So far in this blog series we have noted that God has not left us in the dark, not knowing who He is or how to please Him. He has left His will as an open book, ready for us to read and understand. Today let us look at His word to notice that He has left wide open for us, the means to have unity in a world of  division.

Wikipedia, which I would not consider to be significantly reliable would tell us there are over 41,000 "Christian Denominations." You might be saying the same thing I said when I read that; that is, there is no way! And although I wish it weren't the case, I don't have any proof that Wikipedia is incorrect in this matter. Despite what ever the exact number of churches may be, the fact of the matter is: If there is more than one that is too many! If there were two churches in the world that claimed to be Christian, that would be one too many. The reality of this matter is that God and Jesus intended for there to be one church, His church.

Jesus said on one occasion that, I will build My church and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it (Mat. 16:18). That denies all speculation that might be made. In John 15, Jesus spoke concerning His disciples (what would be the church) that, I am the vine and ye are the branches. Did this mean that Jesus was the vine and the many branches were the different "Christian Denominations" in the world? No, certainly not because that would mean there was a contradiction with what Jesus said previously in Matthew 16. Additionally it would mean a contradiction between Jesus the Lord and Paul the apostle. Paul said in Eph. 4:4, There is one body. Consider also Paul's words in Eph. 1:22-23, And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all. Combining what Jesus said and what Paul said, knowing that the Bible is from God and contains no contradiction, but rather passages that complement, we have a complete thought. Jesus built His church, of which He is the head, which is His body. 

What a blessing it is to have God lay bare the things concerning His church. We don't have to worry about not understanding what the role of the church is in our lives, we don't have to worry about not understanding how to enter the church; He has left it open for us to view. Acts 2 teaches that the saved are added to the church (v. 47). In order to be added to that church we must be obedient to His word. We must hear the word (Romans 10:17), we must believe that Jesus is the Son of God (John 8:24), we must confess that belief with our mouths (Romans 10:9-10), we must repent of sins (Acts 17:30), and we must be baptized into Christ (Gal. 3:26-27; Col 2:12; 1 Pet. 3:21).

We can have religious unity in a world of division because the conditions for salvation and addition to the church have remained the same since the time they were first preached. Our responsibility is to take what God has laid bare and open for us to know and to do it and teach it. May God bless us with unity in this world so that His work is done to the effect that He desires. To God be the glory!

Photo Credit: Google Images

     I've struggled with this in the past and I know many brethren do as well. At what point does a child of God have the ability to say that another human being has either failed to reach or has fallen from the salvation in Christ because of his religious beliefs or actions?

     Many believe that any person having some inkling of a belief in Jesus and some rendition of the faith in Him is to be called a Christian and is to be inside the scope of fellowship of fellow Christians, but is this correct?

     We've all heard the normal tests of fellowship - worship, church organization, authority in the Scriptures alone, etc. but are these the only things one must believe and obey in order to be unified in the Spirit? 

     However, being a person who is always yearning to test all things (cf. 1 Thessalonians 5:21) we must ask the question, WHY? - I believe the reason is very simple, because the other things are not visible! 

     Take conviction, for instance. There is an aspect in which conviction in Christ (personal belief/faith) is able to be seen outwardly like when Paul wrote that the faith of the Colossian brethren was able to be seen in that he knew that they were "faithful" (Colossians 1:2) and that they had learned of their faith (Colossians 1:4). But, in a very real sense of the word, my faith and conviction is deep within my heart which no man can know save me (1 Corinthians 2:11). 

     My love for the lost and for my brethren is the same. While my teaching the lost shows my love for them and my fellowship with the brethren shows the entire world that I am a follower of Jesus (John 13:35), no one can definitively know whether or not these things are done out of true love or a pretentious love which is bent on getting society's accolades except me. 

     So, why do we use things like whether or not a person worships in spirit and in truth (cf. John 4:24) forsaking man-made traditions and worship practices like mechanical-instrumental music or flawed roles in worship as a test of fellowship? I can assure you, it isn't because we just want to feel superior to him (although a minority might have this in mind and it is really impossible to tell definitively). No, the reason is because we can openly see that. 

     That doesn't mean, however, that a person seeking to be a part of the restored church of Jesus Christ can simply stop at the outward signs of faith and be done in his restoration process! Just as it is important to restore the authority of Jesus and the knowledge that the Bible and it alone give the words for eternal life (John 12:48, John 6:68), it is likewise important to have the inner man restored in order to be in fellowship with Christ and walk in His light (1 John 1:7-9) whereby the fellowship between mankind can be defined as "Christian" as well. 

     I have recently been preaching through the 7 ones of Ephesians 4:4-6, the things which are the building blocks of Christian unity wherein we find the standard for our fellowship between brethren. This week, the topic at hand is that of the "one Lord (Ephesians 4:5)." I have to admit, this sermon has been difficult for me to wrap my finite head around, but as Sunday was growing ever near I was faced with condensing the Biblical teachings on the Lord into something which could be conveyed to the congregation effectively so that we can leave the worship service with a better, although somewhat superficial, understanding of what the term means and how it applies to the Christ. 

     I have to admit, I put it off as long as possible, knowing that I most likely wasn't going to do the topic as much justice as it deserves. And then, I read Ephesians 5-6 again!

     In these two chapters, really the end of chapter 5 and the beginning of chapter 6 I found something that might be one of the best passages I've read on the subject although it isn't directly pointed toward that end. Let's discuss it briefly and hopefully you will see the same!

The Lord Passionately Cares for Us, As A Husband Does His Wife - Ephesians 5:22-33
     The only thing which I can see would NOT fit this illustration, which we understand that an illustration is just that and doesn't exactly prove a point in and of itself, is that the wife and the husband are equal in humanity and yet the wife is commanded to submit to the husband's leadership in order to keep the marriage bond pleasing to God (Ephesians 5:21) while we are not equal to God (Isaiah 55:8-9). 

     However, the Biblical teaching of the marriage bond being an illustration of how the Lord and His children interact is very strong, and for good reason. 1) He was willing to die for us, as I am to be willing to die for the wellbeing of my wife (Ephesians 5::25-27). 2) The church is treated as part of the Lord, as a husband and wife have become one flesh (Ephesians 5:28-30). 3) All other relationships are to be forsaken, making the relationship between husband and wife the most important next to that of Christian and God (Ephesians 5:31). 

     See, the man's love and care for his wife is a wonderful look into the love and care of the Divine for His people!

The Lord Propagates Himself in Us, As A Father Does His Son - Ephesians 6:1-4
     The Law of Biogenesis states that life originates from life after its own kind (Genesis 1:25). If that is the case, and it is, then it would go to say that the physical bond between father and son would be very strong. We understand this in that many of us look, sound, walk and even sometimes act the way our fathers do. But, it goes beyond the genetic similarities!

     In Ephesians 6:1-4, Paul gives the commands to children to obey their parents but at the end of that passage (verse 4) he gives exhortation to the father, teaching him to rear his children in a godly way obviously in keeping with his own Christianity (for, a father not living the Christian life cannot effectively teach his child to do so). 

     In much the same way, the Lord propagates, or reproduces after his kind, Christians into a person built not only in the image of God, in that he has some of the characteristics of the Almighty, but in the very attitude of God! 

     It goes without saying that the Lord is our spiritual Father (1 Peter 2:9, Proverbs 3:11-12, Hebrews 12:5-11), but I'm afraid that sometimes we fail to recognize that the Lord is not simply commanding us to clean our spiritual rooms  because He likes to keep a clean house (see what I did there?) but more than that, He wasn't us to be like Him!


     There it is, the Lord purchased us to be His slaves because He loved us so much that He wanted to instill in us His attributes so that we can be like Him and be with Him eternally. He is, in fact, my LORD! I hope you can say that He is yours...