The Church Has One Foundation (#348)
Another Resource: The Desire Of Ages
This song is #348 in the newer SDA Hymnal. The words were written by Samuel J. Stone in 1866. The music itself was written in 1864 by Samuel S. Wesley. In the SDA Hymnal the name of the “lyricist” (the one who wrote the words) is always on the left side. And how do I know this? Because on the right side, not only is the name of the composer given, but also the name of the tune, before it became a hymn! There’s also a series of numbers and letters that describe the “rhythmic pattern” of the entire piece of music! This is a little “off topic”, but I just thought you might find it interesting!
This series of articles is called “Defending Lyrics” and is important because God’s Word, the Bible is important! And I think that we are called by God to make sure that all of the songs we sing are in complete agreement with the teachings of God’s Word! This is why I chose the Category Title of “Defending Lyrics”, because each article will be “defending the lyrics” with appropriate Biblical evidence of the truths found in the lyrics of the song in question! In addition to the defense, I will include a link to the best performance of the hymn I can find on YouTube! So, if you’re ready my friends, we’re gonna strap on our thinking caps…and begin!
“The church has one foundation, ‘Tis Jesus Christ her Lord;” This one might seem obvious to most, but let’s find the evidence, OK? “He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ”. Matthew 16:15-20 KJV Please notice that this reference includes the “full context” of the conversation and that Peter (the name literally means “pebble”) is NOT the “rock” to which Jesus is referring in verse 18! No, Jesus is the “rock” in verse 18 and He says, “upon this rock I will build my church”! As all building contractors know, when you build a house, you start with the “foundation”! So, indeed, we have absolute proof that the first line of this song is correct!
“She is his new creation, by water and the word;” OK, time to get serious! “Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God. Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: for we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones”. Ephesians 5:20-30 KJV And you thought Ephesians 5 was about the “role” of husbands and wives? Well, it is that too! But the primary teaching has to do with the relationship between Jesus and the Church, or His Bride! Do I need to say any more? And that establishes the second line!
“From heaven He came and sought her to be His holy bride; With His own blood He bought her, and for her life He died”! We’re taking two lines together here, because some of the Bible references we are using will also apply to the 4th line as well as the 3rd! Please look again at the reference in the previous paragraph, taken from Ephesians 5, because it also applies to lines 3 and 4 of the first verse! There are several appropriate Bible references for these phrases! The whole book Song Of Solomon applies here, especially chapters 5-8! And so does the Laodecian Message, found in Revelation 3:14-22! And Hebrews 12! And we should remember that just in case the Laodecian Message was “not enough” to cause SDA’s to fall deeply enough in love with Jesus, then the book Song Of Solomon was given specifically for us, as well as the story of Mary Magdalene being dragged naked before Jesus to be stoned, because it perfectly portrays the description of the Laodecian Church in Revelation 3! And this also reminds me of the story in Hosea, about how Hosea purchased his unfaithful wife and then set her free! I want you to remember these things, the next time you sing lines 2, 3, and 4 of the first verse of this hymn!
“Elect from every nation, yet one ‘oer all the Earth,” Let’s look back a few years. Remember the Waldenses? And how about the Huguenots? These two groups were not specifically related, but they followed the same Bible! And they were part of the same “church” or “body of Christ”! They were just as surely “one body” as any of the other followers of God! And how do we know this? Because, while their knowledge of the Bible might have been incomplete in some ways, they were willing to risk their lives to follow the truths they had discovered in God’s Word! Because they worshipped on the true Sabbath! And because they chose to willfully ignore the “traditions of men”! “This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men”. Matthew 15:8, 9 KJV The key to understanding this is found in verse 8! “but their heart is far from me”! The Waldenes and the Huguenots did not have this problem! No, they were ready to die for their Savior! Who are the “elect”? They are the ones who really love Jesus more than anything or anyone else! Yet they are “one” because it is the blood of Jesus that flows through their veins, and that makes them all brothers and sisters!
“Her charter of salvation, One Lord, One faith, One birth;” “I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism (or “birth”), one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all”. Ephesians 4:1-6 KJV
“One holy name she blesses, partakes one holy food,” “Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever”. John 6:53-58 KJV How can we “eat” Jesus? The answer is found in Revelation 22:2 “In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations“. What do we have that can represent leaves right now, before Jesus returns? That’s right! The Bible! Bible study is how we “eat Jesus”!
“And to one hope she presses, with every grace endued.” I’ll admit, I had to look up the meaning of the word “endued”! It means something that is “bestowed” or “put on”! Grace only comes from God. He bestows grace on us, and we “put it on” by obeying God’s Law and emulating Christ! Need Biblical evidence? “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me”. Galations 2:20 KJV “But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof”. Romans 13:14 KJV
“Though with a scornful wonder, men see her sore oppressed, though foes would rend asunder the Rock where she doth rest”. These two lines belong together! The same men who view the church “with scornful wonder” are the ones who would “rend asunder the Rock”, Jesus Christ! When Jesuit infiltrators start convincing long time SDA’s to start believing in a “longer Creation week” they are trying to “rend asunder” the Rock, Jesus Christ! And they are attempting to steal away all of the true “rest” of the church! This “rest” is the result of trusting in Genesis as the literal truth about God and the story of Creation Week!
“Yet saints their faith are keeping, their cry goes up “How Long?”.” Yes, God’s faithful people pay no attention to the idiotic babblings of so called scientists, who have no foundation in reality! They believe ALL of God’s Word, enduring persecution and derision of all kinds! They plead with God for His soon return, yet they understand the heart of God is not “willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance”! And they put their highest priority on turning others from worldly pursuits to following God in faith! See Romans 1, 8, 12, John 6,10, 13-17, Hebrews 11, 12, and all of Song Of Solomon!
“And soon the night of weeping shall be the morn of song”. Yes, the morn of song refers to the second coming of Jesus, but the singing of the true saints of God begins quite a while before that! How do I know? The answer is found in Song Of Solomon 6:10 “Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners”? This describes the faithful SDA members during the “little time of trouble”, which will begin at any moment!
“‘Mid toil and tribulation, and tumult of her war,” Yes, God’s faithful SDA members will be “at war” not only with the “world”, but also with SDA’s who are such in name only, during the “little time of trouble”. It’s not that they (TRUE SDA’s) want to be “at war” with other SDA’s but that those SDA’s (in name only) will quite literally see TRUE SDA’s as “enemies”! See Last Day Events pages 97-104 And it is during this time that it will become evident, both to the world and to angels, who is REALLY on the Lord’s side!
“She waits the consumation of peace forevermore;” “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son”. Revelation 21:1-7 KJV
“Till with the vision glorious her longing eyes are blest” “The vision glorious” is what “the church” will see during the second coming, as well as on the return trip to Heaven! It will take some time to “sink in” that 6,000 years of sin is “finally ended”! By the way, the millennium is NOT spent on Earth, but in Heaven! There remains NO LIFE AT ALL on the Earth, except for Satan and his evil angels for 1,000 more years! “And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour”. Revelation 8:1 KJV Half an hour of prophetic time is equal to exactly 7.5 days of actual time! However, this Bible reference does not say “exactly half an hour”, rather it says “about half an hour”! This Bible reference says that heaven itself will be “silent” for this period of time! Why? Obviously, because everyone who used to be in Heaven will be on their way to this Earth for about half of that time…and on their way back to heaven along with the saints for the other half of that time! And we know that the 4th Commandment regarding the true Sabbath Day will be properly kept by ALL of us, including the holy angels! So the entire “round trip” (at least for the angels) will take less than 7 days! This will require that, for at least some of the time, we’ll all be traveling at least 100 times the speed of light and probably more!
This is not difficult for angels! “O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name. And whiles I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God for the holy mountain of my God; yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation. And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding. At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to shew thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision”. Daniel 9:19-23 KJV So here we see that Gabriel, the angel who took the position formerly occupied by Lucifer (before he fell), is able to travel all the way from heaven, which is somewhere beyond the Nebula of Orion, all the way to Earth, during Daniel’s prayer! Let’s say that Daniel’s prayer took maybe 10 minutes. That’s got to be much more than 500 times the speed of light! And remember, this is without any space ship! “Move over…Star Trek”!
“And the great church victorious shall be the church at rest.” Yes, we will be “at rest” in a spiritual sense…but not in a physical sense! Because one of our jobs in Heaven for those 1,000 years, will be to judge ALL of the wicked, including Lucifer and all of the angels who followed him! This judgment we are doing has already been done by all 3 members of the Godhead, but this is to “audit” or “double check” to see if God “missed anything”! Somehow I kinda doubt that we’re going to find any “mistakes”! Yep…I know you want Biblical evidence! “Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints? Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life? If then ye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church. I speak to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? No, not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren? But brother goeth to law with brother, and that before the unbelievers. Now therefore there is utterly a fault among you, because ye go to law one with another. Why do ye not rather take wrong? why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded? Nay, ye do wrong, and defraud, and that your brethren”. 1 Corinthians 6:1-8 KJV The “church”, which includes all of us, will be at “rest” because we will be “auditing” God’s government! We will also be getting to know the One whom Song Of Solomon describes so vividly in the greatest love story ever told! How about the “victorious” part? See Revelation 3:14-22 KJV and Song Of Solomon 6:10 KJV!
(Additional note: In some SDA hymnals the first line is changed from the way it appears in this article to “The church’s one foundation is Jesus Christ her Lord”! Even though technically it means the same thing…I very strongly object to this change! The original words are like the beautiful effects of a prism, while the new words put a serious crack in that prism that ruins the beauty!)
Here’s the link I promised to the best rendition of this hymn on YouTube!
Please check out our other Articles!