Faith-ful

God is faithful.

1Cor. 1:9 – God is faithful…

1 Cor. 10:13 – There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful…

1 Thess. 5:24 – Faithful is he that calleth you…

2 Thess. 3:3 – But the Lord is faithful…

2 Tim. 2:11 – If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful…

Faithfulness in the saint, therefore, is a godly trait that should be developed and maintained.

1 Cor. 4:2 – Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.

1 Cor. 4:17 – For this cause have I sent unto you Timotheus, who is my beloved son, and faithful in the Lord…

Eph. 1:1 – Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:

Eph. 6:21 – But that ye also may know my affairs, and how I do, Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord…

Col. 1:2 – To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ…

Col. 1:7 – As ye also learned of Epaphras our dear fellowservant, who is for you a faithful minister of Christ;

Col. 4:7 – All my state shall Tychicus declare unto you, who is a beloved brother, and a faithful minister and fellowservant in the Lord:

Col. 4:9 – With Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother…

1 Tim. 6:2 – And they that have believing masters, let them not despise them, because they are brethren; but rather do them service, because they are faithful and beloved, partakers of the benefit. These things teach and exhort.

2 Tim. 2:2 – And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.

However, the notion of faithfulness is often distorted from what the term is intended to convey, and many times today’s religion promotes concepts of faithfulness that have nothing at all to do with what God is concerned with. Many times, faithfulness is equated with regular church attendance, tithes, or some other bodily exercise of religion that puts one in good standing with church leadership and in reputation with others who deem themselves to be part of “the faithful.” However, as we look at God’s word, we find that faithfulness involves much more than simply being in the right place at the right time. Those types of things might be outcomes of particular aspects of faithfulness, but of themselves they in no way provide the litmus test for proving true faithfulness.

The faithful in Christ Jesus are those that are full of the faith. Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God. (Rom. 10:17). Therefore, faithfulness is indicative of those that have been partakers of the godly edifying which is in faith and have been built up in the doctrine, having their inner man sanctified by taking heed to the doctrine. With the renewed mind of the Spirit and having put on the new man, the faithful in Christ Jesus have entered into their vocational training and are those who are laboring in the furtherance of the Father’s will. It is this fullness of the faith in the inner man that equips the saint to labor as a faithful minister.

Col. 1:3-8 – We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints, For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel; Which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth: As ye also learned of Epaphras our dear fellowservant, who is for you a faithful minister of Christ; Who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit.

1 Cor. 4:17 – For this cause have I sent unto you Timotheus, who is my beloved son, and faithful in the Lord, who shall bring you into remembrance of my ways which be in Christ, as I teach every where in every church.

Eph. 6:21-22 – But that ye also may know my affairs, and how I do, Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, shall make known to you all things: Whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose, that ye might know our affairs, and that he might comfort your hearts.

Col. 4:7-9 – All my state shall Tychicus declare unto you, who is a beloved brother, and a faithful minister and fellowservant in the Lord: Whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose, that he might know your estate, and comfort your hearts; With Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They shall make known unto you all things which are done here.

2 Tim. 2:2 – And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.

Faithfulness involves being trustworthy in our handling of the doctrine as it has been delivered to us from our Father. This encompasses aspects of our own devotion to it as it relates to our personal edification and our reliability in attending upon His words for our own growth, but it also involves being trustworthy in holding to the doctrine and esteeming it above every other competing wisdom that would oppose it.

Titus 1:9 – Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.

Titus 3:8 – This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly…

Many times this involves withdrawing ourselves from situations in which it is manifest that our brethren have no interest in being corrected by the word of God. Sometimes the conflict this creates is the last thing we personally would want, but when given the choice whether to continue in the truth or compromise, faithfulness must choose the Father’s word over every other comfort and relationship. Sometimes this involves the risk of being misunderstood. Sometimes this involves the sacrifice of our own selves to the misinformed opinions of others. Sometimes this involves the stress and prayers that, in a figurative sense, turn our sweat to great drops of blood. Nevertheless, faithfulness chooses our Father’s will despite the personal cost. Faithfulness is not cheap.

Faithfulness is not loyalty to a particular man, nor a particular place, nor a particular activity. Faithfulness is loyalty to the will of the Father as made known to us in His word. He has magnified His word above all His name, and let us be faithful to esteem His word more than our necessary food.