"There
is one body, and — one faith."
Eph.
4:4-5
The
concepts of faith and unity are closely related in
scripture. Unity is based in the common flow of
spiritual Life in Christ that courses through the
soul of every born-again believer. As members of
one body, and branches on the same vine, we share
one life. This life is the substance of our unity.
Faith
is our appropriation of this living flow, a flow
recognized within our spirits and maintained by
our constant submission to the Spirit within us.
As we yield in faith to the power of this Life
flow within us, we increasingly discover the
hidden unity that exists among all saints.
We
do not "create" unity. We only grow in our
recognition of it through the eyes of faith. Then,
as we put works to our faith, hidden unity becomes
manifest unity. We find ourselves able to abide in
the presence and fellowship of other believers
whom we were hitherto unable to bear with.
The
cost of living by faith in this dimension is high.
The flow of God's Life bids us constantly to
outgrow the confines of our limited perceptions of
scripture and holiness by which we find ourselves
separating from others. Yes, such seasons of
separation are necessary from time to time. In
order to purify our own personal flow in faith,
God often requires temporal separations to occur.
God uses differences of doctrinal perception and
practice to hone our personal faithfulness to Him.
But
ultimately God wants us to move beyond these
limitations. His life that joins us is superior to
the limited points of view that separate us. The
Truth by which we reach outside our personal
scriptural mindset to touch others is greater than
the truth by which we raise standards against
those who walk outside of us. Thus God ever bids
us to move from doctrinal faith that separates to
the higher Living Faith that manifests unity, ie,
faith rooted only in the flow of His Life.
(Note:
To fail to move from doctrinal faith to Living
Faith brings upon us the judgment of unbelief.
Witness the pharisees who believed in the
scriptures, yet were judged of unbelief by the
Lord for failure to discern His Life.)
Does
this mean God intends all Christians to serve
together in one visible equal relationship with
one another? No. "We
are one body, but many members."
As
God's Temple, we have many rooms. There are
different corners to His Vineyard. Some of us are
evangelists, some teachers, some pastors. Others
of us have natures that can only be described as
prophetic or apostolic.
Although
God wants us to relate according to His Life, His
flow sovereignly ordains our particular
relationships according to our giftings and
levels of growth. So we cannot all serve together
visibly at the same time in the same place with
the same believers.
Nevertheless,
what visible differences we have in fellowship
gathering and ministry ought only be decided by
the sovereign drawing together of God's Life, not
by our fears, suspicions, or negative criticisms
of those outside our present mindset. This is the
highest faith attainable.
In
these closing hours before the return of Christ,
God's Spirit is calling the church on Prince
Edward Island into a new realm of faith, a realm
marked by the unity we have described. The
challenge for the believers on Prince Edward
Island is to overcome the strongholds of religious
attitudes and traditions that cause us to esteem
certain truths more highly than we esteem one
another.
It
is for us to lay down our devotion to cherished
concepts of scriptural truth and ministerial
positions which, as right as they may be, have
long since passed their usefulness in the plan of
God for our personal perfection and our present
relationships. It's time to put aside those truths
marked by our judgments of those who fail to
adhere to them. It's time to expand the horizons
of our relationships in the body of Christ
according to the gracious flow of God's Spirit.
Again,
to make this advance in maturity is costly. It
requires humility and repentance. It requires the
confession and rectification of past offenses
having led to relational dissensions and church
splits. It requires forgiveness of those who have
wounded us over our attempts to faithfully walk
out particular truths God impressed on us at one
time.
Yet
it is this unity alone that proves we ultimately
do live by faith, not by the sight of carnal
reasoning. This alone will also produce the
revival for which many have longed. The remaining
question for the church on Prince Edward Island
is:
"When the Son
of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?"