The Way, The Truth, & The Life

(Video Version)

Introduction

Moses was a Yahwist—he was not Jewish, he was not Christian, he was not Muslim—Moses was a Yahwist. However, this is not the same Yahwism that you’ll find if you do an internet search of the term, there you’ll find a lot of nonsense about polytheism and the Canaanite religions. Moses worshipped Yahweh (YHWH) in the method of worship that YHWH commanded us to worship Him, by following his Torah (Law). Yahwism is the same religion that was handed down from Adam, through Noah and Shem, to Abraham, and eventually to Abraham’s grandson, Jacob, whom YHWH renamed Israel. This is the religion whose priestly order is called Melchizedek, of which Yeshua Messiah now sits as the High Priest, at the right hand of YHWH.

In this study, we provide a comprehensive exploration of the theological concept of Yahwism, the nature of YHWH (God), the role of Yeshua Messiah (Jesus Christ), the Melchizedek priesthood, the path to salvation, and the structure of Christ’s Church.

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Historical Timeline

YHWH does not change—not even His mind—this means that He is the same today as He was before the first day of creation.

Numbers 23:19 God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?

Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. 

YHWH has known all things from before the beginning of time. This is a reality that the human mind struggles to fully comprehend. The illustration that follows represents one way of envisioning time. It is not intended as doctrine, nor are we claiming that this is precisely how time functions. Rather, it serves as a possible example—one that shows how such a concept could work. We do not need to know the exact mechanics; we only need to recognize that a coherent explanation is possible.

2 Peter 3:8 But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

The seven-day creation account is a prophetic overview of the seven millennia of time. After the 7000 years (7 millennial days) are finished Heaven and Earth will pass away and there will be a New Heaven and a New Earth, with no time stream. Time will cease to exist.

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From Creation

Yeshua Messiah is the Light of the world. He was not created by God, He is God. All of Creation was done through Messiah Yeshua.

John 1:1-18 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was in the beginning with God. ³ All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. ⁴ In him was life, and the life was the light of men. ⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. ⁶There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. ⁷ He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. ⁸ He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. ⁹ The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. ¹⁰ He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. ¹¹ He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. ¹² But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, ¹³ who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. ¹⁴ And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. ¹⁵ (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) ¹⁶ For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. ¹⁷ For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. ¹⁸ No one has ever seen God; God the only Son, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.

John 8:12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Revelation 21:23 And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. 

Did the followers of YHWH know, before Yeshua was born, that He was coming and for what purpose He was coming? The answer is yes, the Gospel was preached to mankind right from the Garden of Eden.

Genesis 3:14-15 YHWH God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. ¹⁵ I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

This was YHWH’s redemptive plan—the Gospel—which would have offered Adam and Eve reassurance and hope regarding their eternal future. When YHWH sent them out of the Garden, it was not an act of abandonment but the beginning of a path toward their salvation. Their immortality was not permanently lost but temporarily withheld. They were to live out their earthly lives in service and obedience to YHWH, experience the first death, and ultimately be resurrected to eternal life on the Day of Judgment.

Adam was certainly the first King of Salem (Peace) and High Priest in the order of Melchizedek, and Yeshua Messiah is the last.

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Melchizedek Priesthood

Moses first refers to the Melchizedek priesthood—and to the tithe—in Genesis 14. However, this does not imply that these institutions originated at that point in history. Genesis functions as a condensed account of the writings and traditions that preceded Moses; it does not provide an exhaustive record of every aspect of early human life. Once the narrative reaches Moses’ own era, the level of detail increases significantly.

For example, it would have been unnecessary for Moses to offer a full description of YHWH’s Law as given to Adam and Eve, since he later records that Law comprehensively from his own vantage point. The absence of an earlier, explicit listing of the Law does not indicate that it was nonexistent; rather, its presence is demonstrated throughout the Genesis narrative. Likewise, the authors who came after Moses—including the New Testament writers—did not need to restate the Law in detail, as Moses had already done so. Nevertheless, their writings also reflect and affirm its ongoing relevance and evidence.

Genesis 14:18-20  And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.) ¹⁹ And he blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; ²⁰ and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!” And Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

Abram knew that he was expected to tithe to the priest-king, which means that he was well aware of who Melchizedek was and who he represented. In fact, it seems that all of YHWH’s people were aware of who and what Melchizedek was all the way up until the end of the Apostolic Age, after which the knowledge seems to have gotten lost.

Melchizedek means Righteous King, and there is only one Righteous King, YHWH. Melchizedek is a priestly order, not a name and not an individual. The priest-king that Abram tithed to was very likely Shem. Shem was not the Righteous King, he was the high priest in the Righteous King’s order of priests. He was the king of the city of Salem, which was Jerusalem.

King David, writing hundreds of years after the earthly Levitical priesthood had been created, still knew all about the Melchizedek priesthood. In Psalm 110, it is clear that he also knew that the final High Priest in the order would be the Messiah.

Psalm 110:1-4 YHWH says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.” ² YHWH sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter. Rule in the midst of your enemies! ³ Your people will offer themselves freely on the day of your power, in holy garments; from the womb of the morning, the dew of your youth will be yours. ⁴ YHWH has sworn and will not change his mind, “You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.”

In the first century AD, YHWH’s people still knew about the Melchizedek priesthood, because the author of Hebrews discusses its significance in a way that implies his readers already had knowledge of it.

The Melchizedek priesthood was created to teach the Law and lead the people in obedience to YHWH. All who followed YHWH were priests in the order and could give their own sacrifices and offerings. Note that Cain and Abel, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob all made sacrificial offerings to YHWH. Jacob also promised to tithe to YHWH.

Genesis 28:18-22 So early in the morning Jacob took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. ¹⁹ He called the name of that place Bethel, but the name of the city was Luz at the first. ²⁰ Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, ²¹ so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then YHWH shall be my God, ²² and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house. And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you.”

Today, we are priests in the order of Melchizedek, under our High Priest, Yeshua messiah. Please see our study on Melchizedek.

1 Peter 2:9-10 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. ¹⁰ Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

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Judah

Jacob’s blessing to Judah was a prophecy of the coming Messiah.

Genesis 49:8-12 “Judah, your brothers shall praise you; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father’s sons shall bow down before you. ⁹ Judah is a lion’s cub; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down; he crouched as a lion and as a lioness; who dares rouse him? ¹⁰ The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.¹¹ Binding his foal to the vine and his donkey’s colt to the choice vine, he has washed his garments in wine and his vesture in the blood of grapes.¹² His eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk.

Revelation 5:5  And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”

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Moses

After YHWH led the Israelites out of Egypt, they sang a song of YHWH’s salvation, this was a foreshadow of what Yeshua will perform at His second-coming.

Exodus 15:1-3 Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to YHWH, saying, “I will sing to YHWH, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea. ² YHWH is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him. ³ YHWH is a man of war; YHWH is his name.

Revelation 15:1-4 Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and amazing, seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is finished. ² And I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire—and also those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands. ³ And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations! ⁴ Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.”

YHWH told Moses about the coming Messiah, and Moses relayed the Gospel message to the Israelites.

Deuteronomy 18:15-19  “YHWH your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen— ¹⁶ just as you desired of YHWH your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of YHWH my God or see this great fire any more, lest I die.’ ¹⁷ And YHWH said to me, ‘They are right in what they have spoken. ¹⁸ I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. ¹⁹ And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him.

Moses was a prophet and judge, Miriam was a prophetess, and Aaron was the High Priest in a new earthly Levitical order. The responsibility of the priesthood was to teach the Law, offer sacrifices to YHWH, and represent the people before YHWH. This Levitical priesthood is subordinate to the Melchizedek priesthood, as the author of Hebrews explains.

Hebrews 7:1-10 For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, ² and to him Abraham apportioned a tenth part of everything. He is first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem, that is, king of peace. ³ He is without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever. ⁴ See how great this man was to whom Abraham the patriarch gave a tenth of the spoils! ⁵ And those descendants of Levi who receive the priestly office have a commandment in the law to take tithes from the people, that is, from their brothers, though these also are descended from Abraham. ⁶ But this man who does not have his descent from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. ⁷ It is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior. ⁸ In the one case tithes are received by mortal men, but in the other case, by one of whom it is testified that he lives. ⁹ One might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, ¹⁰ for he was still in the loins of his ancestor when Melchizedek met him.

Melchizedek has no father or mother or genealogy because it is not an individual, but a priesthood, and the one being called Melchizedek is the High Priest. The earthly priesthood temporarily went to the Levites, while the Israelites were safeguarding the Land for Abraham’s Offspring, Yeshua Messiah. Once Yeshua Messiah came, the priesthood reverted back to Melchizedek and our High Priest is now in Heaven.

The prophets all proclaimed Messiah’s coming and what He would accomplish. Peter reminded the Jewish leadership of this on Pentecost, when they were confused by the assembly speaking in tongues.

Acts 2:22-36 “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— ²³ this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. ²⁴ God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. ²⁵ For David says concerning him,

“‘I saw the Lord always before me,
    for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken;
²⁶ therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced;
    my flesh also will dwell in hope.
²⁷ For you will not abandon my soul to Hades,
    or let your Holy One see corruption.
²⁸ You have made known to me the paths of life;
    you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’

²⁹ “Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. ³⁰ Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, ³¹ he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. ³² This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. ³³ Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. ³⁴ For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says,

“‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at my right hand,
³⁵     until I make your enemies your footstool.”’

³⁶ Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”

Peter also preached this message to other Jews at the Temple:

Acts 3:17-26 “And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. ¹⁸ But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled. ¹⁹ Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, ²⁰ that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, ²¹ whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago. ²² Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you. ²³ And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people.’ ²⁴ And all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those who came after him, also proclaimed these days. ²⁵ You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.’ ²⁶ God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.”

The Gospel was first proclaimed in the Garden of Eden, ensuring that all who lived prior to the first century AD were fully able to place their faith in the coming Messiah and be justified on the Day of Judgment. Physical sight was never a prerequisite for belief; just as believers today trust in Him without seeing, so too did those in the earliest generations. The path to salvation has remained unchanged since the beginning of creation. Nothing about its substance shifted after Yeshua’s crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension, for His atoning work extended to those who lived before His earthly ministry as well as to those who came after.

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Nature of God

The full majesty of YHWH is too great for the human eye to behold, or the human brain to comprehend, or the human body to contain. So, while Yeshua Messiah contained the full deity of YHWH, his human body could not hold all of Him; and the Holy Spirit who lives in us is the full deity of YHWH, but cannot be all of Him. Therefore, YHWH exists as the Father even while simultaneously existing as the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Since the Father exists even while the Son also exists, it makes sense that they can communicate with one another. The Son can pray to the Father. The Father can instruct the Son.

For Yeshua to be fully human, He necessarily experienced the full course of human life, from infancy to adulthood. This experience included the natural process of learning, which is intrinsic to the human condition. Consequently, Yeshua did not possess the entirety of YHWH’s knowledge while in His earthly body; such fullness could not have been contained within human limitations. Instead, He received the knowledge required to fulfill His earthly mission as it became necessary.

Luke 2:52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.

Hebrews 2:14-18 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, ¹⁵ and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. ¹⁶ For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. ¹⁷ Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. ¹⁸ For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

Because He did not operate with the complete omniscience of YHWH during His incarnation, He engaged in prayer and sought guidance—an essential aspect of genuine human experience. This reliance does not imply separation from YHWH; rather, it reflects the mystery of the incarnation, in which Yeshua fully embraced humanity while remaining united with the Father.

Our analogy for the nature of YHWH:

• YHWH is like the ocean, far too vast for any container to hold.
• Yeshua is like a glass mason jar filled completely with ocean water. He is fully YHWH held within the container of a human body.
• The Holy Spirit is the small bit of ocean water in each one of millions of glass mason jars. He is fully YHWH held within the bodies of the individual believers.

Father and Son is a relationship that we are familiar with, which helps us to have a rudimentary grasp of what is far too complex for us to fully comprehend, that is the nature of God. We must understand that the titles, Father and Son, are analogous. That is to say that they should not be taken in the most literal sense of what a human father is to his son or vice versa. For example, a human father cannot be one with his human son. But God is not human, He is God, and He is One.

There are many examples in scripture that indicate that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are one. Let’s look at a few of them.

Example #1

John 14:6-7 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. ⁷ If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” ⁸ Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” ⁹ Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? ¹⁰ Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. ¹¹ Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.

Yeshua clearly stated that to see Him (the Son) is synonymous with seeing the Father.

Conclusion: the Father and the Son are one.

Example #2

John 14:18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”

An orphan is someone whose parent has died (not their older brother). Yeshua was about to die. He promised not to leave them as orphans. Therefore His death would leave them as orphans. Therefore He is the Father. Then He says, “I will come to you,” referring to the Holy Spirit that descended 10 days after Yeshua’s ascension. The word “I” means that He is the Holy Spirit.

Conclusion: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are all one.

Example #3

Colossians 2:8-10 See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. ⁹ For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, ¹⁰ and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.

In Yeshua Messiah, the “whole fullness of deity dwells bodily“. Our analogy matches this statement perfectly. “(A)nd you have been filled in him”, we are filled with the Holy Spirit at baptism.

Conclusion: the Son and the Holy Spirit are one.

Example #4

Romans 8:9-11 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. ¹⁰ But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. ¹¹ If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

Paul tells us here that the Holy Spirit, Spirit of Christ (the Son), Spirit of Him who raised Yeshua from the dead (the Father) are all one and the same.

In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul tells us that it was the Father who raised Yeshua from the dead.

Ephesians 1:17-20 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, ¹⁸ having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, ¹⁹ and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might ²⁰ that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places,

Conclusion: the Holy Spirit, the Son, and the Father are all one.

Example #5

Acts 20:28 Therefore, take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit placed you as overseers, to shepherd the church of God, which He purchased through His own blood.

Paul’s speech at Ephesus tells us that the Holy Spirit purchased the Church of God through His own blood! Therefore, the Holy Spirit and the Son are one.

Conclusion: the Holy Spirit and the Son are one.

Example #6 

Matthew 1:18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 

Luke 1:35 And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.”

Looking through the lens of our ocean analogy, these verses make perfect sense. The Holy Spirit is the part of the ocean that enters into human beings, therefore, the Holy Spirit came into Mary and the power of the Most High created a baby inside of her that was completely filled with the ocean (Holy Spirit).

Conclusion: the Holy Spirit and the Son are one.

Example #7

Isaiah 9:6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

The child, who is the Son, shall be called Everlasting Father.

The one identified as the “Counsellor” is the Holy Spirit:

John 14:26  But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. (RSV)

Conclusion: The Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit are one.

Please see our study Who is YHWH Elohim to get to know YHWH: His Name, His character, His Nature, and His plan for all those who Love Him.

The following is the book, A Case for Oneness Theology, by Pastor Steven Ritchie, of Global Impact Church of the Apostolic Faith. You can read it here, or download it to read later.

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John 17:1-26 When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, ² since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. ³ And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. ⁴ I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. ⁵ And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.

⁶ “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. ⁷ Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. ⁸ For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. ⁹ I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. ¹⁰ All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. ¹¹ And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are, one. ¹² While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. ¹³ But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. ¹⁴ I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. ¹⁵ I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. ¹⁶ They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. ¹⁷ Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. ¹⁸ As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. ¹⁹ And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.

²⁰ “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, ²¹ that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. ²² The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, ²³ I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. ²⁴ Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. ²⁵ O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. ²⁶ I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

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Path to Salvation

There is only one path to salvation and that is through Yeshua Messiah.

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

From the mouths of the prophets, since the beginning of time, people have known that Yeshua was coming. Therefore, YHWH’s faithful people have believed in Yeshua Messiah since the fall in the Garden of Eden.

For the purpose of this study we will give a brief overview of the Path to Salvation, but for an in-depth examination, please see our study series, here.

Repentance

The natural result of knowing how you have failed to live up to the standard that YHWH has set for you, is the desire to repent and seek His forgiveness. True repentance comes with the sincere desire to live in obedience to YHWH.

Matthew 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, Repent! For the Kingdom of Heaven has drawn near.

Mark 1:15 And after John was delivered up, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom of God, and saying, The time has been fulfilled, and the kingdom of God draws near. Repent and believe in the Gospel.

2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow as to the promise, as some deem slowness, but is long-suffering toward us, not having purposed any of us to perish, but all of us to come to repentance.

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Baptism

The call to repent and be baptized is seen throughout the New Testament. Baptism is the symbolic washing away of sins and the rebirth into a new life of obedience to YHWH. Baptism follows repentance and is a personal decision that must be made by the individual for themselves.

Matthew 28:19-20 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Acts 2:38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

Acts 22:16 And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on His name.

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Obedience

Matthew 7:22-23  “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²² On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ ²³ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

Matthew 19:17  And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.”

John 14:15  If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

Luke 11:28 But He said, No; rather, blessed are those hearing the Word of God, and keeping it.

Obedience is what makes your faith alive.

James 2:17 So also faith, if it does not have works, is dead by itself.

James 2:22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works.

James 2:26 For as the body is dead apart from the spirit, so also faith is dead apart from works.

You cannot be saved by faith that is dead.

Romans 2:13  For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified.

1 John 2:1-6 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. ² He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. ³ And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. ⁴ Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, ⁵ but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: ⁶ whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

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Love

The product of obedience is love, this is because obeying YHWH is how we are to love Him.

1 John 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.

In fact, all of YHWH’s commandments are just a blue print for loving Him!

Matthew 22:36-40  “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” ³⁷ And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. ³⁸ This is the great and first commandment. ³⁹ And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. ⁴⁰ On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

Both of these commandments are from the Torah.

Deuteronomy 6:5 You shall love YHWH your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.

Leviticus 19:18 You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am YHWH.

Yeshua said that all of the Law depends, or hangs, on these two commandments. The first four of the ten commandments, as well as loving your neighbour, are how to love YHWH. The last six of the ten commandments are how to love your neighbour. The rest of the statutes in the Torah are just detailed instructions on how to obey each of the ten commandments.

The Law is a blueprint for our lives and everything truly is all about love! The Law is not a burden, it is liberty!

James 1:25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

Psalm 119:97 Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day.

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Belief

Believing in YHWH means that you believe that He can and will fulfill all of His promises. This belief can only come through knowing what YHWH has already accomplished and what He promises to accomplish in the future.

Acts 24:14 But I confess this to you that according to the Way, which they say is a sect, so I worship the ancestral God, believing all things according to that having been written in the Law and the Prophets,

“The Way” that Paul is talking about is Yahwism.

Romans 10:9-13  because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. ¹¹ For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” ¹² For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. ¹³ For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

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Faith

The definition of faith is: the confidence—displayed through our obedience to Torah—that YHWH will fulfill all of His promises.

Numbers 23:19 God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?

1 Peter 1:8-9 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, ⁹ obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

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Justification

The term “justified” is a legal term, it implies being declared innocent in a court of law. In scripture, it is referring specifically to the court of Law that Yeshua will be presiding over on Judgment Day.

In order to have a judgment in a court of Law, you must have a law that is the standard to which a person is compared. That’s pretty straight forward. Justification is the act of declaring us innocent of crimes against the Law (sin), which means that we will be compared to the standard of perfect obedience to the Law (as demonstrated by Yeshua Messiah). As covered in our study What is Faith?, Faith requires repentance and obedience to the Law. That repentance and subsequent obedience is why Yeshua will forgive us for our crimes against the Law of YHWH (sin), forgiveness means declaring us innocent.

Yeshua Messiah will judge you innocent of crimes against the Law because you proved your confidence in Him through your effort to live in obedience to the Law.

Titus 3:7 that being justified by His grace, we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

As we said in our study What is Faith?: When we repent, Yeshua Messiah forgives us (His grace) for our sins; which is possible because He paid the price for them with His blood. His forgiveness (grace) justifies us, making us Salvation-ready. However, justification is not a one-and-done system, it is a lifelong commitment. The Blood of our Messiah deserves nothing less.

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Salvation

Matthew 7:13-14 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. ¹⁴ For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the free gift of God is everlasting life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Titus 2:11-14 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, ¹² training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, ¹³ waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, ¹⁴ who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

Hebrews 9:27-28 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, ²⁸ so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

On the Day of Judgment, everyone still in the grave will be raised to stand before YHWH Elohim. Those who did not have faith in Yeshua Messiah will not be found written in the Scroll of Life and will be thrown into the Lake of Fire. All those found written in the Scroll of Life will stand before YHWH to be judged based on their obedience to His Law. This judgment will determine the hierarchy for eternity in the New Jerusalem.

Psalm 25:5 Lead me in Your Truth, and teach me; for You are the God of my Salvation; on You I wait all the day long.

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Church Hierarchy

The Apostles laid the foundation for the Assembly of Messiah. They had the authority to lay the foundational doctrines of the church, because:

1. they had been taught directly by Yeshua Messiah during his earthly ministry, and
2. because He “downloaded” the Gospel into their minds!

Luke 24:44-49 Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” ⁴⁵ Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, ⁴⁶ and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, ⁴⁷ and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. ⁴⁸ You are witnesses of these things. ⁴⁹ And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”

Revelation 21:14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

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There are seven roles of responsibility in the early church, not counting the apostles and Christ. None of these were intended to be titles, and none are part of a hierarchy of authority. These roles, their definitions, and their responsibilities (not an exhaustive list) are as follows:

1. Saints
   • All believers
   • Greek word: ἅγιος (hag’-ee-os); sacred (physically, pure, morally blameless or religious, ceremonially, consecrated):—(most) holy (one, thing), saint.
   • Responsibilities include:
     • personal holiness (1 Pet. 1:15-16, Gal. 5:22-23),
     • community involvement (Acts 2:44-45, Heb. 10:24-25),
     • spread the Gospel (Matt. 28:19-20, Matt. 5:13-16),
     • stewardship (1 Pet. 4:10), and
     • obedience (John 14:15).
     • Love God and love your neighbour as yourself (Matt. 22:34-40).
   • also called priests in the order of Melchizedek
   • the Roman churches have perverted the words saint and priest into things unrecognizable compared to their Biblical meaning.
2. Servants
   • Greek word: διακονέω (dee-ak-on-eh’-o); to be an attendant, i.e. wait upon:—(ad-)minister (unto), serve.
   • Greek word: διάκονος (dee-ak’-on-os); to run on errands; an attendant, i.e. (genitive case) a waiter (at table or in other menial duties):—servant.
   • Responsibilities include:
     • serving, attending, miracles, healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues (Acts 6:2-6, 1 Pet. 4:7-9),
     • plus all the responsibilities of saints.
   • also called pastors, deacons, and ministers in scripture, however, the Roman churches have perverted those words into titles that have no connection to their Biblical meaning.
3. Shepherds
   • Greek word: ποιμήν (poy-mane’); a shepherd (literally or figuratively):—shepherd.
   • Responsibilities include:
     • watch over Yeshua’s flock (1 Pet. 5:2),
     • leading with knowledge and understanding (Jer. 3:15),
     • to equip Yeshua’s people for works of service (Ephesians 4:11-12),
     • carry each other’s burdens (Gal. 6:2);
     • and all the responsibilities of saints and servants.
   • also called pastors in scripture, however, the Roman churches have perverted that word into a title that has no connection to its Biblical meaning.
4. Elder/Overseer (used interchangeably)
   • Greek word: πρεσβύτερος (pres-boo’-ter-os); older; as noun, a senior; specially, an Israelite Sanhedrist (also figuratively, member of the celestial council) or Christian “presbyter”:—elder(-est), old.
   • Greek word: ἐπίσκοπος (ep-is’-kop-os); a superintendent:—overseer.
   • Responsibilities include:
     • give instruction in sound doctrine,
     • rebuke those who contradict sound doctrine,
     • care for the church of God (Acts 20:28-32); and
     • all of the responsibilities of saints, servants, and shepherds.
   • sometimes translated “bishops”, however, the words bishop and elder have been perverted into titles that have no connection to their Biblical meanings.
5. Preachers
   • Greek word: εὐαγγελιστής (yoo-ang-ghel-is-tace’); a preacher of the gospel:—evangelist.
   • Responsibilities include:
     • making disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19);
     • proclaim the Word of God (Acts 13:1-5); and
     • all of the responsibilities of saints, servants, shepherds, and overseers.
6. Teachers
   • Greek word: διδάσκαλος (did-as’-kal-os); an instructor (genitive case or specially):—doctor, master, teacher.
   • Responsibilities include:
     • teach the Word of God (2 Tim. 4:2); and
     • all of the responsibilities of saints, servants, shepherds, overseers and preachers.
7. Prophets
   • Greek word: προφήτης (prof-ay’-tace); a foreteller (“prophet”); by analogy, an inspired speaker; by extension, a poet:—prophet.
   • Responsibilities include:
     • revelation of God’s will (1 Pet. 4:11),
     • call to repentance,
     • pursuit of justice (Amos 5:24),
     • speak God’s truth into present circumstances (Matt. 10:19-20); and
     • all of the responsibilities of saints, servants, shepherds, overseers, preachers, and teachers.

All those who follow Yeshua Messiah are saints, not just those few people that fit select criteria invented by men.

Philippians 1:1-2 Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons: ² Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 2:19-22 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, ²⁰ built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, ²¹ in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. ²² In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

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The New Testament also teaches the “priesthood of all believers.” This principle indicates that every follower of Christ has direct access to God through prayer and worship, participating meaningfully in the life of the church.

1 Peter 2:4-5 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, ⁵ you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Revelation 1:6  and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

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The apostles/disciples became aware that there was too much work for them to handle on their own, and that they would need the assistance of people who were less mature in their knowledge, but still knowledgeable enough to assist in serving the growing number of saints. They called these saints, servants (deacons), and they took on the responsibility of serving, ministering, and attending to the church body. This was not a title of authority the way it is used today, but an added responsibility.

Acts 6:2-6 And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. ³ Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. ⁴ But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” ⁵ And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. ⁶ These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them.

Those chosen to serve (deacons) in the assemblies had to meet qualifications.

1 Timothy 3:8-13 Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for dishonest gain. ⁹ They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. ¹⁰ And let them also be tested first; then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless. ¹¹ Their wives likewise must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, faithful in all things. ¹² Let deacons each be the husband of one wife, managing their children and their own households well. ¹³ For those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.

Despite Paul giving a standard for the “wives” of deacons and specifying that deacons must be the husband of one wife, the role was not limited to men, as Phoebe is a deacon mentioned in Paul’s letter to the Romans.

Romans 16:1-2 I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church at Cenchreae, ² that you may welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints, and help her in whatever she may need from you, for she has been a patron of many and of myself as well.

It is interesting that the ESV translated Strong’s g1249 διάκονος diákonos as “deacons” in Paul’s letter to Timothy and “servant” in his letter to the Romans. By using two different English words, it gives the reader the false impression that they are different roles, one that a woman is allowed to fill and one that she is not; however, they are both the same in Greek—diakonos.

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The role of leadership, from a biblical standpoint, exists to equip the saints for service, not to dominate or exclude believers.

Ephesians 4:11-14 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, ¹² to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, ¹³ until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, ¹⁴ so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 

Mark 10:42-45 And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. ⁴³ But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, ⁴⁴ and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. ⁴⁵ For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

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Paul wrote to Timothy about the qualifications for overseers. They are to be mature, manage their households well, and be able to instruct others.

1 Timothy 3:1-7 The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. ² Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, ³ not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. ⁴ He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, ⁵ for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church? ⁶ He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. ⁷ Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.

Why does Paul not specify that the overseer must be a wife of one husband? It is not because the overseer cannot be a women (in the same way as we saw with the role of deacon); rather, it was because women were never married to more than one man at a time. Polygamy existed in the Old Testament (see Jacob), but only for the men. Paul’s instruction here solidifies what we already knew from the scriptures—that YHWH’s plan for marriage is one man and one woman.

Paul likewise instructs Titus on the qualifications for elders.

Titus 1:5-9 This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you— ⁶ if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination. ⁷ For an overseer, as God’s steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, ⁸ but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. ⁹ He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.

Scripture indicates that assemblies commonly appointed multiple elders for each congregation.

Acts 14:23 And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.

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Philip had been one of the original seven servants (deacons) from Acts 6, but over the years he had gained heavier responsibilities, and by Acts 21, had become an evangelist. This, along with what Paul wrote in his letter to the Corinthians, shows that people were not meant to remain in the introductory levels of responsibility, but rather to grow in their responsibility as their knowledge would allow.

Acts 21: 8-9 On the next day we departed and came to Caesarea, and we entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him. ⁹ He had four unmarried daughters, who prophesied. 

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Despite being women, Philip’s daughters had reached the heaviest burden of responsibility attainable in the hierarchy of Christ’s Church—prophets. This is further evidence that the early church did not limit the role of women, or anyone else, as long as they had the knowledge (education) level necessary for the responsibilities of the roles. Please see our study, Women in Ministry.

1 Corinthians 12:37-41 Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. ²⁸ And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. ²⁹ Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? ³⁰ Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? ³¹ But earnestly desire the higher gifts, and I will show you a still more excellent way.

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We can see that the burden of responsibility is added at each level of the “hierarchy” of Christ’s Church, while the responsibility of the previous level also remains. The weight just keeps increasing. Peter, while addressing the elders, said that they were still to be shepherding the flock (shepherds) while exercising oversight (elders/overseers). They did not cease being shepherds when they became overseers.

1 Peter 5:1-4 So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: ² shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; ³ not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. ⁴ And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.

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The prophets were gifted by the Holy Spirit to proclaim the word of God, giving timely exhortation, especially in new church communities.

Acts 13:1-5 Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. ² While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” ³ Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.⁴ So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. ⁵ When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had John to assist them.

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The hierarchy of Christ’s Church is grounded in responsibility rather than personal authority. No single individual is meant to rule over the congregation; instead, a plurality of elders provides accountability, safeguards doctrinal accuracy, and helps prevent anyone from elevating themselves beyond what is appropriate.

Elders emerge organically within the ecclesia to shepherd through example and persuasion, not positional authority. The absence of a clergy-laity divide means that all believers can minister as led by the Spirit, using their gifts for the common good. Leaders are called to embody Christ’s example of servanthood, renouncing the Roman Church’s model of authority.

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YHWH’s Temple

What was the purpose of Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem? We read from Biblehub.com:

The precursor to the Temple in Jerusalem, was the Tabernacle. We read about the importance of the Tabernacle also at Biblehub.com:

The Temple of Solomon was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, however, as his army was advancing on Jerusalem, the prophet Jeremiah took the Ark of the Covenant from the Temple and hid it in a cave away from the Babylonians. We read about this in 2 Maccabees, from the Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition:

2 Maccabees 2:1-8 One finds in the records that Jeremiah the prophet ordered those who were being deported to take some of the fire, as has been told, ² and that the prophet after giving them the law instructed those who were being deported not to forget the commandments of the Lord, nor to be led astray in their thoughts upon seeing the gold and silver statues and their adornment. ³ And with other similar words he exhorted them that the law should not depart from their hearts. ⁴ It was also in the writing that the prophet, having received an oracle, ordered that the tent and the ark should follow with him, and that he went out to the mountain where Moses had gone up and had seen the inheritance of God. ⁵ And Jeremiah came and found a cave, and he brought there the tent and the ark and the altar of incense, and he sealed up the entrance. ⁶ Some of those who followed him came up to mark the way, but could not find it. ⁷ When Jeremiah learned of it, he rebuked them and declared: “The place shall be unknown until God gathers his people together again and shows his mercy. ⁸ And then the Lord will disclose these things, and the glory of the Lord and the cloud will appear, as they were shown in the case of Moses, and as Solomon asked that the place should be specially consecrated.”

Without the Ark of the Covenant, YHWH’s presence was no longer with Judah. The Temple was completely destroyed and the people were taken captive to Babylon.

YHWH’s presence returned with the birth of Yeshua Messiah, a human body completely filled with the Holy Spirit, fully human and fully God. Yeshua was the Temple of YHWH.

John 2:19-22 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” ²⁰ The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” ²¹ But he was speaking about the temple of his body. ²² When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.

YHWH’s presence returned to mankind ten days after Yeshua’s ascension, at Pentecost, as the Holy Spirit entered into the apostles and they became the Temple of YHWH.

Acts 2:1-4 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. ² And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. ³ And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. ⁴ And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

1 Corinthians 3:16 Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?

1 Corinthians 6:19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,

YHWH’s Temple is not made of stone, it is made of flesh. We are the physical Temple of YHWH!

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There is a common misconception within Roman Christianity, that the man Peter was the rock on which Yeshua would build His church. This understanding comes from the following passage in Matthew.

Matthew 16:13-18 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” ¹⁴ And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” ¹⁵ He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” ¹⁶ Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” ¹⁷ And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. ¹⁸ And I tell you, you are Peter [petros], and on this rock [petra] I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

The word for the name “Peter” is the Greek word petros, which means a piece of rock; whereas the Greek word used for rock is petra which means a mass of rocks.

Strong’s g4074 Πέτρος pet’-ros: apparently a primary word; a (piece of) rock; as a name, Petrus, an apostle:—Peter, rock.

Strong’s g4073 πέτρα pet’-ra: a (mass of) rock (literally or figuratively):—rock.

So, after Peter said that Yeshua is the Christ, the Son of the living God, Yeshua said: And I tell you, you are a piece of rock, and on this mass of rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

The Rock that Yeshua said He would build His church on is petra, a mass of rocks, which is all of us. Yeshua was saying that Peter would be one rock out of many rocks on which He would build His church. This is in keeping with scripture, the writings of both Paul and Peter, which say that the Apostles are foundation stones but the cornerstone is Yeshua.

Ephesians 2:19-22 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, ²⁰ built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, ²¹ in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. ²² In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

1 Peter 2:4-7 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, ⁵ you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. ⁶ For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” ⁷ So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” ⁸ and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.

The saints (that’s us) are living stones (petros) that YHWH is using to build a holy temple in the Lord, a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, so that we may offer spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God through Jesus Christ (Yeshua Messiah). 

This is the Temple. This is the Church. The Temple of YHWH is not going to be built on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. The Church is not a building in Rome, built over the grave of Peter. The Temple is the Church built on the cornerstone of Christ with living stones, of which Peter and the other disciples were the first. We are Christ’s Church, we are the Temple of YHWH!

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Holy of Holies

The Ark of the covenant was the presence of YHWH with the Israelites, just as the Holy Spirit has been the presence of YHWH in us since the first century. The Ark was kept in the Holy of Holies, which was the rear third of the Tabernacle of Moses.

Exodus 26 gives us the dimensions of the walls and curtains that make up the Tabernacle and from those measurements we can calculate its size. On the exterior it was 30 cubits long by 10 cubits wide by 10 cubits high. The Holy of Holies was at the back of the temple, and the interior measured 9 cubits wide, by 9 cubits long, by 10 cubits high. Therefore, the volume of the interior of the the Holy of Holies was 810 cubits cubed. (9x9x10=810)

Exodus 25 gives us the dimensions of the Ark of the Covenant and from those measurements we can calculate the volume of space it inhabits. The Ark was 1.5 cubits by 1.5 cubits by 2.5 cubits, therefore the volume that the Ark took up was 5.625 cubits cubed. (1.5×1.5×2.5=5.625)

We can calculate how many Arks would fit in the Holy of Holies by dividing the volume of the interior of the Holy of Holies by the volume that the Ark takes up (810/5.625=144). In this way we can calculate that 144 Arks (presence of YHWH) can fit inside the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle that Moses built. This 144 symbolically represents YHWH’s people at Horeb.

Moses spoke to the people at Horeb and gave them a blessing that they would grow to be one thousand times as many people.

Deuteronomy 1:10-11 YHWH your God has multiplied you, and behold, you are today as numerous as the stars of heaven. ¹¹ May YHWH, the God of your fathers, make you a thousand times as many as you are and bless you, as he has promised you! 

If you take the symbolic number of 144 and multiply it by one thousand you get the symbolic number that represents those redeemed from the earth when Yeshua returns for His bride, which is 144,000.

Revelation 14:1-3 Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. ² And I heard a voice from heaven like the roar of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder. The voice I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps, ³ and they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.

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Home Fellowships

The ecclesia was never intended to become a static institution. From the beginning, the use of home fellowships was not a temporary accommodation to persecution but the ideal model for Yeshua’s Assembly. The contrast between this biblical pattern and many modern church practices is striking, prompting us to ask: What does the New Testament actually present as the model for church life?

What we find is a network of small, local fellowships within each town or city, functioning together as the Body of Christ with frequent, community‑based interaction throughout the week. Meeting in homes created an environment where deep relationships could flourish and every believer could participate actively. This intimate setting fostered genuine community, mutual care, and a shared life shaped by the presence and leading of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 16:3-5 Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus…Greet also the church in their house...

1 Corinthians 16:19 The churches of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Prisca, together with the church in their house, send you hearty greetings in the Lord.

Colossians 4:15 Give my greetings to the brothers at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house.

Philemon 1:2 and Apphia our sister and Archippus our fellow soldier, and the church in your house:

The home fellowship is characterized by the following key components:

• Mutual Encouragement:
  • Hebrews 10:24-25 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, ²⁵ not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
  • 1 Thessalonians 5:11 Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.
• Participatory Ministry
  • 1 Corinthians 14:26 What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up.
  • 1 Peter 4:9-11 Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. ¹⁰ As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: ¹¹ whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
• The Lord’s Supper
  • Acts 2:46-47 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, ⁴⁷ praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
  • 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, ²⁴ and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” ²⁵ In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” ²⁶ For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
• Making Disciples and Teaching
  • Matthew 28:19-20 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.
  • Romans 15:14 I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another.
  • Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
• Equipping for Service
  • Romans 12:6-8 Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; ⁷ if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; ⁸ the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.
  • Ephesians 4:12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ
• Mutual Accountability
  • Hebrews 3:13 But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.
  • Galatians 6:1-2 Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. ² Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

The earliest church gatherings in the New Testament were centered not around sermons but around a shared meal, where believers came together as a family shaped by the presence of God. They understood that church buildings were not God’s dwelling place—His people were. Because of this, their life together was marked by small, relational gatherings where the Holy Spirit, rather than human strategy, was trusted to build and guide the church.

This Spirit-led community functioned without rigid hierarchies, embracing non‑hierarchical servant leadership and encouraging every believer to participate as an active, Spirit‑led member rather than a passive spectator. Their relationships reflected genuine brotherhood rather than “spiritual fathers and sons,” and their trust rested in the Holy Spirit rather than institutional control. In this environment, they experienced freedom from the burdens of human traditions and discovered a church shaped by God’s presence rather than human systems.

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Summary & Conclusion

Yeshua Messiah is the Way, Truth, and Life ​ Yeshua Messiah is the sole path to salvation, as stated in John 14:6. ​ He is the fulfillment of YHWH’s redemptive plan, which was revealed to humanity from the beginning of creation. ​ The Gospel message was preached from the Garden of Eden, and the faithful have always been called to place their trust in the coming Messiah for salvation. ​

YHWH’s Unchanging Nature ​ YHWH is eternal, unchanging, and omniscient, as emphasized in Numbers 23:19 and Hebrews 13:8. ​ His plan for humanity has remained consistent throughout history, and His promises are trustworthy and eternal. ​

The Melchizedek Priesthood ​ The Melchizedek priesthood, established by YHWH, predates the Levitical priesthood and is eternal. ​ Yeshua Messiah now serves as the High Priest in this order, fulfilling the role of teaching the Law, leading the people in obedience, and offering the ultimate sacrifice for humanity’s sins. ​

The Path to Salvation ​ ​Salvation is a process that begins with knowledge of YHWH’s Law and prophecies, leading to belief, faith, repentance, baptism, obedience, love, and ultimately justification. ​ True faith is demonstrated through obedience to YHWH’s commandments, which are a blueprint for loving Him and others. ​ Salvation is a lifelong commitment to living in accordance with YHWH’s Law and trusting in Yeshua’s atoning work.

The Nature of YHWH ​ YHWH exists as the Father, Son (Yeshua Messiah), and Holy Spirit, united as one. ​ Our ocean analogy illustrates this concept: YHWH is the vast ocean, Yeshua is a mason jar filled with ocean water, and the Holy Spirit is the ocean water within individual believers. ​ This analogy explains the mystery of the oneness of God’s nature. ​

Christ’s Church and Its Hierarchy ​ The Church is built on Yeshua Messiah as the cornerstone, with the apostles as the foundation stones. ​ All believers are saints and priests in the order of Melchizedek, with increasing responsibilities as their knowledge and maturity grow. ​ The Church is not a hierarchical institution but a community of believers united in service, mutual accountability, and active participation. ​

YHWH’s Temple The Temple of YHWH is no longer a physical structure but the collective body of believers, who are the living stones of a spiritual house. ​ The Holy Spirit dwells within each believer, making them the Temple of YHWH. ​

Home Fellowships as the Ideal Model ​ The home fellowship is the biblical model for church life, emphasizing mutual encouragement, participatory ministry, shared meals, and Spirit-led community. ​ This model fosters genuine relationships, accountability, and active involvement of all believers, free from rigid hierarchies and institutional control. ​

The Gospel has been proclaimed since the Garden; it was not something newly introduced in the first century. YHWH created humanity with the ability to choose between good and evil—obedience or disobedience—granting us genuine free will. He knew that most people would choose not to obey Him, and that even those who desired to follow Him would still make mistakes, just as Adam and Eve did in the Garden. From the beginning, YHWH’s plan was to provide the blood sacrifice that would atone for the sins of all who choose obedience yet fall short, making it possible for everyone who places their faith in Him to spend eternity with Him in the New Jerusalem.

May you be blessed by this study. Shalom.

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