View Full Transcript
Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Now we turn to quite a number of scriptures this evening.
[00:00:08] The first is in John and chapter 17. John, chapter 17 and verse eleven.
[00:00:18] John 17 and verse eleven.
[00:00:31] And I am no more in the world, and these are in the world. And I come to thee, holy father, keep them in thy name which thou hast given me, that they may be one even as we are. And then verse 21.
[00:00:54] That they may all be one, that is, those that believe on me through their word, that they may all be one even as thou, father, art in me and I in thee, that they may also be in us, that the world may believe that thou didst send me. And the glory which thou hast given me I have given unto them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and thou in me, that they may be perfected into one, that the world may know that thou didst send me and lovest them even as thou lovest me.
[00:01:39] And then Ephesians two, Ephesians, chapter two and verse 14.
[00:01:51] For he is our peace, who made both one and brake down the middle wall of petition, having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments, contained in ordinances, that he might create in himself of the two one new man, so making peace, and might reconcile them both in one body unto God through the cross, having slain the enmity thereby. Verse 18. For through him we both have our access in one spirit unto the father. Chapter four, verse three.
[00:02:33] Chapter four verse three. Giving diligence to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace there is one body and one spirit, even as also ye were called in one hope of your calling, one lord, one faith, one baptism, one God, and father of all, who is over all and through all and in all and Hebrews. A letter to the Hebrews, chapter two, verse eleven.
[00:03:09] For both he that sanctifieth and they that are sanctified are all a one, for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren or brothers.
[00:03:24] Romans chapter twelve, verse four and five. For even as we have many members in one body, and all the members have not the same office, so we who are many are one body in Christ, and severally members one of another one. Corinthians chapter twelve verse twelve and 13.
[00:03:50] For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members on the body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For in one spirit were we all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks were the bond or free, and were all made to drink of one spirit.
[00:04:13] Galatians chapter three and verse 27 and 28 Galatians 327 28 for as many of you as were baptized into Christ did put on Christ. There can be neither Jew nor Greek, there can be neither bond nor free, there can be no male and female, for ye all are one man in Christ Jesus.
[00:04:44] John chapter 15 the Gospel according to John, chapter 15 verse one I am the true vine, and my father is the husbandman. Verse four abide in me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine, so neither can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches. He that abideth in me and I in him the same beareth much fruit. For apart from me ye can do nothing.
[00:05:22] One Corinthians chapter ten one Corinthians chapter ten, verse 16 the cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a communion of the blood of Christ, the loaf which we break? Is it not a communion on the body of Christ, seeing that we who are many are one loaf, one body? For we all partake of the one loaf and then Colossians.
[00:05:57] Colossians chapter three, verse ten and eleven.
[00:06:02] Colossians chapter three, verse ten and eleven. And have put on the new man that is being renewed unto knowledge after the image of him, him that created him, where there cannot be Greek and Jew. Circumcision and uncircumcision. Barbarian, Scythian, bondman, freeman. But Christ is all and in all and verse 15 of the same chapter. And let the peace of Christ rule or arbitrate in your hearts to the which also ye were called in one body, and be thankful at romans 15 five.
[00:06:52] Romans 15 five. Now the God of patience and of comfort grant you to be of the same mind, one with another, according to Christ Jesus, that with one accord ye may with one mouth glorify the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Wherefore receive ye one another, even as Christ also received you to the glory of God. Chapter 14 verse one.
[00:07:26] But him that is weak in faith receive ye, yet not for doubtful disputations.
[00:07:38] And lastly Philippians, chapter three.
[00:07:45] Philippians, chapter three, verse 15.
[00:07:50] Let us therefore as many as are full grown be thus minded, and if anything, ye are otherwise minded. This also shall God reveal unto you only whereunto we have attained by that same rule. Let us walk.
[00:08:20] I have entitled it the oneness of Christ, the positive exclusion of all man made barriers and divisions. The oneness of Christ. The positive exclusion of all man made barriers and divisions.
[00:08:45] Christ is the oneness of all true children the scripture is emphatically clear that the body is one because there is only one Christ.
[00:09:03] Because he is one. There is only one Christ, and because he is one, then the body is absolutely one. He is indivisible. You turn to one corinthians and chapter one and verse 13, Paul asks a question. You will see that in some of the versions it has been put in different ways.
[00:09:34] Here. In this standard version, it's put like, is Christ divided? Or it's really a stupid question, if you understand what I mean. It should be literally Christ divided.
[00:09:53] Impossible.
[00:09:56] Christ divided.
[00:09:59] Was Paul crucified? Paul crucified for you, just as Paul was not crucified for our salvation. So Christ cannot be divided. We have the same thing in chapter twelve and verse twelve. For as the body is one and hath many members, and all the members of the body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. We have it again in Romans, chapter twelve, verse five. So we who are many are one body in Christ, and severally members one of another. All the members of Christ's body share him as their common salvation, their common head, and their common life.
[00:11:01] He is their unity. Our oneness does not, in the final analysis, in the ultimate, depend on whether our temperaments or our backgrounds or our nationality or our cultural or racial background. The way we were brought up.
[00:11:25] Our unity is not a matter of just agreeing to agree.
[00:11:30] Our unity is something far deeper than mind or reason or thought.
[00:11:37] It is in a person and in a life, a shared person, a shared life. We are all by the grace of God in Christ, and Christ is in all of us, and that is our unity, nothing less than that, and essentially nothing more.
[00:12:10] So essential and so profound is the nature of this unity that it is, we are told in John chapter 17, precisely the same unity as that which exists between the father and the Son. Now, no one can define the unity that exists between the father and the Son and the Son and the father. That is profound, but it is essential.
[00:12:45] And the unity that is ours is exactly the same.
[00:12:53] If you turn to John 17, verses that we read a little earlier, verse eleven, last part, that they may be one even as we are. Verse 21. That they may all be one even as thou, Father, art in me, and I indeed, that they also may be in us. Verse 23, I in them, thou in me, that they may be perfected into one. If you turn back to John chapter 14 and verse 20, we read these wonderful words, in that day ye shall know that I am in my father, and ye in me, and I in you. I've often thought that this verse is one of the most wonderful verses in the Bible.
[00:13:55] In that day ye shall know that I am in my father and ye are in me in the Father, and I and the Father are in you.
[00:14:14] And you've got it again. In verse 23, Jesus answered and said unto him, if a man love me, he will keep my word, and my father will love him, and we will come unto him and make our abode with him. If you look at verse 17, you will see the spirit of the truth. The spirit of truth is also given to us. So you have the whole triune God the Father in Christ by the Holy Spirit in us.
[00:14:47] That is the profound and essential nature of the unity which is ours. It is not just likened to the unity between the Father and the Son. It is precisely the same.
[00:15:02] It is clear, therefore, that this is not an organized unity, but an organic unity. We cannot create it of ourselves, nor can we attain to it by our own efforts or our own ingenuity. It is already ours in Christ Christ, and he is indivisible.
[00:15:32] Our unity is not just trying to get alongside of each other and trying to be nice to each other and trying somehow to agree to each other. Basically, our unity is this. That in you is the same Christ who is in me.
[00:15:51] It is ours if we abide in him. We cannot be divided. Divided. Get out of him and we are divided.
[00:16:00] It is quite as simple as that. This spiritual unity is a fact and not an objective. Oh, the mistake that has been made in Christendom by making unity an objective, instead of seeing that it is a fact from which we move out, a fact upon which we stand, is not just an objective to reach out to war. It is something which is already won for us. It is an indisputable spiritual fact to be experienced because it is Christ himself to be known by the spirit. We are to give diligence to keep what has already been given to us in Christ. It is as simple as that. Ephesians, chapter four, verse three. Give diligence to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. Now note the word keep.
[00:17:13] You cannot keep something you have not got, can you? You can't keep a non existent dot.
[00:17:22] You can't keep a non existent house.
[00:17:27] You can't. The word is maintain if you like. You cannot maintain a non existent curve.
[00:17:33] If it is due diligence to keep the unity of the spirit, the first thing you have is the unity of the spirit. Then you keep it. Then you give diligence to keep it.
[00:17:44] If you're going to be very careful about the maintenance of your car, the first thing you've got to have is the car.
[00:17:53] Then you can maintain the car, and then you can be careful to maintain the car.
[00:18:01] Do you understand?
[00:18:03] It's as simple as that.
[00:18:05] Give diligence to keep the unity of the spirit. The unity of the Spirit is there. We may fall away from it. We may get out of Christ, but the unity of the spirit is there. It is a fact, a spiritual fact, already given to us in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. We can only be divided when we leave the position God has given us in Christ and come down to another level, to the earth, to the level of the carnal.
[00:18:45] If you turn to one corinthians, chapter three and verse three, we read this, for ye are yet carnal, for whereas there is among you jealousy and strife, are ye not carnal, and do ye not walk after the manner of men? For when one saith, I am of Paul, and another I am of Apollos, are ye not men?
[00:19:14] You look at one corinthians, chapter one, verse twelve. Now this I mean that each of one of you saith, I am of Paul, I of Apollos, I of Cephas, and I of Christ.
[00:19:30] Carnality is just flesh.
[00:19:33] You and I get out of our position in Christ. We don't hold fast ahead.
[00:19:40] We just simply come down to the earth what we are naturally, and we shall be divided within a matter of days.
[00:19:51] And we can never heal division by simply trying to come together horizontally.
[00:20:01] We have to do it through Christ.
[00:20:04] When we get right with Christ, we're immediately right with one another.
[00:20:09] It's a judge. The way we can judge everything is by that.
[00:20:15] People have much vaunted spirituality, but if they're out of gear with other children of God, that spirituality is, in a measure, pseudo spirituality.
[00:20:30] For no one can be in touch with the head in a living way, holding fast to him, and really be divided from other believers.
[00:20:45] Furthermore, let's make this point. Every true child of God has been born into this one. You know, in John three three, it says, verily, verily, I say unto you, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. And then in verse five, it says, it puts it this way, verily, verily, I sound you, except a man be born of water and of the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. Then if you turn to one Corinthians, chapter one, and verse 30, we read this, but of God are ye in Christ Jesus, who is made unto you wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. But of God are ye in Christ Jesus who is made unto you. You're in him and he is in you. You are in him, and God makes him to you. Everything in this so great salvation, his wisdom, his righteousness, his sanctification, his redemption, he is all we are born into this oneness.
[00:22:05] Born into it. One corinthians chapter twelve and verse 13 puts it like this. For in one spirit were we all baptized into one body. Whether Jews or Greeks, whether bond or three are all made to drink of one spirit.
[00:22:24] This unity of the spirit you and I have been born into. If you are a child of God, you and I have been born into this oneness of Christ. We entered it when we were born. There's no such thing as entering it later. We entered it when we were born of God, even if we were ignorant of that fact, even if we did not recognize the fact that we were born into this oneness.
[00:22:58] In fact, as far as God is concerned, we were born into the oneness of Christ.
[00:23:03] The moment you and I, in simple, sometimes weak, sometimes very ignorant faith, put our trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as our savior and our redeemer. That moment God put us in him and made him to us all these wonderful things.
[00:23:25] We are not only living in a union with Christ, but a union with one another.
[00:23:33] Now, I suppose most evangelical christians accept the fact that having been born of God, they are in a union with the Lord Jesus Christ.
[00:23:44] But this is just the whole point.
[00:23:48] It cannot stop there.
[00:23:51] Just because you and I have been made one with him, we are one with his body. Just because you and I have become members of Christ, we are members one of another. Just because you and I have become a branch in the vine, we find all the other branches in the vine.
[00:24:10] Because you and I are living stones. There are all the other living stones.
[00:24:15] You have it here in romans twelve and verse five.
[00:24:23] Romans twelve and verse five.
[00:24:28] So we, who are many, are one body in Christ and severally members one of another. Have you thought of that? Just in the same way that you're a member of Christ, you're a member one of another.
[00:24:40] I'm one of your members. You're one of mine.
[00:24:45] Because we are members of Christ. Our bet, one body. Now this union includes every child, every true child of God, however weak or ignorant that one might be. And it excludes every single one not born of God, however knowledgeable or religious that one might be.
[00:25:12] We may get some shocks one day.
[00:25:15] Yes, we may get some shocks one day when we find out just who is in that oneness and who isn't. But let us be absolutely clear that every single true child of God, whoever, whatever, whatever label they might have, every true child of God, however weak or ignorant they might be, is included in that oneness, and every single one is not born of God, however knowledgeable, however, whatever position they might occupy in ecclesiastical in the ecclesiastical hierarchy or system, if they're not born of God, they are excluded from that oneness.
[00:26:00] You see, Christ has never been and never will be the unity of believer and unbeliever, and he will never ratify any division between believer and believer.
[00:26:21] Let's put that clearly.
[00:26:24] If you turn to two corinthians, chapter six, we read these words. Verse 14 be not unequally yoked with unbelievers, for what fellowship has righteousness and iniquity? What communion hath light with darkness? What concord hath Christ with belial? Or what portion hath a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idol? For we are a temple of the living God, even as God said, I will dwell in them and walk in them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come ye out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord. And touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you, and will be to you a father, and ye shall be to me my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
[00:27:23] Lord is not the Lord Jesus Christ is not and never will be, never has been the unity a believer and unbeliever.
[00:27:33] So any kind of membership that includes unbeliever, non believer is something that God does not recognize one for one single moment. His word is absolutely clear. Come ye out from among them and be separate, saith the law.
[00:27:56] Nor will the law ratify. As I have said, any division between believer and believer, however traditional, however hoary with age, or however novel, however much it's justified or excused by us christians, he absolutely and emphatically, emphatically refuses to ratify any such division on any level whatsoever, anything that divides a believer from a believer, or believers from believers. For we read in Ephesians and chapter two and verse 14, for he is our peace, who made both one and break down the middle wall of partition, having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances that he might create in himself of the two one new man, so making peace at peace, and might reconcile them both in one body unto God through the cross, having slain the enmity, thereby Christ died to break down and abolish the middle wall of petition. Now there is a middle wall of petition.
[00:29:29] It divides this room from that room. It is a middle wall of partition. If there wasn't a door in it, we couldn't go there, just like down the whole of this house, due to some antiquated law, sort of, that has somehow overlived days when chastity was rather common in this country before marriage.
[00:29:59] This house is divided completely from that end to this end by a middle wall, in which we are not permitted to have a door knock. One single door into that wall, we lose the license to marry people.
[00:30:18] No building in this country, in the British Isles, is permitted to be licensed as a place where marriage can be solemnized if it has a connecting door with a residence.
[00:30:32] A middle wall of petition. So it means this, that every time we want to get into that house, we have to go right round the garden or out into the street and walk round to the front door in that part of the house.
[00:30:52] But the Lord died to abolish such spiritual middle walls of petition.
[00:31:01] The things that make everything difficult, the things that hinder everything, the thing that stops the flowing together, the thing that stops his word, the unity of his life and his headship being expressed. He died to abolish it.
[00:31:22] He died to break it down, pull it down, tear it down from top to foundation and abolish it, not just pull it down so a new, stronger one could be built up because it had got weak and rather tottering. But he break it down, then he might abolish it altogether, and so make of two. One.
[00:31:48] That's what he did. Now, my friend, the question is this, my dear brother, my dear sister, the question is, can we dare we rebuild such walls?
[00:32:05] He died to produce this living, inward, organic, dynamic oneness.
[00:32:17] We are not to contradict it, we are not to destroy that oneness in any way, but rather we are to diligently maintain it.
[00:32:35] Now, let us carefully note that in the word of God there are only three reasons given, or three grounds for division for the division of believers, or the exclusion of believers from the gathering together, the assembly of God's people. The first is geographical.
[00:33:08] That is the only ground in the word of God for the division of. Of Believa from believer. It is a question of where you live.
[00:33:18] We are not really divided, but we are divided in the sense of our.
[00:33:24] How can we put it, our coming together.
[00:33:27] Obviously, the people in Tokyo and the people here can't come together in quite the same way. We have to settle local matters here. Folk in Tokyo or New York or somewhere else, they have to settle it there. It's one ground. Now. We shall deal with that in the point number six. So I'm not going to say anymore. The second ground is disciplinary.
[00:33:56] Now, if you turn to one. Corinthians, chapter five, verse eleven, we read this, but we'll read from verse nine. I wrote unto you in my epistle, to have no company with fornicators hath not at all meaning with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous and extortioners, or with idolaters. For then must ye needs go out of the world. But as it is, I wrote unto you not to keep company. If any man that is named a brother be a fornicator or covetous or an idolater or a reviler or a drunkard or an extortioner, would such a one no not to eat. For what have I to do with judging them that are without? Do not ye judge them that are within, but them that are without? God judgeth. Put away the wicked man from among yourselves.
[00:34:56] Disciplinary action is one of the grounds for the exclusion of someone who has been saved and is a child of God, but who is living in sin.
[00:35:12] The third ground in the word of God for the exclusion of believers or division from them is heresy or apostasy.
[00:35:25] Heresy or apostasy.
[00:35:33] Give you a few scriptures for that. One Timothy, one Timothy, chapter one, verse 19, and 20. Holding faith and a good conscience, which some have thrust from them, made shipwreck concerning the faith, of whom is Hymena's and Alexander, whom I delivered unto Satan, that they may be taught not to blaspheme. And then again, Romans, chapter 16.
[00:36:06] Romans, chapter 16, verse 17.
[00:36:10] Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them that are causing the divisions and occasions of stumbling contrary to the doctrine which he learned, and turn away from them or withdraw from them.
[00:36:26] Then revelation, chapter two, verse two.
[00:36:34] I know thy works and thy toil and patience, and that thou canst not bear evil men, and didst try them that call them apostles, and they are not, and didst find them false.
[00:36:47] And lastly, the second letter of John.
[00:36:53] And verse nine.
[00:36:56] Whosoever goeth onward and abideth not. Now notice that whosoever goeth onward and abideth not in the teaching of Christ hath not God. He that abideth in the teaching the same hath both the Father and the Son. If anyone cometh unto you and bringeth not this teaching. Receive him not into your house and give him no greeting, for he that giveth him greeting partaketh of his evil works. Three grounds only in the word of God for the division of believers or the exclusion of believers, geographical, disciplinary, heresy or apostasy. Now, apart from those three grounds, there is no other single ground for division or exclusion of a single child of God.
[00:38:02] And anything more than this which excludes children of God, true children of God, from gathering together is wrong.
[00:38:16] And anything which includes those who are not is wrong.
[00:38:24] Now, this oneness of Christ, this unity which Christ has produced in himself, is not a vague, unrealistic, abstract, idealistic thing.
[00:38:45] You know, so often if you've been brought up in especially evangelical circles, you get the idea that this unity is something all the time, invisible, intangible. Therefore it's abstract. It's something up there.
[00:39:00] No one ever sees it, but it's there.
[00:39:03] You sort of take it by face that it's there, but no one has ever really seen it. This is not so. This oneness which Christ has produced in himself is practical, realistic and positively dynamic.
[00:39:24] Now, I mean by that, that once the unity of Christ finds a way of expressing itself, it is absolutely dynamic. It dynamites everything.
[00:39:35] It blasts away right through all that would divide us, whatever it is, in whatever realm it is.
[00:39:46] We are not to relegate this matter of unity to the future.
[00:39:51] One day when the Lord Jesus comes, then this perfect unity that exists between the father and the Son and us is going to be manifested. Nor are we merely to relegate it to the unseen and the intangible. But it is to be experienced and expressed and maintained in concrete ways, in time and on this earth.
[00:40:25] It is just here that the devil has done his most devastating work amongst us christians, dividing us and dividing us and dividing us and dividing us.
[00:40:41] It seems to me that the devil hates the unity of Christ.
[00:40:46] It seems to me as if he knows that if he can fragment Christ, he can paralyze things, hold things up, make things difficult, whether locally or whether universally, in whatever level it is, whatever sphere it is.
[00:41:14] You and I have to understand that all those earthly and natural barriers which divide man from man have been swept away in Christ.
[00:41:29] You turn to Colossians chapter three.
[00:41:32] In verse ten and eleven, we read this, have put on the new man that is being renewed unto knowledge after the image of him that created him, where there cannot be Greek or Jew, circumcision, uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, Bondman, Freeman. But Christ is all and in all now I want you to notice these wonderful words. This new man is not a personal man, he's a corporate man. It's the church, it is Christ, head and body. We put him on, and as we put him on, we discover that in him are all the other members. We're suddenly in a body. We're suddenly in a family, a spiritual family, an eternal family.
[00:42:24] But more than that, listen to this. Where there cannot be where there cannot be jew or greek circumcision or uncircumcision, barn man Freeman but Christ is all and in all this rather remarkable version is called the 26 versions Bible now listen to this. I'll just run through a whole lot of different versions. Now listen to this. Here is the authorized version where there is neither greek nor Jew circumcision or uncircumcision, barbarian, scythian, Bon or three american standard where there cannot be the 20th century New Testament in that new life there is no distinction between greek and Jews, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, scythian, slave or freeman Weymouth in that new creation there can be neither Jew nor greek in it there is no room for Jew or greek circumcision or uncircumcision Williams in this new relation there is no greek and Jew circumcision, and so on.
[00:43:49] Philips in this new man of God's design there is no distinction between greek and Hebrew, Jew or gentile, foreigner or savage, slave or free freeman the new american standard Bible a renewal in which there is no distinction between greek and Jew.
[00:44:07] Good speed here. What matters is not greek and Jew, the circumcised and the uncircumcised, but Christ in this new life. Tay's version in this new life, one's nationality or race or education or social position is unimportant. Such things mean nothing.
[00:44:28] Men this is how Christ is all and in all is put Christ is everything and everywhere. Moffat but Christ is everything and in us all good speed. There is nothing but Christ in any of us. Monsignor Knox Christ is all that matters, for Christ lives in them all. Philips whether a person is Christ is what matters and he is equally available to all. Tay but Christ is all and in all.
[00:44:55] That's the 20th century New Testament all those natural barriers that divide man from man have been abolished in Christ they cannot exist.
[00:45:11] They've been done away. The middle walls are gone.
[00:45:17] You turn to Galatians 328 and it says this, there can be neither jew nor Greek, there can be neither bon nor free, there can be no male and female. But ye are all one man in Christ Jesus. You've got it again. There is where there can be neither nor Ephesians, chapter two and verse 15, that he might create in himself of the two, one new man. Create in himself of the two, one new man. Now, what are these barriers essentially, that divide man from man? Well, we have racial barriers, white, black, asian, african, european, american.
[00:46:17] The racial barriers that tend to divide us in one way or another. They're very, very deep seated.
[00:46:29] People talk about, oh, you know, they tut tut about all the troubles and so on, but when it starts to hit them, they feel very differently.
[00:46:39] Everyone can offer good advice until the real problem comes. But it is not just a matter. It's not just a matter of cleanliness or anything like that. It's often a matter of cultural background, the way we do things, the way our minds think, the clash of two cultures, clash of two ways of living that are deeply in, deeply, as it were, deeply rooted within our very beings. Racial barriers, national barriers. Well, we all play down today, national barriers.
[00:47:16] The younger a nation is, the more patriotic it is on the whole.
[00:47:22] But this is not a day so much of nationalism, but, you know, it still is there.
[00:47:28] You just put a few foot wrong with someone about their country and they can be very upset and very annoyed, because national, temporal, national traits, national character is a very deep seated thing.
[00:47:48] Animosity between nationalities and so on and so forth.
[00:47:55] National barrier, social barriers, class, sex and all the rest of it.
[00:48:06] Religious barriers, not only effect of this buddhist or Confucian or Muslim and so on, but I mean denominational barriers. Baptist, Congregationalist, Roman Catholic, Anglo Catholic, Lutheran, Wesleyan Brethren, all these different things, barriers that divide us.
[00:48:37] We either look down or we look up.
[00:48:41] Personal barriers. That's the thing that between us all these things, there's no such thing as african Christians in God's sight.
[00:48:52] There are only christians in Africa, there's no such thing as asian Christians, only Christians in Asia, there's no such thing as european Christians, there are only Christians in Europe, there's no such thing as british Christians, only Christians in Britain, there's no such thing as danish Christians, only Christians in Denmark, no such thing as japanese Christians, only Christians in Japan.
[00:49:16] You see, it's a way of looking at it. Once we say japanese Christians, british Christians, german Christians, french Christians, we're all divided.
[00:49:27] But we are simply Christians, are we not?
[00:49:32] And we know it when we meet together, the true family of God. Doesn't matter what nationality, what race it is, we're one, the same in social class. What a wonderful thing it is when everyone's mixed up together, titled or untitled, all just jammed together, everyone with something to give, and no one's standing on what they are.
[00:50:02] I've known that many of you have, and it's very wonderful.
[00:50:12] And of course, we set up religious barriers when they're gone and when, from our different backgrounds, we each have something to give or contribute. But it's Christ who is everything and in everyone, personal barriers. That's where all our trouble comes in the end, because those are the deepest seated of all, deeply rooted in our constitution, our temperament. Even when the Lord's dealt with race and nationality and social class and sex and religious denomination, they are still those things within us where we hit up against the others.
[00:51:09] But Christ in himself and by his work on the cross, has abolished every barrier and division and made us one in himself.
[00:51:21] And how has he made us one new man?
[00:51:27] It is in himself. He has done it. In other words, we are in him and he is in us.
[00:51:33] And that is our unity.
[00:51:38] Rather, let me put it again like this, he is our unity.
[00:51:46] Therefore, it follows that division on any level is not just sad evidence of failings to be lamented, but born with patience.
[00:52:06] Division is not just something wrong, but unavoidable to be accepted.
[00:52:16] It is sin.
[00:52:20] It is sin.
[00:52:24] And that's why I could not be a Baptist another day.
[00:52:31] For when the day that I saw I not saved for others, for myself, the day that I saw that to have a label was dividing Christ that day, the label, rather go into the presence of God, a despised, nameless Christian, than to have any number of the labels going round amongst christians, and to be guilty of being any part at all to the dividing of Christ.
[00:53:08] See, there's this common idea amongst us that these divisions are hoary with age. And, I mean, they're part of human nature. You can't do anything about them.
[00:53:20] But you know as well as I do that in every age, in every generation in the history of the church, there's been an expression of universal unity.
[00:53:30] Sometimes the most despised people, persecuted, martyred.
[00:53:35] But amongst those that have been in simple, ordinary, honest, godly people, there has been that expression of the oneness of Christ.
[00:53:47] It is there that the lampstand has been all the way through church history.
[00:53:55] I can only say that it is a building again of that middle wall of petition. It is not only the building again of middle walls of petition, but I'm talking about division being within it or part of it.
[00:54:16] It is not only the building again of such middle walls. It is the acceptance, the acceptance of them, or the adjustment to them.
[00:54:28] Those things simply mean if you are building again that wall, or any part of anything which has or is, if you and I are accepting it as something that can't be helped, to be lamented over, but can't be helped, or adjusting ourselves to it, then we are undoing the work of Jesus Christ.
[00:54:57] That's why it's sin. To go out and get drunk means that you sinned against your body.
[00:55:04] But to divide Christ is to sin against his body.
[00:55:11] And therein lies the solemn and serious nature of this whole matter.
[00:55:20] Such an acceptance of division, however it may be excused or justified by some divides. Christ hinders and frustrates God's purpose, halts the building of God's church, denies Christ's full and finished work in its practical outworking and consequences, and stumbles the unsaved.
[00:55:58] You know as well as I do how most people say to us, well, if Christianity is true, why is it so divided?
[00:56:08] Why is there so little love shown between them?
[00:56:14] Most people, the man in the street doesn't distinguish between nominal christians and true christians, between just churchgoers and those who really do know the Lord.
[00:56:29] Now, anything, anything denominational, sectarian, or exclusive must, of necessity, due to its very character, divide believer from believer.
[00:56:41] It's not necessarily a matter of malice. Question of malice, but a question of constitution.
[00:56:49] If an idiot punches you one in the eye, it's not necessarily a matter of malice.
[00:57:00] It may be a question of constitution. He's demented, so he glossed you one of the eyes.
[00:57:10] He didn't know any better.
[00:57:14] And people seem to think that because we say that anything denominational or exclusive or sectarian is wrong and sinful, we are sort of being very sort of sanctimonious.
[00:57:30] We're not saying that it's necessarily malicious.
[00:57:35] It's constitutional that it is. It is something that comes out of the very way these organizations and institutions are constituted.
[00:57:50] Anything which makes the standard of fellowship or membership a question of a certain measure of light, of knowledge, or of experience, extra. Extra. Now, I underlined that extra to the essential minimum inherent in new birth is divisive.
[00:58:17] You've got that. Anything which makes the standard for fellowship or membership a certain measure of light, a knowledge, experience, extra to that essential minimum which is inherent within new birth is divisive. Now nearly all that is denominational or sectarian or exclusive is built in this way. So we get denominational church constitutions, we get denominational church creeds and declarations. We have the membership role.
[00:58:58] We have the membership qualifications and conditions. They vary from group to group.
[00:59:06] But you've got these things which are, as it were, instruments of division.
[00:59:12] And that's what I mean by the thing being constitutional. It's not that it's malicious. It's constitutional.
[00:59:19] It goes right back to this thing, of whether the thing is organic or organized.
[00:59:26] The basis for fellowship together in Christ is not the unity of the faith and of the full knowledge of the Son of God, which we are told is something we are going to arrive at one day or attain unto.
[00:59:45] But the basis for fellowship together in Christ is the unity of the spirit into which we have been born of God.
[00:59:56] Now, if you turn to ephesians chapter four and verse 13, we till we all attain unto. There is the revised version and the american standard version and all the modern versions.
[01:00:13] Till we all attain unto the unity of the faith and of the knowledge, the word is full knowledge of the Son of God. Now, in verse three, we have, giving diligence to keep the unity of the spirit. We have two unities. One, we're told we have. We are to keep it, we are to maintain it. The other we're told we're arriving at. We're coming to. One is a goal, one is a basis.
[01:00:48] Now, the trouble with so much of Christendom is we have made the goal the basis, and therefore we've been divided.
[01:00:59] If we were to take this company, just this small company within these four walls, and were to divide on the unity of the faith, if we were to make a unity of the faith and of the full knowledge of the son of God, our basis of fellowship, I do believe we would have immediately two or three churches, so called.
[01:01:23] We couldn't help it.
[01:01:28] But you see, it is the unity of the spirit into which we've been born, of the spirit of God, that is the basis upon which we fellowship together.
[01:01:41] Therefore, because of the oneness of Christ, we must receive all whom he has received. That's what it means in practice.
[01:01:55] In Romans, chapter 15, verse seven, it puts it very, very simply in these.
[01:02:02] It says, wherefore receive ye one another as Christ also received you.
[01:02:11] We, therefore, because of the oneness of Christ, because we've been born into this oneness, we must receive everyone else whom the Lord has received. In other words, the one requirement we need, the one necessity for fellowship together, for being looked upon not as a visitor, but a member of the family.
[01:02:37] Is. Has the Lord received you?
[01:02:41] Has the Lord received you? If the Lord has received you, God forbid that any of us should reject you.
[01:02:50] We can do no other.
[01:02:54] Why, you might be very untoward.
[01:03:01] You may be very sort of, well, difficult, awkward.
[01:03:08] But what can we do? We're trapped.
[01:03:12] If the Lord has received you, we must.
[01:03:16] Why? Will be tired. If we reject you.
[01:03:19] But has the Lord received you?
[01:03:25] If the Lord has received you, if you've been saved by the grace of God.
[01:03:29] If you have been born of his spirit, you've been received by Christ, we must receive you. It doesn't matter who it is. Let it be the moderator of the Church of Scotland.
[01:03:43] Or the archbishop of Canterbury or the pope.
[01:03:47] We accept them all. If they receive of God. If God has received them, we receive them. If God has not received. Receive them, we won't.
[01:03:57] Now, get clear what I'm saying. Just get absolutely clear what I'm saying. I'm not talking about. We're not talking as if we sort of push out people.
[01:04:08] We're talking about whether a person is a member of the family.
[01:04:13] Now, if there's a family. I'm not talking about those difficult occasions when someone comes that we just don't want. Want to see. But so often in the world, it can be like that. But I'm talking. Now, the normal family. Someone comes, they're a visitor. Now, often we show more politeness, more courtesy. And more love to a visitor than ever we do to any member of our own family. You know the kind of thing. Someone comes in with a hat that really. You wonder where on earth they got it from. But the whole family clucks and coos over it. But if one member of the family came in that hat, they'd say, get that out of the place.
[01:04:56] You look awful.
[01:05:00] You're a member of the family.
[01:05:05] The same hat could be clucked and cooed over, I'm a visitor, but I'm a member of the family. You get it straight from the show.
[01:05:14] Now, that's what I mean when I'm doing those. I'm not talking about sort of when we say we will not receive anyone into the family. We do not accept as members anyone who's not been born of God.
[01:05:29] Visitors. We'll do everything that we can by the grace and love of God. To make them welcome.
[01:05:38] No matter who it is.
[01:05:42] The greatest religious dignity in the world.
[01:05:45] They're not saved.
[01:05:47] We will welcome them as members, as a visitor to the family.
[01:05:55] But we must receive every single one whom the Lord has received. Therefore, we have no membership. We cannot, for our membership is the lamb's book of life.
[01:06:08] And we can only go by the fruit that we see, by their fruit ye shall know them, says the Lord.
[01:06:17] We have to go by that witness of the spirit and the fruit that is seen in lives.
[01:06:24] But will you also note that we must receive one another as Christ received us? Now there comes in one way the key to the whole matter, and I might say sometimes the crunch.
[01:06:42] We must receive one another as Christ received us. How did Christ receive me? He received me as a sinner saved by grace. He didn't receive me as someone who could preach, or someone who thinks he could preach.
[01:07:02] And he didn't receive me as someone who is perhaps who thinks he's knowledgeable, or someone who's zealous, or someone who is devoted, or someone who's going to be useful.
[01:07:14] He received me as a sinner, a worthless, insignificant outlay sinner.
[01:07:22] And that's how he received me.
[01:07:24] It was the minimum basis.
[01:07:28] He received me as a sinner saved by grace.
[01:07:32] Here is the equality of fellowship.
[01:07:36] Every single one is received on the minimum. And what is the minimum?
[01:07:42] The minimum is that you are a sinner saved by grace.
[01:07:46] Not that you are decent and devoted and pure and spiritual, but that God saved you as a sinner who could not save himself or herself.
[01:08:00] It is a sad fact that the way the Lord has received you and me is not the way we receive one another, and hence all our trouble.
[01:08:15] For all the time we judge one another, we can't receive one on that basis.
[01:08:20] But that is the basis upon which we receive one another. We fellowship together in Christ. Are you a sinner saved by grace?
[01:08:30] That's the operative thing. Saved by grace. Are you a sinner saved by grace? Has he received you as a sinner saved by his grace?
[01:08:41] Then we proceed in the same way on that one basis of what he is. It is a very interesting thing that in Romans 14 and verse one it says, but him that is weak in faith receive ye not for decision of scruples thinking, because this is exactly what happens for decision of scruples, investigation into their conscience.
[01:09:15] Isn't that exactly what happens with most membership conditions?
[01:09:20] I was investigated, believe me, by two people and I got in, as I've said, on a two thirds majority.
[01:09:28] It's the only way I got in, investigated. Him that is weak in the faith. Isn't that interesting? Him that is weak, that is the very people that some of us will say, oh, oh, very wobbly.
[01:09:42] Well, don't get him in a corner and say, now look here, have you given up?
[01:09:49] Or so to say, have you? Have you given up drinking and go to the cinema.
[01:09:57] But this is the kind of thing that happens. My word. I've known it times past, that kind of thing. Why, I've even seen a poor girl who didn't have something on her head taken out.
[01:10:13] I don't know the word to use.
[01:10:16] Grilled may be too weak by two old sisters.
[01:10:22] I wasn't here. Thank the Lord.
[01:10:26] Will him that is weak in faith receive not for decision of scruples. In other words, not for doubtful disputations.
[01:10:40] Having a good old argument with them, trying to convince them that they should do so and so and so and so and so and so, to make them more acceptable.
[01:10:47] Him that is weak in the received as Christ received him as Christ received him as a sinner saved by grace. Let God do the work of investigating. Let God do the sorting out of the motive.
[01:11:03] Let God do all the work of reformation and cleaning up all the trouble. We get to get someone in with a troubled background, say something like divorce or something else, some unhappy background, and before you know where you are, you've got people latched onto them, sort of drumming up the divorce laws.
[01:11:29] It's incredible.
[01:11:34] Him that is weak received, yet not for doubtful disputation, not for decisions over scruple.
[01:11:43] Scruples. Interesting, isn't it?
[01:11:46] Scruple. You have a scruple about smoking or drinking, maybe from the Lord, but don't you take him in for a decision over scruples? Receive him as Christ has received him or her.
[01:12:05] That's why it says in Philippians chapter three and verse 15 and 16.
[01:12:10] Wherefore, says Paul, who could have, well, sort of argued with all of us and cut a lot of us off, he says in Philippians chapter three, verse 15, let us therefore, as many as are perfect, be full grown, be thus minded, and if you are in anything, if in anything ye are otherwise minded, God shall also reveal it unto you. Now that is the spirit of the apostle Paul. He says, look here, if we're really going right on, we'll be together in this thing. But if you're otherwise minded, we're not going to argue about it. We're not going to have decision of scruple over scruples or doubtful disputation. We'll leave it. The Lord will reveal it, either to me or you. We'll go on only. And here is the point, only where unto we have attained by that same rule, let us walk. So if God has said to you, don't you do that, you don't do it.
[01:13:04] If God says you do something, you do it. But don't all the time be saying, oh, you know, if I can't do it, he can't.
[01:13:15] Why should he be doing it? I can't.
[01:13:18] So what we do is we get him.
[01:13:21] See, it is strange, isn't it? Strange though. You know, people who take drugs always want everyone else to take them.
[01:13:30] Someone is ought to everyone get them all in, you know, get them all in into the club.
[01:13:38] It's a human tendency. So if the Lord's dealt with you over something is get them all in, into the club of the nun, whatever it is, see?
[01:13:49] Oh, it's terrible. It's a destruction of things and won this.
[01:13:54] More trouble is done. This. This is where the flies in the ointment are. More trouble is here than anywhere else.
[01:14:04] Well, now we must finish.
[01:14:06] I think we should just add one little point. And that is that in this unity, well, let's put it this way. This unity is not uniformity.
[01:14:14] I always think that wherever there is uniformity, it is inevitable that unity, true organic unity, is not there.
[01:14:23] True unity is expressed in variety and diversity in the unity.
[01:14:31] You think about that and you'll see it's true. There's tremendous variety and diversity of gift, of function, of operation in the oneness of Christ. Well now, to take the ground of the body of Christ means in practice that we stand in the oneness of Christ having left all that is a contradiction to that oneness. All that could or would divide in any way on any level that we receive everyone whom he has received and minister to all to whom he ministers.
[01:15:21] It means that we want to be able simply to greet and to welcome every other born again believer as members of Christ with us and a seek to draw them in as members of the same body, the same family.
[01:15:46] We see this beautifully exemplified in the book of acts where there is a unity and great variety and diversity throughout, from beginning to end.
[01:15:57] We see in all parts of the world this rebuking by the apostles continual of any lining up behind names or personalities or teachings as such.
[01:16:08] And we see it exemplified in the breaking bread, the Lord's table. Perhaps some of you who are younger in the Lord, you forget that. But at the Lord's table, one of the supreme testimonies of that table is one loaf and one cup. We share the bread, we share the. Why, it's one load and it's one kind and we share it together. What are we doing? We're simply saying we've been born into this one.
[01:16:41] We've been born into Christ. He is ours.
[01:16:46] May the Lord help us now, Lord, we just simply commit ourselves to thee and we pray, beloved Lord, that thou wouldst reveal this to our hearts. Oh, don't let it remain, Lord. We pray in the realm of theory or doctrine or just biblical knowledge, Lord, we pray, pray that by thy spirit thou wouldst enlighten the eyes of our hearts that we may know this inwardly. Lord, we know how important this matter of thy oneness is, and we ask that thou hast help every one of us to give diligence to keep the unity of thy spirit in the bond of peace. We ask it in thy name. Amen.
