The One True Doctrine

It seems that the only thing that surrounds the word ‘doctrine’ these days is fear or stubborn sectarian pride. Yet the apostle Paul esteemed doctrine higher than any other aspect of the Gospel, in so much that he made the following profound statement regarding it: “Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee” (I Tim. 4:16). So would you like to know what really is the true doctrine of Christ? See if this sounds right: First of all Jesus said, “If any man will do his will, he shall know of THE doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself” (Jn. 7:17). So we know that it takes doing the will of God to be able to know the doctrine, so then what IS the will of God? “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Mat. 22:37-40). That is as much the will of God as it gets, so to speak, so let’s look at what it takes to fulfill these commandments of the love of God: “And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us” (Rom. 5:5). And for good measure let’s add one more to that: “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” (I Pet. 1:22). So in these two passages we see that the holy Ghost is what imparts the love of God into our hearts, and that it is the same holy Ghost that purifies our hearts unto the honest, sincere love of the brethren. Seeing that these things are what constitutes the will of God, as we have seen from the scriptures already; there is just one more element of this equation that we need to look at.

The word 'doctrine’ actually just means “something that is taught.” With that in mind consider the following scriptures: “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things” (Jn. 14:26). And, “Howbeit when the Spirit of truth is come, [it] will guide you into all truth” (Jn. 16:13). And once more: “But the anointing [the Spirit] which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him” (I Jn. 2:27). It’s evident that loving God and one another is WHAT the Spirit will teach those who are led by it into holiness and out of sin, which is what the will of God is (I Thess. 4:3,9). So the pure, simplistic truth of the matter is that the doctrine of Christ IS the Spirit, and that serves to reason because the doctrine of Christ is alive, not a dead letter of words: “Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life” (II Cor. 3:6). And again, “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Heb. 4:12). And finally: “For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power” (I Cor. 4:20). None of these scripture passages are referring to words on paper my friend. They are rather declaring that the true doctrine of Christ is the living power of God that imparts his love into our hearts and souls, thereby washing sin OUT of our hearts and souls. And that is exactly what the apostle Paul conveyed to Timothy: “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (II Tim. 1:7). THAT is the doctrine of Christ! Amen.