UNITED BY CHRIST
Pastor William Heinrich
Is the church really divided? And if so, why? Didn’t Jesus pray for us to be one
(John 17:21)? Doesn’t the Father answer the prayers of His Son and our High
Priest?
First, let me say that as bad as it is to have all these different denominations
and splinter groups, the alternative would have been much worse. History shows
us when a group (any group) left its roots and became liberal, people left and
started churches, usually going back to their roots. Therefore, churches have
been formed in reaction to liberalism such as: the denial of Christ’s deity;
inspiration of the Bible; virgin birth; and biblical miracles. If division would
not have happened, truth would have been lost.
Second, let me comment on conscience. There was a day when the church told
people what to believe and much of what they said was wrong. Today, everyone has
an education and a Bible. Today, each person can - and should read - their Bible
and choose their place of worship by what they find. All churches are not the
same, but all have the same Bible. It is obvious we will interpret it
differently based on our preconceived thoughts. Though our search for truth
should be persistent, each step must be with a clear conscience. “All that is
not of faith is sin.”
Last, let me mention our High Priest. To infer that the divisions we see today
mean that Christ’s prayer was unanswered is illogical and impossible. After
Christ’s prayer, He ascended to the Father to a position of great authority.
From that position, He sent the third person of the one Godhead, the Holy
Spirit. It was His ministry, among other things, to baptize all believers into
one body. When Paul writes to the church at Corinth, he speaks of this as
already accomplished, as seen in I Corinthians 12:12-14: “For as the body is one
and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one
body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body;
whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free; and have all been made to drink
into one Spirit. For in fact the body is not one member but many.”
This, of course, is what the baptizer John was referring to in Luke 3:16: “John
answered, saying to all, ‘I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than
I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you
with the Holy Spirit and fire.’” This work erases all so-called divisions and
finds us in Christ, even as Christ is in the Father and the Father in Christ.
A physically divided church does not mean that true believers who, by the Holy
Spirit have all been immersed into Christ, are spiritually divided. For time we
will go to different churches and may even worship slightly different, but we
know we are one because God the Spirit has made us one.