Seven Facets of SalvationSample

The Church – Where our Divisions and Divisiveness are Dissolved

Ephesians 2:13-14, “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility.”

Division, hostility, and hate are rampant today all across our world. Thousands of years of sin and selfishness have produced their expected fruit. In the last lesson, we talked about the fruit of the Holy Spirit, and it is all beautiful. Here is the opposite of Galatians 5:19-21, “The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.” These are the natural results of living selfishly, and therefore we all desperately need to give our lives to Jesus Christ, because we can only live unselfishly in Him; and then together be built into the unity and love that will destroy these works of the devil.

Jesus promised in Matthew 16:19, “I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” When we join together as the Church, which is the body of Christ – the benefits grow exponentially. Jesus said, “where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them” (Matthew 18:20). And in Psalm 103:17-18, “But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children— with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts.”

So therefore, as Ephesians 2:19-22 promises, “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.”

The beauty just keeps growing, as expressed in Galatians 3:27-28, “for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus”.

There is no division in Christ – so wherever we do see division, God and His principles are not being followed. Unfortunately, we do see division between believers, even in the church, way too often and it should never happen; it never needs to happen. In Christ, we are always brought together to become one in Him.

King David expressed the beauty of Christian fellowship and unity so beautifully in Psalm 133:1, 3, “How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity! ...For there the Lord bestows his blessing, even life forevermore.”

Reflection: Search your heart in all honesty and see where you may have allowed an attitude of division to take root. Confess this to the Lord today, and allow Him to free you from it. Rejoice in being one with our King, who keeps us joined together into a dwelling place where the Spirit lives. What a privilege! What a blessing! Don’t let earthly disagreements mar the beauty of being a child of the King.