2000 Annual Council

Devotional Message

September 28, 2000, 8:00 a.m.

The devotional message entitled "The Meaning of Unity in the Word of God" was presented by Beatrice S Neall.

[ Listen in RealAudio ]

We live in enemy territory. The primary strategy of the enemy is to divide, separate, split.

He split the angels into two camps.

He split earth off from heaven.

He split the first couple apart from each other.

He splits nations and tribes into warring factions.

He splits denominations.

He splits congregations.

He splits marriages.

He even splits my own personality so that I am at war with myself.

Jesus came to restore oneness and unity, to make His universe whole--

our world whole,

our denomination whole

our congregations whole

our marriages whole

our personalities whole

What He did is described magnificently in the book of Ephesians. The glory in Ephesians is so dazzling you almost have to wear sunglasses when you read it! Open your Bibles to this marvelous book.

1. He came to unite heaven and earth (Eph 1:10). He came to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ. He did that by descending to the lowest regions of our earth and then ascending back to God (Eph 2:9).

Recently our attention has been riveted to our TV screens as we watched the Russians struggle to rescue the pride of their submarine fleet, the Kursk. The Russian submarine had 118 men aboard. Suddenly an explosion rips through the vessel, a missile has exploded, half the ship is flooded, the vessel sinks to the bottom of the Barren Sea. In the rear of the vessel living men are imprisoned. The Russians send down divers and make contact with the sunken ship. They hear knocking, telling them that live men are inside. These men are thinking of their families, afraid to move lest they use up the dwindling oxygen supply, buried alive, doomed to die unless help comes.

A week after the vessel goes down, Norwegian divers open the rear hatch of the Kursk and find it flooded. On the tenth day deep-sea divers open the rear escape hatches and find the entire vessel flooded. All 118 crew members are dead, buried alive.

Thousands of years ago a world was ripped apart by the explosion of sin. It sank into the black depths of despair and death. A whole race was doomed to perish. Did any anyone hear them? Did anyone care?

The Creator Himself went down into the murky depths of sin. He descended to the depths of the earth. He made contact, came aboard, brought life-giving oxygen, fresh air, and the bread of life. He opened up contact with heaven. He united the family of earth and heaven.

Ephesians 3:15 talks about the whole family in heaven and on earth deriving its name from the Father. The family of God includes heaven and earth all united under the Father--"one God and Father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in you all" (Eph 4:6, KJV).

2. He came to unit Himself with the Church.

How did Jesus become one with us and make us one with Him? He did this through the incomparably great power of God working in two places--in us and in Christ (Eph 1:19). He not only descended down to the lower regions of the earth (Eph 4:6), He died and entered the tomb.

But God through His mighty power raised Him from the dead, lifted Him up to heaven, seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and name that is named not only in the present age but also in the one to come, placed all things under His feet, and appointed Him to be head over everything. (See Eph 1:19-23.)

Why? For the benefit of His Church, His body, the fullness of Him who fills everything in every way.

a. The Church is His body, the fullness of Him, the completion of Him who fills all things. The Church completes Him. That is, the Church is full of Him. This is a bold figure--Christ the head, the Church the body of God. Does Christ need anything besides Himself? Is He really unfulfilled, incomplete, without His body?

b. Can the Head be in heavenly places and the body be somewhere else? If Christ is exalted, sitting on the throne of the universe above all dominion and power, where is His body? (See Eph 1:20, 21; 2:6). The Church is seated in heavenly places with Christ Jesus!

How did Christ lift His Church up so high? First, how deep down were we when Christ found us? (See Eph 2:1-3). We were all dead in sin, dominated by drives of our passions and lusts. We were without hope, without God in the world. But God used the same resurrection power with which He raised Christ from the dead. He raised us up from the dead, made us ascend with Christ, and enthroned us at His right hand.

How do you explain the marvelous transformation? "By grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast" (Eph 2:8, NKJV).

What is the purpose of our being seated with Christ Jesus in heavenly places?

a. We are the fullness of Jesus who fills all things (Eph 1:23).

b. Through the Church the wisdom of God is made known to the rulers and authorities of heavenly realms (Eph 3:10). We are filling the universe with the knowledge of the amazing grace of God.

How do you dwell in heaven when you are on the firing lines here on earth? Paul was in prison when he wrote this epistle. But if you went there you would find a VACANCY sign over his cell. Paul is not in prison--he is in heavenly places! (See Eph 1:3.)

What does it mean to be in heavenly places? Ephesians 1:3-14 gives the answer. It means to be blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ. You are all chosen, predestined, adopted, immersed in God's grace, laden with gifts He has lavished on us: forgiveness, redemption, wisdom, understanding.

By being the body of Jesus, the Church is magnificent, glorious, exalted. If we have a low opinion of the Church, if we are cynical about it and critical of it, if we think we can get along without it, we need to recapture Paul's vision of the glory of the Church.

3. He came to unite factions within the Church (Eph 2:11-18).

Out of many nations, tribes, tongues, ethnicities--He came to make one new man. Twelve years ago the world was broken into several major blocks. One could look across the Berlin wall and no-man's land where each side was capable of wiping out the other.

Now the world has fractured apart into splinters of tribes--Hutus and Tutsis; ethnic groups--Serbs, Croats, Bosnians, Kosovos, Albanians; religions--Jews, Christians, Muslims, Hindus. Our country is torn by racial and class divisions. The people of this world are separated by middle walls of hostility.

The Church is often divided too by politics, dominance, and desire to control. Jesus came to make in Himself one new person out of two, one new person out of a hundred!

Paul had the difficult task of uniting two groups that were prejudiced against each other. There was much hostility between the Jews and Gentiles. How in the world could they ever worship together as one?

How does Jesus make us one?

a. He brings us into Himself to create in Himself one new person instead of two. It is being in Christ, in His body, that unites us.

b. He breaks down the walls of hostility.

c. He makes us one through the blood of Christ (Eph 2:13), through the cross by which he puts to death their hostility (Eph 2:16).

d. He is our peace (Eph 2:14). He preached peace t both sides of the conflict (Eph 2:17).

e. He gave us access to the Father by one Spirit (Eph 2:18).

Dave and Margaret had been married for eight years. Both were busy at their jobs. Margaret was stressed from working full time, shopping, cooking, doing the laundry and cleaning, and taking care of six-year-old Danny. There was not much time for Dave in her life. He began to feel left out. Somehow the love between them grew cold.

Then Carol at the office began being friendly with Dave. Dave confided in her how irritable Margaret was. Carol soothed Dave's raw nerves. They ate lunch together at the office. One day they ate lunch at the park and had a delightful time. Warning beeps went off in Dave's mind, but he ignored them. Margaret seemed less and less attractive to him.

One night Dave did not come home until 2:00 a.m. Margaret waited up for him and was furious. He said there was extra work at the office. She got suspicious and discovered what was going on. She confronted Dave. He blew up and moved out--to Carol's apartment.

Margaret was devastated. Rejection was more bitter than death. Dave had a life--a woman who loved him. She had nothing but little Danny. She concentrated all her love on Danny. He did not understand what was going on as he spent the weekdays with Mommy and the weekends with Daddy and Carol.

One day Danny was riding his little bicycle. He wobbled out into the street in front of a speeding car. An ambulance took his bleeding body to the hospital. The doctors put up a brave fight, but Danny died. His little body was buried out in the cemetery on the hillside just outside of town.

The light went out of Margaret's life. She was twice bereaved. She was rejected by her husband and bereaved of her son. In anguish she went to the cemetery one evening and threw herself on the fresh sod over Danny's grave. She clutched the cold grass and sobbed. The sun went down, the dew fell. She did not notice.

Then she felt a hand on her back. She look up and there was Dave. He had come to the grave to grieve. He had been watching her for quite a while. Suddenly he understood the pain, the loss, the hopelessness of her life. He realized what he had done to her. He remembered the early years of their love. He longed to comfort her, to make things right.

There, over the grave of their dead son, Dave broke down and confessed the evil he had done. Dave and Margaret were reconciled over the grave of their son.

What did Jesus do to bring peace? The blood of Christ brings the "outsiders" near

(Eph 2:13). How?

a. The blood redeems. This is the language of the slave market, of freeing hostages. It took the very life of God to buy our freedom.

b. The blood atones for our guilt. Sin caused a separation between us and God. The blood removes the separation caused by sin.

c. The blood gives us access to fellowship with the covenant God and His people. "This is my blood of the covenant which is shed for you."

d. The cross "kills" the hostility. How?

Jesus steps into the hostility of earth against heaven, sinners against God, sinners against sinners, religious leaders against Himself. The cross is a lightning rod on a hill, set against a black, angry sky, charged with fury. All the wrath of God against sin, all the wrath of sinners against God, all the wrath of sinners against sinners, and all the wrath of devils and demons is discharged on Jesus.

It tears upon His body, and from His torn side a river flows, a river of blood and water, a river of love that heals the wounds of sin and hatred. The sight of that torn body melts away opposition and brings people together.

He preached peace to those far away and those who are near. A mediator has to speak to both sides and show them the advantages of peace. We have access to the Father through the one Spirit.

4. He came to unite the belief system of the Church--one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all. The gifts were to promote unity of doctrine: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers. They are all proclaimers of the message. They create unity in the faith and knowledge of the Son of God, so we will not be tossed about by every wind of doctrine.

Today the Church of God is threatened by many divisions of doctrine--old theology, new theology, sanctuary doctrine, interpretation of prophecy, creation (long or short chronology), roles of men and women, and the meaning of remnant.

How can the Church ever become united in belief when there are so many conflicting ideas?

a. Be humble and gentle about our opinions (Eph 4:2), bearing with one another's ideas.

b. Try to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. Jesus is our peace. Hang on to it.

c. God gave gifts to keep us in line--apostles and prophets, the writers of Scripture. We have the gift of prophecy, a tremendous help.

The first three chapters of Ephesians have a cosmic aspect--heaven and earth, principalities and powers.

The second part comes down to earth. Paul deals with two kinds of people--the insiders, the Jews, the ones who hold the power in the church; and the outsiders, the Gentiles, those who are eager to get in and hold their share of power.

There is one great evil that destroys unity--power struggles. The first sin that introduced all the misery of history was a power struggle. It was fired by another great sin--jealously. Brothers and sisters, there is no room for power struggles in the body of Christ, whether on the congregational level or on the ascending conference levels.

We are so human, so sinful. "We all have feet of clay up to our armpits" said Jack Provonsha.

I recently read an article about the Greater New York Conference--my home conference. Many ethnic groups, many "families of God" are there. There are great challenges as to how to reach each group. There are great struggles as to how to divide and apportion the leadership positions.

What should you do if you are on the outside wanting to get in? What should you do if you want your share of the power and perks of position?

Let us learn a lesson from karate. If you want to split a board in two with your hand, do not focus on the board, do not aim to hit the board, or you will break your bones. Focus on six inches beyond the board. Aim to hit that spot, and you will break the board in the process.

If our goal is personal fulfillment and power, we will end up deformed human beings with deformed characters. If our goal is to do our utmost to bring fallen human beings to Christ, we will grow up into the measure of the fullness of Christ. We will reach all the goals of personal fulfillment and much more. There is nothing like throwing yourself into a cause greater than you are to develop every potential, every gift you have. But more, we will reach the satisfaction of experiencing life's ultimate joy.

So what if you are "disenfranchised"--outside the power structure of the Church, looking in. If you know God has called you, that is enough. Work for Him, if necessary earning your own expenses as did Paul. Paul did not ask for all the perks. Your gifts will be recognized in time.

What if you are on the inside? You have the power, though you may want to climb higher on the corporate ladder. Remember to focus on the goal to bring fallen human beings to Christ. As leaders, your goal is to empower other people, to recognize the talents of others, to foster their growth and development, to place them where they can best serve, and not to hold them down! We need to recognize spiritual girts wherever they might appear--in people of other races, in women, in people with disabilities.

If God can use donkeys and stones to speak for Him, He can use any human being consecrated to Him. The goal should be to help each person reach the maximum in development, the measure of the fullness of Christ.

Suppose someone comes along with gifts superior to your own? Would you get jealous and try to hold that person down? Or would you have the spirit of John the Baptist and say, "He must increase, but I must decrease"? Would you even be willing to step down and let someone else take your position? Could you not ask, What is best for me? but What is best for God's work?

Our only safety is to keep our eyes on Jesus, the one who emptied Himself and made Himself of no reputation, and took on Him the form of a servant. Could we come down the ladder instead of trying to climb it? Could we humble ourselves instead of exalting ourselves?

We need to be consumed by the vision of Paul's magnificent prayer as found in Ephesians 3:14-21. We need to be filled with the fullness of God.

The whole Trinity unites to bring about unity. The Spirit in the inner being strengthens us. Christ dwells in our hearts through faith. I wish for you the ability to grasp the four dimensions of Christ's love, to know the love that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.