July 1st 2018
In Christ We Who Are Many Form One Body!
Romans 12:4-5, 10 (NIV)
Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.
Are you a Christian? Are you a follower of Jesus Christ? Are you an active member of a church of your choice? Are you a member of the body of Christ? Are all of these terms identical? If all of these terms are, in fact, synonymous, then why are there so many different names attached to them, which define different groupings of people, who do NOT love each other? Paul wrote, “so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” Next Paul wrote, “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.”
There are many different denominations and even non-denominations used to classify the so-called body of Christ. Paul wrote “so in Christ we who are many form one body.” It is mind boggling how this has happened since Jesus chose to die for the sins of all of mankind. It is obvious that this has occurred by people choosing to follow a human being who has formed an approach to understanding the Good News from the accounts related to the life of Jesus, and development of a commentary describing God’s plans for all of mankind. Here, this VOW is only referring to how followers of Jesus Christ have formed different groupings of believers, and does not include reference to any worldly religions that are not part of the body of Christ.
How did we take one account of one God, and one Son of God, and end up with uncountable groupings of believers who for the most part are not even friendly towards many of the other groups, and in some cases show some form of hatred toward the other members of the body of Christ! There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God's one and only Son. (John 3:18, NLT) John wrote about this one plan for salvation, which then indicates one group of people who are saved, and thus, form the body of Christ.
This is a difficult commentary to write, as it exposes the fact that there is only one salvation plan, which should then result in one unified church, which the Bible refers to as the body of Christ. Some people have presented to me an idea of a positive side to this diversity in the body of Christ, as it allows believers to be able to pick a church of their choice from a group that shares many of their ideas. To me this is not a biblical idea, but more of a human or even Satanic reason to have the body of Christ splintered into enumerable groups of believers.
Jesus taught His disciples about this oneness when He stated you are either with me or you are against me. He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters. (Matthew 12:30) You are either with Jesus, and thus, part of the body of Christ, or you are against Him, and thus, NOT a part of the body of Christ! Pretty simple, it leaves no gray area in your belief system; it is either black of white! You are part of His body of believers, or you are not!
No, I do not have any easy answer to offer in this commentary to resolve this assumed separation of the body of Christ, it is being written in the hope of you overlooking the differences that are separating the groups of believers, and instead for you to look at the agreeable areas that form the true body of Christ. It is true that there are many churches of different denominations that work together in an ecumenical atmosphere to help other people in need without regard to their affiliation to any denomination. So all of the news is not bad news, but much of the news is not really the God News followers of Jesus should be spreading.
We just returned from a trip into an Amish community in Ohio, and we heard the history of how these followers of Jesus have been tortured and even killed by others proclaiming to be members of the body of Christ. It is saddening to hear such stories of inhuman treatment of people who proclaim to follow Jesus, and yet, they inflicted such pain on those who should have been considered as brothers and sisters through Jesus Christ, and thus members of the body of Christ. It seems we are likely entering a time in the USA when anyone professing to be members of the body of Christ will be mistreated by people who believe we are a threat to their freedom. Political Correctness seems to be directed at offering protection of all beliefs, except for members of the body of Christ!
It seems a revival is needed in this country, and if it can happen, it must start with a regrouping of the body of Christ, by bringing back the oneness that has been lost by separation into many groups, which do not look at each other with love. Do you believe that there is one God, and one Son who died for your sins, and one Holy Spirit that is given to each person who believes, and then you are part of the body of Christ? Do we really share this love for each other that the Holy Spirit brings us? Paul wrote about this love that God poured out on us. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. (Romans 5:5)
There will never be a true oneness that all members of mankind will agree upon, and this is true even within the body of Christ. God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. The only true oneness is understood by God and offered to mankind, but it cannot be comprehended by fallen beings that we all are. However, the closest we can come to this is obtained through becoming a part in the body of Christ. Jesus perfect sacrifice made it possible for an unlimited number of members who may participate in this group known as the body of Christ. In the selected verses for this commentary we read, “In Christ we who are many form one body.”
This VOW is being repeated and was Sent: Friday, June 3, 2016 12:37 PM, see the 5th paragraph of the original commentary above.
It is amazing to me that I picked this VOW to repeat, as it is being written in Berlin, OH. Yes we are in staying Amish country again! Celebrating our anniversary.
Your brother in life through Adam, your brother in eternity through Jesus,
Bob Moak
Romans 12:4-5, 10 (NIV)
Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.
Are you a Christian? Are you a follower of Jesus Christ? Are you an active member of a church of your choice? Are you a member of the body of Christ? Are all of these terms identical? If all of these terms are, in fact, synonymous, then why are there so many different names attached to them, which define different groupings of people, who do NOT love each other? Paul wrote, “so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” Next Paul wrote, “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.”
There are many different denominations and even non-denominations used to classify the so-called body of Christ. Paul wrote “so in Christ we who are many form one body.” It is mind boggling how this has happened since Jesus chose to die for the sins of all of mankind. It is obvious that this has occurred by people choosing to follow a human being who has formed an approach to understanding the Good News from the accounts related to the life of Jesus, and development of a commentary describing God’s plans for all of mankind. Here, this VOW is only referring to how followers of Jesus Christ have formed different groupings of believers, and does not include reference to any worldly religions that are not part of the body of Christ.
How did we take one account of one God, and one Son of God, and end up with uncountable groupings of believers who for the most part are not even friendly towards many of the other groups, and in some cases show some form of hatred toward the other members of the body of Christ! There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God's one and only Son. (John 3:18, NLT) John wrote about this one plan for salvation, which then indicates one group of people who are saved, and thus, form the body of Christ.
This is a difficult commentary to write, as it exposes the fact that there is only one salvation plan, which should then result in one unified church, which the Bible refers to as the body of Christ. Some people have presented to me an idea of a positive side to this diversity in the body of Christ, as it allows believers to be able to pick a church of their choice from a group that shares many of their ideas. To me this is not a biblical idea, but more of a human or even Satanic reason to have the body of Christ splintered into enumerable groups of believers.
Jesus taught His disciples about this oneness when He stated you are either with me or you are against me. He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters. (Matthew 12:30) You are either with Jesus, and thus, part of the body of Christ, or you are against Him, and thus, NOT a part of the body of Christ! Pretty simple, it leaves no gray area in your belief system; it is either black of white! You are part of His body of believers, or you are not!
No, I do not have any easy answer to offer in this commentary to resolve this assumed separation of the body of Christ, it is being written in the hope of you overlooking the differences that are separating the groups of believers, and instead for you to look at the agreeable areas that form the true body of Christ. It is true that there are many churches of different denominations that work together in an ecumenical atmosphere to help other people in need without regard to their affiliation to any denomination. So all of the news is not bad news, but much of the news is not really the God News followers of Jesus should be spreading.
We just returned from a trip into an Amish community in Ohio, and we heard the history of how these followers of Jesus have been tortured and even killed by others proclaiming to be members of the body of Christ. It is saddening to hear such stories of inhuman treatment of people who proclaim to follow Jesus, and yet, they inflicted such pain on those who should have been considered as brothers and sisters through Jesus Christ, and thus members of the body of Christ. It seems we are likely entering a time in the USA when anyone professing to be members of the body of Christ will be mistreated by people who believe we are a threat to their freedom. Political Correctness seems to be directed at offering protection of all beliefs, except for members of the body of Christ!
It seems a revival is needed in this country, and if it can happen, it must start with a regrouping of the body of Christ, by bringing back the oneness that has been lost by separation into many groups, which do not look at each other with love. Do you believe that there is one God, and one Son who died for your sins, and one Holy Spirit that is given to each person who believes, and then you are part of the body of Christ? Do we really share this love for each other that the Holy Spirit brings us? Paul wrote about this love that God poured out on us. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. (Romans 5:5)
There will never be a true oneness that all members of mankind will agree upon, and this is true even within the body of Christ. God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. The only true oneness is understood by God and offered to mankind, but it cannot be comprehended by fallen beings that we all are. However, the closest we can come to this is obtained through becoming a part in the body of Christ. Jesus perfect sacrifice made it possible for an unlimited number of members who may participate in this group known as the body of Christ. In the selected verses for this commentary we read, “In Christ we who are many form one body.”
This VOW is being repeated and was Sent: Friday, June 3, 2016 12:37 PM, see the 5th paragraph of the original commentary above.
It is amazing to me that I picked this VOW to repeat, as it is being written in Berlin, OH. Yes we are in staying Amish country again! Celebrating our anniversary.
Your brother in life through Adam, your brother in eternity through Jesus,
Bob Moak