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The Ephesian Connection
For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you, and your love for all the saints, do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers...
Two traits every Christian should have are both a vital faith in Christ and then also love for all of His people. Sadly, some groups see themselves as either the whole Church or at least, the best, most mature, most spiritual part of the Church. “If you want to be truly spiritual, you should join our group. We are the most mature, the only ones on ‘the front lines’ of what God is doing in this region.”
But such thinking reflects a narrow vision rooted in pride. If God does give a particular gathering of His people certain insight not found in other groups, it is so they can serve others with the fruit of that truth. A sense of superiority, a belief that we are more spiritual and more important evidences carnality, not spirituality. How easy it would have been for God to sit in heaven with a sense of smugness and superiority both because of all He knew that mankind did not and also because He is obviously mightier than the whole human race. Yet His desire was not to look down on men, but rather to become the servant of all. Similarly, may God help us to serve others with the truth He has graciously given us.
Knowledge is not the mark of spiritual maturity. In fact, it can puff people up (1Corinthians 8:1). It can make one look greater than he really is. When a balloon is inflated, it looks quite large until someone deflates it. Then everyone can see its true dimensions. Similarly, God has to deal often with us, to “pop our balloon” so that we can recognize our true size. We are not as mighty in God as our knowledge sometimes leads us to believe. And His purpose is to have reality in our relationships with Him. If we believe we have attained a certain level of maturity when in fact we have not, then we will approach Him with presumption. And we will assume He is impressed with our lives, when in reality He is offended by our attitude. It is dangerous to presume on God.
Some have mistaken presumption for faith. They have concluded that if they speak certain words or take certain actions, God is then required to respond in a particular way. But He will not be manipulated by His people whether they quote scripture or not. The Bible was not given so that we could cite it and then insist that He must then act to confirm His word.
If we stand in humility before Him, discovering Him as He really is and gaining insight into our own hearts, we will soon learn to express truth in a way that honors His sovereignty. Truth ministered in humility will accurately reveal God; truth ministered in pride will actually obscure Him. In fact, knowledge by itself – even biblical knowledge is not the essence of the Kingdom of God. Rather, the Lord Himself is its central and driving force. We must never be satisfied with knowledge alone. Instead we must press in to know Him in greater depth so that the revelation of Him will not be missing from our lives. Otherwise, we will be purveyors of knowledge rather than those who reveal God. How then would we be extending His Kingdom? Being puffed up with knowledge, we would be subtly gathering to ourselves those who agreed with us. And we would also to some degree be excluding others who could have been helped by the truth He graciously gave us. Instead of God’s kingdom, a sect would be established creating further division in the house of the Lord.
The greatest cause of division in the Church is not doctrine, but pride. Men substitute knowledge about God in place of spending time with Him. And so, too often we allow ourselves to be puffed up through what we know instead of humbling ourselves before Him and each other. Christian leadership must especially consider these matters.
Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we shall incur a stricter judgment.
If we deliberately cause division in the Church, drawing others to ourselves while looking down in pride on those who have different perspectives, we will be setting ourselves up for God’s discipline.
If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are.
When Paul wrote these words, the believers at Corinth were divided over what leaders to identify with instead of being united in their love for Christ. Some were saying they were of Paul while others were of Apollos. While it was true that Paul had planted the seeds of God’s word in the peoples’ hearts and then Apollos had watered them, it was God who had actually caused their spiritual growth. Both the one who planted and the one who watered were nothing in themselves. The true source of life among them was the Lord (1Corinthians 3:4 - 7).
If we understand this foundational truth, then our gatherings together will not be around gifted men (the channels of growth), but unto the One who causes our spiritual growth, even the Lord Himself. When God’s people gather to Him, we will discover others with the same motive. Here is the key to true godly unity in the Church. We are simply unable to unify God’s house on our own. But if we will humbly gather together around the person of Christ with hearts to serve one another, He will bring spiritual adjustment to each of us and blend our lives together. Christian sects form when people gather together around knowledge, interpretations of biblical truth, and (or) leaders who are capably persuasive in speech. The way out of the present divided condition of the Church is for those in leadership to present Christ as central in all things. Programs, plans, committees, and anointed preachers are not the key. Obviously, they can be part of the process, but they are not a substitute for the Lord’s active presence and work among us. When we recognize and believe in Him as the true source of our life and growth, then like the Ephesians, we will not only have a vital faith in the Lord, but also a love for all His people.
While one primary characteristic of the Lord is His love for all His children, one attribute of fallen man is selective love. Too often, people love others because of their personality, their ministry, their ethnicity, or their religious affiliation. But none of these are foundational for true unity. As we gather unto the Lord Jesus and open our hearts to Him, He will uncover the imperfections of our heart attitudes and establish Heaven’s oneness in our collective life as a church. True unity is a miracle and God is not content with anything less. An organizational approach will not suffice.
Our God’s strategy is to reveal Himself with such clarity that our only proper response is to humble ourselves before Him. If we believe that only He can bring us to maturity, the pressure will be off of us to accomplish it ourselves. And we will be free simply to serve others with truth because we love them. The ultimate unity of Christ’s body will come as we give our hearts wholly to Him. Then it will dawn on us how far short of His glory we are. Then there will be no room for pride as He sends us to minister to others. We will go both as servants and learners, not as experts. And God will get the glory because all will see that He is the One who causes the growth.
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