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The Basis & Expression of Christian Unity |
The basis of our unity is not anything that man can do or accomplish, think or feel. Our unity is not based on our particular doctrines or on warm feelings towards each other. It is not based on our organisations or denominations. It is not based on our efforts or preferences. It is not based on who our human leaders are or whether they agree with one another. Our unity is based instead on the very nature and character of God Himself. “That they may be one as We are One” Jesus prayed. The perfect unity between Father, Son and Holy Spirit – One God. “I in them and You in Me” is how Jesus described the process of our being brought into complete unity. This is a work of God, not of man. It is a work accomplished by the cross and established in our lives through our acceptance of being crucified with Christ, dead to self and Christ now living in and through us. Members of One Family
Being born again, born of God, involves being born into the family of God and becoming children of God. Every child in the family of God is related to every other child – we are one family with one Father over us all and caring for us all.
They say “you can chose your friends but you can’t choose your relatives” – the same is true in our spiritual family. It is our heavenly Father who has chosen each one of us. We don’t get to choose which people to accept or which to reject, which people will be our brothers and sisters – to reject one whom our Father has chosen is to reject Him who chose us.
Regardless of which nation or tribe we were born into or which ethnic group we belong to, we are now all children of God. Tribe, ethnicity, social standing and sex are all now irrelevant to our relationship with one another for now we are all members of the same family with the same Father and same inheritance.
The bonds between us as members of God’s family are even stronger than the bonds between members of earthly families.
When we are born again by the Spirit of God we are born into His family, we are no longer alone but one family with everyone else who has been adopted by the Father. We do not just enter into relationship with God as our Father but also with everyone else in His family as our brothers and sisters, our closest relatives, our kin, our blood. But the unity that God brings us into through Christ is even deeper than this. Members of One Body
We have been brought into one body through the work of one Spirit. We are not just members of the one family, as close as that is, we are also members of the one body of Christ. Each and every one of us who has responded in repentance and faith to Jesus Christ as our Saviour and Lord, regardless of what church, denomination, ministry group or movement we belong to, has been woven by the Spirit of God into the one body of Christ. Jesus is not a single-headed monster with multiple bodies – a Jewish body and a gentile body, a Baptist body and a Presbyterian body, a Methodist body and a Salvation Army body, a Catholic body and an Orthodox body, a Churches of Christ body and an Assemblies of God body and thousands of other bodies for each of the thousands of denominations and then one more each for all those not affiliated with any denomination. Scripture makes it very clear there is only one body of Christ and we are each members of that body – He has made us one.
Think on that for a moment - Jesus is head over all things; powerfully sovereign over all and filling all in all. Can we grasp how awesome and wondrous Jesus is? The One who nourishes and cherishes us. Let that vision of our Saviour and King cause us walk in the love and fear of the Lord, that we may enjoy making much of Christ above all else. This awesome Christ is the One to whom we belong, the One in whom we live and move and have our being. We belong to Jesus. We are in Jesus, and He in us. All that we were was crucified with Christ and all the He is dwells in us. As Paul wrote: “it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me”. We experience all of this together in one body: “…now indeed there are many members, yet one body”. Redeemed together. Justified together. Forgiven together. Created anew together. Every need met together. Loved by God together. Cherished and nourished by Christ together. Perfected together. Living forever together—and all of this glorious unity created in Christ and for the glory of Christ. What we share with one another in Christ is a life and an inheritance and a union so great and so profound that it surpasses the value of all other human relationships and all inheritances and can never end.
Our unity as one body is in Christ. In His love, in His perfection, in His holiness, in His grace, in His humility, in His tenderness, in His compassion, in His righteousness, in His truth, in His light, in His anointing, in His unity with the Father, in Christ. Then we discover just how integrate a unity our being one body in Christ creates: “…individually members of one another.” Members (parts) of one another. I am part of you. You are part of me. I am like your eye or your foot. And you are like my ear or my hand. Each of us is part of the other individuals in the body. That’s who I am. I am not only a member of Christ with you, I am also a member of you in Christ. This means that my identity, as God has created me to be, cannot be known except in serving you in Christ. And yours cannot be known except in serving others in Christ. That’s what hands and feet and eyes and ears do. They serve. That’s why we have gifts. Our true individual selves can be known only by living in a relationship of serving others and being served by others in the body of Christ. But it is even deeper than this, our service is not as someone separate to the other but as part of them, affected by what they are going through.
If we are in Christ we are members of His one body. This unity we have been brought into in Christ is so intricately woven together that we are now not just separate individuals but also members of one another, deeply invested in one another and as such participate in one another’s sufferings and joys. Our unity is not an optional extra – it is part of our identity as members of the Christ’s body, it is part of who we are as Christians:
Under One Head When we realise how intimately connected and greatly impacted we are by what other members of the body do we can be tempted to try to control them. If your sin is going to bring pain and shame to me I want to stop you from sinning. Yet God has not given any of us the position of head to exercise such control over other members of Christ’s body. Likewise, while we are to honour and serve one another God has not called us to claim allegiance to or slavishly obey another in place of Christ. Just as Jesus is not a multi-bodied monster, He is likewise not a multi-headed monster. There is only one head of the church, of the body of Christ, and that is Jesus Christ Himself.
Our growing up and becoming mature in Christ is dependent on every one of us ministering to (serving) one another. We are not dependent on the pastor ministering to us alone, but on every member of the body of Christ ministering to us and us to them in order that we may all reach unity in the faith and attain to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ – this is what apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers are to equip us to do (Eph. 4:11-13). All direction for what every member of the body does comes from the head. The shoulder does not determine what the hand should do – both receive their instructions directly from the head and in obeying the head’s direction work together to perform their tasks. So, what is the shoulder to do if it finds the hand ignoring or disobeying the head’s instructions, or the hand to do if it notices the shoulder failing to do its work? Speaking the truth in love simply direct the other part back to Christ their head, for it is His instructions not ours that they need to heed. We are united because we all have the one head, the one mediator with God, the one Lord, leader and ruler over all, Christ Jesus.
Paul addressed the sectarian attitude of the Corinthians:
Notice that Paul thinks there is something wrong if we, who are now members of Christ, behave like mere men. “I’m only human” is not an excuse he would accept for carnal behaviour. We are a new creation in Christ Jesus (2 Cor. 5:17), our “only human, mere man” was crucified with Christ so now we are called and empowered to live Christ (Gal.2:20). Is Jesus fighting over whether He is “of Paul” or “of Apollos”, Lutheran or Wesleyan, Evangelical or Pentecostal? No! Then why would we who are in Christ? Paul, even as an apostle to the Corinthians, made no claim to be head of that church but merely a servant through whom they believed in Christ who is the head: “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then, neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. Now he who plants and he who waters are one…” Paul is challenging the Corinthians to lift their focus up off himself and Apollos, and back onto God where it belongs. It is not about whose teaching we listen to, it is about God who has given us new life. It is not about whose ministry we think we get the most out of, it is about Jesus who has purchased us with His blood. “Why are you fighting over whether to follow Apollos or myself”, Paul is asking, “when we are one?” Paul and Apollos had different functions and giftings but were one, members of each other in the body of Christ under the headship of Christ. Likewise for any leaders in the body of Christ now – we are just servants through whom others came to believe in Jesus; we have many differences but none-the-less we are one, members of each other in the body of Christ under the headship of the only head – Christ Jesus. Loving One Another Our unity as members of the body of Christ is expressed in love for one another.
Our demonstrating a functional unity with one another is not about establishing anything new but simply coming into agreement with, and living the reality of, what the Holy Spirit has done in bringing each one of us into the family of God and body of Christ through salvation. This unity that we have as members of the one family and one body is evidenced by our love for one another, without which we do not know God. Our loving one another, that is loving every member of the body of Christ, is again not an optional extra but simply evidence that we know God, live in Christ and have the Holy Spirit in us. Christ, our head and Lord, loves and cares for every one of us as members of His body. He expresses much of that love through our actions toward one another. We cannot be properly joined to the head and fail to love each and every member of His body. Love in Action
The apostle John made it clear that God’s love lived through us is an action love that involves laying down our lives for one another in very practical ways just as the early church in Acts did.
Such love in action is humble, gentle, compassionate, kind, patient, truthful and forgiving:
The unity that we have in Christ as members of His body is to express itself in such humble, giving, forgiving love. It is for this that Jesus has given us the glory He received from the Father (John 17:22). And it is through this that the world will know that God has sent His Son and loves us (John 17:23). Celebrating Difference
There is diversity in our unity. We are all members of the one body of Christ but different members of a body have different shapes, sizes, textures, colours and functions. Having a different emphasis, worship style, focus of ministry, gifting or calling is all part of being members of the one body. Paul addressed this very clearly in his first letter to the Corinthians:
We tend to gravitate towards those in the body who are most like us, and that can be good – the fingers sit next to each other, joined to the hand. But in doing so we need to recognise that the body also consists of people who are not at all like us and we need them because they are not like us. “The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I don’t need you!’ ” Not one person nor one church nor one movement can fulfil all the work of Christ in our world, or even in a local area. None of us is gifted to do everything or to impact everyone. We need the whole body of Christ, working together under His direction, each with their different giftings and callings, ‘that the world may know God has sent His Son’. While we may fellowship and work more closely with some members of Christ’s body than others we are to ‘have equal concern’ for each and every member. We are to demonstrate the same love in action towards every member of Christ’s body, whether they are someone like us or someone very different to us; whether they are a group of people like us (eg of the same ethnicity or denomination) or a group of people very different to us who do not speak the same way we do or do things the same way that we do. Often our witness has been hampered by trying to make people more like us, not in the ways in which we imitate Christ but in our cultural practices. God loves diversity – look around, He didn’t even make two snowflakes the same. How Do We Deal With The Things That Can Cause Division? What About Doctrine? Doctrine in the Scriptures never just refers to an intellectual belief system, it’s not about giving mental assent to a doctrinal statement but about truly living the scriptures in every area of our lives. Different churches and denominations have developed in different cultures different ways of expressing in words what they believe and these differences in the use of language can lead to misunderstandings and apparent conflicts in belief. Paul exhorted Timothy: “Remind them of these things, and solemnly chargethem in the presence of God not to wrangle about words, which is useless and leads to the ruin of the hearers.” (2 Tim. 2:14) It is not our word choice or sentence structure that defines our doctrine, but our actions.
Differences in doctrine do not preclude those who are in Christ from being one body under one head. Our unity in Christ is not dependent on all holding to exactly the same doctrines on every point. It is dependent on our believing in Jesus (John 3:14-18, 17:20; Acts 16:30-31, Rom. 10:9-13). Our being born into Christ is a gift of God’s grace not an achievement of our works or doctrinal purity (Eph. 2:8-9). This does not mean that doctrine is unimportant, it is vital for maturing in Christ (Eph. 4:11-15), it is just not the basis of our unity in Christ – Jesus Himself is that basis. We are not one body because we all hold to the exact same system of beliefs or because we all live out those beliefs in exactly the same way, as we continue walking with Christ we will be heading towards that point but we come from very different places and in some areas may still have a long way to go.
Some who are born again and part of the body of Christ, therefor one with us, may not yet have renewed their minds with the washing of the word in many areas and still be thinking and living in the futility of their thinking in the ways (doctrines) of the world:
Paul’s insistence that the Ephesians no longer live in the futility of their thinking was not so that they could come into unity with him but because they were in unity with him “for we are all members of one body”. Since sound doctrine is about properly applying the scriptures to how we live our lives false doctrine manifests itself in sinful actions or improper applications. We are exhorted: 'Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. 'But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. 'Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfil the law of Christ' (Gal. 6:1-2). God has united us in Christ to help us on the journey of coming into agreement with Him in our thoughts, words and actions (right doctrine):
This same word which is translated ‘encourage’ in Hebrews is also translated as ‘appeal’ in 1 Timothy when Paul is instructing on correcting different groups of people within the church.
1969 epiplēssō (from 1909/epí, "upon" intensifying 4141/plēssō, "hit") – properly, to strike in a vulnerable place; (figuratively) striking someone with sharp, insensitive (brutal) words. In everything and in every way we are exhorted to treat other members of the body of Christ with respect, as honoured members of our own family, when we disagree with their doctrine. We are not encouraged to shout our disagreement through a megaphone or post it all over facebook but to quietly come alongside the one we think is in error and respectfully discuss it with them. There is a time for open rebuke before all who can be influenced by the one exhibiting false doctrine, and that is with elders (those in church governance) who do not repent when privately confronted with their sin: “Elders…who continue in sin, rebuke1651 in the presence of all, so that the rest also will be fearful of sinning.” (1 Timothy 5:19-20) Note that the word translated “rebuke” in this verse (elégxō 1651-convince) is very different in meaning to that used in Vs 1 (epiplēssō1969 - strike). We see an example of this as Paul recounts his confrontation with Peter in Galatians 2:11-21:
Paul writes: “I opposed436(436 anthístēmi (from 473/antí, "opposite/against" and 2476/hístēmi, "to stand") – properly, take a stand against completely, i.e. a "180 degree, contrary position"; (figuratively) to establish one's position publicly and conspicuously – "holding one's ground," refusing to be moved ("pushed back") him to his face”. Paul’s public stand against Peter’s unsound doctrine was done “to his face”, not behind his back. He did not vilify Peter nor accuse him of being a false apostle or heretic but clearly declared to Peter and to all how Peter’s actions in this matter were not in accordance with sound doctrine which declares that: “a man is not justified by the works of the Law but faith in Christ Jesus… For through the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh Ilive by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.” Paul recounts this episode to the Galatians only because they had fallen prey to the same false doctrine of trying to add keeping all the works of the law to faith in Christ for right standing before God. Paul wants to let them know that the doctrine is false regardless of who espouses it, even when someone as great and honoured as Peter started living part of this doctrine Paul had to correct him. Even though Paul was bringing correction to major doctrinal error in the churches in Galatia he still considered himself one with them, united in the body of Christ. In Ch1 Vs 2 he had referred to them as the churches (ekklēsía(from 1537/ek, "out from and to" and 2564/kaléō, "to call") – properly, people called out from the world and with the outcome of the Church (the mystical body of Christ) in Galatia, not the heretics in Galatia. In verse 11 he refers to them as brethren (ἀδελφός adelphós; from 1 (as a cop. pref.) and δελφύς delphus (womb); a brother:― those who came out of the same womb). In 3:5 Paul talks about God having given these Galatians who are getting caught up in false doctrine the Holy Spirit and working miracles among them, which he saw as evidence of God’s Spirit in them. In 4:19 Paul refers to them lovingly as “my children”. While we are to respectfully and lovingly take a stand against doctrinal errors that undermine the basics of the gospel not everyone who believes something different to what we believe needs us to try to conform them to our opinion and certainly such variance of opinion is no excuse for being unloving or acting like they are not a part of us and united with us in Christ. Paul spent all of Romans 14 and 1 Corinthians 8 exhorting us to be careful not to cause our brother to stumble if his opinion on some things is different to ours.
Sometimes we need to lay down our right to “know everything” and tell everyone else what we “know”, proving ourselves so “strong, spiritual and knowledgeable” and instead lower ourselves to just love and walk with our weaker brother or sister in whatever ways will help build their relationship with Christ. What about Denominations and Other Groupings? We can see this in Jesus’s prayer in John 17:20-23:
So the number and variety of Christian institutions, whether named as denominations, movements, networks, para-church organisations, fellowships, organised churches or any other name, is neither an indication of our unity nor of disunity. Such institutions joining together to form one institution in itself brings us no closer to living our unity in Christ and their remaining as separate institutions takes us no further away from such lived unity. Our unity in Christ is not an institutional unity it is a spiritual unity. It is not lived out through adopting a common vision or system of governance or set of religious practices or statement of beliefs or statement of purpose – such things are what give cohesion to institutions but not what makes us one in Christ. Jesus is what (Who) makes us one – He has given us His glory, which He received from the Father, so that we may be one as He and the Father are one. Each and every individual, one by one, coming into unity in Christ as we believe in Him.
We need to place obedience to Christ above obedience to any earthly authority (whether church or secular), obeying them in all things except where they demand disobedience to God’s word. Our unity is in Christ, we are members of one another as we are members of His body by the Spirit of God, not by our belonging to any organised group. This unity which we have been birthed into in Christ demands that we demonstrate love for one another in all things, regardless of whether the other is part of our organised group (institution) or not. Everything that is not an expression of love in recognition that we are members of one another in Christ is sin, flesh and worldliness. Merging different churches, denominations or other Christian institutions will not bring Christian unity – dealing with our sin and worldliness will.
True & False Unity – a Case Study from Israel & Judah
After Solomon’s death the Kingdom of Israel was divided with ten tribes revolting against Solomon’s son Rehoboam and only Judah and Benjamin remaining with the house of David (1 Kings 11-12). By the time Rehoboam’s son Abijah reigned over Judah, Israel had cast out the priests of the Lord, the sons of Aaron and the Levites fled to Judah, made for themselves priests like the nations around them and rose in war against Judah (2 Chron. 13). God’s hand was upon Judah, and Israel was defeated but the waring between the two kingdoms continued through the reign of Asa and down to Jehoshaphat’s reign (2 Chron. 14, 16). Jehoshaphat spent the first years of his reign fortifying Judah against the kingdom of Israel (2 Chron. 17:1-2). In the third year of his reign Jehoshaphat sent out priests and Levites over the land to instruct the people in the Law, as was commanded for a Sabbatical year in Deuteronomy 31:10–13. He was a man who loved God and wanted to lead his nation in righteousness. Obviously it was not good for Israel and Judah to be at war. It weakened both nations and made them more susceptible to their heathen neighbours. Israel had been one nation since the time of Moses and this division into two waring nations – sons of Jacob fighting against and killing one another – was not good and clearly not what God had established them to do. Jehoshaphat had surely heard about God moving in Israel. There was Elijah’s great revival on Mt Carmel where the very fire of God came down (1 Kings 18). There were the flourishing schools of the prophets throughout Israel. He would also have heard how God fought for Ahab twice to miraculously defeat the Syrian army (1 Kings 20). He may even have heard about Ahab’s humble repentance after Elijah confronted him over Naboth’s murder (1 Kings 21:27-29) and thought it akin to David’s repentance after Nathan confronted him (2 Sam. 12). What if peace could be established with Israel? Why should Judah continually be at war with their brothers? Was it possible to establish an alliance and restore their joint peoples to the peace and prosperity they enjoyed under Solomon? Surely such would honour God in whom he delighted. Jehoshaphat’s desire for peace with Israel seemed so godly. To have the thousands in Israel who had not bowed the knee to Baal (1 Kings 19:18), free to come and worship in the temple in Jerusalem was surely God’s will. It seemed obvious that an alliance with Ahab was needed. Such would provide greater protection in a hostile world and improve trade, thus increasing the prosperity of the nation. So Jehoshaphat, who had so passionately pursued God and taken delight in His ways (2 Chron. 17:3-6), now turned his passion towards forming an alliance with the house of Israel. In about the ninth year of his reign Jehoshaphat accomplished his goal and established an alliance with Ahab, sealing it with the marriage of his eldest son Jehoram to Ahab and Jezebel’s daughter Athaliah (1 Kings 22:41-44; 2 Kings 8:16-18; 2 Chron. 18:1-19:3). That Jehoshaphat had been the one to reach out and actively seek this alliance is made clear in the Hebrew text of 2 Chron. 18:1. The hithpael in the Hebrew וַיִּתְחַתֵּ֖ן which is translated as aligning himself with Ahab by marriage conveys full-hearted action done for oneself. It reveals the doer is highly motivated by the personal end-benefits of acting. These perceived personal end benefits that motivated Jehoshaphat to pursue this alliance with Ahab are the same as those which entice many a godly man to pursue a course that sounds good and righteous, even noble and just, but is not the will of the Father and unwittingly sets the stage for the destruction of the very promises of God. Although it was good to be at peace with their neighbours and there was a good basis for unity between all those in Judah and all those in Israel who worshipped God and delighted in His ways, there was no sound bases for unity between the institution of the nation of Judah who worshipped God and the institution of the nation of Israel which had been corrupted from the top down and only gave lip service to God while worshipping Baal and the golden calves set up by their first king, Jeroboam. There was no basis for unity between the godly house of Jehoshaphat and the wicked house of Ahab. Yet, despite his heart for God and all the good he did for his nation in teaching and leading all his people to follow God and expelling that which was perverse and ungodly (1 Kings 22:45-46; 2 Chron. 17:7-11) Jehoshaphat made that fatal decision. He not only received great blessings, riches and honour from God but concluded that anything he could do to increase such must also be of God and so fervently sought union with the house of Ahab. Nine years after Jehoshaphat first accomplished an alliance with Ahab he was still working hard to maintain that alliance (I Kings 22 & 2 Chron. 18). Jehoshaphat went down to visit Ahab in Samaria. Ahab appeared equally committed to their union as he sacrificed sheep and oxen in abundance for Jehoshaphat and his entourage. There is suggestion in the Hebrew word here וַיִּֽזְבַּֽח־ that this sacrifice was done as an act of worship, possibly as part of Ahab’s scheme to convince Jehoshaphat that they were one in worshipping God and so should go as one into battle. 2 Chron. 18:2b states that Ahab ‘persuaded’ or ‘induced’ Jehoshaphat to join him in attacking Ramoth Gilead. The Hebrew וַיְסִיתֵ֕הוּ carries in it the meaning of instigating people to violate conscience or turn against sound counsel, "duped" by a cunning person. And so it was. Jehoshaphat affirmed his commitment to Ahab in a powerful statement of unity “I am as you are, and my people as your people; we will be with you in the war.” Despite discerning that none of the four hundred prophets that Ahab called on were of God and seeing Ahab order the only true prophet be imprisoned after he gave God’s word of warning, Jehoshaphat still went along with Ahab’s plan to act as the decoy going into the battle dressed in his royal robes while Ahab was disguised. Just as Ahab had planned all the Syrian army went after Jehoshaphat and surrounded him to kill him, thinking that he was Ahab. What form of deception would cause a king to think that this was a good idea and the sort of unity that his kingdom needed? God was merciful to Jehoshaphat, rescued him and ensured that His word against Ahab was fulfilled despite Ahab’s scheming to redirect the attack onto Jehoshaphat. When Jehoshaphat was safely back in Jerusalem God sent the prophet Jehu to tell him exactly what He thought of this unholy union: “Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the LORD? Therefore the wrath of the LORD is upon you”. Jehoshaphat turned back to seeking God, relying on Him and leading Judah in His ways for the rest of his 25 year reign. But it was in his descendants that the full consequences of aligning Judah with the house of Israel were manifest. This uniting together of the kingdom of Israel and the kingdom of Judah through the last 16 years of Jehoshaphat's reign brought disaster. Jehoshaphat’s eldest son Jehoram, having been united by his father to the house of Ahab by marriage to Jezebel’s daughter Athaliah, walked in Israel’s idolatrous ways and in his lust for power murdered all his own brothers (2 Kings 8:16-24 & 2 Chron. 21). A temple of Baal was built in Jerusalem and the people led in worshipping there while the house of God was neglected. Jehoram died painfully after an eight year reign of horror then his son Ahaziah reigned for one year in close alliance with Israel and in the evil ways of his father and mother. Then, in fulfilment of the word of the Lord, Jehu rose up and killed Jezebel and the whole house of Ahab including Ahaziah and all his brothers (2 Kings 10 & 2 Chron 22). When Athaliah saw that her son Ahaziah was dead she acted to fulfil the demonic plan to eliminate all David’s descendants to the throne and so destroy God’s promise. Athaliah killed all the royal heirs of Davidic descent, murdering her own grandchildren, so she could reign over the land of Judah (2 Kings 11:1-3 & 2 Chron. 22:10-12). Such was the price of Jehoshaphat’s attempt to bring unity between Israel and Judah by aligning his house with that of Ahab. God, however, is not so easily defeated nor can His promises be thwarted. Even in the midst of such a house He had a woman with a heart after His own. Jehosheba, the daughter of king Jehoram and granddaughter of Jehoshaphat, took Joash and stole him away from among the king’s sons who were being murdered and kept him hidden in the house of the LORD for six years, training him up in the ways of the LORD, until her husband Jehoiada the priest was able to organise for seven year old Joash to be crowned king and Athaliah removed. At last, after 16 years, the temple of Baal was destroyed from God’s holy city of Jerusalem. The kingdom of Judah returned to worshipping the LORD and work could now begin on repairing the house of God. Summary: Our unity in Christ is intertwined with the unity between Father, Son and Holy Spirit and is demonstrated through loving one another as Christ loves us and gave Himself for us. It enables the world to see that God has sent His Son and empowers the discipling of the nations. All who are united to the risen and ascended Son of God are members of the church which is the body and bride of Christ. Its members are constituted as such regardless of membership or non-membership in the organized churches of earth. By one Spirit all believers in this age are baptized into, and thus become, one body that is Christ’s, whether Jews or Gentiles, and having become members one of another, are under solemn duty to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, rising above all sectarian differences, loving one another with a pure heart fervently and demonstrating such love in all we do and say. Our faith demands that we demonstrate Christ’s love to all, even our enemies. But forming an alliance or trying to unite with corrupted institutions or with those who hate the LORD is disastrous, it is not and cannot be true unity for what fellowship does light have with darkness? Like the kingdom of Israel some institutions can be comprised of the people of God but corrupted with idolatry from the top down and thereby dangerous for us to form any alliance with despite the faithful members of the body of Christ therein. This does not stop us being one with those members of Christ and honouring that God may have placed them in that institution just as He placed Elijah and Elisha in the corrupted nation of Israel. The body of Christ is not a kingdom of this world so it is not restricted or defined by the institutions and boundaries of this world. |
Renewal -Rebirth, Regeneration, Restoration, Rekindling, Revitalisation, Replenishment & Revival. Exalting Jesus - Restoring, Equipping, Releasing & Supporting People...