HELP YOUR SELF LESSONS
1 Inertia
2 What "They Say"
3 Prejudice
4 Hard Scriptures
5 John the forerunner
6 Apollos' patience
7 Paul's suffering
8 Mary mother of Jesus
9 Woman of Samaria
10 Woman of Canaan
11 Traditions
12 Bible Study Tips
13 Church global & local
14 Unbreakable scripture?
15 Be ye perfect
16 Authority
17 First century gifts
18 Singing in worship
19 Little orphan anti -1
20 Little orphan anti - 2
21 church - one
22 church of Christ
23 church -undenominational
24 church -not of man
25 church - promised heaven
26 Jesus' personality
27 Satan's cults
28 Terror
29 False teachers
30 Prayer by Jesus To Be One
Thus, it also means “one body, and one Spirit … one hope … one Lord, one faith,
one baptism, one God and Father …”. Since the basis of this unity is the word of
God, for the purpose of this writing unity shall not refer to: civility in society;
disposition in the home; or peace-seeking of the world. Instead, under
consideration is a spiritual unity that is “of the faith” and “of the knowledge of the
Son of God” EPHESIANS 4:13.
saved, and be in unity, many instead sin, cover up with human traditions, and
continue to divide. This has led to hatred and bloodshed. Cain killed his brother
Abel, after separating himself from God by not repenting of his false worship,
GENESIS 4:1-8. When God confronted him, Cain tried to justify his wrongdoing
with a smart-aleck question, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” GENESIS 4:9. Likewise
today, false worship and false religion are used to cover up the disunity under
which people live. “Ecumenical" is not unity, but is a conglomeration of divisions.
When people are sober minded about the resurrection of Christ, they will seek and
find scriptural unity, PHILIPP. 2:1-12.
means “to bind back”. Religion is the means by which man in his sins may be
forgiven and be bound back to Holy God. Sins separate man from God, ISAIAH 59:
2. Only Christ is to be heard on how to get back to the Father, MATTHEW 17:1-5;
JOHN 14:6. Obeying God’s commands is better than a lifetime of vain sacrifices,
1 SAMUEL 15:22. Those who reject Christ, scripture and the truth, are the cause
of wars, fights, lusts, unanswered prayers, adultery, whoredoms, and worldliness,
and denominationalism. But when souls do what is good and required, the result is
justice, mercy and humility, MICAH 6:8; JAMES 3:17,18. We must go through
Christ to be reconciled to God, 2 CORINTHIANS 5:18-21. God is not willing for any
to perish, but is eager to save those who repent of sin and wrongdoing, 2 PETER
3:9.
against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this
world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” What makes “spiritual
wickedness” wicked?
First of all, because it is in “high places”, many people will not question it or prove
it, and will accept it even though it is a lie, JOHN 8:44. Second, because it is
“spiritual”, or of a religious tone, many people will assume it is biblical, when in fact
it is not biblical, 1 CORINTHIANS 14:37,38. There is so much spiritual wickedness
in the world because people follow what looks, feels, and seems okay, rather than
proving what is good. “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the
end thereof are the ways of death” PROVERBS 14:12. “Prove all things; hold fast
that which is good” 1 THESSALONIANS 5:21.
Finally, spiritual wickedness is wicked because it comes from the subtilty of the
devil (GENESIS 3:1; 2 CORINTHIANS 11:3), who camouflages his deceptions to
hide the fact that it is that spirit of antichrist, 1 JOHN 4:1-6.
Jew, Greek, bond, free, male and female, if “in Christ”, are “all one”. One. Not 2 or
20 or 200 or 2,000 or 20,000, but one. Now the cynics say, “Never happen." Satan
jumps in and fills the earth with extremist cults and sects who make confusing false
claims to be the true way. That way, the devil can make accusations against any
who claim "one" (REVELATION 12:10) The issue is not what man sees. The
question is, Am I part of the problem, or am I part of the solution? “For we walk by
faith, not by sight”, 2 CORINTHIANS 5:7. Many in the confusion do not even seek
to find the oneness, and do not believe. Most who profess Christ don't even
believe it.
God is glorified when the followers of Christ are one. In JOHN 17:20-21, Jesus
said: “Neither pray I for these [apostles] alone, but for them [Christians] also
which shall believe on Me through their [apostles’] word; That they all may
be one, as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one
in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent Me.” As Jesus prayed,
"That they all may be one."
means to “all speak the same thing” and that “there be no divisions among you”,
1 CORINTHIANS 1:10-13. Human philosophy (COLOSSIANS 2:8) may say things
like “agree to disagree”, and may twist scriptures to support denominationalism.
Interdenominational means to accept any, but this is not the unity of God, 2 JOHN
9-11. Likewise, “ecumenical” may appeal to patriotism and emotionalism to
include everyone under the umbrella, but where is the authority to do so from God’s
word? Unity is not a compromise with error, nor is it a silent resolve to fit into a
political regime. Yes, there is freedom in unity, but it is based in truth: JOHN 17:17.
JOHN 8:32. EPHESIANS 4:13-15.
those hearers into Christians (ACTS 11:26). Never was there any word about
Roman Catholic, Protestant, Denominational, or Sectarian, because these named
classifications prevent souls from enjoying the unity of salvation in Christ.
“Denomination” is a man-made name given to a schism built on a personality, or
teaching, or system of beliefs. Nevertheless, Christ and Christian and church of
Christ are divine names (Acts 4:10-12; Acts 11:26; Isaiah 62:2). “Salute one
another with an holy kiss. The churches of Christ salute you”, ROM. 16:16.
peace. But LUKE 12:51-53 shows the paradoxical flip side of the coin. That is, if
persons refuse to do the word of Christ, they divide themselves from God's
fellowship. For a time God may have mercy on their soul, but disobedient people
forsake peace and unity with God by their own unbelief. See 2 JOHN 9-11 and
MATTHEW 7:21-23.
That is why in ACTS 13:46, Paul told those who contradicted and blasphemed that
they “judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life…”. By rejecting the gospel,
they were judging themselves. They were also dividing themselves from the
believers. It was not because unity was out of their reach. It was because they
rejected it. And it even tells us why. When those particular Jews saw the multitudes
going to hear the word, “they were filled with envy.” They put their own earthly
prestige above unity with heaven. That is why they were divided away from the
unity of God. When people reject the gospel truth, they reject unity. No amount of
“good words and fair speeches” (ROMANS 16:18) unifies. A lot of division in the
world is made necessary when many put self above truth and unity.
for spiritual unity. Without Christ and His mind, mans’ ways and thoughts will never
achieve unity (ISAIAH 55:8-9). God the Father and Christ the Word are one (JOHN
10:30), but since the beginning, many have not walked in step with the Godhead.
Read 1 PETER 4:11. This verse must be the magna carta of the unity of the faith of
Christians. It is the antidote to confusion, division, error and opinionated smart-
alecks. Spiritually blind and ignorant persons in our land continually run off at the
mouth, causing an epidemic loss against healthy unity. But God gave the gospel of
Christ, so that “open sepulcher” throats, and deceitful tongues, may “be stopped”
(ROMANS 3:13-19). When we do speak according to the word of God, then that is
when we may "with one mind and one mouth glorify God."
the solution. This was determined by Jesus' pre-existence, virgin birth, sinless life,
atoning death, burial, resurrection, ascension, and coronation. Isaiah 9:6-7 &
Philippians 2:1-12.