I’d be lying to you if I said that it never affected me before. That it’s such a rare occurrence and that this is an issue that’s visited so often and almost always resolved. It’s a problem in the Body of Christ that we like to pretend isn’t there. You might already know what I’m talking about but it’s something that you don’t do anything about. How could you?
What do you think that God meant by “Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.” (Colossians 3:11) I don’t care what version of the Bible you read. Read whatever you like. New International, King James, The Message or the Amplified Version or whatever other version and versions of the Bible there are. They all came from one scripture and they all say the same thing.
But we separate ourselves not only by a different “version” of the Bible, but different “doctrines” of the Bible. Listen to me…God gave us the entire Bible as a whole. Take a hint when he said “Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today and forevermore.” (Hebrews 13:8) and “Everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.” (Revelation 22:18-19)
You can’t pick and choose what you want to believe and you can’t say to another Christian that you just choose not to believe it. Wait…you can’t tell God that he lied! How about that? If you say one thing and God is saying another thing, who do you think is right? Well let’s see… “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” (Numbers 23:19) You guess who was right all along. God or you? Just because you don’t believe a certain section of the Bible doesn’t mean it’s not true! You accept God as a whole or you don’t accept God at all.
Think of it like this. Just because you’re saved from death and Hell and that God will forgive you for everything you’ve ever done and will ever do, doesn’t mean that you should keep on sinning. Just read almost any Chapter in the book of Romans and Paul will touch on this topic. Or how about this? “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may have a new life.” (Romans 6:1-4)
So then what is this vital problem in the Church today? If you haven’t figured it out by now, think about that friend of yours that’s a Christian and yet still alienates you from the Body of Christ. Don’t have one? I do. That is because I was born a Jew. My blood is that of a Jew and that I can NEVER change. It is impossible. My ancestors are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I believe in Jesus Christ, Y’eshua the Messiah. And I believe the same exact Bible that every other Christian in this world claims to believe. However, my blood makes me no more saved than a gentile and does not change the scripture I read or its good news. Remember Colossians 3:11 and remember this: “And you brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise.” (Galatians 6:28) This refers back to Genesis chapter 26.
Now, think about today’s Christians. Baptist, Messianic, Full Gospel, Non-Denominational, Catholic, Protestant, Methodist, etc, etc. The list makes me sick. Remember this, all you Christ followers: “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is ONE body and ONE Spirit- just as you were called to one hope when you were called- one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” (Ephesians 4:3-6) And so we have one Bible. But still you’ll say “But Joshua, didn’t the Bible tell us that we are and will be different?” NO.
Holy Cow, there is no other way to irritate me more than this. The Bible never told us to separate. That one section of the Bible is right and that another is not or that one person can highlight on this and another doesn’t have to! What does the Bible say? “But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.” “It was he who gave some to be APOSTLES, some to be PROPHETS, some to be EVANGELISTS, and some to be PASTORS and TEACHERS, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” “From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” (Ephesians 4:7, 11-13, 16) Heck, read that whole Chapter!
In addition “The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body- WHETHER JEWS OR GREEKS, SLAVE OR FREE- and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.” (1 Corinthians 12:12-13) So figure on this… “If the foot should say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,’ it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be?” “The Eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I don’t need you!’ and the head cannot say to the feet, ‘I don’t need you!’” (1 Corinthians 12:15-17, 21) Where are you going with this Joshua? Here’s where I’m going with this.
“Now you are the body of Christ, and each of one of you is a part of it. And in the church God has appointed first of all APOSTLES, second PROPHETS, third TEACHERS, then WORKERS OF MIRACLES, also those having GIFTS OF HEALING, those ABLE TO HELP OTHERS, those with gifts of ADMINISTRATION, and those in different kinds of TONGUES. Are all Apostles? Are all Prophets? Are all Teachers? Do all work Miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret?” (1 Corinthians 12:27-30)
My point is not to point out the spiritual gifts that the Lord has blessed us with through the power of the Holy Spirit. It’s not to talk about Prophecy and how the Bible specifically commands us to desire “especially the gift of prophecy.” (1 Corinthians 14:1)
My point is that in all the separation the Bible points out in the word. It NEVER talks about us having different denominations and it NEVER condones separation of the Church. I understand your style is different than your Grandmother’s style. But the Word of God is the same no matter where you go to Church. Remember that. I don’t expect to change the entire Body of Christ and Unite all Christians in one day or in one article. But I do expect that now that you know better, to act like you know better next time you meet a fellow Brother or Sister.
So what is the great commission? “And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on Earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’” (Matthew 28:18-20) We can’t spread God’s love if we aren’t united ourselves first.
To conclude I sum what you just read into one statement. Unite the Body of Christ in all ways. Never accept a separation and fight division. For this is Satan’s greatest weapon in this continuing battle. Divide and Conquer. Are you going to continue in separation and ignorance? Or are you going to understand and Unite with your fellow Brother and Sister?
God only gave us one Bible. It is a whole Bible. It is not a separated Bible.
-Joshua
This entry was posted on Monday, September 15th, 2008 at 5:39 am and is filed under Articles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
All in all, well said. Unity is The Lord’s will for his church. Factions and a party-spirit (seditions, variance, strife etc) (Galatians 5:19) are works of the flesh. This comes naturally to man. Just observe children on the playground. Add to that all the theological disagreements in 2000 years of church history and you have the mess that were in today.
Unity has to be a supernatural work. When a Christian walks by the Spirit he desires to be at one with his brothers in Christ. “How good it is for the brethren to dwell together in unity.” (Psalm 133:1)
With maturity comes the understanding necessary to see yourself as part of the universal body of the Christ. The “fathers” are they that have come to “know him who is from the beginning.” (1 John 2:13)
Unity has to be a choice. Christ wills it: we must therefore will it. We must choose to put aside doctrinal differences, even some rather significant ones, nevermind the “doubtful disputations” (Romans 14:1) that have profited no one.
Since “as many as receive him gave he power to become sons of God” (John 1:12), who am I to break fellowship with any one who names the name of Jesus as Savior?
Divisions have arisen out of different interpretations of Scripture. It is amazing enough that Christians nearly universally agree on the Bible, which books are canonical, its inspiration, etc. The Bible, its existence and acceptance, are evidence of the work of the Holy Spirit.
There are however divisions that Christ ordained to be. Out of the seed that falls upon the good ground, fruit comes forth “thirty, sixty, or a hundredfold” (Mark 4:8). We are unified in that we are of the good ground, but we are divided in that there are three different levels of maturity and productivity. Ist John speaks of the “little children, ” ‘the young men” and “the fathers.” This three-fold division is found in many scriptures in the New Testament. Consider Romans 12:2: “the good, the acceptable, and the perfect” will of God. Likewise the pattern of tabernacle and the temple in the Old Testament display a three part division–the outer court, the middle (the holy place), and the holy of holies. There are three feasts required to be celebrated at Jerusalem–Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles.
Though there is “one Lord, one faith, one baptism” (Ephesians 4:5), John the Baptist spoke of three “baptisms,” saying: “I baptize you with water, but one is coming after me who… will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” (Luke 3:16)
God Himself is three in one. It is possible that God allows or even wills some of the divisions in the body that we see today. One denomination or another may be zealous for truths that others ignore. Nevertheless, the overarching umbrella of faith covers all who believe in Jesus Christ, however simple or developed their individual faith may be.