Ideas about the Kingdom of the Heavens around us and the unity of believers in Christ within it
God speaks to us individually, and also collectively as his Body. We must hear him and walk with him individually and also depend on each other for his voice. Believers all have the mind of Christ, but none of us alone has all of the mind of Christ.
God did not curse Adam and Eve when they sinned. He told them what the mostly natural evil consequences of their decision to live apart from him would be. In doing this, he did NOT decree any of these evil consequences as things as a part of his perfect will. Sexual and class inequalities are evil consequences of sin, not God’s will.
For unity to be seen in the Church, there must be submission—first submission to Christ as Head of the Church, then mutual submission to each other. A part of this necessary submission is to submit to those God has placed in leadership in the Church. But submission to leadership must come after submission to Christ, and be an aspect of mutual submission to each other. Much division has been caused by leaders who have insisted that they, and other human leaders, should be “in command” of the church. Only Christ is rightfully in command.
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Unity in the Church is our mutual recognition that the Church has only one Head, Jesus Christ.
Authority and submission are important to the unity of the Church. But it does not operate based on a human chain of command. It operates based on respect for leaders under a common head.
Heresy is properly defined as divisiveness, not merely believing a false doctrine. Heretics are divisive people. Those who state doctrines with which I disagree, but do so without insisting on division because of my belief, are not heretics. Thus calls for mutual understanding and patience.
Jesus’ promises of answered prayer are directly tied to our unity. Answered prayer does not depend on our goodness or qualifications. The prayers God has promised to answer are those made under his authority, in love, for the good of the whole Church.
The physical health of believers, the occurrence of healing in the Church, and the manifestation of oneness in the Church are also tied to one another. Living in disunity can lead to illness and premature death.
Our peace, joy and effectiveness are dependent on our unity as shown by forgiveness and the resolution of offenses between us, God takes division and unforgiveness so seriously because it damages all parties to the offense and limits the Body of Christ. When we neglect this, we are given over to the tormentors–guilt, fear, anxiety and mental illness.
The ultimate solution to our national racisms lies in the Church, in who we are in Christ. We are not called to uncritically support the current social order, no matter how unjust. We are called to show how social divisions are overcome by the Holy Spirit among us.
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