“For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all, in all, and living through all.”
Ephesians 4:4-6 NLT There is only one church! Jesus established it and the Holy Spirit inaugurated and empowered it (see Matthew 16:18 and Acts 2:1-4). There are so many distinctions in the church called denominations. Each of these denominations represent a school of thought theologically. My heart aches when I contemplate the simple, yet true, reality that the body of Christ around the world is divided into so many fragments. Jesus never intended this to be the case. Here, in today's passage, we read Paul's writings as he was inspired by the Holy Spirit. Paul understood the oneness of the body of Christ. There is only one way of salvation, one Lord, one true faith, and one true church. The church isn't a building, a denominational entity, a certain tradition, or an organization of man. The church is the blood bought saints of the living God!!! We are born into it by the blood of Christ. There are approximately 19 passages of scripture in the New Testament that speak this very truth. If you want the list, simply ask me for it. There isn't enough room in this daily text to cite them all. I will give you one of them today: “and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.” Colossians 1:20 NLT Seven times Paul uses the word "one" in today's three verses. One body One Spirit(capital S-Holy Spirit) One glorious hope One Lord One faith One baptism One God God wants His church to be unified, not divided. United, we stand, divided we fall. Jesus Himself said “And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.” Mark 3:25 KJV O how God wants to see His children come together at His table in fellowship. When we tear down our walls and unite under the One God who has given us the Word of Truth we bring glory to Him. Satan knows that the only hope he has of affecting the gospel of Christ is to divide the church and render it ineffective. We spend way too much time focusing on the minors. Let's focus on the majors. If you believe that God became a man through the virgin birth of Jesus, His sinless life, His substitutionary death, His triumphant resurrection, and His promise to return, then we are brothers and sisters in Christ. God knows our hearts and will be the ultimate judge of our motives and methods. “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” Psalms 133:1 KJV
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![]() Rev. Curtis Norris Archives
March 2020
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