The old man lay upon his deathbed with a heavy heart, grieved over the
disharmony of his sons. He called them
all to his bedside, and ordered each one of the five to bring a stick. Then the sticks were all tied in a bundle.
Now, beginning with the youngest, he had him try to break the bundle. Each one
in turn, up to the eldest, tried, and utterly failed. Then he had the bundle
untied, giving each one a stick, and ordered him to break it. In a moment the
five sticks were all broken. Now he said: “My sons, you see how there is
strength in union, and weakness in disharmony. When I am gone, will you live in
peace and harmony, helping one another?”
The above illustration only
partially illustrates the importance of God’s plan for a unified church, for He
requires more than a union of believers.
God requires a unity that can only be properly defined as “divine”
unity. It is possible to create a
Christian union without achieving true Biblical unity. This is made apparent by the illustration of
tying two cats together by their tails, then hanging them across a
clothesline. You clearly have union, and
just as clearly – you do not have unity!
There is today a strong move
toward what is called Christian “unity” but the result is only a superficial
union. This union is based on
compromise, cleverly disguised under use of the word “tolerance”. Its basic message is “Let’s tear down the
walls which divide us, and come together in Christ.” What this really means is
“Let’s ignore our doctrinal differences (the walls that divide us) and come
together in a common love for Jesus Christ.”
While this bit of human reasoning tickles the ear, and to many may seem
to be the solution to Christian division, it springs forth from those who
neither know the Scripture nor the power of God. This doctrine is the product
of the carnal mind. God does not have to
compromise His Word to achieve unity among His people, and He will not.
A small section from our old Body
of Christ course might be of value here:
“Paul
was emphatic in his doctrine of unity; he was insistent in his teaching that an
identifying mark of the Church of God is unity: not a unity in name only, nor
merely the unity of being Christians, but a unity which involves corporate
union into an organized society. Such a
doctrine leaves no place for denominationalism,i.e., the theory that the Church
of God is made up of various Christian organizations all of which are component
parts of God’s church and are known as “denominations.” It also leaves no place for difference in
doctrine, for such would destroy the necessary unity. It makes no reservation for differences in
church organization, for such is closely allied to doctrine, also being
outlined in the New Testament. It is the
height of illogic and utterly contrary to Scripture to portray the Church as a
conglomerate body composed of all denominations with the multiplicity of creeds
and doctrines. The Bible teaches only
one doctrine, one Lord, one baptism, and one Church for all. Read I Cor. 1:10-13; 12:13, 20, 25. In Paul’s day there was only one church, but
already the danger of division was appearing.
Paul recognized the seriousness of that danger in several passages of
his epistles; therefore, his warnings against it. God’s plan is still the same for he has not
changed. If division was wrong in the
apostolic era, it is wrong in the modern age.
Denominationalism is nothing if it is not division; therefore this theory
of church unity is false. Since this is
what Paul is really teaching – and since it is the inspired Word of God –
anything short of complete unity would be displeasing to God.
Of
course there is an apparent contradiction here.
Nearly every sect and denomination claims some root is Scripture. If that is so – and the Word of God is
infallible – what explanation can be given for the variety of organizations all
claiming to be Christian? The answer is
simple. God’s Word is infallible, but
humanity is not; the bible contains no errors or contradictions but such have
arisen through the fallibility of man’s interpretations. Think for a moment. Does it seem reasonable
that the God of Heaven, of whom His own Words says he “is not the author of
confusion,” should reveal one interpretation to one individual or group and
give an entirely different revelation to another? Does it seem quite within the bounds of
rational thinking to suppose that God Himself, through His Word, is the author
of denominationalizm and doctrinal schism?
Heaven forbid that anyone should profess such ignorance of Scripture and
the nature of God.
These
questions and the inevitable answer are enough to prove that God cannot have
ordained such division as the final order of things, although God does use all
things to promote His own ends. The
whole nature of God is unity of which division is the exact opposite. Then with this major and unassailable premise
as the starting point the reasoning should be carried to its logical
conclusion. If God is one then His
people must be one. Somewhere, out of
the welter and confusion of sectism, there must come one true interpretation of
God’s Word, around which a unified organization is built to propagate this as
the Eternal Truth. In other words, among
all the various churches there is one which is the true Church of God to the
exclusion of all others…
Human
beings may achieve union and call it unity.
Do not be misled thereby for human ideas of unity do not conform to
God’s. There is a movement on the world
today for great church bodies to be united in government – to become one
church. In the past several years a
number have formed unions under the belief that they are fulfilling the plea of
Christ to be one. However, God requires
more than this superficial unity – he requires a oneness which can only be
brought about by the Holy Ghost and the Church which fulfills all the
prophecies and Scripture relating to the body of Christ.”
While most of us in The Church of
God understand the principles of divine unity and readily preach it to others,
it is important that we do not fail to practice it ourselves. “United we stand, divided we fall” is an
expression well known, and it’s truth is based upon the Word of God. It was Jesus Himself who said, “And if a
kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house be
divided against itself, that house cannot stand” (Mark 3:24,25). Jesus was referring to Satan’s kingdom when
he made this statement, but it applies to the kingdom of God and the House of
God just as well. We must not only have unity, but our unity must exceed the
unity achieved through human effort. It
must be a complete unity in which we are not only in harmony with one another,
but also with the Holy Ghost and the teachings of Scripture. Anything less will not satisfy God’s
requirement for unity. And when we
achieve divine unity, we will surely be a blessed people.
The covenant of the Church does
not by itself bring us into divine unity.
It does bring us into the divine body of Christ and make us members one
of another, and if those taking the covenant fulfill their promises to believe
and practice the Bible, there will also be divine unity. In a marriage between a man and women, the
covenant makes them one flesh and they are married for life. But the marriage covenant also says “for better
or for worse.” Due to the failures of
either the husband or wife, or perhaps both, many marriages are “for
worse.” The marriage covenant and its
resulting union into one flesh remains intact, even if the marriage turns out
for worse! So we see that union in
marriage does not guarantee unity in marriage.
It is the same in the body of Christ.
“Behold, how good and how
pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious
ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that
went down to the skirts of his garments; As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew
that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the
blessing, even life for evermore” (Psm. 133:1-3)
God compares unity to the oil
which was used to anoint Aaron, the high priest. This oil is described in the thirty-second
chapter of Exodus, verses 22-33. It was
made of a special combination of ingredients, each measured out in precise
amounts, and it serves as a type of the oil of Heaven, the Holy Ghost. God’s Spirit contains many ingredients (gift
of wisdom, gift of knowledge, miracles, healings, etc., as well as the fruit of
the Spirit –love, joy, peace, etc.) each of which adds to the precious blessing
we receive when the Spirit is poured upon the Church. The Old Testament ointment was not dabbed on,
but mixed in quantities of no less than twelve gallons. This oil was poured upon Aaron’s head is sufficient
quantity as to run down his beard and soak his clothes all the way down to the
hem of his garment! Oh for an outpouring
of the Holy Ghost like this! What unity
will prevail in the Church
of God
In the pouring of the ointment
upon Aaron we can see God’s pattern for the Church today. The head of the Church, Jesus Christ received
not the Spirit by measure (Jn. 3:34).
Christ (the anointed one) received the Holy Ghost without measure upon
Himself and His ministry. That same
precious ointment flowed down from the Head to the body on the day of Pentecost
with the outpouring of the Holy Ghost.
Yes, and it is flowing down to the very hem of His garment today, ready
to saturate every member of the body with the blessed ingredients which unify
us in love, doctrine, and the full divine will of God in everything!
Present divisions within the
Church are the result of personal opinions and doctrines conflicting with one
another. But if we look to God and seek
the ointment of Heaven, He will pour out the Spirit in such quantity that it
will saturate us in love and guide us into all truth. Divisions will be abolished, Christ will be
exalted, the Church will be edified, the world will be amazed! How good and how pleasant it will be!
No comments:
Post a Comment