Denominations and church names are not different members in one Body – they are the “tattoos” of the flesh on that one Body, in order to differentiate and distinguish our brand of Jesus or Church, and to give identity to our movements, rather than identity in Christ alone. Ephesians 4:1-6
1 Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called,
2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love,
3 being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling;
5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
6 one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.
The church should not be divided: 1 Corinthians 1:12-13
12 Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, "I am of Paul," and "I of Apollos," and "I of Cephas," and "I of Christ."
13 Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?
Unity is a manifestation of humility. The reverse is also true.
Awesome, awesome dude. This is what i wish by God's grace could become embedded in our hearts and minds so as to truly serve Him and His people. Religion has taught bad and the bad habits die hard. Thank God for TRUTH be cause TRUTH sets free'!!
ReplyDeleteThere's a ladder to the heavenlies and i see you climbing at an alarming pace - you up and down - bringing trasures untold as you return on earth.
Ride on soldier we ride together!!!
In my understanding...Unity gives strength..the body should be working together in total unity.Like an athlete...fit and strong...moving forward
ReplyDeleteThy Kingdom come...thy will be done on Earth as it is in heaven..
As the Church,the body of Christ..we are strong when together as one..77% of South Africa claim to be Christian!!..That should equate to Godly Government..Leaders who can hear and obey the Lord...Leaders who love Jesus.. UNITY...LOVE...Proverbs 29 vs 2...ha ha ha Martin...you know my hobby horse :-)..I am gonna shut up now..good stuff brother
Guys, thank you for your post. We tend to hold to form as if it is sacred, and are very scared to discard tradition because it feeds our idolatrous propensity. When God moved in "that way", our tendency is to expect Him to move in "that way" going forward, but He simply will not! The new wine must be put into new wineskins. The reason Jesus does that is so that we don't form denominations or name ourselves after a movement or attribute of God, which gives a higher identity to the believer than being in Christ alone. "I was born a Baptist/Methodist/Heartlander, etc"
ReplyDelete