Foundations:
The Essentials of Our Faith
Based on Hebrews 6.1-3, this Bible study explores and explains the topics described by the Biblical author as “elementary” and “foundational.” These topics are just as fundamental to our faith today as they were in the first century.
Placing the Cornerstone: Faith In God
Second on our list of elementary topics is faith in God, which is founded in the scriptures (Old Testament). The Jewish people have seen God act in miraculous ways, and they have seen Him inhabit the Holy of Holies. Since they reject Jesus Christ as Messiah, they are not inhabited with the Holy Spirit, so they see YHWH as a single entity.
Our Christian understanding changes the interpretation from a literal ‘One’ to a spiritual ‘One.’
Christian faith recognizes a ‘triune God’ comprised of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is Jesus Himself who claims to be one with the Father, which would in fact sound like blasphemy to the unbelieving Jewish mind.
Faith in Jesus
The Gospel writer John provides us with arguably the focal passage of the Bible, and tell us that we must believe in the Son of God. Books have been written on this passage, and plenty of good theology comes out of this single verse, but we’re laying a foundation, so we’ll focus on the belief component of John 3.16.
Our Savior himself extends upon our belief in John 14.