7/15/2018 Unity in Christ 1

Transcription

1 "Unity in Christ" Churches throughout the world are very divided in their beliefs, and there is a difference between churches. Hello, I m Phil Sanders, and this is a Bible study In Search of the Lord s Way. Today we re going to look at the Lord s desire for unity among His people. Welcome to In SEARCH of the Lord s Way! We re here to search the Scriptures for God s will. We follow the Lord s Way, because Jesus is Lord of all. He has all authority in heaven and on earth. And there s no one above Him, and there is no power that can overthrow Him or take away His authority. Our confession is that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is Lord. If Jesus is Lord, then we ought to obey Him. If the Lord will judge our eternal destiny, then we ought to pay great attention to everything He teaches and requires of us. Thanks for taking time with us today. We want to be a part of your life each week. We, we live in a divided religious world. There are more than 230 organized religious groups in America and more than 35,000 nondenominational groups. As I travel through the country I am amazed at the names of many of these groups and how they adopt these names to distinguish themselves. Now each group adopts its own beliefs and practices according to its own desires. Many think that we re never to make any judgments at all about what is right and wrong. I heard recently about a church that told its people that however they wanted to come to Jesus was okay and had people who said they were saved in a variety of ways. Now when I heard this, I, I wondered why Jesus did not have a say in the matter. Our culture thinks everyone has the right to believe anything He wants and still be right with the Lord. Isn t Jesus the Lord and isn t He the king? Doesn t He make the rules? If people make the rules as to who is a member of the Lord s church, then they really dismiss Jesus as Lord and become the own ruler. I recalled the words of Jesus in Luke 6 and verse 46, Why do you call Me, Lord, Lord, and do not do what I say? Now we offer this study free about unity in Christ. If you d like a printed copy or a CD of our study and you live in the United States, mail your request to In Search of the Lord s Way, P.O. Box 371, Edmond, OK or send an to searchtv@searchtv.org. Or, you can call our toll-free telephone number. That number is We also have materials free on our website at The Edmond church will now worship in song, we ll read from Ephesians 4:1 to 6, and then we ll explore our need to be one in Christ. Our reading today comes from Paul s letter to the Ephesians chapter 4 verses 1 through 6. This is Paul wanting the church at Ephesus to be united and to love each other and to remain one. Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. The Lord Jesus wants His people to be one. And Paul was teaching them that very thing. Let s pray together. Father we pray that we may all be one. To have gentleness towards each other and Father always keep You as our heart and soul and as our Lord. To do whatever You ask us to do and to be whatever You ask us to be. And Father may Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. In Jesus name, Amen. 7/15/2018 Unity in Christ 1

2 The Lord Jesus prayed that His people might be one. And He wanted all who followed Him to be united just like He was united with His Father. He prayed in John 17 verses 20 to 23, I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me. One reason so many people reject Christianity is the great division found in our religious world. God never intended for it to happen; Jesus never prayed for it; and the Scriptures do not call for division within the body of Christ. Before Jesus prayed for unity, He prayed for His people to believe the truth. He prayed in John 17:17, Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. They were first to be set apart and made holy in the truth. The idea that there can be many versions of the truth or that we could as individuals determine our own truth was never in the mind of God. The unity that Jesus prayed for resembled the unity that He had with the Father in heaven. They were of like mind and purpose. To have unity, we should be of like mind and purpose with the Father as well. When the church at Corinth showed division, Paul said in 1 Corinthians 1:10 to 13, Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment. For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe s people, that there are quarrels among you. 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. Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? Paul was appalled that this church would leave their commitment to Christ in order to follow men. He insisted that they be of the same mind and judgment. They were to conform to the Lord s teaching and leave their sectarian opinions and loyalties to men. To get rid of them. You know the way of God in the New Testament calls us to unity not division! It s a narrow path not a diverse one. As we read in Ephesians 4:4 to 6 the bible says, There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. Let s search for the one true path that God laid out for us rather than create a multitude of paths, in most of the time in our own image. There is one body. Paul explained what this body is. He said in Ephesians 1:22 to 23, (That) And He (that is God) put all things in subjection under His (that is Christ s) feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. The church is Christ s body. Ephesians 5:23 calls Christ the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. Now, just like one head with many bodies is a grotesque thought and foreign to the Scriptures. So that Jesus could be the head of the church but there be many churches is grotesque and foreign to the scriptures. The suggestion that all the different religious groups are still the one body can hardly be true. Why they differ in name, creed, belief, and practice. They make God a source of contradictions and confusion. There is one Spirit, that is, one Holy Spirit. The Lord Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to teach the apostles. And He said that they would teach him, or teach you (the apostles) all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you (John 14:26). The Holy Spirit would guided the apostles into all the truth as we noted (John 16:13). When people resist the Word of God, they resist the one Spirit who gave it. 7/15/2018 Unity in Christ 2

3 There is one hope. You were called in one hope of your calling. The Lord calls us today through the gospel. 2 Thessalonians 2 verses 13 to 14 says, But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. It was for this (that) He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. God gives us His word in the hope that we will respond to it. The church in Thessalonica had responded. Paul said in 1 Thessalonians 2 and verse 13, For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe. When people accept the gospel message, they ll turn from worldly ways to the one hope that is in Christ. There is one Lord. You know because of His humble obedience on the cross, Philippians 2 verses 9 to 11 says that, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Since Jesus is Lord and we are His servants, we do not belong to ourselves. We were bought with a price, and we are not our own but belong to Him. And He has a right to make decisions that affect our lives, and we must obey Him. We must deny ourselves, take up our own crosses, and follow Him. Colossians 1:15 to 18 describes our Lord Jesus that, He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn (that is the ruler) of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place, first place, in everything. Does Jesus have first place in your life? There is one faith. And that faith refers to the gospel and to the teaching found in the New Testament. Acts 6 and verse 7 says that many of the Jewish priests were becoming obedient to the faith. And in John 14 verse 6 Jesus said, I am the way, and the truth, and the life; (and) no one comes to the Father but through Me. Acts 4 and verse 12 says, And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved. We are not only to hold that faith in Jesus but also to insist on it. Jude 3 says, Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints. My friend, there is but one faith that has been handed down for all time, and we must hold fast to it. Some Jewish Christians were trying to bind the Law of Moses on Gentile Christians, and the apostle Paul stood against them. He said in Galatians 1:6 to 9, I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed! Oh, this is strong language. No one, no one has a right to change the gospel, to add to it, to take away from it, to edit it, or to distort it. There is one, and only one, baptism. The religious world will tell you that there are different forms and reasons for baptism in Christ, but Ephesians 4 and verse 5 says there is but one baptism. 7/15/2018 Unity in Christ 3

4 Now the word baptism is a specific term (baptidzo) and refers to an immersion or a dipping in water. There are different words for sprinkling (rhantidzo) and pouring (cheo). And the practice of sprinkling or pouring for baptism came from men, not God, and it came much later than the practice found in the New Testament. They could not be the one baptism of Ephesians 4 and verse 5. The Scriptures are clear that believers who repented were baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. The Scriptures never suggest infants or little children were baptized into Christ. Baptizing little ones who are innocent and are too young to believe, and have nothing for which to repent cannot be the one baptism of Ephesians 4 and verse 5. Now people say that one is saved before and without baptism, but the Scriptures teach one is baptized for the remission of sins in Acts 2 and verse 38. Ananias told Saul of Tarsus to be baptized and wash away his sins in Acts 22:16. Peter said in 1 Peter 3:21 that, baptism now saves you not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Titus 3 and verse 5 says that, He (that is God) saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, (no) but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit. This phrase the washing of regeneration is a reference to baptism, and everyone understood that clearly for more than 1500 years until a popular teacher began suggesting that one is saved without it. Unfortunately, people believed the late teacher rather than the Scripture. A baptism that comes after salvation is never contemplated in Scripture; it cannot be the one baptism of Ephesians 4 and verse 5. There is one God and Father. Jesus entered a world in which there were many pagan gods, but He affirmed there is but one God who made heaven and earth. It s regrettable some men have assumed spiritual titles that exalt themselves. The Lord Jesus said in Matthew 23 and verse 9, Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. No one on earth can take the Father s place in heaven, and all Christians are brothers. The Father is over all and through all and in all. Since God is over us, we humble ourselves before Him. He made everything, and one can see His wisdom and grace through all and in all. The notion that there are many gods or we can become our own little god is foreign to the Scripture. The great struggle of humanity arises in whether we take God seriously. God made us in His image, but we cannot become Him or replace Him. He is God, and we re not. He is infinite, and we are finite. He is perfect, and we are flawed. He is holy and good, and we are weak in the flesh. We need God to deliver us from ourselves. Do you have God in your life? Let s pray together. Oh, Father help us always to bring our wills into conformity with Your will. This is our pray in the name of Jesus, Amen. If there is only one of something, there cannot be many. If there is only one of something, there cannot be even two. Our culture wants freedom for people to believe any religious view; but the Scriptures don t teach unity in diversity. They teach unity by commitment to the one true God and His Son Jesus and to the teaching that the Father and Son gave once for all time. Someone says you know, Phil, that sounds narrow-minded! Yes it does. Friend, the Lord, to whom we belong, is clear about many things and demands that we do the will of the Father in heaven. We must follow the narrow path, because the broad way leads to destruction (Matthew 7:13 to 14). The Lord Jesus didn t give us forty different gospels or build forty different churches with forty different baptisms. He decided on one gospel and has one body. My purpose is not to be narrowminded in a worldly sense but to be Christ-minded in a spiritual sense. I want to bring every thought captive to the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10 verse 5). 7/15/2018 Unity in Christ 4

5 And this is why we must reject man-made religious beliefs and practices. The only path to the unity for which Jesus prayed comes from following the Lord Jesus as He revealed the will of the Father and that in Scripture. When we all focus on the will of the Father, we see things alike. When we focus on our own will or our own desires, well, we ll go a thousand different ways. Following Jesus isn t doing our own thing spiritually; following Jesus is obedience to His will. To become a Christian, trust in the Lord and in His Word, repent of your sins, confess Jesus Christ as the Son of God, and be baptized into Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Don t settle for some other path that is never mentioned in Scripture. Obey the Lord today and get right with God. We hope that today s study about unity in Christ has stirred you to consider what you believe and practice. If you live in the United States and want a free printed copy or a CD of this message, mail your request to In Search of the Lord's Way, P.O. Box 371, Edmond, OK or send an to searchtv@searchtv.org. Or, you can call the Search office toll-free at You can also download these lessons or a newsletter online at our website: There s also a schedule of our programs and a map with the location of churches and our station in your area. You can watch SEARCH anytime on YouTube, in addition to all that! Subscribe to our channel, SearchTVMinistry. We also offer free Bible Correspondence courses. Now if you get a hold of us don t worry, we re not here to get your money. We re here to help you get to heaven and to know God s will. So please get involved with a church of Christ. And if you re looking for a healthy, Biblical church home, we ll be happy to help you find one. We ll be back next week, Lord willing. So keep searching God s Word with us and tell a friend about this program. God bless you and we love you from all of us at In Search of the Lord s Way. 7/15/2018 Unity in Christ 5