Unity in the Body of Christ

Years ago, I shot a lot of pool. My friend, John and I would go to Sequoia Billiards in Redwood City. It was owned by Dorothy Wise who was the world's champion for women and we enjoyed watching her. I started as a teen just out of high school playing 14 to 1 call shot and learned proper English, or putting spin on the ball, essential to setting yourself up for the next shot. Hitting the cue ball high had the effect of propelling the ball forward, hitting it low drew it back. Right or left spin would have varying effects from the object ball and the rail. Each shot is different, the key was in finding that sweet spot, not too far right or too far left. Dorothy was spot on, the thing I remember early was her light touch, we would be slam bam on the balls but she would just finesse every ball effortlessly, every shot counted and she would run rack after rack.

We each need to find that sweet spot in our own Spiritual walk. Extremism has polarized Christianity into opposing views, too far right, too far left, no one church ever seeming to find that sweet spot of moderation. If there was a perfect church, the faithful would naturally gravitate to it, but it is yet to be found. We need to moderate our own extremes and start listening to opposing views with an attitude of truth seeking that results in a loving consensus. It is not up to us to come up with new truth, the truth is already out there, we just need to agree on it.

Conservatives and liberals should not have been pitted against each other. Faith and works must work together but extremism has made that impossible. When either of these extremes interject licentiousness and lasciviousness into liberality, the legalistic reaction replaces true conservatism. When evangelism and the social gospel became antagonistic to one another instead of co-operating, Kingdom unity suffered tremendously and with it, the witness. You can be conservative and still extend liberality, you can be liberal and still hold conservative, orthodox positions. We must retain what is good from the past and chuck the rest, cherish the fundamentals and foundations of the faith and still be open to change for the better. It is not up to us to decide who is Christian and who is deserving of Hell so just quit trying.

Decisions made at the ballot box will reveal what kind of spirit motivates you. If you vote against social programs because they are funded from tax dollars, you are motivated by self-interest. If you vote against basic human rights because it somehow offends your own moral standards, you are trying to legislate morality at the expense of redemption.

Legalists on one side, libertines on the other, always fighting, both sides wrong, neither side able to come to a workable knowledge of the truth. Christianity has failed to bring in many non-believers because of these dim-witted disagreements. Absurd teaching of creation and evolution, the denial of Christian freedom and liberty, legalism, self-righteous puritan ignorance, half-truths, judgmental attitudes, exclusivism and so many other excesses found primarily on the extreme right may be the only Jesus people see and they are justly rejecting a false gospel that tries to take the Kingdom by force. Jesus has been used by politicians and business men to promote an unrighteous political agenda, militarism and the denial of human rights; love, justice and grace has effectively been supplanted by favoring the rich over the poor. On the other hand, when Christian freedom is used as an excuse to sin, the work of Christ on the cross is exposed to open shame. You need to prayerfully evaluate yourself, not others. Does your conservatism include being illiberal? Does your liberalism include licentiousness? Neither is of God no matter how right you think your particular side is.

"Now in this that I declare unto you I praise you not, that you come together not for the better, but for the worse. For first of all, when you come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it. For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you." 1 Corinthians 11:17-19.

Schisms are heresies, sectarianism, divisions in the Body of Christ. It comes from the Greek word schismata, which is the word for a tear in a garment. The proof of it is their party spirit, their strife, their factions and a divisive spirit. Schismatics break away from the Church over petty issues of faith and doctrine and establish rival fellowships. We need not condemn the people, like sheep, they go astray. We do need to condemn the errors and whatever caused the schism. Many are heresies and many are merely transparent false interpretation of Scripture. The Church is in a mess, we are not here to put up with false doctrine and pride and hatefulness for the sake of unity, but identify and separate from the confusion so that we can go on to put the Church in order. Many will accept the truth as soon as they ascertain the Spirit of truth from which unity springs and not before.

The two most serious breaches of unity were the "Great Schism" of 1054 AD dividing the eastern and western churches, a division which persists to the present day between Eastern Orthodoxy and the Catholic Church. The second was the Reformation of the 16th century, at which time Roman Catholicism and Protestantism became divided from one another. Protestants among themselves then engaged in centuries of further proliferation.

Billy Graham understood the division that the improper use of Spiritual gifts has caused. "Of one thing I'm certain neither the Holy Spirit nor any of His gifts were given to divide believers... When the gift of tongues is abused and becomes divisive, then something has gone wrong, sin has come into the Body of Christ." Pastors and teachers who deny the fullness and power of the Holy Spirit spread the "perfect has come" heresy and it is taught in many churches and Bible Colleges. In my view, this is actually the best example of schismatic false doctrine that there is in the modem Church and for that reason alone, it is justified as being called heresy. This is one of the proper plumb lines to help us expose the false church. Heresies must be manifested among us so that we can recognize truth from error but repentance is unquestionably essential. Those that cannot put away these false doctrines so that we can come to unity will not be taking part of that restoration process, God will see to that. You may just need to cut them off and leave them alone, that's how Babylon will fall and how the luke-warm church will be spit out of God's mouth.

The Body of Christ as one in the Lord is a good way to feel but we have not arrived yet, we are a divided Body. Some division is good, we are to be separate people so the true and the false is a distinct division, the quandary remaining is that it is not always clear no matter how Spiritual we think we are. What unites us in the long run is love for each other no matter what. This is how a dead church can still be dressed in white. The disunity and division in the Church is the result of the Babylonian confusion that pits brother against brother through the denominating influence. It is the deaf, dumb and blind that cast the biggest stones and you know that they cannot hit anything that way. We are to reach out in love to those in error if we are to have any influence but discernment and correction is necessary for healing of the whole. If the end-time Church is to be identified by its correctness it must be a theology based upon love and unity as well as the truth. None of us have it all together unless we can do that. We may in fact never get it completely right but the only way that we can tear down these walls of division is by being more like Jesus and that is to lay down our lives for our kinsmen and act more like a family.

"And the glory which You gave Me I have given them; that they may be one, even as We are one. I in them, and You in Me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them, as You have loved Me." John 17:22.

The conception of unity in the Body of Christ was a possession of Christian believers from the very start. In the beginning of the Early Church, we were One. Paul, as did Jesus, taught of the Gospel of the Kingdom in two ways, one being the Kingdom in our hearts when we realize that Jesus is Lord and a Kingdom to come when Jesus would rule over the nations. The heart is the seat of our emotions, character, compassion, we are to love God with all of our heart, mind and spirit. These are separate parts of us that work together as a unity to give of our love. When you love from your heart, you can feel it. That daystar and strange warming is projected from you to what you desire in love.

The Lord is still working on us all to be made into His image and likeness, which in the long run may mean for us to be patient. The Brethren of the Way at the Church at Jerusalem thought of themselves as a family where conversion and baptism brought them into the one household of faith. The Christian family should stick together, it's a matter of blood. Paul was concerned not simply to promote the unity of the Christian communities founded by him, but also to bind them all to the Mother Church at Jerusalem. It was no mere Gentile church that he had in mind, but the one Church of God embracing all of Jesus' followers everywhere as one family of faith with its members in all parts of the world.

It should be noted that the Early Church practiced voluntary membership, they were Christian by conviction, not compulsion. They responded to God's call, not man's authority. When Rome made Christianity the state religion, it ended the persecutions but damaged unity by making everyone in the world a member of the Church. The world became Christian which ultimately meant that the Church became worldly.

It has been on my mind a lot of decisions made to accept diversities of opinion on certain subjects for the sake of love for the brethren. Many pastors make these decisions thinking that they are promoting unity. I have had to wrestle with the dichotomy of love for the sake of unity on the one hand and uniform agreement for the sake of unity on the other. "But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into Him in all things, which is the head, even Christ." Ephesians 4:15. I had to realize that it is not an issue of love or agreement or uniformity, it is for the sake of the truth. If it is God's truth that we agree to accept each other in love for the sake of unity even though we may not agree on every jot and tittle, then who is to argue with that. Not me, that's for sure but look out for the enemy just waiting around the comer to send his denominational minions against us because it is not according to their own microscopic, prejudicial versions of the truth. I see pastors all the time that reject Gospel truth because it is not the same version of their own denominational truth they had been taught and they are then motivated by animosity, jealousy and the pride of divergent doctrine. I see it time and again, you as well, even though you may not recognize it. Not to fear, if the Lord is for us in unity, no one is getting away with arguing with God.

The question of Church unity is not receiving as much attention as it should be. There has been progress but most people get comfortable and isolated in their own fellowships and couldn't care less about unity with other churches. Schism is a grievous sin in the eyes of God. But having said that, one must also point out that there is obviously great confusion and much disagreement as to what unity actually is, what is its nature, how unity and cooperation can be obtained and how do we keep it. The result of being born into a given family, Christians are brothers and sisters in the Lord and not merely an association of partisans. It is through working together, evangelizing together, praying together, speaking the truth together and having genuine fellowship with each other that we shall ultimately arrive into the unity of the faith. The reality of unity is the unity of us who believe that there is only one Lord. "Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." Ephesians 4:3. It must also be according to truth.

Most rival churches get started because of the divisiveness of one man, or in some cases two. The Genevan Calvinists made church membership compulsory, as well as the early New England Puritans. Paul warned us "that we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive." Ephesians 4:14. Look at history and you will see that the most contentious denominations and independents are known by their founders and the hardest to turn around. There is nothing wrong with a we and them mentality if we keep focused upon who and what "we" are to be. We are to be a separate people, a holy people, sanctified as overcomers walking in the Spirit. There will be those that do not want to follow the narrow road, we are not to be like "them." The problem from a unity perspective is the we and them mentality in the body of Christ that does not conform to truth. If a divided church is to be among them, who the light goes out and spit out of the Body for their smug self-sufficiency and losing their first love, then we should do all we can not to be like them. The restitution of all things is not denominational, interdenominational or even non-denominational. The restoration should be pre-denominational people or at least restoration post-denominational. We are to be restored to unity or Jesus would not have prayed for it. We are to be restored to the faith of our fathers by not conforming to the traditions of men and that includes churchmen. Paul called these divisions carnal: "For you are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are you not carnal, and walk as men? For while one says, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are you not carnal?" 1 Corinthians 3:3-4.

Clement, who was a convert of St. Peter and an early Bishop of Rome, had this to say. "For it is not an ordinary harm that we shall do to ourselves, but rather a very great danger that we shall run, if we shall rashly give up ourselves to the wills of men who promote strife and seditions, to turn us aside from that last which is fitting. But let us be kind to one another, according to the compassion and sweetness of Him that made us." 1 Clement 7:8-9.

I am doing what the Lord would have me to do, we are not all called to do the same thing. You may certainly be called with other goals but with unity, the end result is the same and that is glorifying Jesus Christ together. Our unity in diversity is what makes us complete. ""And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone; in whom all the building fitly framed together grows unto a holy temple in the Lord." Ephesians 2:20-21 "From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplies, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, makes increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love." Ephesians 4:16. Either we are making an impact or our entire lives are all one big waste.

Our unity includes the love and fellowship of the Body of Christ and that includes Roman Catholic believers but will exclude Catholic haters as well as Protestant haters or Orthodox haters and Pentecostal haters. We are not to hate the cultists and heretics and schismatics, like when they were burned at the stake, but we are not to be a part of the schisms either. Again, look at the hatred between liberals and conservatives today, this is a real militant, out to get you hatred. Liberal and conservative as words are relative concepts depending on the issue. We can be conservative on family values and Biblical inerrancy, we can be liberal on our relations to giving, faith, love, and toward the poor. Liberality suggests tolerance, understanding and open mindedness, if we are conservative on those things, we are not walking in the Spirit as you might think.

What's the matter with these people? How do we convince them of their own stupidity? We should be known for our love, not for our rigid and bigoted assertions, political enmity, disunity and doctrinal disagreements. Unity will not include the extremist factions because they only cause strife, to be on the far end of either extreme establishes disunity as a rule. Here is a better rule: "Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand." Philippians 4 5. The Lord is still working on all of us to be made into His likeness and image. Love demands complete unity and unity demands complete love. I don't know who said it but it is quoted often enough, "in essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, love." The more that we love and submit to each other as the Lord reveals His truth to us, in time, the more impact this unity will have. This is present truth prophecy as to what the Lord is saying to us in this generation as we prepare for His coming. He that has Ears to Hear, let them hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches.

I give the glory to God; I hope you do too. The fact is that there are many saints so detached from these hate-mongers that they think they were alone in what God has revealed to them. It is comforting to know for all concerned that we are finally coming together and that the Lord is revealing His thoughts and intentions to us. What is unity anyway but aligning and cooperating with groups and individuals according to the truth. If we want to be as Jesus wants us, we identify with those around us that are of the same mind as He and not the hatefulness of present political delusions that just want to win an argument. We must also love, but may have to separate from the schismatics. I believe in thus saith the Lord, I believe in the anointing and tears of joy, I believe you can be slain in the Spirit by the Holy Ghost and lie on the floor prostrate under the magnificent power of God. "Which things also 'we' speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Ghost teaches; comparing Spiritual things with Spiritual." I Cor. 2:13. We are not to be as the heathen, we are to speak the truth in love. Left to ourselves, we have found ourselves on the precipice of the eve of destruction, a total apocalyptic annihilation. God is not going to let that happen, He will step in just in time.

Father Chardin believed in a global unification of human awareness as a necessary prerequisite for any future progress of mankind. Love has always taken the higher place because God is love and love conquers all, not just leading to truth but because of it. Ignorance is bliss only to those that choose to be ignorant, for sure the Lord would not have us ignorant. Love must be evident if the Church is to mature to the point of perfection. Unity is more than love, it is loving agreement on the truth, many Christians are more interested in peace than purity of doctrine. I remember many years ago, just after my conversion, I left the church because of the backbiting and the lack of love I received there and I ran into the Jehovah's Witnesses. What attracted me to them was first the outreach and dedication and then especially was the love and respect they had for each other. Not until I studied on my own did I find out that although the love was there, the truth was lacking. I don't know, perhaps love covers all their ignorance and heresy, probably not but maybe. I know that I have had Jehovah Witness friends since and they treated me better than a lot of so-called Christians, they also wanted to take me down a false road however. Mormon friends too, same thing. Perhaps it is that devilish ignorance that keeps the enemy at bay.

The Epistle of Barnabas has this to say, "Wherefore consider the works of the evil way. Do not withdraw yourselves from others, as if you were already justified, but coming together into one place, inquire what is agreeable to and profitable for the beloved of God. For the Scripture says; woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their sight." Barnabas 3:11.

Jesus, in His last recorded prayer before His arrest was concern for us: "Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on Me through their word. That they all may be one; as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be one in Us: that the world may believe that You have sent Me." John 17:20-21. There will be unity or Jesus would not have prayed for it. It will come before He returns and it will establish more than anything else, the restitution principle of all things. God wills unity according to the truth. The unity of the Church of God is a perpetual fact even in the division; our task is not only to create unity or to preserve it, but to exhibit it.

Unity is the goal of the ecumenical movement. It is the Spirit of God that brings about unity and not the efforts of man that blends error with error to bring about some kind of intra-church diplomacy. That the tragedy of two thousand years of division is presently not only being checked but in part arrested embodies one of the central facts of the ecumenical revolution. The current waves of revival today should especially draw attention to unity, if it does not, it will grow cold and fade away as it has been. This is in keeping with the end-time movement of God toward unity before Jesus returns, it will not be business as usual. The remnant will be brought from all branches of the Church, all denominations, non-denominations and institutions. Many of these people are held captive in spiritual Babylon but Jesus' Kingdom is within us, not necessarily within the institutions. Churches that have not been previously exposed to the charisms and the Baptism with the Holy Ghost are hopefully coming to a more perfect knowledge of Jesus through a spirit of ecumenical thinking and coming together in cooperation and Spiritual enlightenment. That will ultimately transcend the narrow denominational biases of the past because God is revealing a more perfect revelation to us.

Praise God for His goodness, things really are coming together but there is also an apostasy here. There is an unrighteous spirit among certain Christians today that seeks to stand in the way of ecumenical unity. For true unity to be achieved, there are entire churches that will need to repent of the schisms. An unholy alliance of competing extremes is being brought together from especially pugnacious recreants with the express intent of suppressing the ecumenical unity and/or the revival Spirit that God is bringing to the Church. Because some of these were once of a revival nature, they are suspicious of any current revival movement that did not come through them exclusively. Many will not be able to change; pride and ecclesiastical power is involved and sectarians will not be able to let go of their influence over the members.

The word ecumenical comes from the root Greek word oikos which means house. The word oikoumene used in the Bible is the word used as the inhabited earth or the whole world and there are numerous references. When Luke mentioned that the Jews took offense of Paul and Silas having "turned the 'world' upside down," the word oikoumene was used. It was used by the Greeks to denote the difference between the Greeks and the barbarians to describe the entire Roman Empire. The proper contemporary use of the word ecumenical is used as the worldwide household of God or the universal (catholic) Church, representative of the whole Christian fellowship irrespective of institutions or denominations. "And this Gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in all the world (oikoumene) for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come." Matthew 24:14.

Those who have judged the Institutional Church or Rome as the whore of Babylon or who have taken ecumenicalism to mean something that compromises with faith simply do not understand what the Lord would have us do to bring unity. "For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begins at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the Gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?" 1 Peter 4:17-18. Membership in the World Council of Churches is modeled on the Vatican Council decree on Ecumenism, "taking part in this movement, which is called ecumenical, are those that invoke the Triune God and confess Jesus as Lord and Savior."

Polycarp, one of the early Church fathers, prayed for the community of the oikoumene, meaning the universal Church. Irenaeus wrote of "the Church extended over the oikoumene to the extremities of the earth." The ancient General Councils were called ecumenical because they represented the undivided Church and their decisions were made for the entire Church. We are told that the wheat and the tares are allowed to grow together until the last day. The Bride of Christ is part of this household but as the remnant seed, already separated from the false and brought together in a Spiritual unity as holy, clothed with the wedding clothes of righteousness and filled with the Spirit as wise virgins ready to meet her Bridegroom.

For us to meet the Prince of Peace, we must through His Holy Spirit do what we can do to bring about peace on earth. This is not the peace that the world offers or the peace that the anti-Christ will offer but the peace from God that passes all understanding. There are just too many Christians today that disrupt the peace by perpetuating the divisions that have fragmented the Church, thereby grieving God. We are truly approaching the point in Church history where Christ's judgment will come upon the people of God in our lifetime. It is time to repent of the past errors, put away the strife and contention that has identified us in the past and come together as one in love, truth, repentance and forgiveness. That means putting our own house in order.

The general unity of Christians above sectarian differences is ecumenical but for us to come together and agree to disagree is another false unity. It bears repeating that each Christian, each organized church, especially denominations, must be able to humble themselves in love, come together and discuss the issues that have caused the division. This means having the common sense to be able to put away our personal biases long enough to be detached from them. That will not happen with some major groups, including evangelical and pentecostal ones until there is sufficient groundswell to motivate them. This is our true gathering and it begins with the dialogue of love in the Spirit of truth. With all the pride involved in the traditions of men, this will not be easy and it will be marked by tension. There are many churches that have been founded upon misconceptions and to try to convince them that they are a part of the problem will not work. For those of us that do have the passion to come together for dialogue, it is a giant step forward toward conscientious ecumenical unity.

The need that first brought various churches together in cooperation was found in the mission field. As so many denominational Christian missions were doing the work, especially in Asia and Africa, the various European and American churches found that their efforts to convert non-Christian peoples were often in unholy competition. Even with each church preaching differently, much of the work was still being duplicated and the fragmentation and division was a poor witness. Confusion has been around for a long time and the differences in belief and practice could not be set aside by these churches. Nearly all of them however, came to see that close co-operation was possible in some aspects of missionary work, like in operating schools, hospitals, and other educational and welfare services. Conferences, such as the "Faith and Order" Movement in 1927 and the "Life and Work" efforts of Church of Sweden archbishop Nathan Soderblom, were held where meetings of hundreds of representatives of all the major Christian bodies came together except the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Churches. The Roman Church has since reversed course toward full ecumenical progress. The World Council of Churches began in the Amsterdam Assembly in Holland in 1948 when these two groups came together and decided to work together. They naturally discovered that "life and work" and "faith and order" needed each other. The original report on the "Nature of the Council" included churches who "acknowledge Jesus Christ as God and Savior. They find their unity in Him, they have not to create their unity; it is the gift of God." The organizers saw as its ultimate goal the "reunion of the churches, the end of denominationalism and the attainment of a universal Church." Early on, the Council also directed their efforts toward missions. Within time, the more conservative fundamentalist churches withdrew while the Russian and Eastern Orthodox joined. Those that rebelled against the will of God toward unity spread the absurd conspiracy rumor that ecumenical unity was a demonic plot to create an anti-christ church.

Robert McAfee Brown wrote, "I believe we are approaching a time when such words will not be necessary. Instead of writing about being ecumenical, we will simply write ecumenically; instead of pleading for ecumenical activity, we will simply act ecumenically." An ecumaniac has been described as one who loves all branches of Christendom more than his own. More than that, we should be lovers of the truth. We should all be thinking in terms of ecumenical but that does not mean that we compromise with truth. The will of Jesus, as the New Testament understands it, is not to divide men but to unite them according to the truth. Jesus is the truth and satan the father of lies. Jesus wants us to be united, satan wants us to be divided. Jesus wants to build up, satan want to tear down. Jesus will lead us into One Church thinking, satan will delude us into thinking ecumenicalism is a perversion, Jesus will bring us into dialogue, satan into diatribe and false accusations. No Christian has the right to stop short or side-step true ecumenical unity. If it is God's will that we come together into the solidarity of Oneness, then it is our responsibility to help bring this about. If we are truly to love each other the way we should and overcome obstacles and prejudices, then we will be on the side of brotherhood and will put away the factions. This is what will identify the true Church so that the world can believe and love each other like Jesus prayed.

Most Christian groups now generally accept that baptism incorporates one into the Body of Christ. That means that the Protestant is to a Catholic, already within the Church, however imperfectly they may think of them. I say them because I am not a Protestant nor a Roman Catholic, I am a minister of the Gospel that wants to wave the banner of Jesus strong enough to fan the flame of all the lights. The Roman Church has made great strides in the last generation toward repentance of past sins and in many ways, more than many Protestants. The Orthodox Church may have made the greater strides over hundreds of years but they are so tied to tradition that it is hard for them to accept the Scriptural way of the Baptism with the Spirit. John XXIII was here for the shortest time of all of the modern popes but had the greatest impact for all Christians, he said: "We address all those who are separated from us as brothers, with the words of St. Augustine: 'Whether you want it or not, they are our brothers. Only when they have ceased saying Our Father will they cease being our brothers."' The efforts of John Paul II toward ecumenical thinking had been misunderstood as if he wants all of Christendom to be under Rome. What he wanted is that we all be into the same universal communion. This is what God wants as well but those infernal Catholic haters who are under the delusion that the Pope is the anti-christ got in the way. Pope Francis remarked that, "For me, ecumenism is a priority." and "division is the work of
the Father of Lies."

It is truly time to stop thinking of yourselves as Catholics and Protestants and Orthodox and whatever. To truly have a catholic spirit is just to be part of the universal Body of Christ and to reach out in love for the entire Church. To be a Protestant suggests a Reformation protest that is over 400 years out of place. Any of us can be truly orthodox (true thinking) as well as being truly catholic (universal Christian brotherhood). Sure, there are those that will try to get us all under their own particular way of thinking but it is God's way that will win out in the end and we need to make sure that we are a part of that.

It is a prime directive to strengthen what remains in these last days, not to ignore or abandon what remains. We separate from what is false and we grow to maturity. Roman worshipers are now encouraged to read the Scriptures for themselves. Much progress has been made in the liturgy so that Latin is not a stumbling block. She recognizes that there is grace and salvation outside the confines of Rome. She has understood the mistakes of the past in the persecution of those that have disagreed, she has purged herself of much of the superstition and idolatry and past errors, she has come closer to the doctrine of justification by faith We all need to understand the communion of the saints as well as the priesthood of all believers. I remember a Pentecostal pastor that got really disgusted when I mentioned the communion of saints, which if denied is one of the earliest signs of heresy.

There are false ministries but sometimes we shouldn't be so hard on them. It's true, you know. After all, we are all learning here if you are open to it and the Church is not yet perfected. Our only perfection is our position in Christ but that position must have a strong foundation. We need wisdom, please be patient with ignorance. Jesus alone will make these judgments through us as we are called to unity and proven by love. We need not hate those that have caused these divisions, we do need to hate the division and false doctrine and we need to speak out. When Paul and Barnabas were divided, the Gospel spread twice as fast but neither of these apostles were called to division. God will be doing the sifting and the separation and we as a unified body will be drawn toward that. If your ministry is to tear down other Christians or ministries because you do not agree, you are doing the work of the enemy. Do you really want to come against any part of the household of God, or do you want to be a part of restitution to its original purity? If you or your church has been previously lacking in the wisdom to understand these truths, do something about it. Be careful however, people saturated with unsound doctrine and division for all their lives, will fight to keep it.

We hear His voice, the Lord has taught us wonderful things, He has taught us how to heal division and we need to share these things so that we can get it over with. We need and should solicit the advice and encouragement of others. Pray every day, we should all feel that we have farther to go and more to learn. Our enthusiasm and gladness to be a part should never be too much to manage, or the weight of our responsibility too much to bear. There are still weakness in the walls of our temple restoration, there are weaknesses in all branches of the Church. Division has reigned supreme throughout Church history, we can't look at the past and judge and condemn the actions of others, that is the job of satan and his people. We are to skip all the nonsense and get back to the foundations that have already been laid for us in the Early Church as well as the progressive revelation of God throughout history. We are to forget our former times of ignorance and have the mind of Christ. To do it God's way we must have the gifts of the Spirit but more importantly is that we are to minister in the fruits of the Spirit, love,
humility, patience and the like. If we cannot love our brothers and sisters, we lie if we say we love God. We are not ONE with Jesus until we are ONE with His Body. The belief that division in the body grieves God and to be avoided at all costs is part of what we believe that God had taught us and we are stirred in our hearts to attack what we think is an attack on the Body. We need to learn and teach that we should be speaking as one to the point that a doctrine of division in the body will be hard for us to accept - real hard. There are differences among us, namely, the sheep and goats and the wise and foolish.

jay@latter-rain.com