Church Unity is the Highest Evidence of Personal Maturity

"May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." (Rom 15:5-6)

“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. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” (John 17:20-23)

“Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.” (James 3:13-18)

“From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work” (Eph 4:16)

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” (Col 3:12-14)

No amount of personal genius can ever supplant God's purpose of oneness in the Body. Every gift - not just the "5 fold" gifts - serves this purpose. Christ is coming back for one Bride. Think about this before you are too quick to dedicate your life energies to pursuing privatized goals. And as you do, forgive men; release debtors; love everyone with all your heart - not just the "likable" people. Practise the spiritual skill of overlooking offences. Act and speak as men and women who will themselves be judged by the law of Love. Sow towards righteousness. Bite your tongue. Pass the shocks and pains onto Jesus, the Great Yoke-Breaker.

If you are a Christian, know this - the same Awesome Power that raised Jesus from the dead is at work in you. The reason all the New Testament authors could write instructions so plainly was because they knew that the church had been raised to a supernatural life. The Spirit given to us is powerful. He tends us towards holiness. These authors wrote not to the "old you", but the the new you - the Christ-life within.

So, practice righteousness. Be a pot for noble purposes. When Paul wrote of this (2 Tim 2:20), he wrote specifically in the context of men who argued and chattered and slandered. God is saying here, that the man who does not increase spiritual unity across the body is a common man.

Don't be a commoner any more! Humility releases the power of God - so apply yourself in your new life to love; to peace; to meekness. For such a man is described as "great" in the eternal Kingdom.

Nick

Hoisted on his own Petard

“Then Harbona, one of the eunuchs attending the king, said, “A gallows seventy-five feet high stands by Haman’s house. He had it made for Mordecai, who spoke up to help the king.” The king said, “Hang him on it!” So they hanged Haman on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the king’s fury subsided.” (Esth 7:9-10 NIV)

Haman loved position, and hated anyone who did not honor his position. He was so furious with Mordecai the Jew, for not bowing and scraping to him, that he got the king to issue an edict of annihilation against all the Jews in all the provinces of Persia. He even built a high gallows by his home to hang Mordecai there. In the end, God turned it around on Haman, and he was hanged on this very gallows.

This is God’s Way. God is with the oppressed.

If we oppress others, He will defend them and resist us. How many times have we mulled over injury and nursed our wounded pride and then built a gallows in our own mental garden? The self-righteous person defines his or her grievance, finds a culprit and puts him on trial in the courtroom of their soul. The sentence is always harsh, such is the sinful nature. We cannot help but gloat over any downfall or setback the accused party experiences. We assume automatically and erroneously that God has sided with us; but God sides with no man or woman - He sides Himself with truth, humility and righteousness.

Even when we are walking in honorable ways, and are victimized for it, the Word grants us no license to start gallows construction. “But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”(Matt 5:44-45 ESV). “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Rom 12:19-21 ESV).

God will deal with all evildoers as He sees fit. He is Judge of all. But mercy always triumphs over judgment. God blesses forgiveness. God is deaf to self-righteousness and the cries of the man who sees every splinter in other men’s eyes. “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” (Luke 6:36-38 NIV)

God looks at the heart. Even in our Christian immaturity, He makes no lien for the anger-judgment-murder triad. He calls that “sin” and says His power is unleashed in all who forgive. Forgiveness is not in its highest honor when it is only extended to the penitent. The Word calls us to forgive men and women the moment the offence is incurred - we are called to walk in forgiveness, if we desire to walk in the Spirit. This is not some mental chant, but transacting with Jesus in the power of the Spirit, to hand our offences over to God, to pray for our enemies and then to walk free of the burden of anger. This too is a very heavy burden – heavier than despair to be sure – which Jesus is eager to lift off our shoulders (Matt 11:28). The witness of the Spirit comes the moment we humble ourselves to release our tormentors; and this witness is also the seal of God’s favor – heaven’s endorsement of a Merciful God. Forgiveness is the work of the Cross: when you forgive, you are a co-worker with Christ.

“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.” (Matt 5:21-22 ESV)

Nick

Prediction and Peace

Christian Prediction ought to be, "what IS God doing TOMORROW?". He is the great "I Am". He is building His church. He is the spirit of prophesy. He has the whole world in His hands. He created Time as a means through which He can interact with His creation.

Christian Peace ought to be: "Who are you, and what would you have me do today?". He has left us His peace. He has instructed us not to worry about tomorrow, today.

When we invert these things, we lose joy. When our prediction is based on our strengths, allies, resources and enemies, we are no longer prophetic people. And we fill our todays with worry, at the cost of peace. We are His children.

In Isaiah 7, King Ahaz is asked to trust God today for a future deliverance. He just needed to believe in the unseen. Instead he checked his troops and defences. In contrast, Elijah believed he was on God's mission - in rebuking Ahab and shutting up the rains. In 1 Kings 17, he sat by the Kerith brook until the day it dried up. He had peace in each day that God would provide water and ravens. He had peace for each day that God would guide him. No word from God meant he must just abide where he was. No striving, no besetting worry, no giving over to works of panic. “Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. Then the word of the LORD came to him: “Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food.”” (1 Kings 17:7-9)

This surely is the difference between man-church and God's church. Our peace is that He will not leave us, nor leave us in unbearable situations. Our prediction is that He will deliver us, build His church and save the world.

"Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit", says the Lord. "Unless the Lord builds the house, the workmen labour in vain."

Bless you, Nick