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Division within the Body of Christ - PLEASE READ
Dear all,
I feel the Lord has laid it upon my heart to bring forward this message, which I now share. I quote from Titus 3:9-11 (NIV):-
“But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless. Warn a divisive person once, and then warn him a second time. After that, have nothing to do with him. You may be sure that such a man is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.”
It seems to me that over recent days, people in general on this site have been getting involved in the foolish and unprofitable arguments of which Paul warns. Please do not misunderstand me – I am all up for objective discussions, constructive study and critical examination of different interpretations of difficult passages. But I feel many of them here are starting to evolve into quarrels over “pet doctrines” which are secondary in nature and do not bear any real reflection on maturity as a Christian or on the gospel message and salvation. “Petty quarrels” lead to foolishness, but honest and objective discussion leads to wisdom.
Niels Bohr once said in regard to another field “If you think you are understanding quantum physics, you are not understanding quantum physics”, and I think the same is true of Scripture. Granted there are some doctrines which are abundantly clear and which are non-negotiable, but there are other doctrines which really are not worth causing division over. None of us have all the answers – and if one thinks he does then he is deceiving himself, for if we had all the answers we would live whole-heartedly for Christ, which none of us do. In the words of Romans 3:11, “there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God.” If we claim to be living our entire lives for God then we would have to be without sin, and the Bible makes it very clear that if we claim to be without sin then we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us (1 John 1:8).
People should understand that one of the purposes of the Body of Christ – and indeed this social network – is to seek to serve one another. Instead of sharing together in fellowship and worship, it seems that more and more we are spending time in selfish indulgence, arguing and disputing. If you read 1 Corinthians 1:10-17, you will find further instruction in this respect:-
“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? I am thankful that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, so no one can say that you were baptized into my name. (Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don't remember if I baptized anyone else.) For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.”
Here, Paul rebukes the early Corinthian church for their divisions based on loyalties to particular figures. But these divisions always ended in arguments, and the believers were divided by it. This also had profound and far-reaching consequences in other important areas. For instance, those who were wealthy would keep what was theirs to themselves, eating their food before the poorest members showed. This was a complete turn of events from the first Christians in Jerusalem depicted in Acts 2:44.
It seems to me that, as was the case here, we are continuing to be walking in the flesh rather than in the Spirit and we are following our own wills rather than that of the Lord’s.
I refer you to the rest of 1 Corinthians 3, which is of relevance here:-
“Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarrelling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men? For when one says, "I follow Paul," and another, "I follow Apollos," are you not mere men?
What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labour. For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building.
By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.
Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple.
Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a "fool" so that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God's sight. As it is written: "He catches the wise in their craftiness"; and again, "The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile." So then, no more boasting about men! All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God.”
I fear we as the Church – speaking collectively – are beginning to walk more and more according to the fleshly nature rather than that of the Spirit and we are following our own wills and desires rather than that of God’s.
It is my contention that division – where not necessary – is among the first symptoms of spiritual sickness.
As the body of Christ, we must unify the church under one banner - a state where they will be prepared to stand on the authority of the Word of God, whilst prayerfully seeking God's will. Then and only then can there be revival - for how are we to win the spiritual war when there is fighting, bickering, squabbling and throwing of toys out of prams among ourselves? We are on the same team, are we not?
Let there be REVOLUTION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What are people’s thoughts on this?
God bless,
Jonathan
I feel the Lord has laid it upon my heart to bring forward this message, which I now share. I quote from Titus 3:9-11 (NIV):-
“But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless. Warn a divisive person once, and then warn him a second time. After that, have nothing to do with him. You may be sure that such a man is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.”
It seems to me that over recent days, people in general on this site have been getting involved in the foolish and unprofitable arguments of which Paul warns. Please do not misunderstand me – I am all up for objective discussions, constructive study and critical examination of different interpretations of difficult passages. But I feel many of them here are starting to evolve into quarrels over “pet doctrines” which are secondary in nature and do not bear any real reflection on maturity as a Christian or on the gospel message and salvation. “Petty quarrels” lead to foolishness, but honest and objective discussion leads to wisdom.
Niels Bohr once said in regard to another field “If you think you are understanding quantum physics, you are not understanding quantum physics”, and I think the same is true of Scripture. Granted there are some doctrines which are abundantly clear and which are non-negotiable, but there are other doctrines which really are not worth causing division over. None of us have all the answers – and if one thinks he does then he is deceiving himself, for if we had all the answers we would live whole-heartedly for Christ, which none of us do. In the words of Romans 3:11, “there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God.” If we claim to be living our entire lives for God then we would have to be without sin, and the Bible makes it very clear that if we claim to be without sin then we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us (1 John 1:8).
People should understand that one of the purposes of the Body of Christ – and indeed this social network – is to seek to serve one another. Instead of sharing together in fellowship and worship, it seems that more and more we are spending time in selfish indulgence, arguing and disputing. If you read 1 Corinthians 1:10-17, you will find further instruction in this respect:-
“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? I am thankful that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, so no one can say that you were baptized into my name. (Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don't remember if I baptized anyone else.) For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.”
Here, Paul rebukes the early Corinthian church for their divisions based on loyalties to particular figures. But these divisions always ended in arguments, and the believers were divided by it. This also had profound and far-reaching consequences in other important areas. For instance, those who were wealthy would keep what was theirs to themselves, eating their food before the poorest members showed. This was a complete turn of events from the first Christians in Jerusalem depicted in Acts 2:44.
It seems to me that, as was the case here, we are continuing to be walking in the flesh rather than in the Spirit and we are following our own wills rather than that of the Lord’s.
I refer you to the rest of 1 Corinthians 3, which is of relevance here:-
“Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarrelling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men? For when one says, "I follow Paul," and another, "I follow Apollos," are you not mere men?
What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labour. For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building.
By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.
Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple.
Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a "fool" so that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God's sight. As it is written: "He catches the wise in their craftiness"; and again, "The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile." So then, no more boasting about men! All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God.”
I fear we as the Church – speaking collectively – are beginning to walk more and more according to the fleshly nature rather than that of the Spirit and we are following our own wills and desires rather than that of God’s.
It is my contention that division – where not necessary – is among the first symptoms of spiritual sickness.
As the body of Christ, we must unify the church under one banner - a state where they will be prepared to stand on the authority of the Word of God, whilst prayerfully seeking God's will. Then and only then can there be revival - for how are we to win the spiritual war when there is fighting, bickering, squabbling and throwing of toys out of prams among ourselves? We are on the same team, are we not?
Let there be REVOLUTION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What are people’s thoughts on this?
God bless,
Jonathan
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Ramona P. Jacobsz on -
amen Jonathan... Your thoughts are pure and you are a warrior of Jesus
<:))))><<
Your Friend
Ramona P.
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Permalink Reply by Ramona P. Jacobsz on
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DEAR ALL
I AM SURE THIS IS THE WISH OF OUR LORD JESUS AND GOD DOES NOT WANT DIVISION AT ALL... IT REMINDS ME OF SOUTH AFRICA'S PRESENT POLITICAL SITUATION... EACH ONE OF THE PARTIES WANTS TO DOMINATE AND RULE - WE WOULD ALL BE IN A BETTER SITUATION IF THEY UNITE. GOD MUST BE BITTERLY DISAPPOINTED IN HIS CREATION :MAN"... BECAUSE HE DID NOT INTEND A 'FIGHTING' REVOLUTINARY SPECY. WE ARE TRULY SHAMELESS... AND NEED TO BEG FORGIVENESS.
LET US HOLD HANDS AS BROTHERS AND SISTERS AND PRAY FOR EACH OTHER
When brothers or sisters attack you they are subconsciously asking for love. They might not ever believe this, but I know in your heart you understand what it is I am sharing with you. This is one of the reasons you and those living in the light should try to be more patient with angry brothers or sisters. These angry brothers or sisters are lost. They are feeling bad about themselves and taking it out on you. They take it out on you because they believe that you are the easier target. They could not take it out on God because lost brothers or sisters usually have a fear of God.
The next time a brother or sister who is ruled by the ego attacks you, consider that he or she is simply asking for love. He or she is a lost soul asking you for direction. Would you lead him or her toward more darkness or toward the light? This is the choice you make every time you react to a lost brother or sister.
Understand that the choice you make will bring you closer to the place you send him or her. Lead him or her toward darkness, and you too shall experience the darkness. Lead him or her toward light, and you too shall experience the light.
FOND LOVE IN JESUS CHRIST
<:))))><<
Your Friend
Ramona P.
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Permalink Reply by Ann France on -
I,too, believe in the Bible. It is God breathed and inspired. Also wish there wasn't so much valuable time and energy wasted over legalism and hair splitting. The Gospel is plain and simple, and it's so foolish to try to make it more complicated than it is. I wish we all could see God, Jesus, The Holy Spirit, through the eyes of a child. Of course there is much meat, besides the milk, but God willing, we can have the discernment to leave well enough alone, and try not to make more or less out of God's Word.
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Permalink Reply by Gilbert Dusenge on -
Hi Jonathan, we do not have to be divided in Christ alone, but on the athor hand we can't be associated with unbeleivers because it can collapse our good Christian culture. we have what we beleive and is acceptable before the living God, the bible also says that we can't be yoked together with some brethen if they are immoral and led by bad habits.
we have to observe how the world is evolving and ask God to protect us from the wordly lust, we are only one in Christ as his body and the Temple of the holy spirit living in us, and if someone is not centred to the above we can not be yoked together, some scriptures went on saying that we are not even allowed to sit with them, eat with them, even send the greetings to them. but all those who are in Jesus we are one body of Christ.
thx Gilbert.
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Permalink Reply by Connie J Dulaney on -
Hi Johnathan, I think we should be mature enough in Christ to agree to disagree and still be on one accord. Scripture tells us if meat offend your brother, don't eat, lest you cause him to stumble. So we that are strong should bear the infirmities of the weak. Because all of us are not eating meat some are still drinking milk which does not mean noone is better than the other, but there is a growing process if you've been born again.So let us as a whole pray for wisdom and strength in Christ Jesus.
God Bless
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Permalink Reply by Ginnybee on -
Exactly, Connie! I agree with you perfectly. We are each on a journey and at separate levels of understanding, which causes us to hold some minor, differing perspectives. Yet, though minor, it is possible for someone to cause another person to stumble along their way by confusing them in areas they are not yet equiped to understand. Thus, some degree of separation is not such a bad thing, as long as we all agree in the one major thing, that Jesus is Christ! And we should be respectful to those who are still young, or weak in faith. We should remain together in love, but allow some minor differences, as God is at work in us. We need to trust what He is doing in our brothers and sisters and not try to take over His authority by forcing people into one christian church where all must behave the same way. That would be entering back into legalism.
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Permalink Reply by Charles Burwell on
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Connie and Ginnybear
Well said and Godbless you both.
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Permalink Reply by journeymanhd on -
Amen Jonathan. Thank you my dear Brother. We are all related to each other. God's mercies are new everyday. So we should be merciful and gentle with each other.
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Permalink Reply by Trellis S. Hamilton on -
Jonathan you spoke so much truth that should make us all examine our walk with the Lord.We need a filling of Gods Spirirt so we be more effective in such a dark,dark world because our light is so dim.Let's take up our cross daily!! Amen
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