Tag Archives: unity

THE BOOK OF ACTS – WHAT PRICE UNITY?

Bible Study, ,

WHAT PRICE UNITY?

“Everyone agreed: apostles, leaders, all the people. They picked Judas (nicknamed Barsabbas) and Silas — they both carried considerable weight in the church — and sent them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas, with this letter:

“From the apostles and leaders, your friends, to our friends in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia:

Hello!

“We heard that some men from our church went to you and said things that confused and upset you. Mind you, they had no authority from us; we didn’t send them. We have agreed unanimously to pick representatives and send them to you with our good friends, Barnabas and Paul. We picked men we knew you could trust, Judas and Silas — they’ve looked death in the face time and again for the sake of our Master Jesus Christ. We’ve sent them to confirm in a face-to-face meeting with you what we’ve written.

“It seemed to the Holy Spirit and to us that you should not be saddled with any crushing burden, but be responsible only for these bare necessities. Be careful not to get involved in activities connected with idols, avoid serving food offensive to Jewish Christians (blood for instance) and guard the morality of sex and marriage.

“These guidelines are sufficient to keep relations congenial between us. And God be with you!”  Acts 15:22-29 (The Message).

What godly wisdom! It took quite a while for them to reach these conclusions but the end result is what counts, not the process. We have already examined the process by which they reached their conclusions. Now we must add one more factor to the mix.

Apart from protecting the truth of the gospel (that Jesus died as an atoning sacrifice for the sin of the world, and that His death is sufficient to satisfy the just demands of God’s law, and to free mankind from its penalty so that all who believe in Him are forgiven and have free access to the Father in Christ), they were also protecting the unity of the body of Christ.

Doctrine is important since our lives must be anchored in the truth, but the fellowship of believers also needs to be closely guarded. The conditions contained in the letter to the Gentile churches had more to do with fellowship than faith. Idolatry and the sexual impurity that accompanied idolatry had been part of the rebellion that contributed to the exile the Jews experienced in their past history.

Apart from it being an abomination to the Lord, these things had become abhorrent to Jews. For Gentile believers it had been their way of life and contributed to the rift between Jew and Gentile as did the consumption of the non-kosher meat offered to idols, and sold in meat markets.

Gentile believers were called to distance themselves from these practices for their own sake as well as for the sake of the new culture that brought Jew and Gentile together under a new system called the kingdom of God. They could not afford to cling to the old way of life just because it was their “right”.

The early church did all in its power to preserve unity because love and unity are the hallmarks of the church, or should be. The modern church is infected with the spirit of democracy, everyone deciding for himself or herself whether to obey the leadership or not. It’s no wonder the church has, by and large, become the laughing stock of the world. Whenever someone does not “agree” with the leadership, off he goes to start another “church” or to join somewhere else until he does not “agree” there.

The unity that Jesus pleaded for is no longer a priority in the church, yet it was the core of the Hebrew creed: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD, the LORD is one…” Deuteronomy 6:4.

Where has the attitude gone that was displayed by the leaders as they faced this crisis in the church – “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us…” Whose church is it, anyway?

THE BOOK OF ACTS – THE WORD OF GOD PROSPERED

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THE WORD OF GOD PROSPERED

“They went ahead and chose — Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, Nicolas, a convert from Antioch. Then they presented them to the apostles. Praying, the apostles laid on hands and commissioned them for their work.

“The Word of God prospered. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased dramatically. Not least, a great many priests submitted themselves to the faith.” Acts 6:5b-7 (The Message).

The church…what was it? An organization, or an organism? It must have begun as an organism. Jesus didn’t start with a committee or a council — He began with twelve followers and taught and imparted to them everything He could about the way God runs things in His universe so that they would come under His rule themselves and bring others who would believe in Him under His authority.

When He returned to the Father, having reconciled alienated sons to the Father through His death, He gave them the same Person who directed and empowered Him throughout His earthly life to live in them and perpetuate His life through them.

Like any human family, the infant church needed fathers to protect, lead and teach them and mothers to nurture them. As the needs arose so the apostles guided the people along the growth process. Sometimes, like any immature child, they needed discipline. All the while, the church was growing numerically and spiritually.

The evidence of God’s favour on His church was the unusual spurts of increase whenever a new phase was successfully negotiated. Every problem, sparked by the old human nature rearing its head, for example greed, as with Ananias and Sapphira, and racism, as happened with the distribution of food to the widows, became an opportunity to bring God’s way of doing things into the situation.

The church submitted to the leadership of the apostles who wisely consulted with the people but, at the same time, exercised their authority and issued the instructions which the people carried out. They were recognized and honoured as their legitimate leaders and no-one rebelled against them by setting up rival leadership.

Why did the early church function so well? The Apostle Paul’s letter to the Corinthian church gives us a clue. There were problems in the church. Paul put his finger on the root cause. “I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of the 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).

Why were there cracks in this group of believers? “My brothers, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, ‘I follow Paul’; another, ‘I follow Apollos’; another, ‘I follow Cephas’; still another, ‘I follow Christ.’ Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul?” 1 Corinthians 1:11-13 (NIV).

When a leader wittingly or unwittingly connects people to himself instead of to Jesus, he sets up the potential for competition in the Body which will inevitably lead to the fracturing of unity which is exactly what the devil wants. Destroy the unity and you destroy the power of the church’s witness.

The answer? Jesus said, ‘Follow me,’ not anyone else. “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith…” Hebrews 12:2a (NIV).

Jesus Prayed For Us

Christian Life, , , ,

JESUS PRAYED FOR US

Just imagine – as Jesus’ prayer embraced the disciples in their desperate need at that moment, so His prayer follows every disciple from then to this very moment and beyond!

  1. Unity

What was the kernel of His prayer for all those who would follow Him down the ages through the message of His disciples?

His passion for us, as it was for them, is for the unity among His followers which reflects our oneness with Him and with the Father.

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. (John 17: 20-21)

Why is unity between the Father, Jesus and His disciples so crucial to Jesus? As we have already discussed, only the life of Jesus flowing to and through His disciples can produce the fruit of His nature in them. Nothing will convince the world of the truth of who Jesus is like the love the disciples have for one another (John 13: 34-35) and the supernatural unity between them which reflects the unity between Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

The amazing thing is that this unity already exists, even between strangers. Meet a true brother or sister in Christ for the first time and the connection is already there. Spirit bonds with spirit before a word is spoken. The opposite is true when the Spirit of Jesus encounters the spirit that is in the world. The clash of light and darkness is evident without saying a word.

How tragic, then, that the church of Jesus is so fragmented today that unbelievers have to ask why there are so many different denominations. The church, to a large extent has been hijacked by so-called “spiritual leaders” who draw followers after themselves instead of connecting them to Jesus.

Even the Apostle Paul recognised this as a symptom of disunity in the infant church at Corinth.

My brothers, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, ‘I follow Paul’; another, ‘I follow Apollos’; another, ‘I follow Cephas’; still another, ‘I follow Christ.’

Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptised into the name of Paul? (1 Cor. 1: 11-13)

How do we foster and maintain the unity which the Holy Spirit has created between believers? Paul urged the Ephesian church, and all who read his letter, to make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. Why?

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. (Eph. 4: 4-6)

How do we keep the unity? Submission is the key; dying to self (Gal. 2: 20); humbly submitting to Jesus as Lord (Eph. 5: 24); to spiritual leaders (Heb. 13:17); to one another (Eph. 5:21); wives to husbands (1 Pet. 3: 5-6); and having the attitude of Jesus (Phil 2: 5-11).

  1. Our glory

I have given them the glory that you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. I in them and you in me. (John 17: 22)

What was the glory which Jesus gave to His disciples? Certainly not the glory which Peter, James and John witnessed on the Mount of Transfiguration and of which John spoke in John 1: 14:

The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth,

Peter was an eyewitness of that same glory of which he wrote:

We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For He received honour and glory from God the Father when the voice came to Him from the Majestic Glory, saying, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased.’ We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with Him on the sacred mountain. (2 Pet. 1: 16-18)

The glory of which the three disciples were eyewitnesses was but a momentary glimpse of the glory that the Son had with the Father before the world began.

But Jesus referred here to another “glory” which was associated with His suffering. This was the glory which He gave to His disciples. “What kind of glory is this?” you may ask. Jesus gave Peter an inkling of the kind of glory his death would display:

‘I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.’  Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then He said to him, ‘Follow me.’ (John 21: 18-19)

There is a hidden glory in the suffering He asks us to endure for His sake. It is both the glory of identifying with Him in His suffering and the richness of His grace which, apart from our need, we would never experience.

Something unusual happens when people are thrown together in their suffering. Both the best and the worst comes out of them. Stories from the terrible suffering at the hands of the Germans in the concentration camps during WW2 reveal both the depth of selfishness and the heights of selfless love.

This was the heart of Jesus’ prayer for His disciples in the future – that they would grasp the glory of sharing in the suffering of others so that their hearts would be bonded into one. In the midst of the darkness of a greedy and selfish world, the light of unselfish love shines brightly to reflect the glory of God.

  1. Love

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:  23)

Deeper and deeper went Jesus into the relationship between Himself, the Father and His followers. He dared to ask the Father that the love they shared as Father and Son would be the same love shared between the Father and His human sons and daughters. At the Father’s instruction, Jesus gave them, and all those who follow after them His name. Included in the gift of that name was the power of attorney to use that name. Never before in all of history were people allowed to use the name of the Father. What did this imply?

So great is the love the Father has for His human children that He is willing to risk giving them power of attorney to use His name, to ask in His name and to receive whatever they asked for, because they ask in the authority and according to the nature of His name. This is like a father giving his son a blank cheque on the understanding that the love and trust between them would prevent his son from abusing the privilege. Because the father loves and trusts his son, the son in turn would honour that trust by spending his father’s money wisely.

This is the kind of love the Father has for His children, entrusting to us all the privileges of sonship on the understanding that we will not abuse those privileges because we love the Father. We will respond to His love by honouring Him and upholding what He values and stands for by our submission and obedience to Him.

  1. His glory

Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am and to see my glory, the glory you gave me because you loved me before the creation of the world. (John 17: 24)

Where is this all leading? Jesus renounced His right to retain His glory when He came to earth as a human being. But this was a temporary interlude. When He took on human flesh, He took it on forever, but when He laid aside His glory, it was for a season and for a purpose. The time was coming when the Father would exalt Him to the highest place, give Him a name above every name and give Him even greater glory than He had with Him from before the creation of the world.

What Jesus had before with the Father as His right would now be given back to Him in greater measure as His reward. We have a tiny inkling of that glory as Jesus revealed the Father’s mercy poured out on undeserving sinners through His life and death. It was only because mankind rebelled against God, spurned His love and disobeyed His instructions that God was able to reveal the greatness of His love and the depth of His mercy.

Why was Jesus so eager to receive back the glory He had with the Father and to reveal it to His disciples? The answer is simple. The more we gaze at His glory, the more we are being transformed into His image.

And we, who with unveiled faces, all reflect (or contemplate) the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. (2 Cor. 3: 18)

Scripture is taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Have you read my first book, Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart (Copyright © 2015, Partridge Publishing)? You’ll love it!

ISBN: Softcover – 978-1-4828-0512-3,                                                                              eBook 978-4828-0511-6

Available on www.amazon.com in paperback, e-book or Kindle version, on www.takealot.com  or order directly from the publisher at www.partridgepublishing.com.

Do you like this post? Then buy your own copy of my book, Learning to be a Disciple, which is also available from www.amazon.com or www.takealot.com in South Africa. You can also order a copy directly from the publisher at www.partridgepublishing.com

Watch this space!

My latest book, The Heartbeat of Holiness, will also soon be available.

Adultery Redefined

Christian Life, , ,

ADULTERY REDEFINED

You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart (Matt. 5:27)

This is another halakhaic statement. Once again, Halakhah, or the way of life regarded as the acceptable norm of behaviour, focused on outward conformity to the Law but said nothing about the attitude of the heart.

This commandment also sounds simple on the surface but, like murder, it has a much deeper root. Let’s go back to the Torah to unpack its meaning. The roots of this command come from who God is.

The most well-known part of the Sh’mah prayer recited in the synagogue in the morning and evening services and at bedtime is found in Deut. 6:4-5:

Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength . . .

God created man in His own image and likeness,

. . . In the image of God, He created him; male and female He created them. (Gen. 1:27b)

What is the image of God? Theologians enter into long and involved discussions about the image of God and differ widely in their interpretations. What does Torah say?

The LORD our God, the LORD is one. (Deut. 6:4)

God is one (echad), not one person, but three in one, unity in diversity.  God created the entire universe to be interactive and interdependent as a reflection of who He is. Everything God put into human beings that resembles Him – self-awareness, self-determination, morality, love, and the ability to commune with Him – all flow into God’s purpose that we should be one with Him, one with humanity and one with creation.

The world is echad – everything functions as a unit, e.g., the ocean currents affect the climate of the earth, the pull of the moon causes the tides, etc. God’s creation reflects His image. Therefore, we find our fulfilment in pursuing wholeness – echad – and anything that sabotages echad brings destruction.

The deepest cry in our heart is to be connected in oneness because God is one. A hypocrite is one who divided inside of himself.

For this reason, a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. (Gen. 2:24)

Marriage is not just companionship for life, a cure for loneliness, or legalised sex.  At its core is a picture of God’s echad.

Sexuality is much more than just a physical act. To a Hebrew person, having sex constituted marriage. To rape a woman meant you were married to her. There is no sex in heaven because we won’t need the picture any more. Our sex drive is strong because of our need to be connected in an echad relationship.  Marriage is supposed to be a demonstration, not just an announcement of God’s oneness.

When Adam disobeyed God, he destroyed the unity between himself and God and threw the universe out of sync with Him, affecting all of the creation. This is evident in the natural world where creatures prey on creatures and the plant world is invaded by weeds and toxic plants. All of the creation awaits restoration as does redeemed mankind.

For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. (Rom. 8:20-21)

God is one and He keeps everything together in unity The force that holds the universe together is called echad – oneness.  If we do anything that sabotages unity, we go against the very power that holds the universe together. Since we are part of the universe, we are actually a part of what is tearing the universe apart.

Adultery leaves a person disjointed and fractured. Sex is only a part of adultery. Anything we do that sabotages unity is adultery. Division in the church is the opposite of echad. Whatever is in the atmosphere that destroys unity is adultery.

Therefore, to look lustfully at a woman is a symptom of echad already disrupted. Adultery does not break a marriage. It is a sign of a marriage relationship already broken. It has serious consequences because it is part of the force that tears lives, families, communities and nations apart.

Adultery is contrary to the spirit of Torah. It is also evidence that the marriage relationship is devoid of mercy. Where mercy functions within a family, that which is weightiest in God is at work, uniting and holding relationships together and contributing to the echad-ness of the family.

Scripture is taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Have you read my first book, Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart (Copyright © 2015, Partridge Publishing)? You’ll love it!

ISBN: Softcover – 978-1-4828-0512-3,                                                                              eBook 978-4828-0511-6

Available on www.amazon.com in paperback, e-book or Kindle version, on www.takealot.com  or order directly from the publisher at www.partridgepublishing.com.

My second book, Learning to be a Disciple – The Way of the Master (Copyright © 2015, Partridge Publishing), a companion volume to Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart, has been released in paperback and digital format on www.amazon.com.

For more details, check my website:

http://luellaannettecampbell.com/

Have you read my blogs on www.learningtobeason.wordpress.com ?

The shepherd Of Shepherds

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THE SHEPHERD OF SHEPHERDS

And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away. In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe, yourselves with humility toward one another because

‘God opposes the proud but shows favour to the humble.’

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you. (1 Peter 5: 4-7)

Jesus is not only the Good Shepherd, He is also the Chief Shepherd. That means that He is the Shepherd of all shepherds.

Shepherds need a Shepherd just as much as the sheep do. Those who are called to lead are not only accountable to the Chief Shepherd for the sheep with which they are entrusted. They also need a model and a mentor for the responsible task that is theirs. Jesus is both the Good Shepherd to the sheep and the Chief Shepherd to those who are called to care for the sheep.

God had an issue with the shepherds of His ancient people because they failed to fulfil their calling to care for the sheep. Instead they exploited them for their own benefit. Did Peter have these words in mind when he wrote to God’s people?

The word of the Lord came to me: ‘Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to you shepherds of Israel who only take care of yourselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock? . . . You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally. . .’ (Ezek. 34: 1, 2, 4)

What an indictment against the leaders of God’s people! And yet there are spiritual leaders today who are not different from those who received God’s judgment in Ezekiel’s day.

Peter’s strong counsel is, ‘Don’t do it! You are accountable to the Chief Shepherd for the way you lead His flock.’ Peter himself had received the mandate from the mouth of Jesus: ‘Feed my sheep; tend my lambs; take care of my flock.’

For both Peter and Paul there was the anticipation of a reward for fulfilling their calling. Paul’s crown was a crown of righteousness:

For I am ready to be poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day – and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for His appearing. (2 Tim. 4: 6-8)

Peter’s crown was an indestructible crown of glory:

And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away. (1 Peter 5: 4)

To the flock he wrote: Be humble and submit to your leaders. In this way the unity of the flock will be maintained. There is no place in the company of God’s people for a democratic attitude or for rebels or loners. Harmony is the way of unity. Mutual submission produces harmony when authority is respected and everyone is willing to submit to each other for the common good.

How does one learn to submit? By casting one’s anxieties on God. Whatever your issues, don’t beat the other sheep with them. Roll them onto God and at the right time He will vindicate you.

Cast you cares on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous be shaken. (Psa. 55: 22)

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.