Dancing to Doctrine: Informed Faith
“The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to Him, ‘Follow Me.’ Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, ‘We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."—John 1:43-45
Dancing is two people moving together as one. Dancing with God means that we are invited to move with Him—to enter into a dynamic relationship—filled with action and experience. God in Christ has already made the first move in securing the relationship. Christ is the embodiment of God—for the sake of man. Christianity then, is primarily about a Person. And it is through our relationship with that Person that we can enter into the life God has for us. But dancing to doctrine is nothing more and nothing less than learning the steps of the dance as well as obtaining a more clear identity of our dancing partner. Rather than static, doctrine is fluid and continually clearing away layers of unbelief or wrong notions about our partner God.
When Jesus first encountered Philip, He said, “Follow Me.” What Philip had before him was an invitation to dance. What enabled him to enter into that dance was doctrine. Look at his response in verse 45, “Philip found Nathanael and said to him, 'We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.'” Without Philip’s awareness of the prophecies surrounding God’s Messiah in the Old Testament, there would have been no reason to follow Jesus. It was his knowledge of Scripture that enabled him to enter into the dance of God. He was clear on what to look for and when He came into contact with Christ, His faith was informed to follow in discipleship.
While many of us do not have the familiarity with the Old Testament that Philip had, we do have the New Testament and its continual testimony to the person and work of Jesus Christ. The apostle John wrote, “…but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name”—John 20:31.
Dancing to doctrine means having a faith informed enough to follow God. It is through the proclamation of God’s Word that the invitation is extended to us, just as it was to Philip. Jesus says, “Follow Me.” The question we must ask ourselves is: are we prepared to follow? Are we ready to take the step of faith necessary to follow Christ? Is our faith informed enough to accept His call? May we all learn the joy of dancing to doctrine because doctrine enables us to experiencing the joy of dancing with God Himself. Amen.
Dancing is two people moving together as one. Dancing with God means that we are invited to move with Him—to enter into a dynamic relationship—filled with action and experience. God in Christ has already made the first move in securing the relationship. Christ is the embodiment of God—for the sake of man. Christianity then, is primarily about a Person. And it is through our relationship with that Person that we can enter into the life God has for us. But dancing to doctrine is nothing more and nothing less than learning the steps of the dance as well as obtaining a more clear identity of our dancing partner. Rather than static, doctrine is fluid and continually clearing away layers of unbelief or wrong notions about our partner God.
When Jesus first encountered Philip, He said, “Follow Me.” What Philip had before him was an invitation to dance. What enabled him to enter into that dance was doctrine. Look at his response in verse 45, “Philip found Nathanael and said to him, 'We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.'” Without Philip’s awareness of the prophecies surrounding God’s Messiah in the Old Testament, there would have been no reason to follow Jesus. It was his knowledge of Scripture that enabled him to enter into the dance of God. He was clear on what to look for and when He came into contact with Christ, His faith was informed to follow in discipleship.
While many of us do not have the familiarity with the Old Testament that Philip had, we do have the New Testament and its continual testimony to the person and work of Jesus Christ. The apostle John wrote, “…but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name”—John 20:31.
Dancing to doctrine means having a faith informed enough to follow God. It is through the proclamation of God’s Word that the invitation is extended to us, just as it was to Philip. Jesus says, “Follow Me.” The question we must ask ourselves is: are we prepared to follow? Are we ready to take the step of faith necessary to follow Christ? Is our faith informed enough to accept His call? May we all learn the joy of dancing to doctrine because doctrine enables us to experiencing the joy of dancing with God Himself. Amen.
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