Can there ever truly be unity in the Body of Messiah

[Guest shiloh357]

But what does it mean that we are supposed to be one?  What exactly was Jesus praying for when he prayed for that?

[Guest]

To chime in here, I would say that the topic looks like one about unity, while the thread seems to try to create disunity. It looks like a game of egos, and I think it is ugly. I think that debate is healthy and good, but the baiting  and pride displayed by some, is unattractive.

 

No one, here or anywhere else, has a monopoly on the truth, and anyone who thinks otherwise, is self deceived at best.

 

Just my opinion from my observation, and everyone in this thread so far, is better than this.

[Fez]

To chime in here, I would say that the topic looks like one about unity, while the thread seems to try to create disunity. It looks like a game of egos, and I think it is ugly. I think that debate is healthy and good, but the baiting  and pride displayed by some, is unattractive.

 

No one, here or anywhere else, has a monopoly on the truth, and anyone who thinks otherwise, is self deceived at best.

 

Just my opinion from my observation, and everyone in this thread so far, is better than this.

I agree, and have let it go because I am not sure where it is going yet, ego's, obfuscation and pride aside.

[kwikphilly]

Blessings John.....

     As I read your OP I am not sure if there is a question somewhere,a statement of what seems to be your answer to the question,are you trying to teach something you beieve to be true or......?........maybe I am just not getting it but what is the topic of this thread ,if you don't mind perhaps simplifying it to just a question (sorry,I'm just kind of lost?)

     If your asking our opinions about why the church/churches do not unite as the One Body of Christ then I think we all can see why(as you stated)with all the different denominations,traditions & yes,pride & ego too

    How can anyone pass up Salvation......the god of this world is at work today hardening hearts,blinding eyes & deafening ears........but,it is a choice & we all have free will

      Few are truly Saved because they want & believe God for what they want(whats in it for me).......Jesus fed the 5000,they got healed,delivered,refreshed ,renewed,restored....they even got fed! But what happened after that,when the going got tough?Jesus said"IF you love me you will follow my commands"......when it comes down to putting God First & loving others as you love yourself......there's no longer anything in it for them?Paul tells us.....do we now have a license to sin?Absolutely not!     I think the road to hell may be lined with many a OSAS believer?

      If everyone would truly forget everything,I mean everything & live their lives based on the 1st 2 commandments then we would see that Body of Christ,as long as we live in these bodies of flesh & in this corrupt & dying world we must heed Jesus warning............

 

13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.                                                                                                           Matthew 7:13-14

                                                                                                                                                                               With love-in Christ,kwik

 

2. Deeply held pride and prejudice make even the universal acceptance of what the Bible says it truly is to be a Messianic (the one new man): Spirit Israel / Spirit Judah / Spirit Jew.                                                                                                                                                                               posted by JohnDB

    What does this have to do with?What ,may I ask ?Is your point?       Thank you & God Bless you           Glory to God!

[Guest shiloh357]

What a lot of people call, "unity" isn't unity.  It is conformity of thought.  it means that everyone believes the same thing.   When someone promotes doctrinal unity he usually envisions the church coming together under the doctrines he sees as the correct doctrines.  If everyone was believing the right things, they would see it the way he does.

 

That is the direction these "unity" threads usually end up taking.  

[OneLight]

Interesting how Pilate, a pagan leader, asked a very important question that confounds people today, "What is truth?"  In the history of my personal walk, when I first started, I found answers in scripture to certain questions I posed.  Because I found an answer, I assumed that that is all the verse meant.  My close mindedness disallowed me the realization that the same scripture can provide different answers to different questions in different situations.  Realizing that scripture is not a closed book, but a living word, helped me realize why we all see the same verse a little different as we apply what we read to our own lives.  Just as our lives are different, the meaning we walk away with, as we read the same scripture, is as diverse as our lives are.  Does this mean we are all right or that one is right and the rest wrong?  No, it means that His words apply to everyone's lives in every situation.  The problem arises when people believe they hold the truth and everyone who disagrees are wrong.  This is what has caused division, and in some cases, cults.

 

Since the opening post asked no questions, it is hard to figure out the meaning for this thread. Yet, you did ask a question that seems to be the key to the OP.  How do we interpret scripture?  As I tried to show in the paragraph above, we interpret scripture as it applies to our lives.  As we mature, we discover that scripture is not confined to our personal experiences, but to all experiences, showing the depth of how scriptures truth applies to all.  Yet, you then ask, where is the unity Jesus spoke of?  There can never be a unity in this life as Christ had with the Father.  Why, because we are not God.  Despite the fact that He has created a new man in us, we still remain in the flesh until the day we die.  The flesh is the enemy we battle with every minute of the day, trying to put to death the old man.  Yet, man, from the beginning, struggled with walking as God intended us to walk.  This raises another question.  If Adam and Eve, who knew no sin, departed from the obedience of God because of free will and the flesh, how can anyone expect us to have the unity between us as Christ had with the father?  To me, this is not a goal we can achieve in this life, but what we should strive for, as it will come in the next life.  This is why we need the fruit of the Spirit to flow in and through us, because we are different.

 

Galatians 5:22-26

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

In the fruit, I see no unity mentioned, but fruit that will allow us to try to understand that life is not perfect and we must strive to live in the love He had shown toward us.

[kwikphilly]

Blessings Butero....

    I do agree with you & Shiloh because the OP kind of seems to pose things as if he is trying to "teach".......& I can be completely wrong ....perhaps that is not his intention at all and then I do apologize but it just comes off that way to me...........when others hold  strong convictions they reject that way because it is like someone trying to 'force feed'.....it leaves no room to reason together & discuss our different views.....we do not even really no what the discussion is about?We really are all choosing one or another of the statements made in the OP?

   One Light made a good point (lol,the one I chose also)& I would imagine we can all agree that until we are as Christ is in Heaven  & get our new glorified bodies.........we can only strive towards perfection..................Glory to God!

     To be honest ,I see the Body of Christ with so many here at Worthy......working together effectively as members of that same Body and Christ as our Head...............when we are walking in spirit & in truth by the Power of the Holy Spirit we all come into agreement because we have the Heart & Mind of Jesus..........we slip in & out (lol) and pray we can be in that position all the time but again,as long as we are in these bodies of flesh there is the struggle of flesh against spirit

      We are truly Blessed the Lord has brought us all to this Ministry......let us give God the Highest Praise,Halleluliah!

                                                                                                                      With love-in Christ,Kwik

    

[Solomon56]

Unity in the Bible is compared to the different part of the body which though perform different functions but cannot be interdepedent.This should be what ought to exist in every chuch.

[JohnD]

"Father," Jesus prayed, "I pray they be one as we are one... I in thee thou in me us in them."

 

Does anything in Christendom even come close to this? Has it ever since 324 CE?

[Guest shiloh357]

"Father," Jesus prayed, "I pray they be one as we are one... I in thee thou in me us in them."

 

Does anything in Christendom even come close to this? Has it ever since 324 CE?

What, specifically, does that look like?  What kind of unity was Jesus praying for and what are the specific components of that unity?