We need to know what our practice is under today’s divisive and confusing degradation of Christianity. We do not and should not participate in the Catholic heresy, the Protestant denominations, and any kind of free groups of Christians. To participate in any of these things is to participate in a division. But we recognize and receive the individual believers in Christ who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, who are redeemed by His blood and regenerated by the Holy Spirit, and who are not factious (Titus 3:10), not making divisions (Rom. 16:17), and not worshipping idols or living in sin (1 Cor. 5:11), even if they are still related to any of the above listed divisions. Romans 16:17 says that we are to mark those who make, or create, divisions. There are four kinds of people we cannot tolerate: people who are divisive, factious, worshipping idols, or still living in sin. We receive anyone who is not in these categories, because we are not divisive, but we cannot go to their meetings, because their meetings are divisive.
We are one with all the believers who are in the Lord’s recovery throughout the world. Also, we do not have any creed; we have only the unique Bible properly translated and interpreted by and according to the Bible itself. God’s Word is inspired. We should interpret the Bible only according to the Bible. For example, the disciples of Confucius have their concept of renewing, but this is different from the teaching of the Bible. The renewing in the Bible is that our old man should be crossed out and consumed so that the new man within us can be renewed.
All of the virtues in the Christian life should be through the cross and by the Spirit to dispense Christ for the church. Many talk about love, but the Bible’s teaching concerning love is unique. Love must be through the cross by the Spirit to dispense Christ for the church. When we love anyone, we have to check whether or not our self is crossed out and our love is by the Spirit. Also, we do not love people for our interest but for the dispensing of Christ and for the building up of the Body. This is the human virtue of love taught by the Bible, which is absolutely different from the worldly love. This is an example of interpreting the Bible according to the Bible.
Ephesians 4:3-6 shows the unique oneness of the universal Body of Christ.
The unique oneness of the universal Body of Christ is of the Spirit. Ephesians 4:3 says that we need to be diligent to keep the oneness of the Spirit. This is a strong word for us. We fleshly people must keep the oneness of the Spirit. For this we surely must be dealt with by the cross. Our flesh, our nature, our self, our “I,” should be crossed out by the cross of Christ. Then we should follow the Spirit. Then we can have the oneness of the Spirit for the dispensing of Christ and for the building up of His Body. We should not break this oneness but keep it diligently in the uniting bond of peace.
In the whole universe, there is only one unique Body of Christ. There is not the Body of Christ in America and another Body of Christ in Japan. In all the places, the Body of Christ is uniquely one with the Triune God as its contents (Eph. 4:4-6). The one Spirit is the essence of its contents. The one Lord is the element of its contents. Also, God the Father is the source of its contents, who is over all and through all and in all triunely. The essence is of the element and the element comes from the source. Even God the Father Himself, in a certain sense, is triune because He is above us, through us, and in us-in three directions. In the Body of Christ the Triune God is the contents-the Father is the source, the Son is the element, and the Spirit is the essence.
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