| The Plea for
Unity .... In John chapter 17
verses 20 and 21, Jesus Christ prayed for all believers that they may be
united.
"Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also
which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be
one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also
may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me."
The original church was a united church. The church of Christ pleads for
the unity of all believers in the church.
In his first Epistle to the Corinthians chapter 1 verse 10, the apostle
Paul wrote, "Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus
Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions
among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and
in the same judgment."
Paul wrote this as a result of division in the church at Corinth as
indicated in verse 11 through verse 15.
"For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which
are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.
Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of
Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.
Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in
the name of Paul?
I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius;
Lest any should say that I had baptized in mine own name."
The need is not for a new church but the original church with its unity.
The need is for those in the denominational world to lay aside party
names, creeds and ties and be Christians only. Jesus' church can be
restored if men will do Bible things in Bible ways and call Bible things
by Bible names.
The early disciples were just Christians - Acts 11:26, neither
Protestants nor Catholics. They were unheard of until centuries later.
The restoration of the Biblical church will lead us once again to be
just Christians.
Early Christians were not denominationalist. Paul was not a member of
one denomination, Peter of another and James and John members of
another. Instead, they condemned division and the wearing of additional
names as carnal or unscriptural. 1 Corinthians 3:3-4 ...
For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and
strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?
For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye
not carnal?
Churches of Christ are pleading that
all should be Christians only and members of the Lord's church. This is
a plea for the restoration of Jesus' church in its unity and simplicity.
Excerpt from
Christian Tracts, Haun Publishing Company, Box 3426, Pasadena, TX 77501 |