God hates disunity. God picked Saul of Tarsus to unify the world 2000 years ago. Paul was hand-picked by Christ, just as the other twelve apostles, except his election was after Christ resurrected from the dead. Does that make Paul a greater apostle than the others? No, not really. But Paul was given more insight than the others because Paul was taught by the Spirit of Christ, unlike the other apostles who were taught in parables by the living, human Christ. And that Spirit was placed into Paul’s heart at his calling. But Paul had to ripen the gift of the Spirit. He had to hone his skills and perfect the gift, yet the final result was near perfection. Paul was the perfect apostle. He knew the Law and the Prophets from studying the Old Testament from cover to cover under the tutelage of Rabbi Gamaliel, unlike the twelve who were mere fishermen. And with the aid of the Spirit, Christ conveyed knowledge to Paul beyond human understanding. And with that comprehension and wisdom, Paul was able to write a big chunk of the New Testament. Paul evangelized his chosen people, the Hebrews as well as the pagan gentiles. Many listened. So many that the whole world converted to Christianity. Christianity was the planets official religion with the Edict of Thessalonica in 380 A.D., when Roman Emperor Theodosius I made it the only authorized religion of the entire Roman Empire. That consequence was the result of the power of the Holy Spirit working through Paul. And Catholicism remained the only Christian religion for more than 1000 years until disunity set in.
Christ hates disunity too. Listen to what the anointed apostle, Paul, had to say about unity while he was being held in a Roman prison. “Some he has appointed to be apostles, others to be prophets, others to be evangelists, or pastors, or teachers. They are to order the lives of the faithful, minister to their needs, build up the frame of Christ’s body, until we all realize our common unity through faith in the Son of God, and fuller knowledge of him. So we shall reach perfect manhood, that maturity which is proportioned to the completed growth of Christ; we are no longer to be children, no longer to be like storm-tossed sailors, driven before the wind of each new doctrine that human subtlety, human skill in fabricating lies, may propound. We are to follow the truth, in a spirit of charity, and so grow up, in everything, into a due proportion with Christ, who is our head.” Ephesians 4:11-15.
Paul expects and Christ commands that “we all realize our common unity through faith in” Jesus. We gain this unity through a fuller knowledge of Jesus. How are we to come to know Jesus when he lived and died 2000 years ago? Paul says we are to become like Jesus as we grow older. We reach spiritual maturity, perfect manhood, just as Christ grew from a boy to a man. God perfected Christ. Christ will perfect you through the Holy Spirit. And we will become spiritual adults when we stop listening to and following each new doctrine fabricated and propounded by shallow human frailty. Only by following the truth espoused by God’s chosen prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers will the unity of which Paul speaks be fulfilled.
What is truth? Pilate asked that same question to Jesus and Jesus remained silent. Why? Because truth was standing right in front of Pilate and Pilate could not see it. The life of Christ and what He stands for is truth. Truth is like the laws of nature. They can never change no matter how many times the defects and weaknesses of man attempt to alter them. Truth only becomes distorted by the attacks and deceptions of the evil one and his spirits and minions. But these antagonists can never change truth and never will. Truth is permanent. Yet Man becomes like sailors in a storm tossed boat without a rudder. He becomes a fool living in a depraved society.
This turbulent sea is the society in which we currently live. Abortion, divorce, homosexuality, promiscuity, Protestantism and fornication are new doctrines created by human subtlety. They become fabricated lies accepted and followed by the lost and deceived. Christ provides a clear distinction between truth and non-truth. The truths propounded by Jesus and experienced and practiced by man through love (charity) will allow man to grow into spiritual adulthood “into due proportion with Christ.” But the lies and disunity we experience in the world today will only continue to pull society apart and man with it. These various doctrines and the groups supporting them are pulling away from the truth. Abortionists vs antiabortionists, homosexuals vs heterosexuals, jihadists vs the rest of the world, Protestants vs Catholics, Muslims vs Jews. Can all this conflict be legitimate? This turmoil is created by fabricated lies to deceive the weak of heart, the lost, and the unknowing. But the truth is standing right in front of you. And you refuse to open your eyes and ears. Those who live in disarray “make vain fancies their rule of life. Their minds are clouded with darkness; the hardness of their hearts breeds in them an ignorance, which estranges them from the divine life; and so, in despair, they have given themselves up to incontinence, to selfish habits of impurity.” Ephesians 4:17-19 Disunity will only become unity when we all grow up in spiritual manhood with a common bond of love. Until then, God still weeps.
Christ hates disunity too. Listen to what the anointed apostle, Paul, had to say about unity while he was being held in a Roman prison. “Some he has appointed to be apostles, others to be prophets, others to be evangelists, or pastors, or teachers. They are to order the lives of the faithful, minister to their needs, build up the frame of Christ’s body, until we all realize our common unity through faith in the Son of God, and fuller knowledge of him. So we shall reach perfect manhood, that maturity which is proportioned to the completed growth of Christ; we are no longer to be children, no longer to be like storm-tossed sailors, driven before the wind of each new doctrine that human subtlety, human skill in fabricating lies, may propound. We are to follow the truth, in a spirit of charity, and so grow up, in everything, into a due proportion with Christ, who is our head.” Ephesians 4:11-15.
Paul expects and Christ commands that “we all realize our common unity through faith in” Jesus. We gain this unity through a fuller knowledge of Jesus. How are we to come to know Jesus when he lived and died 2000 years ago? Paul says we are to become like Jesus as we grow older. We reach spiritual maturity, perfect manhood, just as Christ grew from a boy to a man. God perfected Christ. Christ will perfect you through the Holy Spirit. And we will become spiritual adults when we stop listening to and following each new doctrine fabricated and propounded by shallow human frailty. Only by following the truth espoused by God’s chosen prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers will the unity of which Paul speaks be fulfilled.
What is truth? Pilate asked that same question to Jesus and Jesus remained silent. Why? Because truth was standing right in front of Pilate and Pilate could not see it. The life of Christ and what He stands for is truth. Truth is like the laws of nature. They can never change no matter how many times the defects and weaknesses of man attempt to alter them. Truth only becomes distorted by the attacks and deceptions of the evil one and his spirits and minions. But these antagonists can never change truth and never will. Truth is permanent. Yet Man becomes like sailors in a storm tossed boat without a rudder. He becomes a fool living in a depraved society.
This turbulent sea is the society in which we currently live. Abortion, divorce, homosexuality, promiscuity, Protestantism and fornication are new doctrines created by human subtlety. They become fabricated lies accepted and followed by the lost and deceived. Christ provides a clear distinction between truth and non-truth. The truths propounded by Jesus and experienced and practiced by man through love (charity) will allow man to grow into spiritual adulthood “into due proportion with Christ.” But the lies and disunity we experience in the world today will only continue to pull society apart and man with it. These various doctrines and the groups supporting them are pulling away from the truth. Abortionists vs antiabortionists, homosexuals vs heterosexuals, jihadists vs the rest of the world, Protestants vs Catholics, Muslims vs Jews. Can all this conflict be legitimate? This turmoil is created by fabricated lies to deceive the weak of heart, the lost, and the unknowing. But the truth is standing right in front of you. And you refuse to open your eyes and ears. Those who live in disarray “make vain fancies their rule of life. Their minds are clouded with darkness; the hardness of their hearts breeds in them an ignorance, which estranges them from the divine life; and so, in despair, they have given themselves up to incontinence, to selfish habits of impurity.” Ephesians 4:17-19 Disunity will only become unity when we all grow up in spiritual manhood with a common bond of love. Until then, God still weeps.
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