Review/ Introduction

Thesis

• Unity is found in Jesus Christ alone.
  • This is a call to oneness of mind.
  • This is a call to the oneness of spirit.

True unity is unity only because it is united to Christ.

We have been speaking about the unity of the church and how to have fellowship with another church:

The First Step in Unity

The first step of unity is that we must have the pure preaching of the gospel.

The Second Step in Unity

The second step unity is the pure preaching of peace.

Part of that pure preaching of the gospel is the proper preaching of peace.

• it must be the right kind of peace.

Without these, there can be no unity.

Without these, churches cannot unite in fellowship.

Unity through Catholicity

Catholicity

• It means the unity of all believers in all churches in the teaching and practice of Scripture.
• It does not meant that we should be united in fellowship irrespective of doctrine and practice.
• By no means can the true church be pure if it is willing to compromise Biblical doctrine

Denominations Addressed

Denominationalism is not bad in and of itself.

• It can be bad if it is abused.
• It can be bad if we placed denominationalism above the unity in Christ.

Many of the churches that are denominational are able to maintain purity of worship.

How do we unite denominations into one body?

• They must come to oneness of faith.
• They must come to oneness of mind.
• They must come to oneness in interpretation.
  • that does not mean every single detail.
  • but it does mean that the majority of detail must be in harmony and agreement

John Frame from Westminster Theological Seminary suggests a method towards denominational unity.

“Stronger” churches should:

• give up what they have worked so hard over.
• move backwards to get to the weaker church.
• bring up the weaker church in more mature and knowledgeable ways.

Perhaps a better way is this:

• seek a harmonious relationship with the weaker
• invite them to programs, training, and seminars.
• visit and preach in their pulpits.
• have a view to educating and maturing them.

Today, many people and denominations have a different attitude and simply say,

“These people are not on par with us, we are their intellectual superiors. And therefore, we do not have the time to deal with these people.“

Scripture

Ephesians 1.10

• This is a call for catholicity – not ecumenicalism.
  • connecting churches for connection’s sake.
• This is a call for TRUE catholicity, for TRUE unity.

Ephesians 1.22,23

• Christ is the Head over all things to the church.
• The church is to be one, having one government.

The church could have diversity of government.

• with culture, regional distinctives, and language
• yet have overall unity togehter, walking as:
  • as one church, under one government

Ephesians 5.23

• One head and one bride
• This is what we need to strive for
  • to allow our unity
  • to allow our single mindedness

A practical way is unity in one type of government.

Ephesians 4.11

• These officers were given to the one church.
• They were not given to many churches.
• They were given to the one true church.

Unity through Holiness

What is holiness?

• It is the love of the church
• It is the character of the church.
• It is the grace of the church through Jesus Christ

There are things that are essential to the very nature of the church being sanctified.

• things that it must do in order to maintain its holiness, its righteousness.

1 Corinthians 14.12

Let what you are seeking for be for edification.

• for the building up
• for the holiness of the church
• that it may be purified

Ephesians 5.26-27

• That he might sanctify the church.

There is a responsibility of the word in the cleansing of the church.

• that will sanctify the Church of Jesus Christ.

For what purpose?

• to present her to himself a glorious church.
• to wash the church by the water of the word.
• to have a church without spot or wrinkles.
• to have a church without blemish.

There is a commitment on behalf of those who are the body of the communion of saints:

• to live holy in our personal lives.
• to live holy as the corporate body of Christ.

Colossians 1.27

• We are to perfect Christ in us in all that we do.

Maintaining Holiness

• How does the church do that?

Maintaining Unity

The church maintains these things in order that it may be a holy, a righteous church, before the Lord Jesus Christ.

First, sound biblical doctrine.

The church is to hold fast to the Faithful Word

• as it has been taught
• that it may be able to exhort
• that it may be able to convict those who contradict sound doctrine

Sound doctrine is essential to holiness of the church.

Sound doctrine allows the church to be universal.

• And visibly manifest as one church under that teaching.

How do we maintain the church in its holy purity?

• by teaching biblical doctrine
• by holding to sound doctrine
• by holding fast, the faithful words,

2 Timothy 1.13

• hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard.

Sound doctrine is essential to the life of the church.

Second, a proper use of sacraments.

• I am not going to go into much detail.

1 Corinthians 11.17-34

• establishes within this relationship that the churches are to dispense the 2 sacraments.

Through the right administration of the sacrament

• we maintain the purity of the church,

Third, a right use of church discipline.

• I will not spend much time here with this either.

There is a necessity that the church discipline its disobedient members.

If the people of the church can go and teach or practice anything they desire and they are not under discipline for doing that which violates the Scripture.

• How can the church remain pure unto its Lord Jesus Christ?
• How could it have unity?

Four, purity in genuine worship

Ephesians 5.18-20

• There must be maintained a genuine worship.

Our Lord Jesus Christ says that we're to worship Him in truth and in spirit.

• genuine pure worship

There must be unity in the essential character of worship.

Biblical worship will help to maintain the proper purity or holiness of the church.

• There cannot be as much diversity here.

Worship is an offering made to the Lord.

• As such, that offering must be in accord with what Scripture tell us is acceptable.
• As such, we cannot offer whatever we want and expect that it will be accepted.

Fifth, effective prayer

Our churches need to be praying churches.

James 515

• there usually is an imbalance in this area.

Too often we have all of the preaching and the doctrine and the sacraments.

• But little if any prayer.

How can we be the Church of Jesus Christ

• if we are not praying
• if we are not having effective prayer

Effective prayer must be maintained.

Six, effective witness.

That is a commission given to the church.

• the ministers are commissioned to do the official teaching and preaching.

But there is the witness of the church as to the unity of faith and the work of Christ within each of us.

That is why when someone asks you for the reason that you have hope.

• you are to give that reason.
• you are to be a witness.

John 13.34-35

If you have love one for another

• there is an effective witness.

Being an effective witness is not only in speaking but in living.

I am not excluding the personal sharing of your faith by any means.

• But there is also a witness to your actions.

Christ is not talking about this modern concept of touchy-feely expression where you say, Oh, I love you.

Christ means the way that we treat each other.

• as Paul says in Romans, love was the fulfillment of the law,

How have you treat your Christian brother is a demonstration of a testimony and an effective witness to the world

If you have that prideful attitude where I don’t have time for you because I know more than you.

• how does that reflect upon you as a disciple?
• You cannot be divisive or deceptive.

Acts 2.44-47

Notice that they continued in one accord.

Notice they were of one spirit and of one mind.

This is the nature of the very early church.

• after the outpouring of the spirit

They ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart.

• Meaning they really had no care about the world.
• Meaning they had found the true riches of the world, which is Christ.

With singleness of heart and of mind, with simplicity of heart

• they were praising God,
• having favor with the people.

Here is an effective witness.

Seven, effective fellowship

They had true biblical fellowship.

Acts 2.42

• Notice how they are presented.
  • first there is doctrine then fellowship.

2 Corinthians 9.3-4

There needs to be true fellowship.

• The Church is not a social organization in which you simply as the community
  • come together when you can.
  • you hear a sermon.
  • you sing a few songs.
  • you dismiss.
  • and you go your way.

The church is daily from house to house.

• There is this essential character and nature of daily maintaining fellowship.
• one with another in the house of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Galatians 2.9

• They extended the right hand of fellowship.
• They were going to walk in unity and harmony.

This demonstrates the holiness of God in His Church

• The church is a holy church.

John 1.3, 6, 7

• testify to the nature of effective fellowship.
  • of whom we are to fellowship
  • of whom we are not to fellowship.

If a church is to have holiness

• it must have proper fellowship.

Eight, a biblical system of church Government

1 Timothy 3.1-13

• this talks about church government and the qualifications.

We’ll be spending a lot of time here shortly, so we won’t go into much detail today.

If we are going to have purity in the church.

• there must be a biblical system of church government.
• there must be that catholicity in the Biblical church government.
  • to maintain purity of doctrine
  • to maintain purity of practice.

Nine, a personal holiness of its members

We talked about the corporate church holiness:

• This has to do with personal holiness by its members.

1 Thessalonians 4.3

• Each member needs to strive to be holy.

Hebrews 2.14

• pursue peace with all people.
• pursue holiness.

We must have holiness – individually.

The church that does not practice personal holiness will have no reason to maintain corporate holiness.

Ten, love for Christ.

If the church is going to be holy, it must love its Savior.

• 1 Peter 1.8
• Revelation 2.4

We must love our Lord Jesus Christ.

How do we do that?

• by maintaining the holiness of the church.
• by maintaining the catholicity of the church.
• by maintaining the unity of the church.
• by doing what he has commanded
• by maintaining the purity of the church

Conclusion

The highest ideal of Scripture is that there be one church.

We are to seek conformity of doctrine and practice as one church.

But instead, the church has divided.

• because of the depravity of man
• because of the rise of heresies
• because of pride and schisms

The Scripture is clear that there should be one church.

• Not just one church in the practice
• Not just one church in having oneness of mind.
• Not just one church in spirit
• But functionally one church

In order to pursue proper, biblical unity of the church we must first seek the pure gospel, pure peace with God, and sound doctrine.

We must unite with the church instead of treating it a club or something that I’ve just always done.

The Church of Christ must take priority in our lives.

Christ must take priority over everything in our lives.

We must stop dismissing things of Scripture that we do not like:

• And start embracing everything we find in Scripture seeking to conform ourselves instead of conforming Scripture.

We need to stop making excuses for ourselves and for others and stand strong on the true gospel.