9. Unity of the Spirit
UNITY OF THE SPIRIT
Let us read concerning the Holy Spirit and the subject of "Unity." "I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all." (Ephesians 4:1-6.)
Be Filled With The Spirit
These Ephesian Christians had received the Holy Spirit. "After that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise." (Ephesians 1:13.) They had received the Holy Spirit as "promised" in Acts 2:38. God had the apostle Peter, who was guided and spoke by the Holy Spirit, to say, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall re-ceive the gift of the Holy Ghost." (Acts 2:38.) The "gift of the Holy Ghost" is the "promise" to them. Then again, we read: "Grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption." (Ephesians 4:30.) They had been sealed by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit had been given them as a "seal," as a pledge of God's further fulfill-ment of great and gracious promises. And so, they had the Holy Spirit.
Yet, in the next chapter, Paul said, "Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit." (Ephesians 5:18.) He mentions their worship. (v. 19.) So, those who have the Spirit as they had the Spirit (Ephesians 1:13; Ephesians 4:30) could still "be filled with" the Spirit. It follows therefore, that the reception of the Holy Spirit is not limited to one reception, to be through with it, with no other case in which we could receive more of the Holy Spirit. We are to --partake more and more of his nature--the divine nature as we drink in the Spirit: "For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body . . . and have been all made to drink into one Spirit." (1 Corinthians 12:13.) Drink in it! Partake of it! We partake of Christ more and more, as we read in Galatians 4:19 : "My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you." Christ was already in these Galatian Christians, for of course one could not be a Christian without Christ dwelling in him. But yet, they were to partake more and more of Jesus, until he is more fully formed in them--"until Christ be formed in you." Earlier, Paul wrote, "That ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God." (Ephesians 3:17-18.) This shows that we may be filled more and more with all "the fulness of God." The Ephesians had received the Spirit (1:13), were sealed by it (4:30), and yet were to "be filled with" it. (5:18.) The trouble is that most of us are too empty! We are driving on a tea-cup full of gas (as it were). We need to "fill up!" "My cup runneth over." (Psalms 23:5.) So we need to fill up until we preach, and sing, and pray, and work, and serve out of the "overflow" of all "the fulness of God." (Ephesians 3:19.)
Prerequisites To Unity
What Paul said preceding verse 3 is as essential to "the unity of the Spirit" as what he says following that verse. Many good sermons have emphasized the fact that there are seven planks in the platform of divine unity. But there is more to stress than merely the seven "ones." (Ephesians 4:4-6.)
"I Beseech You"
Paul said, "I therefore the prisoner of the Lord beseech you . . ." (Ephesians 4:1.) Even in this there is a principle which promotes unity. First of all, Paul was an apostle, an in-spired man. As an apostle he had divine authority. He could have said, "I command you." On some occasions he did write, "I command you, brethren . . ." (2 Thessalonians 3:6.) So, at times he did command, but only when it was essential to do it. He was not "drunk" on authority. Nor did he find some special type of joy and pleasure in exercising authority over brethren. One thing that is essential to unity is the spirit of humility, the spirit of meekness. Paul, in Ephesians 4:1, did not say, "I command you brethren . . ." He did not even say, "I ask," or "I request you, brethren "--as he could have said. Instead he wrote, "I . . . beseech you." What is the difference? It is not a mere technical distinction; there is much difference between "I command" and "I beseech" you. To say, "I command you" puts the one in authority above the other; he looks down on the other; they are to be submissive and subservient to him, and to his will, in the matter. They were to be under his authority, and his "command" would remind them of this.
"I request you, brethren," would have been putting them upon the same level with him, and would have made them equals. Any one of us could say to the rest, "I want to make a request of you." (A brother did that at this service: he gave me an envelope with his address, and "requested" --he did not command, but "requested"--that I reply by letter to a certain matter.) Any of us may make a "request" of the rest. To treat each other as equals is a lovely spirit, isn't it? But for one on our same level to issue "orders" or "commands" would be entirely different, and would grate on our sensitive nerves--at least a little! So, there is a great deal of difference. Our attitude toward one another has much to do with unity. But Paul did not even make a "request" of the Ephesians --as an equal: he became an inferior! He got down below them on his knees, and looked up at these brethren, saying, "I . . . beseech you." (Ephesians 4:1.) He was beneath them, en-treating them. That beautiful spirit is a challenge for our consideration, isn't it. There is nothing in the Bible amiss, nothing just to fill up space and make a larger book out of what would have been a smaller book; but every word of God is "profitable," some for doctrine, some for reproof, some for correction, some for instruction in righteousness. (2 Timothy 3:16-17.) All of it is for some good purpose. "The words of the Lord are pure words; as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times." (Psalms 12:6.) There is no impurity in it, nothing amiss, nothing superfluous about the word of God. So, Paul said, "I . . . beseech you that you walk worthy of your vocation." (Ephesians 4:1.) This is as essential to the "unity of the Spirit" as what follows verse 3.
Must Agree
". . . that ye walk . . ." (Ephesians 4:1.) We can't walk together without agreement. We can't have unity without walking in the same direction. The prophet asked, "Can two walk together, except they be agreed?" (Amos 3:3.) That rhetorical question simply means they can not. If two are going to walk together, they must agree on a starting place. Where are we going to get together? Shall we meet at the public square? Or at what particular place? Where shall we meet in order to start walking together? We must have a starting place. This must be agreed upon.
And we must agree upon a time. If one says, "I am going to walk today," and the other says, "I can't walk until next week," they can't walk together! If they walk together, they must agree upon a time to walk. But if they agree upon a place to start, and a time to walk, they still are not sufficiently agreed. Suppose one of them says, "I am going to walk west," while the other says, "That doesn't suit me; I'm going east." They can't walk together, can they? They are not agreed. Suppose one of them says, "I'm going to walk at the rate of four miles per hour," while the other says, "That is too fast for me; I think two, or two-and-one-half miles an hour will be sufficient." The first thing you know, they would not be walking together, because they are not "agreed" upon the speed. So they must agree. "Can two walk together except they be agreed?"
A Worthy Walk
It is essential that we walk worthily of our "vocation;" and if we do not, but are unworthy of our calling as Chris-tians, there will be a lack of Christian unity among us be-cause some are not walking worthy of their calling. God "called" us by the gospel (2 Thessalonians 2:14), and we are to "walk worthy" of our vocation or calling.
Your Vocation The Christian life is our "vocation." It is not an "avocation," or side-line. For example, the vocation of a physician is the practice of medicine. Day or night, when he is urgently needed, he lays aside everything else (which he makes to be nothing but an avocation) in the interest of his "vocation." If someone has been in an accident, and is bleeding profusely, and needs medical attention immediately, the doctor may be working in his flower garden (which may be his avocation) but he would lay all of that aside, and leave it, putting his "vocation" ahead of and be-fore all else. We must put living the Christian life ahead of every other thing in the world.
A Hindrance To Unity
One hindrance to the unity of . the Spirit is that we are living in a secular age. We see everything through the spec-tacles of "dollar-marks." We are materialistic, we think of values in terms of money, and houses, and lands, and things of that sort. We forget that one little child to be reared and trained for the Lord, can rear and train others, and they others, and they others (Psalms 78:5-6), until in a thousand years there may be thousands of souls in heaven--all be-cause we took time out to train one. Or, it may be the other way: if we fail, it may be that this one will fail, others under like influence will fail, and others still under those influences will fail--and there may be thousands of souls burning and suffering in hell forever, a billion years from now, all because we put money, and other things, ahead of the spiritual--because we failed to train a child, failed to put the kingdom first. (Matthew 6:33.) This is important and basic; it is fundamental, and must not be relegated to the background. When we put the kingdom and the work of the Lord in the background, and put the world and every-thing of this life ahead of it, we are not going to be the type of people that can get along with others. We will be so materialistic, until it will be like tying a cat and dog to-gether. They will not get along very well. The first thing you know they will be in a fight! If you tie up the right kind of person with a terribly bad and wicked person, they won't get along very well!
Not Compromise The "unity of the Spirit" does not mean that Christians are to compromise and go along with error, and compromise the truth. Jesus said, "I came not to send peace, but a sword." (Luke 12:51-53.) Oh, yes, Jesus wants unity, but he does not want it at just any price. He does not want peace where his people must give over to the devil and his cause. A farmer can ease away from the fence, and from the ditch, and from the hedge-rows; as the briars grow, he can just back off, and give over to them, until--the first he knows, he is cultivating a few acres right out in the middle of the field, while briars are taking the rest of the field! The devil can take this world, and he is taking it over more rap-idly than we imagine. Communism (which is a form of Atheism) can so take over as to finally get at the steering-wheel. It may be a thousand years, if the world stands, be-fore we can ever get it back out of the control of Atheism, so that we can have the liberty to function as Christians only. We need to be careful, put the kingdom first, and "walk worthy"--not in some avocation, or side-line, but in the "vocation wherewith we are called, with all lowliness, and meekness, . . ." (Ephesians 4:1-2.) Then we can get along with one another, and promote the "unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."
Forbearance
Paul further says, "Forbearing one another in love." Suppose I have mistreated you, and you know how you could hurt me. You have the law on your side, and I don't have the law in my favor at all. You have advantage of me, and you know it. Forbearance says, "Don't use it. Wait awhile! Give God time to work it out. Give the word of God time. Give all heaven time to work in us, and through us, to solve our problems for us. Don't be too hasty when you don't know what to do. Don't rush on without investigation." "Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, wherein is the good way, and walk therein . . ." (Jeremiah 6:16.) Stop, if you don't know what to do. Investigate; find out before you act at all. I think Balaam did a wonderfully fine thing when he did not know what to do, and he went to the Lord about it. "Shall I curse those people, or not?" (Numbers 22.) The Lord said, "No." That should have been the end of all controversy. But Balaam did the most foolish thing of his life: after he already had God's decision on the matter, he went back to the Lord, to try to get God to change his mind. That is like a man who finds the truth in the Bible, but does not like it: he goes careering around through the Bible, looking for something he likes better looking for a delusion--and he always gets one. That is the kind of person to whom God sends "a strong delusion," that he might "believe a lie and be damned." (2 Thessalonians 2:10-12.) He wants to believe a lie, anyway; he does not want the truth.
God Loves Man
God never aids nor assists in his error a man who wants the truth, and wants to turn from his wickedness and get out of it. But he will "send a strong delusion" to the man who is seeking some pretext or excuse to get to go on and do what he wants to do, regardless of God's will. When a man is determined to do that, he is lost anyway. And God will send him a "working of error" (ASV), a strong--not a little, weak--"delusion," that he might believe a lie and be damned. (2 Thessalonians 2:10-12.)
We have certain tests that we must go through in this world before we can be developed into mature Christians. If we are not going to accept these tests, then God will aid us in going in the other direction--not because he wants us to be lost, but we would be lost anyway. He just separates us from his people and their fellowship, by giving us a delusion of some sort. That will bring out the wickedness that is already in our hearts. The sunflower keeps its face toward the sun all day long. When the sun rises, the sun-flower turns its face toward the east, with its neck bowed over in that direction. Then, at noon, it still has its big face turned toward the sun. And at sunset, it is turned toward the sun. When God sees a man with his face turned toward heaven, toward God and his word, he never sends a delusion of any kind--not even a weak one--to that person, be-cause he wants God. He hungers and thirsts for God. As David said, "My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God." (Psalms 42:2; cf. Psalms 63:2; Psalms 143:6.) A man in a parched desert, where there is no water, would give a dollar--perhaps much more -- for just one little swallow of water! Likewise, when we yearn for God, long for--"hunger and thirst after righteous-ness" (Matthew 5:6)--God will help us to find it. He will "fill" that person with righteousness.
Longsuffering To attain the unity of the Spirit, in addition to "lowli-ness and meekness," we need "longsuffering." It takes time to get big things done. A giant oak tree is not made over-night. We 'have to be patient if we are going to grow to be big trees. If you want to grow great men and women in the church, you have to be patient in working with them. You will have to remember that none of us was strong at first when we were little sprouts or saplings. Exercise good judgment and wisdom in dealing with each other. Do not provoke one another to sin and evil, nor aggravate and stir up trouble or strife. Instead, "seek peace and ensue it." (1 Peter 3:8-11.) Take off after peace, and run after it, like a dog after a fox. Chase it! Run it down and catch it, and you will have it and possess it. That is exactly the idea.
"Longsuffering" means to suffer a long time. It means altogether the opposite of a fickle spirit that will act upon the spur of the moment, and then regret and repent (maybe forever) some decision made in a fit of temper, or un-der stress, strain, or provocation of some sort. One who is "longsuffering" takes time to pray about it. And yet, people can be too slow, at times when they should decide and act quickly. We should never act until we have decided, and until we have decided in the light of divine truth.
Forbear One Another
"Walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called. with all lowliness, and meekness, with longsuffering, for-bearing one another . . ." (Ephesians 4:1-2.) You could hurt some fellow. You know something you could tell about him that would hurt him, but you "forbear" to do it. You restrain yourself. This will promote unity! It will go a long way toward having unity. Overlook the faults of others--actual-ly forget them. Someone reminded me of a man in our con-gregation (where I have been preaching since Jan. 1, 1933), who was guilty thirty years ago of a flagrant sin. Although I had a part in bringing him to repentance, I had forgotten it. Honestly, for 15 or 20 years I had not even thought about the fact that he had to be restored! When we forbear one another, we will soon forget. We will not talk about it--not to our companions in the home, nor to anyone else. If you want to talk about it so that it won't hurt, talk to God about it! There is no limit to the amount of time you could spend talking to him about it. You will probably be very careful what you say if you are talking to God! These are some simple, common-sense, basic facts (which are often over-looked); but they have to do with "Unity." And this is the "unity of the Spirit," as you will see later.
Love
Paul next says, "forbearing one another in love." (Ephesians 4:2) There are different ways of forbearing. One may "forbear" on the ground that he is afraid of retaliation. He is afraid to hurt the other fellow, because of the fear that he will be hurt in return. And so, not having on "the breastplate of righteousness" (Ephesians 6:14), he is afraid to stab, because he is afraid he will be stabbed! That is not "forbearing in love," but is forbearing in fear. Let us love people, and love them so much that we won't hurt them. I have always respected Joseph, the husband of Mary. God tells us that Joseph was going to put Mary away "privily." (Matthew 1:18-20.) He could have been severe with her, for it was a death penalty to have a child out of wedlock. (Deuteronomy 22:23-24.) Joseph was thinking that this baby was to be born out of wedlock, but he knew he was not the father of it; he felt Mary was not a good woman--so he resolved to legally terminate his engagement to her. But he said he was going to do this "privily," or secretly. (Matthew 1:18-20; cf. Luke 1:26-35.) Joseph was not going to let anybody know there was anything wrong. He was going to keep it under cover. He thought, "I know something about you, Mary but I'm not going to publicize it, I am not going to advertise it; I am going to handle it in the way that it will hurt the least." Don't you admire Joseph?
Paul said, "I beseech you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ." (2 Corinthians 10:1.) I love Paul's expression! If a doctor has to cut on me, I don't want him to see just how painful and hurtful he can make it! I want him to be as gentle as possible.
Perhaps I have had more experience than any other man in the South in dealing with church problems and church troubles. Once some elders had to reprove and admonish a guilty man. One of them (his kinsman) said, "I feel for you, because when I was about your age, I know how weak I was. I just happened not to get in the clutches of the law; but I could have been, had they caught me. I would have been guilty before the law, just like you are. I feel for you.. I want you to know that you are not in the presence of enemies; we are your friends. We want to go to heaven, and we want you to go with us." The man broke down and cried like a little child. Tearfully he said, "I want to go, too," and confessed his wrongs, and penitently sought forgiveness. That is "forbearing . . . in love."
Many times the operation is successful because the doctor didn't see just how much he could hurt, or how much he could cut! He didn't get any joy out of hurting. So we, like-wise, need to have love back of all these things. We need to love one another as brethren. (1 Peter 3:8; 1 Peter 2:17.) We can know that we are Christians, not just because we have believed, repented, confessed Christ, and been baptized! These things are essential, but we may have done all that through formality. We may not have done these things "from the heart." (Romans 6:17-18.) How may I know, then, whether I was sincere in it, or not? The Bible gives us a rule. "We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren" (1 John 3:14)--not just because we have been baptized! We do not know it was acceptable unless we love the brethren. Now, if we don't love the brethren, if we had rather be anywhere else rather than with the brethren, I just wonder if we have been born again??? How could we be children of God, and not love one another? It's natural for normal children under normal environment to love one another. (John 13:34-35.)
Unity Is "Of The Spirit"
Next Paul says, "Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit." (Ephesians 4:3.) How do it? By doing those things just emphasized, as well as what follows. The unity "of the Spirit" is the unity into which the Holy Spirit' leads us. Paul says, "As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." (Romans 8:14.) So the Holy Spirit leads us who are children of God. Paul was not here talking about alien sinners. He wrote this to the church, to Christians. "To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints." (Romans 1:7.) He was writing to children of God, and this needs to be understood. "As many"--as many of you who are addressed, you Christians in Rome--"As many as are led by the Spirit of God . . ." This means, "As many members of the church, as many Christians, as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." What about those members who are not led by the Holy Spirit, but are led by the spirit of the devil? Though they may have been bap-tized, they have the spirit of the devil in them. Well, they will cause division and strife and trouble in the church. Like the rotten apple in a barrel, they will cause others to rot and perish. They are not led by the Holy Spirit. They can't go to heaven.
Holy Spirit Leads Us
How does the Holy Spirit "lead" us? He leads us through his word. David said, "The Spirit of the Lord spoke by me, and his word was in my tongue." (2 Samuel 23:2.) When they heard David speak as an inspired prophet, and followed his teaching, they were being led by the Spirit. It was the Spirit doing the teaching. Nehemiah (9:20) said, "Thou gavest also thy good Spirit to instruct them." He said God "testifiedest against them by thy Spirit in thy prophets." (v. 30.) So God gave the Spirit to the prophets, to testify against those people at that time though they were wicked, and to "instruct" them in behalf of their doing right.
When we follow the instruction of the Holy Spirit, we are following the Holy Spirit. If you follow the instructions in a letter from a friend, you are not just following the instructions of a piece of paper--you will be following your friend's instructions. So it is, when you follow the instruction of the Holy Spirit, you are not just following the instruction of a book, or a piece of paper; you are not following the instruction of printer's ink. You are following the instruction of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is guiding and directing you. "He will guide you"--apostles--"into all truth." (John 16:13.) How would he do that? By teaching the truth to them, and through them presenting it to others, the Spirit guides people by the truth which they taught. "He shall teach you"--apostles--"all things." (John 14:26.) And hence, we follow the Holy Spirit when we follow his word.
Led By Word
Now, if we turn up our noses at his word, and take off after some "feeling," after some sort of "hunch," that is not following the Holy Spirit. We must "hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches." (Revelation 1:7.) The Spirit was saying his directions through the letter that he had written through the apostle John to those people. When we hear-the letter, we hear what the Spirit "saith" to us as members of the church. He guides Christians by talking to us through inspired men. This is the only way in the world we can follow the Spirit. You will be following superstitious ideas, and you will go astray, if you begin to follow imaginations and the like.
One denominational preacher says that he has been directly called of God to preach a certain doctrine. Another contradicts that by saying the Spirit called him to preach against that doctrine. One preacher claims he was called by the Spirit to preach "once in grace, always in grace" (or the impossibility of apostasy). Another says he was called by the Spirit, that same Spirit, to preach that one can apostatize--that a child of God can so live as to finally be lost in hell. They are contradicting one another! Somebody is not following the Spirit. Somebody has missed it.
Why not follow the "call" of God in the Bible? Concern-ing becoming a Christian, Paul said, "He called you by the gospel." (2 Thessalonians 2:14.) Why not follow that gospel? It was preached with the "Holy Ghost sent down from heaven." (1 Peter 1:12.) By that same gospel men are "called into one body." (Colossians 3:15.) So if we follow the Holy Spirit, we will all enter one body, be called into the same body, says this verse. The Holy Spirit never called anybody into a sect, or a party, or a faction, or a denominational church.
Men get into denominations, sects, or factions by follow-ing their "hunches" or their imaginations, feelings and dreams, or by following their own wishes. Some feel obli-gated because their parents, or other kin, belonged to it. "Loved ones"--people who died a generation ago--"would 'turn over in their graves' if I did not follow their exam-ple." Well, I know, because I was once like that; I have had that experience. I was the first one of my relatives to ever obey the gospel of Christ as it is in the Book. I know what a tremendous "pull" these other things can have against one who has heard the gospel. One seems to be living be-tween two worlds, hardly knowing which way to turn! I had to make a grave decision that will determine where I will be a billion, trillion, years later! People like that need sympathy from us. But those who reject the very words of the Holy Spirit, and turn off to something else, need re-proving, and rebuking. (2 Timothy 4:2.)
One Body
Paul then said in our text, "There is one body." (Ephesians 4:1-4.) He starts with "one body." As long as there are two . bodies, or three bodies, or 1,200 bodies, there is no "unity of the Spirit." Division is among those who compose those different bodies. They are not united. Jesus prayed that his disciples might all be one. (John 17:20-21.) He gave a perfect standard of unity, or a standard of perfect unity at which to aim. Though we may never fully reach it, we should always aim at it. He prayed for such perfect unity "as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that thou hast sent me." (John 17:21.) He added, "That they may be one as we are one." (v. 22.) There is the ideal. Strive to be united as perfectly as God and his Son Jesus are united. Jesus was united with the Father because he always was ready to do the Father's will. "I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me." (John 6:38.) So, he was dedicated and consecrated to doing the will of the Father, even when it cost him his own life and every drop of his precious blood to obey the Father's will. "He became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." (Php 2:5-11.) When we are dedicated to God's will like that, we can come into one body, and have unity.
One Spirit
Paul further said, "There is one Spirit." (Ephesians 4:4.) The one Holy Spirit leads us into that one body. "By one Spirit" --the one Holy Spirit--"are we all baptized into one body." (1 Corinthians 12:13.) That one Spirit, by his instruction, by his teaching, leads us to be "baptized into one body." Paul then said, "We drink into one Spirit." (1 Corinthians 12:13.) There is the reception of the Holy Spirit after we have been baptized as led by the Spirit, through his teaching, through the gospel, to be baptized in water into the one body--then we "drink into" and begin to "partake" of the Holy Spirit so that he dwells in us. The "one Spirit" in leading us gives us laws by which to be governed; hence, "The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death." (Romans 8:2.) The Holy Spirit has a law--a law of pardon for aliens, and a second law of pardon for erring children of God. It is different from the first: no baptism is required in the second law of pardon. (Acts 8:22-24.) But the same inspired preacher (in Acts 2:38) put bap-tism in the first law of pardon.
Law Of Spirit
We must follow the "law of the Spirit." He has a law of worship, and it is "the law of the Spirit of life," a rule of life. Law is a rule by which we must be governed. The Holy Spirit has given us law, but he has also given us "liberty." (2 Corinthians 3:17.) However, the Holy Spirit has given us no liberty to violate law. He has given us no choice when God has spoken. When God specifies a thing, we are not to do something else, nor substitute something else for it. We cannot be led by the Spirit and substitute like that. When the Holy Spirit tells us to do a thing, the thing is authorized. But if he did not tell us how to do the thing, but left that up to our option and our judgment, then there is liberty. And "where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." (2 Corinthians 3:17.) There is always liberty connected with the Christian life, under generic law. In specific law, there is no liberty--we must do the very thing specified. If God specified the "way" to do it, then the "how" becomes a part of the law--it must be done as specified. But if God does not give the way, then there is liberty. So Paul says, "Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." (Ephesians 4:3.) That means then, that we must press it upon people to do what the "law of the Spirit" says. (Romans 8:2.) We must enforce that. We are to discipline people who won't follow the Holy Spirit. We should never allow anybody to go to the judgment in our fellowship who is not on the way to heaven while going to the judgment. If we know a man is on the way to perdition, and we' can't turn him, get him to live right we ought to withdraw fel-lowship from him. (2 Thessalonians 3:6.) (Of course, we sincerely seek to convert him from "the error of his way." James 5:19-20.) Hence, there is liberty. "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ bath made us free." (Galatians 5:1.) There is "liberty" in Christianity. However, it is not all "liberty," nothing but "liberty." No; there is also "law." If a man wants to get into jail, just let him get out here and violate the law. He has a lot of liberty, although we may be losing some of it, for aught I know. (It seems to me we are losing many liberties, in allowing the federal govern-ment to take us over, so Communism can just grab the 'steering-wheel' so we will live under Communism. It seems to me there is a danger involved.)
Matters Of Liberty
But, coming back to the main point: there is "liberty." In the great commission, when God said, "Go preach the gospel" (Matt. 28:1849; Mark 16:15), he "bound" or specified the thing to be done--and we must "go"--we must do that very thing. But he did not tell them "how" to go. There is liberty there. Hence, we can have peace by each allowing the other to have that "liberty" which God gave. Brethren do not have to build all meeting houses alike. God did not prescribe the type building. (In fact, he did not even command that we build a house at all.) The building comes in under the generic authority that authorizes us to assemble. (Hebrews 10:25.) He requires us to "come together into one place" (1 Corinthians 14:23), but left that place to our judgment. That's a matter of "liberty." There ought to be no division about things like that. If it is a congregational matter, the elders decide it. If the elders decide that we are going to meet at 9:30 for Bible school on Sunday morning, instead of 10:00 o'clock, we ought to have unity in that. If it is the decision of the elders that we sing three songs before we have a prayer, we can all go along with that, just as when the leader says we are going to sing "No. 20," we all unite in it. Nobody accuses the leader of making a law. He has not made any law. If we are going to sing at all, we are going to have to sing one song at a time. Certainly, we would not be singing "decently and in order" (1 Corinthians 14:40) if one started singing, "Jesus, Lover of my Soul," while another sings, "What A Friend We Have In Jesus." You would have confusion, and "God is not the author of confusion." (1 Corinthians 14:33.)
If we are going to observe the Lord's supper at 12:00 o'clock, and somebody says, "No! I'm going to wait until 3:00 o'clock"--you would have division that way. You would have trouble in the church. You would build up a faction before you knew what happened. And so, in expedients, the Spirit has left us free, and left us "liberty," by authorizing the thing, but leaving the method, the "manner," to human judgment. To the extent that there is anything about it that is optional with us, to that extent God's law is generic.
Brethren, you may not have observed it--I was a long time learning it--but a command may be both "generic" and "specific." Take the command to baptize: it is specific as to the act. It is a burial, an immersion. Baptism is not sprinkling, nor pouring. But "baptize" is generic as to where it is performed--in a river, or lake, or baptistry; in warm water or cold, muddy water, or clear. All such matters are left to human judgment. When people start fussing over things like that, they are trying to make laws for God, or to obey a law some other fellow made. So, don't make a law that a man must be baptized in a baptistry, and don't make a law that he must not be. You will destroy liberty. If you change "generic" law into "specific" law, you pervert the word of God. Do not begin to change these things where God left us liberty. Where God tells us to do benevolent work, let us do it. If he tells us "how," authorizing all the details, then follow them. (I deny that God has done that, however.) He has not told us the "how," and we must not let anybody make a certain "how" into a law, or forbid any "generic" way of doing it. Use "liberty" there. The "unity of the Spirit" involves liberty.
One Hope and One Faith
"There is . . . one hope of your calling." (Ephesians 4:4.) That "hope" is heaven. And there is also the "one faith." (Ephesians 4:5.) There is a difference between faith, and opinion. It is a matter of "faith" that we go preach the gospel; it is a matter of "opinion" as to how best to travel. It is a matter of "faith" that we are to be baptized, be immersed; it is a matter of "opinion" as to whether to immerse in a baptistry, or in a river. It is a matter of "faith" that we sing; it is a matter of "opinion" which song book to use, whether to sing soprano, alto, tenor, or bass--and how to get the pitch is a matter of opinion. In matters of "opinion" where the whole church is involved, let the elders decide; where the decision is going to affect all of us, let them make it. They are not making laws, but are just deciding that we will do it a certain way.
Our elders at Jasper, Alabama, decided back yonder more than thirty years ago that we would not use instrumental music in our auditorium, or on our premises, in connection with weddings. A few years ago a young couple wanted to use instrumental music in their wedding ceremony, and asked to bring in the instrument. The young man, a member of the church, asked, "Do you think it is a sin to use instrumental music in a wedding?" I said, "No." "Do you think it would be sinful to use it in this auditorium?" I said, "No, not per se, apart from the worship, as in a wedding." "Well, then, we are going to have it." I replied, "No you are not, either. The elders have decided that we will not have it, and I will not be a party to it. They would hold me responsible, and rightly so. We are not going to have it." He was becoming very stubborn about it: "You are making a law!" I said, "No, I'm not; I am just making a choice, and upholding the elders in their choice. I believe we could use, or not use, it (apart from the worship). But the elders have decided we will not. It would get up a lot of trouble, and we are not going to have it. We are going to help the elders 'keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace' while we have peace." So then, you can see that there is a choice to be made under "generic" authority. But if we had made a law that it would be sinful for a couple to get married in connection with the use of instrumental music in the ceremony, we would be in the wrong. We are not going to get ourselves into such trouble. We will look upon it as a mat-ter of indifference, and let elders decide such matters of expedience which involve the congregation. (This very couple obtained a denominational church house so they could have instrumental music, and wanted me to say the ceremony which I did. But when they wanted me to pray to the in-strumental accompaniment of "The Lord's Prayer," I refused, saying, "I can't do that. That would put me to pray-ing with instrumental music. I'm not going to do that. You do your own playing and your own singing; then when you get through, I'll say the ceremony and lead us in prayer as best I can.") We need to have convictions about such things where the truth is at stake. Of course, there are times when some contend where there is no principle at stake--they just contend for contention's sake.
One Lord But there is also the "one Lord" (Ephesians 4:5) who has all authority. (Matthew 28:18-20.) He has authorized certain things specifically, and other things generically. And we must teach it like he did. When it is specifically taught, we teach it specifically, and practice it thus. If he has taught it generically, we teach it that way, and practice it thus, and al-low or extend "liberty." He is our authority.
One Baptism And then there is the "one baptism." (Ephesians 4:5.) That baptism is baptism in water which brings us into that one body.
One God
There is "one God . . . who is above all, and through all, and in you all." (Ephesians 4:6.) This God is back of the whole scheme of human redemption. All of it grows out of his marvelous, and amazing, and wonderful love, exhibited in the gift of his Son, that we might be saved. The gospel is the sweetest story that has ever been told or heard in this world! By it, and it alone, can we be saved, and know the "unity of the Spirit."
Bible Basis Of Unity
All true disciples should be united upon faith in Christ and obedience to him. All who believe in Christ and im-plicitly obey him will certainly go to heaven at last, and if we go there we must eventually be with them forever. We might as well be with them now, and they with us, here in the congregations of the saints. To walk by faith and to do his commandments embraces the whole Christian life, and is enough to save all men. (Revelation 2:10; Revelation 22:14.) No one can possibly be a Christian without faith in Christ. Neither can one be a Christian who will not obey Christ. (Galatians 3:26-28; John 2:3-4.)
Individual Matter
Each of us must believe in Christ whether others will let us be in their fellowship or not. (Acts 16:30-34; Romans 1:17.) And we must obey Christ in all things and do his will in order to go to heaven, whether or not others will let us be in their fellowship. We must not compromise concerning our faith in Christ and obedience to him. (Hebrews 5:8-9; Hebrews 11:6-30; Luke 12:51-53.)
A False Way Of Unity
Some preach, teach and follow a false way of unity. They actually cause divisions contrary to the doctrine of Christ by their false doctrines and practices. By their good words and fair speeches they deceive the hearts of the simple. (Romans 16:17-18.)
Some want us to unite with them in their modernism and unbelief. They reject the truth of the virgin birth, the deity and Sonship of Christ, his miracles, his atoning blood, his death for our sins and his bodily resurrection, ascension, and the like. They want all to unite with them in rejecting the authority of Christ and his commandments. We can have no scriptural church, nor unity on anything less than wholehearted faith in Christ and obedience to him. Those who reject the authority of Christ and his commandments may be united, but they are united in sin and iniquity. Let us not overlook the fact that sinners may be united, as well as the saints of God.
Strong Faith Will Always Obey
We should all be united in obeying the gospel of Christ. (Romans 10:16; 1 Peter 4:17; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9.) We must not change the Lord's plan of salvation to be united with others. Neither must we change the divinely appointed worship in the interest of some sort of unity. And we must not change the organization of the church to please men. Where the Lord has spoken we cannot compromise. We must have unity in the faith of the gospel, and not in error and false teaching. We must abide in the doctrine of Christ, whether others like it, and unite with us in doing likewise or not. (2 John 1:9-11.) We must unite in teaching and preaching the truth, believing and obeying the truth. This is the unity of the Spirit which we are to endeavor to keep in the bond of peace. (Ephesians 4:3.) The Spirit, by his word, leads us into this unity, if we will follow his teaching in the New Testament. (2 Corinthians 3:6; Hebrews 9:15-17.)
What About Specific Authority?
Liberalism trifles with specific authority. It disobeys, adds to, takes from, or substitutes something else for those things which Christ has commanded and specified. This produces vain worship and vain religion. (Matthew 15:9; Mark 7:3-13.) When Christ and his apostles specify that a certain thing be done, we must unite in doing it, whether others join us in doing it or not. The very thing specified must be done, if we would love and obey Christ, and if we would go to heaven at last. (Matthew 7:21; Luke 6:46.) Faith and obedience to Christ unite men in these things.
What About General Authority?
Just as liberalism trifles with specific authority and specific commandments, "anti-ism" trifles with general commands, or generic law of Christ. Under general commands there are matters of human opinion and judgment in which we have liberty of option or choice. There is to be unity, but not necessarily uniformity, in this field of church activity. God commands us to "go" and teach all nations. (Matthew 28:19-20.) This is a general command telling us WHAT to do, but it gives no details as to HOW to travel. The method of going is a matter of option, choice or human judgment. We must unite in going, but there is liberty in the methods of travel to be chosen. Here there may be no uniformity--all may not choose the same method. Some may choose to walk, others to ride, and others to go by automobile or plane. We can unite in having no confusion and division over these matters. (1 Corinthians 1:10.) In individual Christian activity, let the individual choose and exercise his God-given liberty. If it be a congregational activity, under general back-ground law, let the church, or its elders, choose the method or way of doing the thing commanded, and choose in the best interest of the congregation, whether it be what hour to meet, what song book to use, what preacher to invite for a meeting, and a thousand other things not regulated by divine specific law. Teaching, baptizing, assembling, incidentals of the worship, such as individual communion cups, Bible classes, literature, women teachers, and all such matters as are left to human judgment, should be handled in such a manner as to promote peace and happiness in the church, and to expedite its work.
Making Laws Causes Division
"Anti-ism" trifles with general commands, and makes laws to restrain God's people where He gave them liberty of choice as to some method, way or manner of doing some-thing specified in divine law. It is as sinful to make laws for God as it is to break the laws which God himself has made.
Some Examples Of Man-Made Laws
God said for us to "go" and "teach" all nations, etc. (Matthew 28:19-20.) The command to "teach" is generic--it does not tell us how to do the teaching. But here the "Anti-Sunday school" brethren try to divide the church by their man-made law against our conducting Bible classes on the Lord's day morning before our regular worship. They make a hu-, man law that we must give up our classes in the interest of unity with them in having only one class. We do not make a law that the churches must have classes, and try to force it upon the brotherhood. But they do make a law against our having classes, and that in the realm of liberty where God left us free to choose our own method of teaching.
The Pioneers The pioneers had as their motto the statement, "In matters of faith we should have unity, in matters of opinion or human judgment, liberty, and in all things charity." We are still pleading for this scriptural principle. A church does not have to have Sunday morning Bible classes, but it has no scriptural right to put on a campaign of false doctrine that it is unscriptural for other congregations to have them, if they so desire, and thus become a sect or faction to divide the church.
The same is true of the "anti-individual communion cups" brethren. Christ said for us to take the cup--the fruit of the vine--and divide it among ourselves. (Luke 22:17.) He did not tell us how to divide it, but left us the liberty of dividing it by the use of individual cups, if we so desire. We make no law for the Lord here, to enforce it upon the brotherhood to the division of the churches. A church has the liberty to use one vessel or many, as it may choose, but it has no divine right to force its opinion on other churches to their disturbance. It is a sin to go out to force the churches to use individual cups, and also a sin to make a law to prohibit the use of them. But anti-ism proposes to take away this liberty by its man-made law against individual cups.
You can make the application of these principles to the various matters of expediency under general authority, such as the located preacher question, the baptistry, orphan homes, church owned meeting houses and preachers' homes, and the like. These are in the realm of liberty under generic authority.
Who Caused The Division?
Some take the position that we must give up everything that is not specifically commanded in order to have unity. But this is not the scriptural solution to the problem. If we must give up everything to which some disgruntled brother objects, which is not commanded by special mention, then the church will become a fiftieth-rate sect. In that situation, some brother may move in and object to our Bible classes, literature, and women teachers for some children's classes. Another comes in and objects to our individual cups. Still, another comes in and objects to our having a local preach-er. Another comes in and objects to the church's owning and having a meeting house, and a baptistry, class rooms, rest rooms and office rooms, drinking fountains, etc. Another ob-jects to the church's contributing to an orphan home, and another to the church's helping another church to put on a radio program. Such anti-ism is just about anti-everything that is expedient in building up the church and preaching the gospel to the world.
Paul Not Compromise
Paul refused to give over to the Judaizing hobby-riders even for an hour, that the truth of the gospel might remain with us. (Galatians 2:1-5.) Paul stood for the liberty in Christ Jesus under divine authority. He circumcised Timothy, as a matter of liberty and expediency, but refused to circumcise Titus as was demanded to satisfy a man-made law of the Judaizers. (Acts 16:1-4; Galatians 2:1-5.) Orphan homes and cooperative radio programs are matters of liberty under general law which requires that the THING be done, but does not give the details for doing it. Let us, therefore, have brotherhood unity, and have it upon faith in Christ and obedience to his will. Let us unite in doing the very things required in specific divine law, and still have unity in matters of human judgment under general authority, by allow-ing that liberty for which Paul contended. (Galatians 2:1-5.) Let elders oversee the church, and let us be done with the idea of turning the church over to a disgruntled minority of factionists and church dividers.
On the other hand, let the churches stay within the authority of Christ in all religious matters. Let us do noth-ing religiously unless we have either specific, or general authority for it.
A Word About Examples
If an apostolic example had back of it a specific command as to the details, then that example was binding on the early Christians and would, for the same reason, be binding upon us today, such as examples of baptism, a thing com-manded and exemplified. (Matthew 28:19; Mark 16:15-16; Acts 8:35-39; Acts 18:8; Acts 22:16.)
But if the background command for doing something did not give any details as to how to do the thing commanded, then such details were not bound on the early Christians, and for the same reason, their chosen method of doing the thing would not be binding upon us, though it would be authority for us to choose to do as they did if we should so desire.
When Follow Examples?
We are bound to follow the examples of the early Christians only in so far as they were bound to leave us the detailed examples as they did, and beyond this their exam-ple would be optional with us, as it was a matter of choice with them when they left the example. Certain things were then bound, and certain things loosed. (Matthew 16:19.) Christ bound the going into all the world and preaching of the gos-pel to the whole world--but loosed the how to go, and the method of teaching. He bound baptism, and loosed the place to perform it, whether in running water, or in a pool, etc. He bound the meeting of the saints, but loosed the place. He bound the singing, but loosed the matter of having a song book, use of tuning fork, etc. He bound the prayers, but loosed the posture; bound the supper, but loosed the number of cups; bound the contribution, but loosed the matter of collection plates; bound the teaching, but loosed the classes, literature, etc. LET US NOT BIND WHERE GOD LOOSED, NOR LOOSE WHERE GOD BOUND. LIBERALISM LOOSES WHERE GOD BOUND, and ANTI-ISM BINDS WHERE GOD LOOSED. BEWARE OF SUCH "ISMS" IF YOU WOULD HAVE THE UNITY OF THE SPIRIT. May God bless you, every one.