"....Keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism (confession); one God and Father of all...." (From Ephesians 4:3-6)
Quite frankly, some of the divisions among congregations in localities are as ridiculous as the joke about the two Presbyterian churches which were located on opposite sides of a street. When a visitor asked the reason for the division, a local replied, "Well, that one claims Pharaoh's daughter found the baby Moses in the bulrushes. The one over there says, 'That's her story.'" Beware the "church" which promotes itself by disparaging any group or personages not their own.
Seven times the word, "one," appears in the first few verses of Ephesians 4 and the word, "unity," appears twice. And, yes, the word, "one," means, well, one. And the word, "unity," means "one, unanimity," i.e., "agreement by all people involved, consensus." I have heard over the years some people say that this is not what unity means, inferring the impossibility of the implication, but, sorry; the words mean one and unanimity. Now the only reason we do not see this in Christendom is ego. Everybody thinks their "statement of faith" and the way they do "church" is better than the others'. This is why you hear people say, "This is the best church in town." There is only One Church in a city, town, village. In the New Testament it was not "The First Pentecostal Highway of Holiness All the Gifts in Operation Here Church of God at Corinth," and "The Second," and "The Third" of the same.
Most people who say that the purpose of the fivefold minstries in the Church is to, "equip the saints," stop with that phrase. Rarely, if ever, have I heard them give the "complete" context, "His intention was the perfecting and the full equipping of the saints..., until we all attain oneness in the faith and in the comprehension of the [full and accurate] knowledge of the Son of God, that [we might arrive] at really mature manhood (the completeness of personality which is nothing less than the standard height of Christ's own perfection), the measure of the stature of the fullness of the Christ and the completeness found in Him" (Amplified). Do not allow yourself to accept anything less than this. This is the "Perfection" of the Perfect One, Jesus Christ, His purpose for His Church. Make it your purpose for "your" Church. Contrary to what the Enemy would lie to us, this is for our best, the best for the Church, and the best for the world. Many "blessings" have illuded congregations and individuals because of the disunity in Christendom. I wonder if it has ever occurred to anyone in a town what that town could be like, if the Church of Jesus Christ walked in today's text.
Father, in Jesus' Name, I cannot do this in my own strength. If I have in any way contributed to perpetuating the scandal of a divided church, I ask forgiveness. Grant me grace, Father, that I may walk, "in the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace." Amen.
Quite frankly, some of the divisions among congregations in localities are as ridiculous as the joke about the two Presbyterian churches which were located on opposite sides of a street. When a visitor asked the reason for the division, a local replied, "Well, that one claims Pharaoh's daughter found the baby Moses in the bulrushes. The one over there says, 'That's her story.'" Beware the "church" which promotes itself by disparaging any group or personages not their own.
Seven times the word, "one," appears in the first few verses of Ephesians 4 and the word, "unity," appears twice. And, yes, the word, "one," means, well, one. And the word, "unity," means "one, unanimity," i.e., "agreement by all people involved, consensus." I have heard over the years some people say that this is not what unity means, inferring the impossibility of the implication, but, sorry; the words mean one and unanimity. Now the only reason we do not see this in Christendom is ego. Everybody thinks their "statement of faith" and the way they do "church" is better than the others'. This is why you hear people say, "This is the best church in town." There is only One Church in a city, town, village. In the New Testament it was not "The First Pentecostal Highway of Holiness All the Gifts in Operation Here Church of God at Corinth," and "The Second," and "The Third" of the same.
Most people who say that the purpose of the fivefold minstries in the Church is to, "equip the saints," stop with that phrase. Rarely, if ever, have I heard them give the "complete" context, "His intention was the perfecting and the full equipping of the saints..., until we all attain oneness in the faith and in the comprehension of the [full and accurate] knowledge of the Son of God, that [we might arrive] at really mature manhood (the completeness of personality which is nothing less than the standard height of Christ's own perfection), the measure of the stature of the fullness of the Christ and the completeness found in Him" (Amplified). Do not allow yourself to accept anything less than this. This is the "Perfection" of the Perfect One, Jesus Christ, His purpose for His Church. Make it your purpose for "your" Church. Contrary to what the Enemy would lie to us, this is for our best, the best for the Church, and the best for the world. Many "blessings" have illuded congregations and individuals because of the disunity in Christendom. I wonder if it has ever occurred to anyone in a town what that town could be like, if the Church of Jesus Christ walked in today's text.
Father, in Jesus' Name, I cannot do this in my own strength. If I have in any way contributed to perpetuating the scandal of a divided church, I ask forgiveness. Grant me grace, Father, that I may walk, "in the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace." Amen.
When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"
"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2
"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2
