Sanctified Unity
Arguably, the most powerful prayer in the whole bible is the prayer of
John 17. Certainly this beautiful prayer of unification is the only
prayer where our Lord prays for all Christians. Furthermore His heart
cry throughout this prayer is for the unity of all believers, in order
that the world will recognise Him.
“My prayer is
not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me
through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as
you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the
world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory
that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: 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 17:20-23).
We can clearly
see the
unity
of the early church, as described in the book of Acts, they were of
‘one accord’ in prayer, in the upper room, in the breaking of bread,
in fellowship and even to the point of selling their property and
sharing the proceeds. This unity of believers saw the church operating
under tremendous grace and power, one result being a growth explosion
of believers. `And they, continuing daily
with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house,
did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, praising
God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the
church daily such as should be saved` (Acts
2:46-47 KJV).
There is much talk, these days, regarding unity within the body of
Christ. We are seeing many church leaders, from a variety of
denominations and culturally differing backgrounds reaching out to
each other, forgetting their doctrinal differences, concentrating
instead on the Lordship of Jesus over the church, indeed over all
created things. This ministry applauds any move that will bring
together all who truly believe in the Lordship of Christ. It is His
will that we the church should be bound together in Him.
We must, however, be cautious regarding the worldwide ecumenical
movement that is gaining momentum in ever-increasing numbers. This
movement, led for the most part by orthodox religious orders,
seems to take the approach of unity at any price. In many cases
including in their numbers leaders of the Moslem, Hindu and Buddhist
religions along with assorted cults and sects thrown in for good
measure. This is clearly a very dangerous trend.
It has been widely reported that many senior religious leaders have
embraced this trend to the point of stating that there are ‘other ways
to eternal life, other than Jesus’! The Bible clearly teaches that
there is only one God and only one way for man to approach God.
‘For there is
one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus’.
(1 Tim 2:5). There is only one truth, that being the truth of Jesus,
for He and He alone is the truth. Jesus answered,
"I am the way
and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through
me"
(John 14:6). The truth of Jesus is the only way to everlasting
life. Luke wrote, regarding Jesus,
“Salvation is
found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to
men by which we must be saved”
(Acts 4:12).
God was so insistent that we should not fall into error that He swore
by His own name the truth of His deity;
"Gather together
and come; assemble, you fugitives from the nations. Ignorant are those
who carry about idols of wood, who pray to gods that cannot save.
Declare what is to be, present it-- let them take counsel together.
Who foretold this long ago, who declared it from the distant past? Was
it not I, The Lord? And there is no God apart from me, a righteous God
and a Saviour; there is none but me. Turn to me and be saved, all you
ends of the earth; for I
am God, and there is no other. By myself I
have sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not
be revoked: Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will
swear. They will say of me, In the Lord alone are righteousness and
strength. All who have raged against Him will come to Him and be put
to shame"
(Isa 45:20-24).
We should be mindful that the people who built the tower of Babel worked in
unity but this unity was unsanctified unity, as a result God was very
angry at this endeavor. We can clearly see the result of compromise in
the Middle East. In order to secure a form of peace the leaders of
Israel continue to negotiate Gods real estate with nations who have no
biblical claim to this land. It is critical that we understand the
forces at work here. If anything or anyone is exalted above or even
equal with Christ, this by definition is of antichrist. Who is the
liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is
the antichrist--he denies!
W. Joe Ingram
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