One Lord , One Body, One Faith

[BLC]

PART ONE


The Bible teaches that God's word is settled in heaven (Psalm 119:89). There is not a single person in heaven that has a problem understanding every word of God, so why do we? No one in heaven is divided over what God's word teaches in every area of doctrine, so why are we? Christ is not divided in heaven, so why is He divided here on earth? Do we have to accept any kind of division in the body of Christ where Jesus Christ is the head and passively say, 'that's just the way it is'? Are we going to wait until we go to heaven to have the oneness that is God's perfect will on the earth? Does the Holy Spirit groan in us for the same oneness that He has with the Word and with the Father? Does the Bible teach us how God brings us into the unity of the faith (Eph 4:11-15)? Please read every word of the following passages;

Eph 4:1-6 '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,
One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all'.

Six times the word 'one' is used. The trinity agree in one.

1John 5:7-9 'For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one. If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son'.

What would heaven be like if the Father, the Word and the Holy Spirit did not agree? They all agree because they are One. They have eternal oneness in everything. On earth the Spirit, the water and the blood agree in One. That's very interesting. We who believe and are saved have received the Spirit, the water of the word as the incorruptible seed and the blood of Christ has cleansed and covered us from all sin. Every believer has all three on earth and they agree in one but we who have these three are divided. That must be a very strange thing for God, the Word and the Holy Spirit to observe in heaven.

God wants everything done decently and in order (1Cor 14:40). How can that happen when the many members of God's one body do not agree? How can that happen when we do not have the unity of one Spirit? If the Spirit agrees with the Word and the Father and we do not agree with the Spirit, then we do not agree with the Word or the Father who bear record of this in heaven. We also do not agree with the water of God's word and the blood that bears witness on the earth. We have a record in heaven and a witness on earth that we are divided as members of God's one body. How does that happen?

 

[wisdomseeker]

Peace be to you
Psalm 119<------------Thanks God for this Psalm.
1st cor 12,14 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.For the body is not one member, but many.If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?
And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling?But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.
ect All people in heaven Do behold the face of my Father.So they have little advantange.
The answer is here -----------------V
2nd peter 2,
But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in ****able heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their ****ation slumbereth not.

While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.
Jesus says by there fruits shall ye know them

Also youngsters in the work often get excited and speak without understanding ,without revelation
brethrin pray for wisdom/understanding,slow to speak, asking God ,who is generous in giving to those who ask.
And may our God and Father give you of his storehouse.

Jesus says by there fruits shall ye know them
Love a friend in God

 

[BLC]

PART TWO

If there are divisions among the members of God's body, do not the scripture teach us that we are carnal and walk as men (1Cor 3:3)? A believer that is truly born of the word and the Spirit should hate division as much as he hates sin. Any division that breaks fellowship among believers is sin, just as our own sin would break our fellowship with God until we are restored. God put this upon the heart of Paul concerning the believers that were in Corinth because of the envy, strife and divisions that were among them. Divisions among believers is a serious offense against Jesus Christ, because He was the head of that local body of believers. The same Spirit that guided Paul into all truth also did the same for James who wrote under inspiration that where there is envy and strife that cause these divisions there in confusion that make their work worthless and of no value for anything (Jam 3:16).

There are three things that will cause division within a local assembly and among believers, accusations (that includes lies, slander and malignity), false doctrine and pride. All three come from the devil, who is the author of confusion (1Cor 14:33, Acts 19:29, James 3:15,16) the father of all lies (John 8:44) and the accuser of the brethren day and night (Rev 12:10). His strategy is to use these three to cause divisions and destroy the oneness of God in the midst of God's people, and ultimately murder the testimony of God. This is how he effectively blinds the minds of those that believe not.

Think of all the church splits (thousands of them,) that have occurred in denominations and various Christian groups through divisions and divided hearts. That has done more to destroy the testimony of God than anything else. If you have been in the midst of one, you would know how divisive peoples hearts can be. We all know what it is like to go through a family split. Well, multiply that times a hundred with slander, lies and malignity. There is so much confusion that people withdraw and isolate themselves. Some get into their little cliques or factions and accuse this one of saying that and that one of doing this. God is not pleased, it is not a sweet smelling savour to His nostrils (Phil 4:8, Eph 5:2, 2Cor 2:14).

 

[BLC]

PART THREE

'Behold how good and how pleasant it is, for the brethren to dwell together in unity'... (Ps 133:1).

How good and pleasant it is for a husband and wife to dwell together in unity. How good and pleasant it is for a pastor and the local assembly, that God has given him, to walk together in unity. Unity in Christ is not a mutual admiration society that pats one another on the back and honors those that honor them. Unity is when you have a group of people that take up their cross and minister Christ to one another and endeavour to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Eph 4:3). It is when those of a local assembly will honor the word of God that is preached from the pulpit and obey the message by faith.

Unity is when when you go through a trail and your brother builds you up in Christ instead of judging you. Unity is when believers have let the cross and word of God so crucify their flesh, that all you see in one another is Christ and Him crucified (1Cor 2:2). Godly unity is when a ministry is attacked by the devil and false accusations begin to fly, but the people gather and band together against those accusations. Unity is when one member is honored, all the members rejoice with that one member, and when they suffer, all the members suffer with that one member (1Cor 12:26). Unity is when you see a brother in need and you supply what you have to meet that need (1John 3:17).

Unity is when you forgive one another (Eph 4:32), comfort one another (1Thes 4:18), pray for one another (James 5:16), edify one another (Rom 14:19, 1Thes 5:11), kindly affectionate to one another (Rom 12:10), do not judge one another (Rom 14:13), receive one another (Rom 15:7), admonish one another (Rom 15:14), have the same care for one another (1Cor 12:25), by love you serve one another (Gal 5:13), do not bite or devour one another (Gal 5:15), do not provoke or envy one another (Gal 5:16), submit to one another (Eph 5:2), lie not to one another (Col 3:9), provoke one another unto love and good works (Hem 19:24), speak not evil of one another (James 4:1), grudge not one against another (James 5:1), have compassion on one another (1Pt 3:8) and use hospitality to one another (1Pt 4:9).

When we have these things and do them by grace and through faith, we will have the unity of the Spirit, in one body, having one LORD, one faith and one hope of our calling. Unity in the body of Christ is the greatest expression of who God is on the earth. This is the kind of love that John speaks of in his writings. A love that has unity and oneness and never fails.

 

[BLC]

PART FOUR

When Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, he was inspired of God. If his two letters to that local church were inspired then he must have been when he wrote them. All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable (useful) for doctrine, correction, reproof and instruction in righteousness (2Tim 3:16). That church had numerous problems in their faith and it resulted in not knowing how to deal with situations and problems they were having. This turned into divisions and contentions, adding strife with many factions springing up in their midst. Paul addresses these issues with an exhortation in (1Cor 1:10),

'Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment'.

They had been taught the word and doctrine by Paul and others, but they did not arrange their mind and thinking according to it, they were not 'perfectly joined together in the same mind'. There had divisions because they were not thinking according to the faith they had been taught. They were not likeminded (Rom 15:5, Phil 2:2,20). They were utilizing the wisdom and understanding of the natural man that is oriented to the world instead of the wisdom of God. Paul had preached the cross to them but the wisdom of the world was making the cross of none effect. The cross is the even place that unites all believers everywhere.

When any wisdom or doctrine is taught that violates the preaching of the cross and finished work of Jesus Christ, it will bring in leaven that will eventually cause, envy, strife, contentions and a factious spirit of divisions. This is a strategy of Satan to get access and control of a local church through carnally minded believers, to prevent and hinder them from doing the work of the ministry and the preaching of Christ and Him crucified. Every time we have a problem among believers, we must always go back to the cross to be united in oneness at the even place. We preach Christ and Him crucified so that we might have life through death. True oneness and unity comes through the cross and the edification of the word of God that is submitted to the finished work of Christ. The cross is the place that leaven is purged from our lives.

When we bring envy, strife, contentions and all forms of divisions to the foot of the cross, they have to die and we die with them experientially (not physically). The cross destroys the works of the devil (1John 3:8) that does not want believers to have the unity of the faith nor the cross as a refuge. We submit ourselves to God and resist the devil through the cross (James 4:7). The devil fears and runs from believers that take up their cross, walk in the finished work and reveal the oneness they have with Christ in His death (Rom 6:6,8, Gal 2:20), burial (Rom 6:4, Col 2:12), and resurrection (Eph 1:20, Rom 6:4). 'How good and pleasant it is to the LORD, when the brethren dwell together in unity'.