CHRISTIAN UNITY

CHRISTIAN UNITY

                In a recent article, I mentioned Irvin Baxter and his excitement about last day events that are unfolding right now and what they may portend. He listed about 5 or 6 major end time events that are within spitting distance right now, including the covenant with many mentioned in Daniel 9:26, 27, Israel being surrounded by the very armies that are listed in the God/Magog wars, the readiness of Israel to build the temple, the great falling away that is currently underway, and the rise of the antichrist system.

                Along with that, nations around the world are preparing to go cashless and global, which will make the mark of the beast system possible and last but not least a ten nation confederation was just formed in Europe, the old Roman Empire that may well be the ten horns of the beast that rules with the antichrist. They have decided to rebel against America’s dominant role in the world and to form their own army.

                Okay, so everyone has their own spin as to how last day events will unfold, but if we just take a bare bones, unbiased look at the signs that are now before us and if we add to this the moral and spiritual condition of America and the nations and then we add to that a host of extremes in weather and earthquakes and volcanoes along with stressful and possibly catastrophic events taking place in our solar system and on our planet, any way you look at it, we are hurtling toward a final showdown in every field whether spiritual, mental, moral, political, natural or otherwise.

                So as I mentioned these things a friend on Facebook was quick to point out that Irvin Baxter is an oneness/ holiness something and it got me to thinking. How is the Body of Christ going to ever attain to the unity of the faith that Paul speaks about in Ephesians 4:10-13, 15?

                Let us see if we can gain some clues as to how unity will be achieved in the Body of Christ by reading these verses and pondering their meaning:

                “He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens; that He might fill all things. Ephesians 4:10

                This is talking about Jesus who came down from heaven, was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, then paid the ransom with his own life thereby destroying the works of the devil and opening a way of salvation to all who would believe and receive Him.  John 1:12 says: “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe on His name…”

                Now Paul goes on to explain in Ephesians 4:11, 12 saying: And He gave some as apostles and some as prophets and some as evangelists and some as pastors and teachers, to the building up of the body of Christ, UNTIL WE ALL ATTAIN TO THE UNITY OF THE FAITH AND OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE SON OF GOD, TO A MATURE MAN, TO THE MEASURE OF THE STATURE WHICH BELONGS TO THE FULNESS OF CHRIST.

                Well… how did the church become so divided, so splintered into a million fractions of thought and doctrine until we can’t share anything of each other’s thoughts without raising our guns?

                To Paul’s monumental instruction concerning the body of Christ and unity given in these verses, He adds a caution that we have ignored. He said in verse 14 and 15:

                As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; BUT SPEAKING THE TRUTH IN LOVE, WE ARE TO GROW UP IN ALL ASPECTS INTO HIM WHO IS THE HEAD EVEN CHRIST.”

                How is it that we ended up with 30,000 denominations each one claiming to be the true church, each claiming special insight and unique interpretations that make them the church that everyone must come to? I’ll tell you the core problem. Somewhere along the way we lost the true focus of what this Christian life is all about and we have in effect become a bunch of Pharisees, arguing about doctrines while rejecting the very Son of God that the doctrines, the types and shadows and the appointed feasts point to.

                We are divided because Christ no longer fills all in all and for many He has not ascended far above the heavens so that He might fill all things. For many Jesus has become a side issue rather than the central point of the Gospel. Some instead of focusing on Christ and living by His Spirit so as to grow up into the measure of His stature, we are focused on everything else… hiding in the trenches and firing at one another.

                Be aware that I am in no way talking about unity through compromise as in the Ecumenical movement. They are doing away with the fundamentals of the Gospel in order to attain global unity and that kind of unity will eventually see them worshipping the Beast and his Image.

                What I AM saying, is that if Christ will become once again the center of our focus and if we will begin to live by His Spirit as Romans 8 so eloquently explains it and if we will embrace the entire Bible as the Word of God, rather than our various interpretations of it, the Holy Spirit will guide us into all truth and that truth will cause us to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ.

                This is why I don’t present Bible prophecy as doctrine. I don’t have a denominational axe to grind. We can all learn from each other if we can put our guns down. Every sincere Spirit filled and Christ centered preacher and teacher of the Word has something to bring to the table from which we can all benefit. We need each other as we close in on the end of time. With 30,000 opinions out there, do you really want to put all of your eggs in one basket?

                Those who believe in a pre-trib rapture for instance need to remember that Jesus is coming for a mature Body that has “attained to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. Ephesians 4:13. Jesus is not coming for foolish virgins and so no matter our belief about the rapture, we have been predestined to be conformed to the image of God’s Son, so that He might be the first-born among many brethren.” Romans 8:29.

                There are many people groups today that are falling away from the core principles of salvation through Jesus Christ. They have abandoned the Gospel of the Kingdom for the sake of false unity. They are falling away.

                Then there are those who relate to God on an intellectual basis… with human reasoning and arguments over many divisive issues that are based upon interpretations in which Christ is no longer the center.

                Is it not enough of a challenge for us to follow Paul’s example in saying: “For through the Law I died to the Law, that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and delivered Himself up for me. I do not nullify the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.” Gal. 2:19-21.

                Our flesh must be crucified and as such, the law has no more jurisdiction over us. However, as Romans 8:4 says: “The Law will be fulfilled in us who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. Is it not enough of a challenge for us to die to our flesh?

                Is it not enough to live in such a way that the fruit of the Spirit is being manifested in our lives on a daily basis? Is it not enough to die to the flesh and to be born again by the power of His resurrection to walk in newness of life? Is it not enough to do the works of Christ in this world? Is it not enough to be able to say with Jesus: “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and the opening of prison doors to those who are bound?”

                Have we not traded Christ in for a long list of opinions?  Have we not lost the central focus of the entire Gospel? If being like Christ is our central goal, should He not also be the center of our focus?

                I have this then to say about Christian unity. It is never going to be attained by doctrinal agreement. Our unity in the Body of Christ will come only when we understand fully the Body of Christ and what He is building us into. We are living stones, being built into a living temple.

                “You also as living stones are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 2:5

                We have sold ourselves short when it comes to fully understanding what it means that we are temples of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in us. (1 Cor. 3:16) The very Spirit of Christ, which He sent down to us at Pentecost dwells inside of us. The sovereign King of the universe dwells in us if we have been born again. The sovereign, infinite, omnipotent, omniscient God dwells in us!!! Should that not change everything?

                He dwells in our born again spirit… so why are we still living in the flesh… limited by mere intellectual thinking… stunted in growth because we choose to follow the ways of our flesh rather than the ways of the Spirit on a moment by moment basis. Will we not be held accountable for what we have done with what God has given us? Why do we satisfy ourselves with the status quo? Why do we settle down into denominational normalcy and common compliance?

                Without a prophetic view of life it is easy to settle into patterns of homeostasis where no real growth is taking place and no spiritual goals are attained.  But the truth is we are either pressing on toward the mark of our high calling in Christ Jesus or we are slowly falling away.

                The Remnant Bride of Christ is being formed right now and it is not this denomination or that one. It is being made up of those who have fastened their eyes on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of their faith.

                We are no better than anyone else, but by the grace of God, we are striving to come into a deeper knowledge of the Son of God, to become mature in Him so that we can grow up by His Holy Spirit into the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.

                “And beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.” Luke 24:27. And if Jesus were to walk along the road with us today, He would do and say the same things as He said then . It is all about Him; and His salvation involves our becoming like Him for we shall see Him as He is. Is that not a high enough goal for us?

                The song writer had it right all along: “Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.”

                Our rest is not in the Law. Our rest is in Christ alone. Our faith is in Christ alone. Our hope is in Christ alone and when we truly believe that He is the Word made flesh, then we will no longer divide the Word up into human opinions and arguments for we will realize that we are sanctified by the Word and we must eat all of it, even as the children of Israel were required to eat the entire lamb.

                Rather than parsing the Word up into private doctrines that inevitably lead to blindness to the whole truth, let us believe and obey the whole of it: “For the Word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit of both joints and marrow and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” Heb. 4:12.

                One of the main causes of argument stems from the fact that we don’t rightly divide the Word of God. It is of primary importance to understand that we are in a New Covenant brought to us by Jesus Christ through His atoning sacrifice, His blood and His Holy Spirit. We are not only under a New Covenant, but under a new Priesthood and where there is a change of Priesthood, there is a change of Law also. We no longer live by the letter but by the Spirit and it is the Spirit who gives life.

                “But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.” Romans 7:6

                But this transaction does not dump us out into a no man’s land of lawlessness because as Romans 8:3, 4 says: “For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God ; sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh IN ORDER THAT THE LAW MIGHT BE FULFILLED IN US WHO DO NOT WALK ACCORDING TO THE FLESH BUT ACCORDING TO THE SPIRIT. Romans 8:3, 4.

                As we walk in the Spirit and in truth, the fruit of the Spirit will be manifested through us and He will grow us up into the measure of the stature which belongs to Christ. The Law could never do this because it depended upon the strength of our flesh. But in this New Covenant  we are dependent upon the strength of Jesus Christ through His indwelling Spirit and as such, we have the victory in Him and we can walk in victory and we can overcome the world even as He overcame.

                Our unity in this life will only come when we are fully in Christ, for we are His Body and He is the Head. Everywhere we go, we see people who are dead in the flesh and those who are alive in the Spirit. “Our spirit agrees with His Spirit that we are children of God. Romans 8:16, 17.

                Much of our divisiveness will fall away when we have come into the unity of the faith when we “come to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that we may be filled up to all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or thing according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever, Amen.” Ephesians. 3:19-21