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 Contents
Unity: Introduction ............................................................................... 5
Chapter 1: Purity, part 1—Fellowship ................................................. 6
Ch. 1: Purity, part 2— ......................................................................... 8
part 3— ...................................................................................... 9
part 4— .................................................................................... 10
part 5— .................................................................................... 11
part 6—Cleanness .................................................................... 12
part 7—Worthy of the Gospel .................................................. 13
part 8—Purity of the Church ................................................... 13
Ch. 2: Hindrances to Unity, ................................................................ 14
part 2 ........................................................................................ 15
part 3 ........................................................................................ 16
part 4 ........................................................................................ 17
part 5—Unconfessed Sin Leads to Disunity ............................. 18
part 6—Quarreling ................................................................... 19
part 7—Questions .................................................................... 20
part 8—Divisions and Subdivisions ......................................... 21
part 9—Divisive ....................................................................... 22
Ch. 3: Love ........................................................................................ 23
Ch. 4: Humility .................................................................................. 24
Ch. 5: Knowledge ............................................................................... 25
A Response, part 2 ................................................................... 26
part 3—Knowledge Puffs Up ................................................... 27
Question & Answer #2 ............................................................. 28
Ch. 6: The Pleasantness of Unity ....................................................... 30
Ch. 7: Fellowship ............................................................................... 31
part 2 ........................................................................................ 32
Ch. 8: The Body ................................................................................. 34
part 2 ........................................................................................ 35
part 3 ........................................................................................ 36
Question & Answer #1 ............................................................. 37
Question & Answer #2 ............................................................. 38
Ch. 9: Sarcasm ................................................................................... 41
Ch. 10: One Mind, part 1 ................................................................... 42
part 2 ........................................................................................ 43
Ch. 11: Disunity—Bad Pastors .......................................................... 44
Good Pastors ............................................................................ 44
Pastors—Teachers .................................................................... 45
Pastors-Teachers-Evangelists ................................................... 46
Ch. 12: False Unity ............................................................................ 47
Ch.13: Tradition ................................................................................. 49
Ch. 14: Reader Comments, #1 ........................................................... 50
Comment, #2 ............................................................................ 51
Postscript ........................................................................................... 52
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 Unity: Introduction
The following short chapters were written as e-mail messages called Day
& Night over a period of several years. Consequently, there are a few repeti-
tions. Some of the repetitions have been removed and some have remained
for emphasis or slightly different meaning.

The primary assumption is the authority and inspiration of the scriptures.

The promises, prayers, commands, and narratives are not up for consider-
ation. They are to be believed and obeyed.

The church is made up of individual members, separate parts of the Body.

This is written to the parts, not to the whole. The whole cannot obey.
Only the parts can obey.

With few exceptions there will not be exposition of the text. I hope to
draw attention to the commands so that we can realize that we are obeying
them or not obeying them. If we realize that we, as individuals, are not in
obedience. I hope that we would also come to repentance of our disobedi-
ence.

This seems to be hard for many of the saints. To make this simpler and
maybe easier, I suggest you read or listen to How to be Free from Bitterness
and Continuous Joy available on the web at ccmbooks.org or by mail at
Community Christian Ministries, P.O. Box 9754, Moscow, ID 83843.

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 Chapter 1: Purity, part 1—
Fellowship
You will read in the next few pages, the Lord willing, several thoughts on
the unity and disunity of the churches. In any given community, the body of
believers is made up of all saved people and no one who is unsaved.

“And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”
Acts 2:47 (NIV)

The church was made up of people of both sexes.

“They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and
Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.” Acts 1:14 (NIV)

“Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and
were added to their number.” Acts 5:14 (NIV)

The church included Jewish priests.

“So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem in-
creased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.”
Acts 6:7 (NIV)

The church included other races, cultures and nations.

“And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch
went down into the water and Philip baptized him.” Acts 8:38 (NIV)

“While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all
who heard the message. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter
were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on
the Gentiles.” Acts 10:44, 45 (NIV)

“The church sent them on their way, and as they traveled through Phoeni-
cia and Samaria, they told how the Gentiles had been converted. This news
made all the brothers very glad.” Acts 15:3 (NIV)

“After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: “Brothers, you
know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles
might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. God, who
knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to
them, just as he did to us. He made no distinction between us and them, for
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he purified their hearts by faith. Now then, why do you try to test God by
putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers
have been able to bear? No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord
Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.” Acts 15:7-11 (NIV)
“It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the
Gentiles who are turning to God.” Acts 15:19 (NIV)
These people who believed, were saved, born again, and instantly mem-
bers of the one body of Christ, the church. We also see the church included
Jews, Greeks, slaves and free people.
“The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its
parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all
baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or
free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.” 1 Corinthians 12:12,
13 (NIV)
These people became members of the LOCAL church at the same instant
they became members of the body of Christ.
There was an instant unity.
This unity is described in Ephesians 4:4-6.
“There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope
when you were called— one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and
Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” (NIV)
We start with unity. The unity is to be kept.
“Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of
peace.” Ephesians 4:3 (NIV)

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 Ch. 1: Purity, part 2—
More on Fellowship
When we believed in and received Christ, we were made righteous, made
pure; we were justified (Romans 5:1). That was our start. We were made
one with all other justified people. We became part of the body of Christ, the
church (1 Corinthians 12:13). All of our sins were forgiven (Romans 10:43).
We received a new nature (Colossians 3:10). We were born of the Spirit
(John 3:5). We had eternal life (John 3:16).

We had fellowship with all other justified people. We had the fruit of the
Spirit. All at once, we had purity, unity and fellowship.

Before this happened, we had received the proclamation of the good news.

We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may
have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his
Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete. 1 John 1:3, 4
(NIV)

Notice the fellowship is with other believers and with the Father and the
Son. It was not fun, food and inane conversation. It was deeper; it was
fullness of joy, not pleasure and games. It was based upon receiving the
person and work of Jesus Christ.

Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave
the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent,
nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. John 1:12, 13
(NIV)

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 Ch. 1: Purity, part 3—
Fellowship #3
Purity is a necessary ingredient for fellowship and unity. There are two
causes of purity or, I should say, two biblical expressions of it. They are the
words “righteousness” and “holiness.” They are not synonyms, but they
have the same character, absolute purity. Righteousness is impurity that has
been made clean. Righteousness is imparted to the believer when the be-
liever is forgiven, cleansed from all impurity. Righteousness is the subject in
this chapter

This purity is in heaven but is available on earth; in fact it is a require-

ment to be on earth. It comes from heaven to earth. “But the wisdom that
comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, sub-
missive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere” (James 3:17).

Zechariah prophesied about the Lord Jesus and his own son John. It is
recorded in Luke 1:67-79. In verse 74, Zechariah spoke of the Lord Jesus.
“to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to serve him
without fear in holiness and righteousness before him all our days” (Luke
1:74, 75). Jesus is going to enable us to serve Him without fear in holiness
and righteousness all our days. That is either true or false. It is a resounding
truth.

“The words ‘it was credited to him’ were written not for him alone, but
also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in
him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was delivered over to
death from our sins and was raised to life for our justification. Therefore,
since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through
our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 4:23-5:1).

The text uses a form of the word “justify.” That is a synonym for “to
make righteous.” In other words, something unjust has been made just. Some-
thing unrighteous has been made righteous. This righteousness is from God.
“For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness
that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live
by faith.’” (Romans 1:17). We receive this righteousness by faith. The result
is that we are made pure in our hearts from our unrighteousness. We are
made righteous.

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 Ch. 1: Purity, part 4—
Fellowship #4
Purity, which is the basis of both fellowship and unity, started at the
cross.

This unity is to continue. “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient,

bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the
Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as
you were called to one hope when you were called— one Lord, one faith,
one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and
in all” (Ephesians 4:2-6).

The continuing means of staying pure is walking in the light. “This is the
message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him
there is no darkness at all…But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light,
we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus, his Son, puri-
fies us from all sin…If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will
forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:5, 7, &
9). This provides continual cleansing and continual fellowship with each
other. This is predicated on all of us walking in the light.

As we had all of our sins forgiven when we received Christ, now we must
keep them forgiven; this happens by the faithfulness of God. He forgives the
sins we confess and all other unrighteousness. If sins accumulate uncon-
fessed and unforgiven, the fellowship is ruined and oneness greatly hin-
dered. We are still in the body of Christ, but the body is sick all over.

Oneness is not based on everyone agreeing with each other; it is based on

each part of the body staying healthy and caring for other parts of the body.
“From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting
ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work”
(Ephesians 4:16).

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 Ch. 1: Purity, part 5—
Fellowship #5
Earlier we emphasized righteousness.
I have mentioned that unity and fellowship are based on 1) beginning
purity, our justification, our entrance into the body, and 2) continuing pu-
rity, our walking in the light and being continually cleansed. Both of these
have to do with being forgiven.
There is a better way. It is not getting dirty, not sinning. We see this in a
number of places in scripture: It is in being holy.
· My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. 1 John
2:1
· As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had
when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be
holy in all you do. 1 Peter 1:14, 15
· Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer
your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your
spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this
world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be
able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect
will. Romans 12:1, 2
· But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute
you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to
rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrigh-
teous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not
even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what
are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect,
therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Matthew 5:44-48
One of the questions I ask Christians is:
· “Do you want to be holy?”

I get all kinds of evasive answers, like:

· “It is impossible, so it’s not a good question.”
· “If it means being like so and so, No.”
· “I think legalism is wrong.”
· “I don’t want to be out of step with the evangelical culture. If I were
holy, I would lose my Christian friends.”
· “I like my distinctive doctrine.”
· “I want to be right in my theology more than I want to be holy.”

The question remains, “Do you want to be holy?” If the answer is evasive
or “No”, then you are saying you do not want unity, at least not at your
expense.
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 Ch.1: Purity, part 6—Cleanness
“For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or
Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.” 1
Corinthians 12:13

“We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may
have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his
Son, Jesus Christ.” 1 John 1:3

We started out both clean and in one body. It takes continual cleanness to
stay completely one with each other.

“This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is
light; in him there is no darkness at all.” 1 John 1:5

“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with

one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.” 1 John
1:7

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins
and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9

If we are walking in the light as He is in the light we cannot help having

fellowship with one another. Along with that, the blood of Jesus keeps on
cleansing from all sin.

If we are not being continually cleansed, then we have disunity, a spastic

body.

Unity requires confession of sin.

See Continual Joy on our web site, www.ccmbooks.org.

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 Ch. 1: Purity, part 7—
Worthy of the Gospel
“Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gos-
pel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in
my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one
man for the faith of the gospel without being frightened in any way by those
who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that
you will be saved—and that by God.” Philippians 1:27, 28

Standing firm in one spirit.

Contending as one man.

The real subject is the Gospel but notice the words attached to “one.”
They are “standing firm” and “contending.” These are warlike words. It is
necessary in war for all allies to be one, not enemies of each other.

Ch. 1: Purity, part 8—

Purity of the Church
“I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral
people— not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the
greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this
world. But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone
who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or
a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat.
What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to
judge those inside? God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked man
from among you.” 1 Corinthians 5:9-13

Expel that wicked man from among you.

This looks like a command to break the unity.
No, the unity, fellowship, was broken when the sin occurred. He is to be
removed for two reasons.
1. The acceptance of his immorality will infect the whole church.
2. So that he will repent and be saved on the day of the Lord Jesus.
Physically and spiritually, breaking fellowship with unrepentant immoral
people preserves the spiritual purity of the church, the real cause of unity.

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 Ch. 2: Hindrances to Unity,
part 1— Hindrances to Perfect
Unity
Just being in Christ, makes us part of His body. It is an either/or situa-
tion.

You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if
the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of
Christ, he does not belong to Christ. Romans 8:9 (NIV)

However, being in the body does not mean we work well with other parts
of the body.

From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting
ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
Ephesians 4:16 (NIV)

Notice the last phrase, “grows and builds itself up in love, as each part
does its work.” If the body is not building itself up in love; if each part is not
doing its work, then the body does not function as it is designed.

There are two basic commands getting into the “body” and functioning as
“a body”:

And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ,
and to love one another as he commanded us. 1 John 3:23 (NIV)

1. Believe in the name of His Son.

2. Love one another.

Number two is the basic problem in the body. It is very serious. If it is not
happening, we have every reason to doubt we are in the body.

We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our
brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death. 1 John 3:14 (NIV)

We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates
his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he
has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this
command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother. 1 John 4:19-21
(NIV)
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 As you can see, this is serious. Not only do we know we are part of the
body if we love one another, so does everyone else know we are part of the
body.

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so
you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my dis-
ciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34, 35.

If we love, we build up the body. If we do not love, we are either not part
of the body, or we are acting like we are not part of the body.

Ch. 2: Hindrances to Unity, part 2

On of the major hindrances to unity are teachers. They may be teachers
of the truth with no differences with each other, as in 1 Corinthians chapters
one and three. Their followers were spiritual infants because they were loyal
to a single teacher. Or they may be teachers who are seeking their own
following, as predicted in Ephesus. “I know that after I leave, savage wolves
will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own
number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples
after them” (Acts 20:29, 30).

We see other occurrences in Scripture.

They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow
their own ungodly desires.” These are the men who divide you, who follow
mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit. (Jude 18, 19).

Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves,
and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and
craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. (Ephesians 4:14).

But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quar-
rels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless. Warn a divi-
sive 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. (Titus 3:9-11).

I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put
obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned.
Keep away from them. For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but

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their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of
naive people. (Romans 16:17, 18).

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you
by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— which is really
no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and
are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from
heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let
him be eternally condemned! (Galatians 1:6-8)
These kinds of teachers are still around today. There is another prob-
lem—the followers of these teachers. “A horrible and shocking thing has
happened in the land: The prophets prophesy lies, the priests rule by their
own authority, and my people love it this way. But what will you do in the
end?” (Jeremiah 5:30, 31)
Christians love to follow new teaching with no idea whether it is true or
false. They love to be unique, different from others. They are not eager to
keep unity in the body.

Ch. 2: Hindrances to Unity, part 3

There was great disunity in the church in England and Scotland during
the first half of the 17th century. There were three main groups—the Church
of Scotland, the Church of England, and the dissenters (non-conformist con-
gregational churches).

There were two unifying factors; all three were evangelical and all three
were reformed (Calvinist). Why were they divided? State and Church gov-
ernment! The Church of Scotland was a state church with a Presbyterian
form of government. The Church of England was a state church with an
Episcopalian form of government. The Congregationalists wanted to have
nothing to do with the state, Presbyterian, or Episcopalian forms of govern-
ment. The Church of Scotland wanted to unite with the Church of England
in a state church only if they had a Presbyterian form of government. And,
of course, they wanted the dissenters to be in that church too. So they went
to war!

The Puritans (dissenters from England) who came to Massachusetts dur-

ing this time did not want to be in the state church in England or Scotland,
but they immediately set up a state church where dissent was not allowed.
Roger Williams was exiled from the Colony and founded Rhode Island.

There were three colonies of the thirteen that allowed freedom of religion,

16
even though they were founded by people with a definite religion. They were
Rhode Island, founded by Roger Williams, who was a Baptist, Pennsylva-
nia, founded by William Penn, who was Quaker, and Maryland, founded by
Cecil Calvert, Lord Baltimore, who was Roman Catholic.

This disunity was not based on differences in doctrine, but on who is in

control. To put it more simply—the pride of man and loyalties to other than
God.

Ch. 2: Hindrances to Unity, part 4

In the early church the creeds that were put together by the church (the
catholic [universal] church) were formed to separate Christians from non-
Christians (the Apostles’ Creed) and to separate Christians from Christian
heresies (the Nicene Creed and the Athanasian Creed). Some of these “her-
etics” in the Councils were probably saved people. Later on, some of the
church councils included heresies in their pronouncements. The Second
Council of Nicea, the First Vatican Council and the Council of Trent are
three examples. After the reformation, the whole church no longer got to-
gether to form the creeds. The separate groups no longer met with each
other. They met separately and wrote confessions differing from or reacting
to the confessions of other groups. These confessions now separated Chris-
tians from Christians. Even when there was agreement there were still fac-
tions among the churches.

Let me quote from the autobiography of Richard Baxter, who lived in the
middle of the 17th century.

“I am more deeply afflicted for the disagreements of Christians than I

was when I was a younger Christian. Except the case of the infidel world,
nothing is so sad and grievous to my thoughts as the case of the divided
churches; and, therefore, I am more deeply sensible of the sinfulness of
those prelates and pastors of the churches who are the principal cause of
these division. Oh, how many millions of souls are kept by them in igno-
rance and ungodliness, and deluded by faction as if it were true religion!
How is the conversion of infidels hindered by them, and Christ and reli-
gions heinously dishonored!...I am more sensible that most controversies
have more need of right stating than of debating; and, if my skill be in-
creased in anything, it is in that in narrowing controversies by explication,
and separating the real from the verbal, and proving to many contenders
that they differ less than they think they do” (Richard Baxter, Autobiogra-
phy, pp. 157-158, 161).
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 Ch. 2: Hindrances to Unity,
part 5—Unconfessed Sin Leads
to Disunity
Forgiveness of sin by God and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit are the
major causes of unity in the believers.

Sin of any kind is the major cause of disunity and breaking fellowship.

Unconfessed sin is the continual cause of disunity.

Moral sins like stealing, murder, rape and lying are easy to recognize but
still may not be confessed. Result, disunity. Moral sins like borrowing and
not returning, hatred in the heart, lust and exaggerating the truth are harder
to recognize as sins and thus less likely to be confessed as sin.

Result, disunity.

Moral sins in the abstract like envy, jealousy and bitterness are still harder
to recognize and less likely to be confessed.

Result, disunity.

Please read How to be Free from Bitterness on our web site,

www.ccmbooks.org.

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 Ch.2: Hindrances to Unity,
part 6—Quarreling
“He who loves a quarrel loves sin; he who builds a high gate invites
destruction.” Proverbs 17:19

“Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because

you know they produce quarrels. And the Lord’s servant must not quarrel;
instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful.” 2 Timo-
thy 2:23, 24

There are people even among Christians, who love to quarrel. They love
sin and disunity. The servant of the Lord must not quarrel.

Day & Night: Unity—Hinders of Unity

We have recognized some of the unconfessed sins in the body which hinder
unity.

Here are a few more causes with sin in them which I will amplify.

Tradition
Knowledge (true & false)
Seminaries
Teachers
Followers
Opinions
Pride
Denominations

Some of these are combined with each other.

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 Ch. 2: Hindrances to Unity,
part 7—Questions
I received the following question:

Thank you so much for these lessons. But, one question, is it possible,
and if so how, to tell if someone else is not a part of the body, as opposed to
someone “acting like” they are not a part of the body (as in your last para-
graph).

A person who is or at least calls himself a Christian, but is not acting like
one, may be assumed by the saints and sinners alike that he is not a Chris-
tian because:

1. He does not show love to the brothers.

2. He does not obey God in moral commands.
3. He has the works of the flesh and not the fruit of the Spirit.
4. He may make blasphemous statements about God.

However, he may call himself a Christian. He may even remember when

he was converted and you may have remembered years when he had the
evidence of a Christian.

I start by assuming he is a Christian even though present evidence is

lacking. In that case, Christian friends, and elders should seek to get him to
repent and confess every sin that he committed since his conversion. If he
comes back into the joy, peace and obedience, then we know he was a Chris-
tian all of the time.

If he does confess and there are no results, or if he does not confess, we

should treat him as an unbeliever who needs Christ. However, since he says
he is a Christian and is not repentant, then we should bring church discipline
upon him.

But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who
calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a
slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat. 1
Corinthians 5:11 (NIV)

20
 Ch. 2: Hindrances to Unity,
part 8—Divisions and
Subdivisions
Denominations are divided and subdivided seemingly on the following
major subjects.

List 1: Tradition
Theology
Ecclesiology
Eschatology
Worship
Sacraments—ordinances
Evangelism
Holiness
Loyalty

Local churches are divided also on the following:

List 2: Liking and disliking the pastor

Which family rules the church
The color of the Nursery walls
Bitterness
The Choir and or Praise Team
Should the pastor wear an earring?
Jealousy, envy
Personal Opinions

The truth that unites the churches are the Gospel, the Deity, the death, the
burial and the resurrection of Jesus and the presence of the Holy Spirit in the
believers.

Everyone in the first list, with all of its combinations, would have to
change his mind and his practice in just about everything in order to have
complete unity in the body. The difficulty is that everyone thinks he is right
in everything so it is everyone else who must change in order to have com-
plete unity.

Here is another difficulty. Suppose complete unity happened in all believ-

ers everywhere. No one differed with anyone else at all. No one would like
it! Why not? No one would be most right. We all want to be most right.

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 Ch. 2: Hindrances to Unity,
part 9—Divisive
“I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put
obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned.
Keep away from them.” Romans 16:17

“Warn a divisive person once, and then warn him a second time. After
that, have nothing to do with him.” Titus 3:10

This may sound contradictory but we must have nothing to do with (break
the unity) with those who break unity, those who are divisive.

Divisive people are of several kinds.

1. Those who love controversy. They love to quarrel. The quarrel may
be on any subject.
2. They deliberately want to divide believers from each other. They
may use slander, gossip and flattery.
3. They seek a following of their own.

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 Ch. 3: Love
“of those who hate me”
“of those who love me” Exodus 20:5&6

“Hate” and “love” are not the key words. The key word is “me.” The
statement is not that we love, but whom we love.

Jesus replied: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all
your soul and with all your mind.” Matthew 22:37

This statement is not only about whom we love, but how much we love
Him.

What does this have to do with unity? Much! Because, our love for God
is evidenced by our love for our brothers.

A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so
you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my dis-
ciples, if you love one another. John 13:34, 35

Real unity shows itself in love for each other.

23
 Ch. 4: Humility
Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in
love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of
peace. Ephesians 4:2, 3 (NIV)

Notice how humility and love keep the unity of the spirit. Complete hu-
mility is shown in Jesus Christ in Philippians 2:6-11:

Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God some-
thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a
servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a
man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a
cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the
name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should
bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (NIV)

We are to have the same humility as Jesus.

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus. Philippians 2:5
(NIV)

Humility is before God.

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift
you up in due time. 1 Peter 5:6 (NIV)
Humility is also related to others.
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility con-
sider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your
own interests, but also to the interests of others. Philippians 2:3, 4 (NIV)
When love for God and brothers, and humility before God and brothers
are more important than our differences with the brothers, then there will be
unity.

24
 Ch. 5: Knowledge
Love and humility are the greatest virtues and means of unity in the body.

Knowledge and pride are causes of disunity in the body.

It is easy for knowledge and pride to go together. We see it in 1 Corin-

thians 8:1:

Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that we all possess knowl-
edge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. (NIV)

“Knowledge,” when it appears in the Bible, is almost always speaking of

the knowledge of God, truth, His will, the Son of God, etc. In other words, it
is a good thing. So, is this “knowledge” the cause of disunity? Yes, this is the
kind that puffs up. Here it is three verses later:

So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that an idol is

nothing at all in the world and that there is no God but one. For even if there
are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many
“gods” and many “lords”), yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from
whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord,
Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live. 1
Corinthians 8:4-6 (NIV)

That is a good kind of knowledge. However, I can sin against Christ

depending on how I hold on to and use this knowledge:

So this weak brother, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowl-
edge. When you sin against your brothers in this way and wound their weak
conscience, you sin against Christ. 1 Corinthians 8:11, 12 (NIV)

This knowledge is taught in many evangelical churches. We hold this

information as very precious. However, do we hold it in love for the broth-
ers?

If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowl-
edge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am
nothing. 1 Corinthians 13:2 (NIV)

If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer
acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ
died. Do not allow what you consider good to be spoken of as evil. For the
kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness,
25
peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, Romans 14:15-17 (NIV)

Knowledge is also one of those things that will pass away:

…where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 1 Corinthians 13:8b (NIV)

Love is one of those things which does not pass away:

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of
these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13 (NIV)

Love is and must remain senior to knowledge.

Ch. 5: Knowledge—
A Response, part 2
Thank you for taking time to put these e-mails together. This one is par-
ticularly clear to me, as it is a real danger for this time of life. My concern is
that I don’t have love even as I have become convinced of certain truths in
scripture. “Knowledge danger” seems to sum up the root cause for much of
the unity focus you have written on.

We spend many hours a day in classes from the age of five on, either
getting more knowledge or obtaining the means for getting more knowledge.
We get graded on our knowledge. We get promoted because of our knowl-
edge. It is one of the causes of, and one of the results of pride. It is difficult
not to have it as the highest priority.

We do not spend very much time learning about love, receiving it, or
giving it. Here are three passages of prayers combining knowledge and love:

For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in
heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches
he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being,
so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you,
being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the
saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,
and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to
the measure of all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:14-19 (NIV)

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in
knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is

26
best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the
fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and
praise of God. Philippians 1:9-11 (NIV)

For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped
praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will
through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order
that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way:
bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being
strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may
have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father,
who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom
of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought
us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the
forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1:9-14 (NIV)

Ch. 5: Knowledge, part 3—

Knowledge Puffs Up
In the scripture knowledge is associated with truth and wisdom. They are
not synonyms but they are all good words.

In this world “knowledge” takes a different course. It is a great amount of

information acquired. Some of this information is true but not important,
trivia. Some of it is true but used in such a way that it becomes false. Over
the centuries such “knowledge” in “science”, “religion”, and “economics”,
has turned out to be false. Those in the “know” at that time did not know that
it was false, not true.

There is another problem with knowledge, in addition to its questionable

veracity. People with it become proud. Even if it is true people who hold to
it in a superior way become less like the Lord Jesus.

“Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.” 1 Corinthians 8:1

Within the body of Christ there are divergent views of “knowledge.” In

each case the holders of this different knowledge think that what they hold is
revelational truth. They think that what they hold is “sound doctrine.”

Here are a few of these different knowledges about God. “Reformed,

Lutheran, Baptistic, Pentecostal, Holiness, and Dispensational.” There are

27
many subdivisions of each of the above. It is possible that one of them is
truth. It is not possible that all of them are truth. They could all be wrong but
they cannot all be right.

So most of the holders of these knowledges are not being eager to main-
tain the unity of the body.

They each have schools, colleges, and seminaries where in part they teach
the distinctive rightness of their knowledge. They are eager to maintain the
distinctives, the disunity.

They may not know how to maintain the unity of the Spirit. They cer-
tainly know how to maintain the disunity in the church.

Either their knowledge is false, in which case it must be confessed as sin,

or how they hold to this knowledge is sin, or both.

In each case something has to be confessed as sin before unity can even
be considered.

Ch. 5: Knowledge,
Question & Answer #2
I received the following question:

“Salvation is a free gift from God, but does man have any part in our
salvation? Some preach no; however can’t a man refuse this gift? If that is
true, then is it not also true that man must actively accept the gift? I under-
stand the confusion because actively accepting could be interpreted as being
saved by works, but it’s not really what the Scripture meant.”

Receiving a gift is never paying for it or working for it. Some people pray
hard to receive the gift. They are then working for it. However, if that were
the case, God would not save them. If people were, in fact, saved by God
when they received the gift, then receiving wasn’t work. “Hard” makes it
work. “Hard” is not faith. Trusting prayer is never “hard.”

Neither Reformed, Arminian, nor Dispensational Christians believe man

has any works in his salvation. They all hold to the finished work of Christ
as the only payment. They preach that grace and belief are the current active
events that are happening when a person is saved. They all believe works
has nothing to do with our salvation.

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 However, Reformed Christians think Arminians preach “works” in that,
in their view, any willful act of a sinner in repenting, receiving and believing
is works because sinners cannot repent or believe until after they are born
again.

The Dispensationalists believe any one who preaches repentance for sal-
vation is preaching works, because “repentance” in their view is cleaning up
your own act. If repentance is a synonym for faith, then it is O.K.

The Arminian Christians teach that the Reformed believers do not teach
“faith” for salvation because the Reformed belief is that they were saved
before the foundation of the world.

In order to arrive at the above conclusions each of these groups have

preached about the other group’s belief, they had to change or alter the
definitions of grace, faith, and repentance. This is either willful or in igno-
rance. In any case, it does not help unity. Whether people were saved by God
under the preaching of the Wesleys, Whitefield, or Billy Graham, God knew
it was not works or God would not have saved them. If they were saved, then
by definition, it was by grace and faith.

In each of these groups there are people who have not been saved because
they have succeeded in changing the doctrine of faith into something else. It
is amazing but true. They make “faith” an intellectual agreement in truth
rather than teaching the finished work of Christ or they make “faith” itself
the end instead of the means as reflected in the statement, “It does not matter
what you believe, as long as you believe.” Or, the word becomes hollow,
empty, meaningless as stated in 1 Corinthians 15:2:

“By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached
to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.” (NIV)

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 Ch. 6: The Pleasantness of Unity
How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity! Psalm
133:1 (NIV)

Amen!

If we do not understand this verse, then think of the opposite.

How bad and unpleasant it is when brothers live together in disunity!

That is clearly true. What is the world’s solution? Quit living together!
That is the major reason we have so many denominations, but not a right
reason. The next two verses tell us what unity is like.

It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard,
running down on Aaron’s beard, down upon the collar of his robes. Psalm
133:2 (NIV)

This is like being anointed with the Holy Spirit with all of the fruit of the
Spirit. If we think of oil being poured on our heads so it runs down our face
and onto our clothes, we think that would be very unpleasant. That is not the
image! This is the image of the first high priest being anointed with oil,
perfumed and precious. Messiah (Hebrew) and Christ (Greek) both mean
the anointed one. This is a prefigure of the real anointed one, Jesus. The high
priest was anointed with holy oil, Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit.
There is an older word in English, “unction.” It is an oil that is used for
anointing. When a man speaks with unction, he is speaking in the power of
the Holy Spirit.

It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the
LORD bestows his blessing, even life forevermore. Psalm 133:3 (NIV)

Mount Hermon is over 9000 feet high, snow capped. This unity is as if
the rainfall on Hermon had fallen on Jerusalem. For there (Zion, Jerusalem)
the Lord will rain down His blessing. What is this blessing? Everlasting life,
filled with the Spirit, is the good and pleasantness of unity.

30
 Ch. 7: Fellowship
This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is
light; in him there is no darkness at all. 1 John 1:5 (NIV)

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with

one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. 1 John
1:7 (NIV)

God is light! We are to live in the light as God is in the light. He is the
light. We are to be that close to Him. If we, you and I, are living in that light,
two things happen:

1. We have fellowship with each other. If you are in that light and I am
in that light, it would be impossible not to have fellowship with each other.
The clear solution for unity is to walk in the light as He is in the light.

2. He purifies us from all unrighteousness.

The key instruction that teaches us how to walk in that light is in verse 9:

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins
and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9 (NIV)

Two things happen as the result of confessing our sins:

1. He forgives us our sins.

2. The blood of Jesus, His son, keeps on purifying us from all sin.

The way to perfect fellowship with each other is to have all sin and all
unrighteousness in us purified. That is done by the faithfulness of God and
the blood of Jesus Christ. We receive this by confessing our sins.

If I am not doing this, I may not hold anyone else responsible for our lack
of unity.

31
 Ch. 7: Fellowship, part 2
“…for adulterers and perverts, for slave traders and liars and perjurers—
and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine that conforms to the
glorious gospel of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me.” 1 Timothy
1:10-11 (NIV)

Sound doctrine is that which conforms to the glorious gospel of the blessed
God. When the Bible speaks of sound doctrine, it is speaking of the gospel.
It is not speaking of the fine tuning of interpretation of different denomina-
tions.
The next question is what is the biblical definition of the gospel?

“The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they
cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of
God. For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and our-
selves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine
out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the
knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.” 2 Corinthians 4:4-6

“Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you,

which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel
you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise,
you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first
importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he
was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared
to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom
are still living, though some have fallen asleep.” 1 Corinthians 15:1-6

Let me enumerate.
The gospel is:
-Light of the Glory of Christ
-Christ is the image of God
-Jesus Christ is Lord
-Light of the knowledge of the Glory of God
-This gospel saves
-Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures
-He was buried
-He was raised on the third day according to the scriptures.

“It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us
wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.” 1
Corinthians 1:30
32
 “He told them, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise
from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will
be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” Luke 24:46,
47

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that
whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16

“That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in
your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans
10:9

What are the results of the gospel?

-Wisdom from God
-Righteousness
-Holiness
-Redemption
-Forgiveness of sins
-Saved
-Everlasting life
-Born of the Spirit

Truth: Everyone who is in the body of Christ has received and believes in
Jesus Christ.

Truth: Everyone who is in the body of Christ has received the fruit of the
Spirit.

These two truths provide the unity in the body.

The unity in the body is broken when members of the body add to the
gospel and call the addition sound doctrine. Sound doctrine is the gospel
only.
The unity in the body is compromised when “apparent members” have
not received Christ and, therefore, do not have the fruit of the Spirit. Since
they do not know the Head of the body, they are not real members of the
body, but they wish to interact as if they were members.
The unity of the body is broken when some members of the body are no
longer walking in the light as He is in the light.
“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with
one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.” 1 John
1:7 (NIV)

Unity means deep and close fellowship. This happens only when all in the
body are walking in that same wonderful light.
33
 Ch. 8: The Body
Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves,
and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and
craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in
love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.
From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting
ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
Ephesians 4:14-16 (NIV)
The body builds up the body. The believers in the body build up the body.

How?

Notice, “the whole body” is the church. “Every joint and ligament” are
all the saints in the body and the body grows and builds itself up in love as
each part does its work.
The pastors build up the body only in that they are to train all parts of the
body to build itself up and that they themselves are part of the body.

Truth and love are the ingredients in this growth into unity.

At present, the church at large is a dismembered body. The fault is in the

lack of truth and the lack of love by the members of the body. The evange-
lists, pastors and teachers are to give very much truth with very much love
to the members of the body which the members, in turn, then give to each
other.
Love without truth is a body without bones. Truth without love is a body
of nothing but bones. It is also possible to have “pretend love” and falsehood
mixed with truth. We see all of this in the church today.

Here is a clear sequence towards unity:

1. It was He who gave some to be apostles, prophets, evangelists, pas-

tors and teachers;
2. to prepare God’s people for the work of the ministry;
3. so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity
and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the
whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Ephesians 4:11-13 (NIV)

The key words are, “so that.”

The direct cause of unity is God’s people doing the work of the ministry.
The body of Christ builds up the body of Christ. It is not the pastor’s job.
His job is to prepare God’s people to do their job.
34
 Ch. 8: The Body, part 2
I received this question,

There are two statements I don’t understand: 1) “At present the church at
large is a dismembered body”, and 2) “We see all of this in the church
today.” How do you substantiate these? Where is the evidence? Is “the church
at large” and “the church today” made up of believing churches only, or
does it include unbelieving (apostate) churches as well?

I am not sure who invented the term “the invisible church”, but I am glad
it is not a biblical term. The church and its members should be very visible.

Local assemblies that deny, add to, or ignore the Gospel of Jesus Christ
as found in 1 Corinthians 15:1-5 are apostate or unbelieving churches. They
are not dismembered parts of the body. They are not members of the body of
Christ at all and should not be considered Christians. We are not to be in
unity with someone who does not belong to Christ. There may be real Chris-
tians in the apostate churches. They are not functioning with other believers,
but should be.

The church at large is made up of all Christians everywhere:

To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and

called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of
our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours: 1 Corinthians 1:2 (NIV)

These believers should be meeting in local assemblies. However, the lo-

cal assemblies may be quarreling within them and between them.

The different parts of the body are to be immediately obedient to the

Head, the Lord Jesus Christ. In many cases, the believers are obedient to the
pastor or the rules of the “church” assuming that it is the same as being
obedient to Christ.

If one hand represents one denomination and the other hand represents
another denomination, and the head says to the hands “clap your hands,”
and the hands immediately swing toward each other and miss each other,
either one or both hands have paid more attention to the arms or wrists than
to the head. They are disobedient.

The body of Christ may not be dismembered, but it is disobedient and

spastic. If our own bodies functioned like the body of Christ, we would all
be in hospitals.
35
 Ch. 8: The Body, part 3
Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him
who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held
together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as
each part does its work. Ephesians 4:15, 16 (NIV)

We see some repetition of words. Two of them are “love” and “grow.”
Two other phrases are “the whole body” and “each part.”

This is how the body works after it has been prepared by the pastors for
works of service.

36
 Ch. 8: The Body—Question &
Answer #1
I received this question:

“Thank you so much for these lessons. But, one question, is it possible,
and if so how, to tell if someone else is not a part of the body, as opposed to
someone ‘acting like’ they are not a part of the body?”

There is no absolute way because they both look alike. It may be more
likely that unbelievers pretend to be believers. These are hypocrites. How-
ever, the Christians may act like the unbelievers while assuring us they are
believers. These are compromisers.
In a loving, gracious way, we should tell the compromisers and the hypo-
crites we do not think they are saved. They may be offended and tell us not
to judge.

“The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity
and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of
rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies,
and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not
inherit the kingdom of God”. Galatians 5:22-24 (NIV)

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, good-
ness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is
no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature
with its passions and desires.” Galatians 5:22-24 (NIV)

Ask them which list describes them best. When they say, “the first list,”
tell them you agree with them and that Jesus Christ does a better job of
saving than that. When we are saved, we are transferred from the first list to
the second list. If they say they are in both lists, tell them when they get out
of the first list you will believe they are Christians. The hypocrites must turn
and be converted and the compromisers must confess their sins.

“Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them” Matthew 7:20 (NIV).

“What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you
not to judge those inside?” 1 Corinthians 5:12 (NIV)

If they are not part of the body, we want to help them find out.
If they are part of the body, we want them to look like they are.

37
 Ch. 8: The Body,
Question & Answer #2
Recently, I received this question and would like to include my response
as part of the series on Unity.

“We’ve enjoyed your Unity lessons. Thank you. Jim, why is there such
emphasis on being a member of a church corporation? There appears to be
a lot of weight placed on being a “member” of a local church corporation
than on being a member of Christ and obeying his commands. I understand
being subject to your leaders but I’m having problems with signing on to a
corporation with a constitution and by-laws. I’m not at peace with the whole
concept. Could you give some insight for me?”

It is difficult to answer and make the answer sound positive for all the
reasons that churches and people have.

First, I will give what I think the Bible teaches.

1. If we are born again, we are members of the body of Christ. It is

impossible to be members of the body of Christ without being members of
the local body. If we are immoral and unrepentant, we can be disfellowshipped
(1 Corinthians 5), but we start out in fellowship at our new birth.

2. To have requirements to be a member of a local church over and

above regeneration does not have a biblical basis.

The following are reasons given for “incorporation”:

1. In order to have the Internal Revenue Service recognized the church

as a legitimate 501 ( C ) 3 corporation so that tax deductible receipts can be
given. This is not a requirement. Any church can give IRS recognized re-
ceipts, incorporated or not.

2. In order to own property. Most states have laws that recognize who
owns the property, private ownership, partnership, corporation, non-profit
corporation. A church is an assembly of Christians. They can meet in pri-
vate homes, rented buildings, etc. The states have laws because many people
in many churches have cheated and stolen. The state wants to protect its
citizens even if the church will not protect them. However, we should not
look to the state for government in the body. “If any of you has a dispute
with another, dare he take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of
before the saints? Do you not know the saints will judge the world? And if
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you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? Do
you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this
life! Therefore, if you have disputes about such matters, appoint as judges
even men of little account in the church! I say this to shame you. Is it pos-
sible that there is nobody among you wise enough to judge a dispute be-
tween believers? But instead, one brother goes to law against another—and
this in front of unbelievers! The very fact that you have lawsuits among you
means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be
wronged? Why not rather be cheated? Instead, you yourselves cheat and do
wrong, and you do this to your brothers” (1 Corinthians 6:1-8).

The following are reasons given for “non-incorporation”:

1. There are many churches which are not incorporated which still
have distinct membership requirements. The awful part of this is the propo-
nents think this is a good thing.

2. They want their members to believe in “sanctification”, or the “bap-

tism of the Holy Spirit”, or “eternal security”, or “believers baptism”, or
“infant baptism” or “predestination” or “pre-tribulation rapture” or “free
will”, etc. The new Christian does not know anything about any of these
things. He is enrolled in new members’ class where he is taught what is
right. He has no basis to disagree with what he is taught so he agrees. He is
now qualified to be a member. In the same new members’ class there is an
unsaved man. He also agrees and is now made a “member” based on his
agreement with these teachings.

3. They want their members to believe in the same church govern-

ment. They also have to be taught.

4. They want their members to have the same view of the ordinances
or sacraments. They must be taught.

5. They want their members to have the same view of liturgy or church
music. Now they have to be taught and trained.

6. They want their members to be of the same ethnicity or race or

culture or wealth.

7. They want members in order to get them to tithe to their church.

8. They think they have to have members in order to exercise church

discipline.

Do I have strong views about all of the above? Yes, very strong views,
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but I recognize what is of first importance.

“For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ

died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was
raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,” 1 Corinthians 15:3, 4
(NIV)

The church I am pasturing has unbelievers and believers attending. All of

the believers are members just by being believers. We have no written mem-
bership. We take no offering. Our ethnicity, at present, includes Chinese,
Nepalese, Korean and Americans. Our age span include babies, pre-school,
elementary school, high school, college, graduate school, middle age, old
age, more than one in their seventies and more than one in their eighties.

Our doctrinal span includes believers who hold the position of infant
baptism and believers who hold the position of believers’ baptism, as well as
believers in sprinkling and in immersion. We partly support missionaries in
Malaysia, China and Jordan. We have the uneducated and PhD’s in atten-
dance. With all of this diversity, we have a maximum attendance of 50.
Because we have no two birds of the same feather, that may be one of the
reasons we have a maximum of 50. People like to be with people who are
just like they are. Being in Christ should be the common feather.

How do I handle the membership views of other churches? I do not de-

bate or argue with, or even bring up the subject. If it is a church made up of
Christians, I just assume I am also a member because I am part of the body,
even if the church does not think so. This paragraph is an exception to my
policy of not talking about it.

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 Ch. 9: Sarcasm
In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do
more harm than good. In the first place, I hear that when you come together
as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it.
No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have
God’s approval. 1 Corinthians 11:17-19 (NIV)

In chapters one and three of Corinthians, Paul hit divisions in the church
hard. The church had all of the gifts of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 1:7), but
that did not make them spiritual. Paul said the church was still worldly;
infants in Christ.

Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere in-

fants 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 quarreling 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? 1 Corinthians 3:1-4

In chapter eleven he is still on the subject of divisions. Now in sarcasm

does he approve of their differences? No! The sarcasm is a strong denuncia-
tion of their differences. He is saying all of them are wrong. All of them need
to repent.

Does this include me? Yes! And I am repenting.

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 Ch. 10: One Mind, part 1
“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.” 1 Corinthians
1:10

“Finally, brothers, good-by. Aim for perfection, listen to my appeal, be of

one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.” 2
Corinthians 13:11

“All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of
his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had.” Acts
4:32

The first two texts are appeals, the first in the name of the Lord Jesus
Christ. An appeal is a very strong request just short of being a command.

1. agree with one another

2. so that there be no divisions among you
3. so that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.

Aim for perfection and

1. be of one mind
2. live in peace

This third text is an example of being in one heart and one mind.

Apparently, this oneness in heart, mind, and thought is not only a possi-
bility, but is a requirement. It was in effect in brand new Christians. This is
not something we grow into; it is something we start with that causes us to
grow to maturity.

We have had hundreds of years of practice where “maturity” gets more

divisions, not fewer.

This is sin. Obedience cannot happen until sin is confessed and forgiven.

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 Ch. 10: One Mind, part 2
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. 1 Corinthians 1:10
(NIV)

This is an appeal of Paul in the Name of the LORD Jesus. He is calling in

the highest authority, and then makes it very clear what he is urgently re-
questing.

When we see texts like this and look at them long enough so that we
cannot slide by them, we come to one of several conclusions:

· Let’s be real!
· Paul is overstating the requirements.
· “All” doesn’t mean “all.”
· Let’s make it a process.
· There have to be divisions among us to show which of us is right.

In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do
more harm than good. In the first place, I hear that when you come together
as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it.
No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have
God’s approval. 1 Corinthians 11:17-19 (NIV)

· We are in sin and need to repent.

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 Ch. 11: Disunity—Bad Pastors
You may have noticed the last three Day & Nights are focused on Ephesus.
The first two were from Ephesians 4 and the last was written to Timothy
who was at Ephesus selecting pastors. This is Paul’s teaching to the elders
at Ephesus in Acts 20:28-30.

“Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit
has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought
with his own blood. I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in
among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men
will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them.”

Good pastors contribute to unity. Bad pastors contribute to disunity “So

be on your guard.”

Ch. 11: Pastors—Good Pastors

Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an over-
seer, he desires a noble task. 1 Timothy 3:1 (NIV)

Desiring to be an overseer, (pastor, elder) is a good thing. However, there

are qualifications to be met.

Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an over-

seer, he desires a noble task. Now the overseer must be above reproach, the
husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable,
able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrel-
some, not a lover of money. He must manage his own family well and see
that his children obey him with proper respect. (If anyone does not know
how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?) He
must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the
same judgment as the devil. He must also have a good reputation with out-
siders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap. 1 Timo-
thy 3:1-7 (NIV)

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 Ch. 11: Pastors—Teachers
“It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be
evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people
for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all
reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become
mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” Ephesians
4:11-13

In between the words “teachers” and “unity” are the people prepared for
works of service to build up the body.

There are teachers, who may teach the truth, but who prepare the people
to listen to and follow the teachers; the Christians are not prepared for works
of service. The result is the body is not built up into the unity of the faith.

There are teachers, as in Ephesus, who distort the truth to seek to get
people to follow them.

“Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order
to draw away disciples after them.” Acts 20:30

There are teachers who teach true information, commands and promises
but who do not teach obedience to the commands and trust in the promises.
It is easier to teach information than it is to teach belief and obedience.

There are teachers who teach distinct theologies which do not agree with
many other taught distinct theologies. These teachers are eager to retain
disunity in the body. This kind of teaching is thought to be a virtue. There
are teachers who do not practice what they preach.

The followers imitate the teachers.

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 Ch: 11: Pastors—
Pastors-Teachers-Evangelists
It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be
evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people
for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all
reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become
mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Ephesians
4:11-13 (NIV)

We all know, or think we know what pastors, teachers and evangelists are
and do. Here is something that may surprise you.

They are to prepare God’s people for works of service so that the body of
Christ may be built up until all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge
of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the
fullness of Christ.

Pastors, teachers, and evangelists are the prime movers; God’s people are
the secondary movers. The result is unity, knowledge, maturity, whole mea-
sure, and fullness.

Pretty neat, huh?

Where is the breakdown? Probably the pastors, teachers, and evange-

lists, are doing the works of service instead of preparing God’s people to do
it.

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 Ch. 12: False Unity
There is a unity that is not the unity of the Spirit. It is not a real unity. It
may be a unity of co-belligerents. They have a common enemy. An example
of this is Russia and the U.S. at war with Germany. Or Roman Catholicism,
Mormonism and Evangelicalism united against abortion and gay marriages.

Here are a few positive words that pertain to unity:

Purity: The wisdom that comes from Heaven is first pure; then peace
loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial
and sincere. James 3:17 (NIV)

Gentle: A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up
anger. Proverbs 15:1(NIV)

Humility: Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with

one another in love. Ephesians 4:2 (NIV)

Peace: Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of
one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.
Colossians 3:15 (NIV)

Patience: Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe
yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
Colossians 3:12 (NIV)

Forgiveness: Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you
may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. Colossians
3:13 (NIV)

Fellowship: We write this to make our joy complete…. But if we walk in

the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the
blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

I John 1:4, 7 (NIV)

Righteousness: The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of

righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever.
Isaiah 32:17 (NIV)

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace

with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained
access by faith into this grace in which we now stand…. Romans 5:1(NIV)
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 Peace loving at the expense of Purity is false unity. We saw this with
Neville Chamberlain’s agreement with the Nazi Germany before World War
II. It was “peace at any cost.”

The opposite is true. It should be, “righteousness at any cost.” The cost
was the death of the Son of God. This event, the cross, broke down the
middle wall of partition between Jews and Gentiles and made them both one.
It breaks down all other barriers.

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 Ch.13: Tradition
“You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the
traditions of men.” Mark 7:8
Traditions normally do not exist in the first generation. They do exist
only because the event was done before.
Back in 1954 I was asked to preach at a new Baptist mission church in
Seaside, California. On the Wednesday before the first Sunday Service I
suggested that we decide on an order of service. The members thought it was
not necessary; we would use the same order of service that was used at the
home church. I objected. They asked why I did not want to use that order of
service. Was there something wrong with it? My objection was that we should
not do anything just because it was done before. However, we did follow the
tradition.
We can recognize certain traditions easily. Here are a few. Amish, Black
capped Mennonites; White capped Mennonites and Quakers. Unity will never
occur until the tradition is broken, forsaken and confessed as sin. This is not
just quaint culture; it is deadly to the Gospel even if some of the members of
the tradition are truly saved.
There are many other traditions in historic Christian churches in which
the tradition is more important than the Gospel. Here are examples. In 1948,
I got closely acquainted with a Disciples of Christ Chaplain in the Navy. He
held very strongly to his church’s tradition of baptism by immersion and the
Lord’s Supper every Lord’s day. He held to them, not because he thought
they were biblical but because that’s what his church always did. As I re-
member, he did not believe in the inspiration of Scripture, the virgin birth,
and the resurrection of Jesus. In 1973, I was on a panel of Washington State
University where a Lutheran theologian was the speaker. He was an or-
dained Lutheran pastor who served communion. In his talk he said that the
only thing we definitely knew about Jesus was that he was baptized by a
man named John and he had fellowship with people who were down and out.
It did not bother me that he did not believe in Jesus. It bothered me that
communion was important to him. It was tradition.
Tradition is sin.
Isaiah said in Isaiah 1:
“The multitude of your sacrifices— what are they to me?” says the LORD.
“I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened
animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. When
you come to appear before me, who has asked this of you, this trampling of
my courts? Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable
to me. New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations— I cannot bear your evil
assemblies. Your New Moon festivals and your appointed feasts my soul
hates. They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. When
you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you; even if
49
you offer many prayers will not listen. Your hands are full of blood;” Isaiah
1:11-15
God was anti-tradition. 700 B.C.
Jesus was anti-tradition.

Ch. 14: Reader Comments, #1

I received this additional comment and insight with regard to the series on
“Unity” and am passing it along to you.

Jim, you are probably going to deal with this, but I think the greatest
incentive for unity is Christ’s “Highest Priestly Prayer” in John 17; espe-
cially verses 22-23.

“I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we
are on: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let
the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have
loved me.” John 17:22, 23 (NIV)

The unity of the Body is one of the most forceful apologetics for the
divinity of Christ. Conversely, disunity is Satan’s most successful tool.

I think I mentioned on our visit that the Greek word from which we get
“heresy” has the root meaning of division.

In Him,

Otto Helweg

Amen!

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 Ch. 14: Reader Comment, #2
I received this comment:

“Personally, I have never understood how any professing Christian can

be a racist. I am sure you have known some as well as I have. The passages
referenced in this devotional make it obvious. If the twelve Apostles had
been racists, then no Gentile would have ever been saved!”

Not only have I known a few, but we find them in the New Testament as
well. Peter was a racist at the beginning of Acts 10 and in Galatians 2:11-13:

“When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was
clearly in the wrong. Before certain men came from James, he used to eat
with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back from the
Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision
group. The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy
even Barnabas was led astray.”

Paul was writing to racists in Rome and Ephesus in their respective let-
ters. These churches were international churches with attendant problems.
There were teachings and commands to correct the problems. In order to
avoid the problems and the requirement for teaching, we find it easier to be
in separate churches. We can then hang on to our prejudice while thinking
we do not have prejudice.

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 Postscript
Before we can apply anything from the Bible there are a few basic truths
that just are. Believing they are true does not make them true. They are true
anyway. Here are a few describing Christians.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is new creation; the old has gone,

the new has come!” 2 Corinthians 5:17

“But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to
God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.”
Romans 6:22

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in
me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me
and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20

“And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth,
the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with
a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,” Ephesians 1:13

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, good-
ness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is
no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature
with its passions and desires.” Galatians 5:22-24

The above scriptures are true for all people born from above. If they do
not describe you the answer is very simple; you are not a Christian, not
saved. Even though you are a church member, it is impossible for you to
apply the teaching on unity. You are not part of the body of Christ.
See the appendix on further assurances of salvation. If they do describe
you, than it is possible and imperative that these scriptures on unity be ap-
plied. You, as an individual member of the body cannot act as if you were
the whole congregation. However, as a part of the body of Christ you must
obey as an individual even if your church does not obey.
1. Admit that you are not obeying. Confess this disobedience as sin as
if it were a lie or adultery or murder.
2. Confess all other sins you have not confessed since you were saved.
3. Choose to obey. Ask God for an opportunity to obey and the grace
to do it.

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