One Body
“3. For by the grace given me I say to every one of
you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of
yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed
to each of you.
4. For just as each of us has one body with many
members, and these members do not all have the same function,
5. so in Christ we, though many, form
one body, and each member belongs to all the others.
6. We have different gifts, according to the grace
given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance
with your faith;
7 if it is serving, then serve; if it
is teaching, then teach;
8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if
it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it
is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.” Romans 12: 3-8
A thought occurred to me while
reading through someone else’s blog this past week and it has to do with the
division of the church. It is not a bad thing, but I do believe it is a hindrance
to the growth of the church.
There are many denominations in
the body of Christ, Evangelical, Charismatic, Catholic, Reformed, Baptist,
Pentecostal, Lutheran, Anglican, to name a few, and all of them have things in
common and all them have major differences. None is wrong in what they believe
or what in creeds and doctrines they follow all of them draw them from the
scriptures and that is God breathed. Now, why do I call this difference a division
and a hindrance to the growth and spreading of the church? It is because in the
midst of all of this that we are no longer unified.
I know where all of you can go
with this, “But it says in the scriptures that we are all one body made up of
many parts, that is the denominations of the church. They are the different
body parts that make up the body of Christ.” And I agree completely, that is
exactly what it is, but the truth lies behind it all. This is not something
seen on the surface, it is spiritual wound, and it is Satan’s greatest victory
over us as the church.
We and I mean all of us have
drifted apart from God’s grand design to be unified under Him, we are all so
caught up in our creeds, doctrines, and how we choose to run our services.
Whether we choose to raise our hands, shout hallelujah or bow our heads and say
a Hail Mary, that we have become separated. The body has split apart. The eye
has said “I do not need you foot,” and the ear has said “I do not need you
hands.” We have become blinded by our own humanity and forgotten that we are all
brothers and sisters in Christ.
Creeds, doctrines, and songs
mean nothing to our Heavenly Father, at least when it comes to churches and how
we do things. What matters to Him is that we worship Him and Him alone, that we
do it with our whole heart mind body and soul, and that we do it as one! The Bible does not say that wherever 2 or 3 Evangelicals
are gathered in My name, there I am in the midst of them, it says ” 19.
“Again, truly I tell you that
if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for
you by my Father in heaven. 20. For
where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.”” Matthew 18: 19-20.
It is only when we come together as one that we will achieve what God wants to
achieve, it is only as one body that we can step on the head of the Serpent.
There is nothing wrong with
denominations, in fact I encourage you to find your place, the one denomination
that best suits you and the style that you worship and praise our God in. But
do not discriminate against the other denominations out there, encourage them
in their growth, pray for them on Sunday mornings that they too may see the
glory of God that morning. Meet with them grow with them, share in their
sorrows and in their laughter’s. As one body, unified under God we are
unstoppable and we can change the world.
Be blessed, and remember to keep the faith!
