March 28, 2011 … Another Enemy of Humility: Partisanship

Passage of the Day: 1st Corinthians 4: 6 - [NKJV - Paul speaking – see underlined] ... Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes, that you may learn in us not to think beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up on behalf of one against the other.

My Journal for Today: Pride, both individually and/or collectively in a group, can often lead to partisanship within a family or organization – and yes, … even in a church. And when partisanship raises its ugly face in a church, it can destroy any sense of unity to which Paul wrote about to the Corinthians in today’s passage or to Christians in Asia-Minor in Ephesians 4: 1-5 [linked] …

A few years ago, our church experienced the disunity produced by partisanship when, through a drastic set of circumstances, our former Pastor left our body and drew a number of members from our church to a new church which he started up, … I assume in anger. It was an ugly situation. And shortly thereafter, another local congregation, very close to our church divided, as factions took “sides” over the issue of how their church is to be governed. In both situations, the foundation of the divisiveness was and/or is PRIDE being manifest in denial or disobedience over the first part of Luke 9: 23 … and that is, … to follow Christ we must first deny ourselves

John MacArthur, as he was writing for today’s entry in Strength for Today, correctly pointed out that the way to avoid partisanship is for ALL in any group or church … any body of believers … to be surrendered to God’s Spirit, focusing on Christ through His word, and holding tightly to a spirit of gratitude for God’s providence and His promises. To summarize MacArthur, he is saying that this spirit of surrender and search for God’s way, rather than a search to fulfill ourselves or be in control, will, in turn, fulfill Luke 9: 23 in the pursuit of Savior over self. And when we, in any church/group, do what Christ commanded in that passage, we will never divide, but rather come together, in our common focus, … Who is Christ! I think about a picture something like this …

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[Me].... Following Christ

[You] ...... Following Christ

[Others]..... Following Christ

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There will never be partisanship, disunity, and/or disobedience when this model is followed and/or maintained by the people of God. Paul said it to the Corinthians (in 1st Cor. 11: 1) … that the Corinthians could follow him [Paul] because he was following Christ. And that is what defeats partisanship and gives victory to Christ through His Church in the world.

My Prayer Today: I follow You, Lord; and so anyone following me, pursues You as well. Amen

January 29, 2011 … Oneness in Christ

Passage of the Day: Ephesians 4: 4 – 6 – 4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called — 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

My Journal for Today: As we did in my last devotional entry [for 1/28/11], we focus on the “oneness” of Christ, … in the Church, and from the Gospel. And the two verses below, one from Peter, the other from Paul, clearly declare, as does today’s passage, that we give allegiance and serve One God in Christ Jesus.

SCRIPTURE: Acts 4:12 [Peter] “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."
SCRIPTURE: Rom. 10: 12 [Paul] For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile — the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on Him, …

Really, both explicitly and implicitly, CHRIST is the single unifying theme throughout the Bible, Old Testament and New. Denominational, demographic, or dogmatic differences within Christianity cannot detract from this unifying reality. There is only one CHRISTIAN faith.

Actually, unity (of the church) from diversity (of believers) is the theme of Ephesians 4; and it should be a strength of God’s Church. However, we live in a world which is fallen and fallible and which has led to fallacious and far reaching interpretations of God’s word and all too much diversity of feelings in Christ’s body. And any time we let feelings dominate a unified search for God’s truth, we fall prey to our enemy, Satan, who would pour his evil spiritual gas upon the flames of our distraction and disunity.

We must beware and not hold so tightly to our own provincial and protected “brand” of corporate Christianity so that we can come together to fulfill Christ’s prayer for His Body (see John 17), holding only to the reality that we have our unity in Christ Himself. [again see Eph. 4: 4 above]

My Prayer Today: We are one … I am one in You, Lord. Amen

January 28, 2011 … Our Unity In The Spirit

Passage of the Day [NIV]: Ephesians 4: 4 – 6 [emphasis noted by capitalization/underlined words] – 4 There is ONE body and ONE Spirit—just as you were called to ONE hope when you were called— 5 ONE Lord, ONE faith, ONE baptism; 6 ONE God and [ONE] Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

My Journal for Today: Well, in case you didn’t notice ;) , the operant word in this passage is the word “ONE;” and the Apostle Paul is almost shouting that we, of the Body of Christ, are ONE body in Christ … sealed by ONE Spirit … with ONE eternal calling from God, the Father. He is clearly stating that we are not many bodies, … but ONE … The Church Universal … all ONE in Christ Jesus (see Gal. 3: 28) …

>>> SCRIPTURE: Gal. 3: 28 … There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all ONE in Christ Jesus.

ONE; … no matter how many creeds we believe and utter; … no many how many races are represented in our congregations; … no matter how many languages we may speak; … no matter how many worship styles we represent; … our individual souls and our singular houses of God are collectively ONE Temple, guided by ONE Spirit [1st Cor. 6: 19], Who builds The Body in the likeness of our ONE Lord, … Jesus Christ [Eph. 2: 22].

>>> SCRIPTURE: 1st Cor. 6: 19 … Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?
>>> SCRIPTURE: Eph. 2: 22 … And in Him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

And finally, it is that ONE Spirit, Who has sealed (or guaranteed) us into the ONE hope of our ONE calling, which is our inheritance in eternity [Eph. 1: 13-14] from our ONE Lord …

>>> SCRIPTURE: Eph. 3: 13-14 … 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, 14 who is a deposit, guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession — to the praise of His glory.

You’ll never get a better guarantee than that in this world! Therefore, we must do all we can as THE ONE Body of Christ to maximize the unity unto which we are called and sealed. Therefore, we, as born-again Christians, need to recognize from the context of the passage Dr. MacArthur has been using all this month (i.e., see Eph. 4: 1-3) that our worthiness as His bride, the Church, is dependent on our faith in the ONE Lord and our belief in and surrender to the ONE Spirit, Who ministers to our spirit in the Name of the ONE Father in Heaven.

My Prayer Today: Precious Lord, I am ONE in You for eternity. Hallelujah! Amen