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Paul also
makes it very clear in 1 Corinthians 12 thru 14 that there is
body but many members, and that the same Spirit of God gives
different gifts and workings to every member of that one
body. That picture holds true for each congregation, and
should hold true for all the believers in a given area, such
as a city. And it also holds true for the one true church
that is scattered all around the world.
Not all
Christians speak in tongues, for example, or even agree on
what speaking in tongues should be. But such an experience
and/or conviction, or lack thereof, has no bearing on our
position in Christ’s body. Millions of Spirit-filled
believers who serve God each day do speak with tongues. And
millions of others who are just as filled with the Spirit have
never spoken with tongues other than a human language they had
to learn.
We could go
down the line with all the teachings and/or experiences that
seem to divide believers. Many of them are beneficial, not
only to the group that holds them as central to their
Christian identity, but also to the entire church, the body of
Christ. Some groups emphasize holiness, others argue for
grace alone, and still others focus a lot on practical works
and aid for those in need.
The
result? All of us are influenced by each other, and we need
the various voices that remind us of the various aspects of
God’s truth. We are saved by grace alone through faith in
Jesus Christ. That’s Bible teaching from Genesis through
Revelation. But the Bible also makes it clear that the
genuine faith that God’s grace gives us is a faith that shows
itself in works and in newness of life. A real pear tree will
not produce thorns or figs. It will produce pears. And a
healthy tree produces good fruit, whereas a dead tree will not
produce any fruit at all.
Doctrinal
differences among Christian believers are not a reason to
fight. Each "slant" exists in the One Church, and even in the
local Body by God's own hand. The Lord saves us and brings us
to Himself. He also places us in the Body as it pleases Him.
And He Himself teaches us by the Spirit of God, through the
Scriptures. Anyone claiming to be a teacher of God’s truth
should not use their position as a means of causing trouble
between believers.
Christian
unity is not uniformity in thoughts, in words, or even in
deeds. Yes, we all say the same basic things, when God draws
us together. But we will only say them the exact same way if
we are studying each other. If we are truly learning from
God's Holy Spirit, then each of us will bring something fresh
to the group and to the discussions.
All
believers are one in Christ, and only through Him can we truly
be one. We should be united with Him first, and not first
with each other. Believers are spiritually related to each
other only because we are all first related to Him. Our
identity, then, is through Christ. We are not Christians
because we hang out with other Christians, but because we know
and love and follow Jesus Himself.
True
Christians will always see many things a little differently.
But this is a good thing, not an evil thing, not something to
be avoided or afraid of. So when a brother or sister wants to
express their strong convictions, that's fine -- so long as
they understand first that others will also share equally
valid convictions, and that some of those other convictions
will be very different.
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Very seldom will any one of us to
see and know the whole truth about spiritual things. We share
from our own experiences with God, and from our private walk,
our personal relationship with God, and our own study. And
this is good. But rather than trying to figure out who is
right and who is wrong, we should use our time together to
continue learning.
The Lord
shows us some things when we’re alone with Him, and He
perfects our understanding when we fellowship with other
believers. The same applies to Christians from different
groups. We will learn just so much from the believers in our
own group. We will learn more -- and better understand what
we already though we knew -- when we’re willing to enjoy good
fellowship with believers from other church groups.
Discerning
the truth does not mean choosing sides. It means that we
actually learn from God what He want us to understand. We
must allow God's Holy Spirit to teach us the real story, the
actual truth which may be different than either of the typical
positions on some point of doctrine.
For a
classic example, the truth may not be “once saved, always
saved” or the opposing view. What does the Bible actually
say? What does the whole Bible teach us about faith and
salvation and standing true to God? Why is the Bible saying
what it does? Why does it show us the examples it gives? We
may discover that opposing church groups are sometimes take
positions that the Bible itself does not really take. And by
simply choosing sides, we can miss the greater teachings of
Scripture – teachings we all need in daily life.
If
Christian brothers and sisters with strong & opposing
convictions (which I hope is all of us!) can come to
understand that we’re all in the same family, then the Body of
Christ can better grow and learn together, with Christ as the
Teacher, and all of us as the students at His feet.
We are His
disciples, after all. And Christ is our Master Teacher.
Peter may not say what James says, or what John says. Paul
may even oppose Barnabas. But Christ is over all of us, and
He is the One who should really be leading us all. Jesus
Christ is the one who gives Peter his insights, and who
directs James’ understanding, and who inspires John. The Lord
sometimes leads Paul one way, and Barnabas another.
The Lord
Jesus may also lead us to join this church or that church.
But that does not mean that he has condemned all the others,
or that our position is the only one that is right. Very
likely, our church group only holds part of the picture. And
only when all the groups are willing to bring all the parts of
the picture together, only then can we begin to see Christ’s
true image in the faces of the church -- the one true church
that includes all believers all over the world.
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