1
Cor 1:11-13 For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by
them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among
you. Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I
of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. Is Christ divided? was
Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?
Gen
11:4-9 And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose
top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be
scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. And the LORD came
down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.
And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one
language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained
from them, which they have imagined to do. Go to, let us go down, and
there confound their language, that they may not understand one
another's speech. So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon
the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.
Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there
confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD
scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.
Mat
18:19 Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as
touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my
Father which is in heaven.
Eph 5:23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.
Acts 2:1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
Rom
12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the
renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and
acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Since the Garden
of Eden, man has always been trying to get to heaven some way other than
God's. There is a way that seems right to man but the end is death.
(Prov 14:12) When building the tower of Babel man got together with
man and tried to build his own way to heaven. God put a stop to it.
There is one way to heaven, that is God's way in Jesus Christ. God
divided the people because they were united their way, not God's way.
The Lord has
always wanted His own to be of one mind and one accord, not mans way but Gods. Here is what Jesus said about it. John
17:21 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. To be so we
must build on the foundation of Jesus Christ who is the Word made
flesh. Any unity based on anything else will fall and not stand. The
Cross of Jesus Christ must rightly divide the Word of God. Jesus didn't
come to please man but to please The Father. If we are to be one, with
them, we must have the same mind set.
Those who claim to
believe in Christ are so divided that they are not of one mind and one
accord. Some go far enough to say if you are not of our group you are
not of God. Some believe if you don't attend church on Saturday you are
not of God. Others believe if you don't go on Sunday you are not of
God. Some believe if you are not baptized the way they were you are not
of God. Some believe you must sprinkle, others that you must be dunked.
Some believe you must speak in unknown tongues to be saved, others
believe if you do you are not saved. Some believe a Christian can not
sin, others believe they all sin. Some believe once saved always saved,
others don't believe that. One is of this or that ministry. One group
is a Word based group, insinuating that others are not. The list goes on
and on with seemingly no end!
Where is Christ in
all this, is he divided? Is the Holy Spirit causing this division? Any
person who has any understanding at all would say, “No - He is not.” It
is no wonder the church is not getting it's job done in winning the
lost to Christ. Many are not teaching and preaching the Gospel of the
Bible but some pet theories and doctrines. This is why there are so
many different denominations all believing they are, The One! The Holy
Spirit says when we are like this we are carnal and cannot please God!
These are babies being fed on milk. (Rom 8:7-8/1 Cor 3:1-2) Beloved,
this kind of division is not of God. Let's grow up and be like Paul who
said "I am determined to know nothing among you , save Jesus Christ and
Him crucified." (1 Cor 2:2)
How do we grow up?
It is time to get before God in prayer and Bible study and ask Him to
show us His truth. There is one way to please the Lord and it is
outlined in His Word for all to see. For us to understand His Word we
must be re-born by the Spirit of the living God. Those who have not His
Spirit cannot understand the Word of God. It is foolishness to them.
These are always looking for some hidden meaning and refuse to believe
it says what it means and means what it says. We are to do what it says
in Romans 12:2, prove all things and hold fast to truth. We prove it,
by the Word of God. Jesus is the head of His body, those in Him, let's
let him do the thinking by becoming doers of what He says. We are to
grow together in the spirit of truth, in Christ and be of one mind. (Rom 15:6 * 2 Cor 13:11 * Phil 1:27 * Phil 2:2 * 1 Peter 3:8) Beloved, if the way of salvation doesn't begin and end in Jesus Christ it is not the Gospel!
Do I believe I know all truth? Of course not! I would like to think I am like Paul said here. Phil
3:13-14 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but
this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and
reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the
mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. As
I grow in Christ, I find there are some things I must lay aside and
others I must put on in their place. Do any of us have every "I" dotted
and every "T" crossed? I don't feel I have arrived but, with the Holy
Spirit as my Guide, I am a lot further along than when I started, the last day of January 1970.
If you desire to
see the power of God at work in your life get in line with the Word of
God. Let the Holy Spirit become your guide into all the things of Jesus
Christ. When God's children get in one mind and accord the Holy Spirit
will manifest Him self in great things, bringing glory and honor to the
name of Jesus Christ. When He shows you something He will show it to
you in the Word of God. He is the author of the Bible and will never
contradict His own Word!
Lord
God, help us to lay aside everything that is not Your rightly divided
Word. Help us to stop being a witness to our church, our denomination,
our teacher, our Pastor, our group, etc. and start being and walking as
sons of God in the earth. Help us to get of one mind and one accord
with You and with those who love You. Help us to stop trying to
show who is the most knowledgeable and spiritual and get back to being
a witness unto You Lord Jesus in the power and demonstration of the
Holy Spirit. We ask in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen
