Unity

When Jesus said, “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person's enemies will be those of his own household” in Matthew 10:34-36, He may not have had in mind the same dividing factors that we might.

In today’s world, it seems we are ready to divide over just about anything. This, of course, has its roots in the current rejection of the word of God as relevant, powerful, effective, and authoritative in people’s lives. Therefore, each person is taking it upon themselves to construct for themselves a certain moral code or ethical standard by which they will live and also expect others to follow suit. Naturally, with the subjective nature of human perception, the limited view we have of others, the exalted view we have of self, and the inability to truly know what is good apart from God all of this hand-wringing serves only to create more division, strife, tension, and animosity even among people that claim to be following God.

The truth is that many people aren’t all that interested in being consistent, honest, or humble in their studies. The result is a different set of beliefs that work however strenuously but ultimately insufficiently to support a view that helps them the most. Worse still, these conclusions are often held up not before but in place of the standard of Scripture and therefore determine with whom we can fellowship and call a brother or sister in Christ.

The dividing factors Jesus considered had to do with His identity, His Gospel message, and His reign. But people are very good at elevating their own ideas to the level of division. In the early church, Paul was helped by the Spirit to write letters to the churches to help resolve these disputes and recalibrate the fellowship so that it would be a Christ-centered community.

In Ephesus, there were struggles with race, class, background, status, and even religious understanding. In Ephesians 4:3-6, Paul shows the importance we should place on unity: ”Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” The oneness that Paul reminds us of here should help us see that quite often, there are “bigger fish to fry” when it comes to division and our efforts are often made towards proving our argument right rather than striving to be unified before the Creator.

Paul in Ephesians describes Christians that should be marked by peace. “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.” (Ephesians 2:13-18)

Let us then be very careful in what we elevate, exalt, and honor when it comes to the faith. Let our faith always be rooted in Christ and His teachings and the teachings of the apostles by the Holy Spirit. Let our thoughts and hearts be shaped and molded by the Lord as we strive every day to live up to our calling. Sometimes, division must come that the truth may be seen. Let’s just make sure it’s the truth about Jesus that is our standard.

More Than A Feeling

The great story of all of history is that of a loving God that loves a people that don’t always love Him in return. Yet, despite this adversity, the Lord continuously reaches out to His people. This is the mark of a loving person: one that never gives up. Or maybe: one that does whatever it takes. Or maybe: one that cares enough to correct. God, who is love, loves us enough to overcome our shortcomings and failures. Our sin, that very thing which we might think to be too great for forgiveness, is overcome by the loving mercy of our God. In His love, He never gives up, does whatever it takes, and cares enough to correct.

In the beginning, we were with the Lord but through our own selfish desires we failed. We fail and fail again. We find sin attractive. We find it tempting. We see the allure of it. We see an appeal in it. And, because we are weak, we break the law of God. A loving creator-God who has given us the glory of His Word of Truth has revealed to us right and wrong, good and evil, righteousness and unrighteousness. In His justice, He promises that evil will be forever destroyed. In His grace, He offers to make us holy. In His love, He has shown us compassion and direction but will we follow?

The challenge we have today is that what people say and do are different from one another. People say they love God but they deny Him by their actions (Titus 1:16). People say they love God, but they harbor bitterness towards others (1 John 4:20). People say they believe Jesus is Lord but it is mere lip-service (Mt 15:8). People say they are disciples but their lifestyle doesn’t resemble the life of Christ (1 John 3:18).

The challenge we have today is that people believe that love is a feeling and they think that belief is a thought. However, what the Lord desires is that you truly love Him. And when you love, you act. We would never look at a one-sided marriage and call that love. Marriage is a give and take, for better and worse. When we see one or the other spouse doing all the giving and the other doing all of the taking, we know without much thought required this marriage is falling apart.

Why is it different with our Lord? We are always ready to take, but are we giving? We are ready to receive, but what are we offering? We want, but are we wanting to give or only to get? Love isn’t just a feeling. Love is something we do and something we are.

The challenge we have today is that people live like love stops, rather than begins, at the heart. Paul had to confront the attitude in the early church. They seemed to think that one could believe one way and live another. In Romans 2 he writes, “God ‘will repay each person according to what they have done.’ To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.” (Rom 2:6-8).

God loves you despite your sin and offers you a way out of judgement: a life changed by Jesus Christ. Our challenge is to learn to love like Jesus loved: with action. 

Gospel

There’s a concept in Biblical studies with regard to many teachings that could be called “both/and”. This happens frequently and there are many examples we could show that would illustrate the principle well. It’s a valuable tool that can help us in our studies when we are working through passages on our own or together.

One example has to do with prophecy. When reading prophecy, we should keep in mind that it is God’s word. God’s word is relevant and powerful. We see often that predictive prophecy was fulfilled in the life of Jesus. But, it should come as no surprise that the prophecies given also had relevance for the time in which it was given.

One example of such a prophecy comes from Isaiah 7:14, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” This should be a familiar passage for you, I hope. We know of it because according to Matthew 1:22-23, this prophecy is given concerning Jesus as one more of the many signs that Jesus is who He says He is.

Yet, this isn’t the only fulfilment of the prophecy. Isaiah continues, “but before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste.” Isaiah is also providing an immediate context fulfilment for King Ahaz. This is one example of the both/and nature of Biblical teaching in general and prophecy in particular.

Another situation in which we see the “both/and” interpretative tool being used has to do with the Gospel. In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul describes the Gospel (15:1-2) this way: Christ died (3), Christ was buried (4), and Christ was raised (5ff). Within each verse, Paul ties these facts of the Gospel to “the Scriptures” which shows the ongoing importance of the whole Bible as it reveals to us how God has been working to reconcile His people to Himself. That is, salvation history.

However, this is not the only definition of Gospel the Bible provides. Remember, “gospel” is not an English word. It comes from the original Greek text of the Bible in which you would have found the phrase “good news”. When we read the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John we see Jesus preaching and teaching throughout the Promised Land. But, we also know that everyone, including Jesus’s disciples, were shocked at the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. Therefore, as much as 1 Cor. 15 accurately describes and defines the Gospel, what then was it that Jesus taught throughout the Land?  

Luke 4:43 states, “But he said, “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.” This is just one verse of several where we see Jesus defining His mission as preaching the “good news of the kingdom”.

We see the Gospel then is BOTH the teachings ABOUT Jesus AND the teaching OF Jesus.

What then did Jesus teach? This is the subject of our present study. This good news that Jesus proclaimed focused on: love, kingdom, repentance, faith, worship, discipleship, and judgement – to name a few.

If we are to be followers of Jesus, we need to make sure we understand how to be followers of Jesus. We can only do that through knowing what he taught.