What unites us.

[charisenexcelcis]

In Ephesians 4:4-6 it lists many of the things that ought to unite us. I believe that this is important both as a point of unity and a defining statement.
One body. We have many denominations and opinions, but we are spiritually one body. I believe that part of our faith is to recognize and honor this spiritual body. I honestly think that this may be the aspect of our faith that is under the greatest attack from the flesh, the world, and the Accuser.
One Spirit. The Holy Spirit is essential to both the unity and the ministry of the body of Christ, the church. The Holy Spirit brings health and vibrancy, transformation and power for ministry.
One hope of your calling. I believe that this is refering to Ephesians 1:18. "I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe." I would say this is our hope both in this life (His surpassing power toward us) and in the next (the riches of the glory of His inheritance).
One Lord. The Lord Jesus Christ, who is our master and friend.
One faith. This may take some discussion. My take is to look at what we have placed our trust in, the work of the cross. "By grace you have been saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is a gift of God, not obtained by works lest any should boast."
One baptism. To me, the baptism that we all share is that we are baptized with Christ unto death and raised to new life.
One God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. This is our God, who adopted us as His children, who holds us in his hand, and who is the the ruler of all things. Even the Son lays all things at His feet. He is the Father whom I serve in my service to the Son.
So, what are your ideas about the things that unite and define us as followers of the Way.

 

[Cleante]

I think the best thing that unites the Christian community would be the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed of 381AD.

I believe in one God, Father Almighty, Creator of
heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of
God, begotten of the Father before all ages;
Light of Light, true God of true God, begotten,
not created, of one essence with the Father
through Whom all things were made.
Who for us men and for our salvation
came down from heaven and was incarnate
of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became man.
He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate,
and suffered and was buried;
And He rose on the third day,
according to the Scriptures.
He ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father;
And He will come again with glory to judge the living
and dead. His kingdom shall have no end.
And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Creator of life,
Who proceeds from the Father, Who together with the
Father and the Son is worshipped and glorified, Who
spoke through the prophets.
In one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church.
I confess one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
I look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the age to come.
Amen.

 

[charisenexcelcis]

It is a good statement. I've always liked the Apostle's creed in particular.

 

[greatkraw]

the trouble is there are varying diefinitions of catholic and apostolic

 

[Cleante]

the trouble is there are varying diefinitions of catholic and apostolic

The only trouble I see with catholic is those who don't know the meaning of the word catholic. The word by itself does not mean the Roman Catholic Church. St. Ignatius of Antioch, whose icon I have as my avatar, was the first to call the church the catholic church. The word means universal. The church is not limited to time, place, race, or culture.

I agree with you on the word apostolic. The Orthodox and Catholic Church define the word apostolic as apostolic succession. That is to say, the clergy has inherited its ecclesiastical and sacramental authority from the apostles, who in turn received it from the Lord, by the "laying of hands."

Most Protestants would define the word apostolic as the continuity of the teachings of the Church since the first century AD.

 

[loveschild]

Everything is a mess because we are not united.

 

[Slepsog4]

OR is it that we are not united because we are a mess.

Denominationalism was never a part of the plan of Christ. He prayed against division. Paul preached against division. Denominationalism IS division. We should not be satisfied with such.

 

[greatkraw]

OR is it that we are not united because we are a mess.

Denominationalism was never a part of the plan of Christ. He prayed against division. Paul preached against division. Denominationalism IS division. We should not be satisfied with such.

the church is spiritual

it was never Christ's intention to set up a huge visible organisation

the enemy loves it

plenty of room for the birds to perch in its branches(see the parable of the sower)

 

[resurrection33]

It seems to me one thing that should unite all Christians is the teachings of Jesus, as found in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Sadly, some people will tell you we don’t have to obey those teachings because they were written down long after he died and, therefore, are inaccurate.

For those of us that believe in those teachings, however, there is much to unite us, isn’t there?

I would like to mention one thing. Jesus said pride is a sin. It seems to me there is a lot of social climbing in the world, and social climbing brings about gross injustice, does it not?

 

[loveschild]

I pray and long for the day we will be one. But I ask God is that only going to happen once we get to heaven.

 

[VW]

I pray and long for the day we will be one. But I ask God is that only going to happen once we get to heaven.

I believe that before He comes and gets us that we will become one. I believe that what will make us one in that day is love for Him, the Bridegroom who is coming to receive His bride. That love and simple devotion for Jesus can and will make us united as one, in Him. That there is a desire for this unity, in love, shows that His day is approaching.

 

[pickles]

If Jesus has shown me anything, it is in being humbled that we realise how little we know.
It seems that the key to being united, is for everyone of us to humble themselves before the Lord, then honor each other as called to in scriptures.
I have been wondering alot about why Jesus washed the feet of the apostles, why it was so important?
So far I see that when we can humble ourselves, in every way to serve God Our Father and in Jesus ,each other, that only then will we see the true work and truth which we are all called to.
In Jesus, God bless.
pickles

 

[ed]

I believe that before He comes and gets us that we will become one. I believe that what will make us one in that day is love for Him, the Bridegroom who is coming to receive His bride. That love and simple devotion for Jesus can and will make us united as one, in Him. That there is a desire for this unity, in love, shows that His day is approaching.

Hi VW,
Love as you state is what unites us. Love gives us a single mind a single goal and our love is to our neighbour who is everyone we meet.
If we truly believe God is God and He has given all ALL authority to His Son and honors his name, Jesus Christ then we would walk along fully convinced that Jesus is there, right with us and that the only thing that can happen to us is what He allows. The sharp end of the stick is that Jesus tests us, to the nth degree, and we woiuld rather stay in our comfort zone. Jesus loves to take us out of our comfort zone, that is where we learn to trust Him. You can't learn to trust God surrounded by friends with $500 in your wallet. No friends and an almost empty wallet does make you pray with fervor. The more this happens the more your trust grows. The more you learn about Him and His authority and His love for you the greater your love for Him develops.
Think about it. At the height of your greatest love, how much did you trust and forgive that love.
love
edwin

 

[ed]

Everything is a mess because we are not united.

Hi loveschild,
Very gently I want to say, "I feel you underestimate God and His Authority" We are totally blessed because God has given the task of saving us to Himself. He knows we are incapable. Also He knows that if we had this responsibility and then failed (say for one of our 2 children) then we would be absolutely devastated and would stand in front of Him full of guilt. It is very difficult for us to comprehend that we are His workmanship. We keep wanting to take responsibility ourselves. One of my favourite words is KEEP. I know that God keeps me. I look back at huge mistakes in my life and now with hindsight I would never change them because what was disaster to me then is now a manifestation of His saving grace. I dont understand His mind but repetition tells me He only works in me for my ultimate good, so when disaster strikes I just give thanks. I dont see it but I know it. I still feel the burden of my mistakes. EG the other day I caused an accident in my separated wife's car. Oh how I hated myself. But come the calm I know that the day will come when I will see how it was a saving moment.
love
edwin.

 

[ed]

Hi,
Forget the mess, focus on seeking to do good. Lets all take our focus off sin and stop wasting emotional energy and do positive loving deeds.
love
edwin

 

[VW]

If Jesus has shown me anything, it is in being humbled that we realise how little we know.
It seems that the key to being united, is for everyone of us to humble themselves before the Lord, then honor each other as called to in scriptures.
I have been wondering alot about why Jesus washed the feet of the apostles, why it was so important?
So far I see that when we can humble ourselves, in every way to serve God Our Father and in Jesus ,each other, that only then will we see the true work and truth which we are all called to.
In Jesus, God bless.
pickles

you are so right sister. Love starts with humility. Love as God's love, anyway. For God's love is completely selfless, gives no thought of itself, has only thought for its object.

Humility comes in two ways, one hard to endure, and the other as natural as breathing. The hard one is seeing ourselves in truth, with every fault, in God's light of holiness and perfection. The easy one comes from having God's love flow through us to others and to God Himself. Because of what we are, the second is very difficult without some experience of the first.

 

[VW]

Hi VW,
Love as you state is what unites us. Love gives us a single mind a single goal and our love is to our neighbour who is everyone we meet.
If we truly believe God is God and He has given all ALL authority to His Son and honors his name, Jesus Christ then we would walk along fully convinced that Jesus is there, right with us and that the only thing that can happen to us is what He allows. The sharp end of the stick is that Jesus tests us, to the nth degree, and we woiuld rather stay in our comfort zone. Jesus loves to take us out of our comfort zone, that is where we learn to trust Him. You can't learn to trust God surrounded by friends with $500 in your wallet. No friends and an almost empty wallet does make you pray with fervor. The more this happens the more your trust grows. The more you learn about Him and His authority and His love for you the greater your love for Him develops.
Think about it. At the height of your greatest love, how much did you trust and forgive that love.
love
edwin

how can we know what trials another has endured? God's love will never fail. We are not to walk in our love; our love is not very good. No, we are to walk in God's love, just as Jesus commanded us, saying to love one another just as He has loved us. I don't know why this is so hard to hear. Nothing that comes from us is perfect. If we would be perfect, we would seek one thing, the will and ability to love others with the love of God. Nothing gets better than this, and we won't care about money or another's sin or clothes or smell or looks or anything at all, but instead will be motivated only by the love that God has for that person. This is the goal that I strive for, which I consider to be the call of God in Jesus Christ.

 

[charisenexcelcis]

OR is it that we are not united because we are a mess.

Denominationalism was never a part of the plan of Christ. He prayed against division. Paul preached against division. Denominationalism IS division. We should not be satisfied with such.

Probably both. I heard a great man of God speaking about how God uses our brokenness, in this case the fracturing of the organization. He said that God was using it in several ways--to spread the gospel as various organizations reach various niches of society, to prevent the organizatrion from overwhelming the organism, to force us to overcome differences in order to acheive spiritual unity. It was an interesting way of looking at it. He also talked about independent churches and home worship. He said that it made no sense to try to bring unity by simply creating more factions. He said that he was particularly sympathetic to those who had been disheartened by churches and so kept to themselves.

 

[charisenexcelcis]

If Jesus has shown me anything, it is in being humbled that we realise how little we know.
It seems that the key to being united, is for everyone of us to humble themselves before the Lord, then honor each other as called to in scriptures.
I have been wondering alot about why Jesus washed the feet of the apostles, why it was so important?
So far I see that when we can humble ourselves, in every way to serve God Our Father and in Jesus ,each other, that only then will we see the true work and truth which we are all called to.
In Jesus, God bless.
pickles

Amen, pickles. A good word as always.