Quote:
Originally Posted by JTULLOCK
The biggest hinderance is not being in Unity. "When the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place." They had to be Unity in verse 1 before in verse 2 the sound came from Heaven and the HG fell in verses 3-4.
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I find your response rather interesting, for I have pondered this same thought for quite some time. And as I have sought to determine what might possibly be some of the things which hinders and/or impedes the present-day church from becoming the dynamic, life-changing entity that God meant for it to be during these perilous times, I have concluded that, in fact, disunity among brethren concerning many of the things which are embraced and published as truth about the elementary principles of the doctrine of Christ, lies at the core of the problem. Please note what the apostle Paul was inspired to write about this important issue: (see
I Corinthians 11:17-19)
"Now in this that I declare unto you I praise you not, that ye come together not for the better, but for the worse. Wow! Sounds like some rather strong words from one whose remarks were directed to members of the "One True Church," huh? What Paul seems to be saying was that he was NOT applauding them because of that which he was about to say, for, in fact, the damages being inflicted upon them as a result of that which he was going to tell them, was of such a severe nature that they would be much better served if they simply refrained from gathering together as a corporate body of Christians. But lets continue on to gain a better understanding of what he was about to tell them about this matter.
"For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it." Apparently Paul had received word that "disunity among brethren" had reared its ugly head within the early Corinthian church, and because of the knowledge given to him concerning the conditions which would serve to foster such among God's chosen people, he was persuaded to ascribe merits to such reports. This begs the question - What thing, or event, caused such "divisions" to gain a foothold among the members of this early church? For the answer one need look no farther than the very next passage:
"For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you." Amazing, isn't it? Paul is warning us that because of the fact that some "heresies" (i.e., false doctrinal teachings) had been allowed, unwittingly or otherwise we are not told, to gain a foothold among the teachings of this particular group of saints, "divisions among brethren" had resulted. Is this not what we also see today within many of our Oneness Apostolic Pentecostal congregations? One says that I believe something should be this way, while another says no, it is not that way at all, but it should be this way. Sort of reminds me of a lack of coordination between one's hand when attempting to do something. As the old adage goes, the right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing. No much gets accomplished in such instances, huh?
Admittedly, there have been (and continue to be) many who say that Paul's was referring to the disunity among those who only "profess" themselves to be Christians, and should not be applied to the Oneness Apostolic Pentecostal church, or that he was referring to a specific condition which applied ONLY to the members of the Corinthian church, and are NOT applicable to the present-day church. I refute such assertions, for it is clear from the opening words of this epistle by Paul, that ALL of his remarks were meant for those who are already "in" the church, and NOT for anyone else! (see
I Corinthians 1:2) Therefore, IMHO, it is imperative we take careful note of the things Paul has written about this important matter. One must also take into consideration the fact that Paul also advises us (in
II Timothy 3:16-17) that ALL scripture (& not just those which we deem to apply to a particular situation), has been provided unto us (that includes you and I),
"...and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." Doesn't sound as if we can exercise "selective applicability" to a particular passage, while neglecting others, huh?
Please note that Paul tells us that
"there MUST be also heresies among you." He was NOT simply suggesting that "maybe" or "perhaps" such things would prevail "among" God's chosen people, rather he was explicitly asserting that this disruptive condition WOULD prevail. But, acknowledging our need to locate a 2nd or 3rd witness that we might establish the truth about this matter, lets also examine what our Lord tells us about this SAME thing: (see
Matthew 18:7 &
Luke 17:1)
"Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe unto that man by whom the offence cometh!" (Luke's record of our Lord's remarks differ only in that he used the word "impossible" instead of "must needs be," albeit both imply the same thing.)
As we can easily see, Jesus Christ Himself has warned us that even He would undertake NO actions to prevent the infiltration of certain elements of "offences" (i.e., "heresies") among the things which would be taught as truth. I also find it quite interesting that His words end with an exclamation mark, implying strong utterance! Seems one should not treat this matter lightly, huh?
If it be true that "disunity among brethren" prevails within the present-day Oneness Apostolic Pentecostal church, then should we not exert our best efforts towards identifying what "heresies" exist in the things we publish as truth, so that this unsavory element might be eradicated? And, if it also be true that such false, highly misleading elements do exist, then would they not also serve to impede or hinder the church from recognizing the important message which it should be about the business of delivering to the many lost souls among us while there yet remains the time to do so?
These represent just some of the many thoughts I have pondered when considering the underlying reasons why the present-day Oneness Apostolic Pentecostal church is NOT experiencing the SAME type of "revival" which we read about in the book of Acts. For any to say that "disunity" does NOT exist "among" brethren within the church today, is simply refusing to recognize the obvious! We even witness this very thing right here on AFF, as well as the other Oneness Apostolic forums on the internet.
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