spirit of doing it is even more important. In fact, we need to practice humility daily so that we shall have a part with the Lord. Besides that - seeking holiness and loving one another are also actions which must not be neglected.

 

IV. Do this in remembrance of me (Lk 22:19)

 

This was spoken by the Lord Jesus when He established the Holy Communion on the evening He was to be sold. As He was soon to shed His blood on the cross, He specially established the Holy Communion in order that His disciples would be able to appreciate the significance of His death and the reasons for remembering it. At that time He took an unleavened bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body which is given for you". After the disciples had taken the bread, in the same way the Lord Jesus took the cup, saying, "This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood" (Lk 22:19,20). Since the Lord had shed His blood and had instructed us to administer the Holy Communion in order to remember Him, it is the duty of every believer to do so as a means of thanking His grace. Paul had said, "Jesus loved me and gave Himself for me" (Gal 2:20). Such a great grace as dying and redeeming the sins of men should never be forgotten by believers. Moreover, during the Holy Communion, we are able to eat and drink the

Lord's flesh and blood, which is indeed a rich grace. For He said, "he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day" (Jn 6:54). After partaking the Holy Communion, one's soul can be preserved eternally because His flesh has been given to us so that we may receive life (Jn 6:50). He said, "he who eats my flesh will live because of me" (Jn 6:57). It is indeed an enormous grace that after partaking the Holy Communion, one's soul now lives because of the Lord and that one's body is resurrected because of Him at the last day. Thus, the church has to follow the Lord's example and administer the Holy Communion sacrament constantly. The church has to use only one unleavened bread and grape juice. After having given thanks in prayers, all partake it solemnly in memory of the Lord's death on the one hand, and - on the other hand, in partaking the Lord's body and blood, we are able to be united with Him. At the same time, all the believers are united into that one bread and one body (the church) till the day of the coming of the Lord.

 

V. Keep the Commandments (Mt 19:17)

 

The commandments which the Lord Jesus referred to are the Ten Commandments which had been inscribed personally by God and handed to Moses for the Israelites to obey from one generation to another. The Commandments cannot be abolished (Mt 5:17, 18) because they are the basic laws of morality for man. If they are abolished then man's morality will also be abolished, and the result will be that man will be like beasts.

 

Man is the wisest creature of all things created because he has moral concepts and responsibilities. God is the highest law-maker and all things have their rules and regulations. Man also has his morality laws, otherwise the world will be in confusion and chaos. The Lord Jesus placed importance on God's Commandments. He had clearly stated, "If you would enter life, keep the Commandments". Thus, one who is to receive eternal life would not contravene the Commandments; he would have to fulfill the requirements of the Commandments. If a person does not keep the Commandments and has turned into a rebel in morality, how can he be fit to receive eternal life and enter the heavenly kingdom?

 

Therefore, a Christian should do his duty to keep the Commandments (Eccles 12:13). The first four Commandments concern loving God, the last six Commandments concern loving man. Thus, on love hang all the laws. Love does not go against God and does not harm others. Love, therefore, fulfills the laws (Rom 12:1 0). Although Christians are justified by faith (Rom 5:1) and are saved through grace (Acts 15:11 ), they still must have love to fulfill the laws, i.e. to keep the Ten Commandments. In this way, the truth will be in them (1 Jn 2:4). One has to keep all the Ten Commandments because one will be guilty of all the Ten Commandments even if he fails in only one (Jas 2:10). Keeping the Sabbath day (Saturday) is contained in the fourth Commandment and it concerns the duty of man in loving God. Every believer who is to be saved must keep this Commandment. Therefore, it is wrong for anyone not to observe the Sabbath day.

 

The above were spoken by the Lord Jesus and were taken from each of the four gospel books and also from the Acts of the Apostles. They are teachings of extreme importance and can be regarded as the five principles to salvation which all Christians should keep. Nevertheless, there are many other teachings of the Lord Jesus. Every one of them must also be kept. The Lord Jesus said, "If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples" (Jn 8:31).