Have you ever wondered if those quaint little sayings and catchphrases have any truth to them? A lot of them . . . probably not. But what about this one, or at least the inverted version of it: “All for one and one for all”? This phrase was originally coined by Alexander Dumas in his work The Three Musketeers. Do you think that might have something to do with biblical truth?
Dr. George Sweeting, former president of Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, Ill., made a great inclusive/exclusive (all for one) statement about the gospel of Jesus Christ. He said, “The message of the gospel is inclusive, but the method of the gospel is exclusive.” In other words, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ brings salvation to the whole world (all), but the only way for the world to receive that salvation is through Jesus Christ (the One). Or as the Bible puts it:
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16 NIV)
“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12 NIV)
Well, it’s not too much of stretch to connect the Musketeers’ cry to biblical themes, if you make “one” to mean Jesus, and “all” to mean the world (you and me). The other side of that phrase works as well if “all” means all who have been saved by the One, Jesus. But I’m not sure that’s what Alexander Dumas was thinking.
There’s another inclusive/exclusive statement found in the apostle Paul’s letter to the Ephesians: “There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all, in all, and living through all” (Ephesians 4:5-6 NLT). Do you see how Paul moved from “one” to “all”?
“For the death He died, He died to sin once for all.” (Romans 6:10 NAS)
Here at the Intentional Living Center, we daily use the phrase “ONE THING.” When Dr. Randy is talking about ONE THING, he’s usually talking about your intentions, your goals, the one thing you can turn into a habit to fix or improve something. But he often teaches on the BIG ONE THING: relationship with Jesus Christ. And that is the ONE THING that is above and beyond all other things. There is only ONE faith; there is only ONE Lord; there is only ONE God and Father. And that needs to be our ONE THING. And it is entirely accessible and doable. Why? Because that same God and Father is God and Father of all and over all and in all. In other words, He’s with you, and all you have to do is make Him your ONE THING.
