Part 4: The Church and Worship
unity. The quality of being one in spirit, sentiment, purpose, etc.; agreement, concord, uniformity. Webster’s New World Dictionary, Second College Edition.
Toward this, the Apostle, Paul, wrote to us twenty centuries ago:
As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit-- just as you were called to one hope when you were called--one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. Ephesians, Chapter 4, Verses 1 through 6.
If we keep the unity of the Spirit in peace, Paul continues:
Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Ephesians, Chapter 4, Verse 14.
Since there is one Lord, one faith, one baptism and one God and Father of us all, there are no denominations within the Lord’s true church.
denomination. A particular religious sect or body, with a specific name, organization, etc. Webster’s New World Dictionary, Second College Edition.
denominationalism adj 4. division into denominations. Webster’s New World Dictionary, Second College Edition. William Collins Publishers, Inc.
Denominations are divisions, but Paul wrote that “There is one body and one Spirit . . .one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”
Something’s wrong! Our Lord fervently prayed for us in John, Chapter 17, Verses 20 & 21:
"My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”
Obviously the world does not believe that Jesus was sent from God. The disunity of the so-called Christian church has long been and is cause for widespread disbelief. The denominations cannot agree on organization, baptism, music in the assembly, etc. “United” they say. Yet they will not give up teachings that oppose scripture.
The Apostle Paul, speaking to the Corinthians strongly stated the need for unity:
I
appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you
agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you
may be perfectly united in mind and thought. My brothers, some from Chloe's
household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is
this: One of you says, "I follow Paul"; another, "I follow
Apollos"; another, "I follow Cephas"; still another, "I
follow Christ." Is Christ
divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul?
1
Corinthians, Chapter 1, Verses 10 through 13.
Several bright, modern scholars have pointed out that it was the intellectuals of the church in the 17th and 18thcenturies that began to lead their flocks away from Biblical truths. Perhaps this is so. Today’s denominations prove that many have, indeed, been lead away from the Truth.
Paul, speaking to the church at Corinth said about teachers causing division:
"For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve." 2 Corinthians, Chapter 11, Verses 13-15.
The Apostle Peter continues this thought:
But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them--bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping. II Peter 2:1-3.
But what can be done about this? James, Chapter 1, Verses 22—25 tells us exactly what we should do:
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it--he will be blessed in what he does.
The Apostle Peter in I Peter 1:22-25 continues this advice:
Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart. For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. For, "All men are like grass,
and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;
the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever." And this is the word that was preached to you.
We have this word today in our own Bibles. To avoid divisions and attain unity it is obvious that we must both hear [study] God’s Word and be obedient to its directions.