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XII.
Christian Growth and Experience
Chapter 133
:
Unity of Believers
1. WHAT relation do the
Father and the Son sustain to each other?
"I and My Father are one."
John 10:30.
2. In what does this
oneness consist?
"I seek not Mine own will, but the
will of the Father which hath sent Me." John
5:30.
NOTE.-Their oneness, therefore, consists in
their having the same mind, will, and
purpose.
3. What did Christ pray
the Father in behalf of His disciples?
"That they may be one, even as
We are one." John 17:22. See also verses 11 and
23.
4. Why did Christ
desire this oneness, or unity, to exist among
His followers?
"That they all may be one; 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." Verse 21.
5. By what did Christ
say all men should know His disciples?
"By this shall all men know that ye
are My disciples, if ye have love one to
another." John 13:35.
NOTE.-"God has united believers in church
capacity in order that one may strengthen
another in good and righteous endeavor. The
church on earth would indeed be a symbol of
the church in heaven if its members were of
one mind and of one faith. It is those who
are not moved by the Holy Spirit that mar
God's plan, and cause division, and
strengthen the forces of darkness. Those who
are sanctified by the blood of Christ will
not counterwork God's work, nor perpetuate
division in the church. When there is
disunion among believers, the world
concludes that they cannot be the people of
God because they are working against one
another. When believers are one with Christ,
they will be united among themselves."
6. How did Paul show
his concern in this matter?
"Now I beseech you, brethren, by the
name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all
speak the same thing, and that there be
no divisions among you; but that ye be
perfectly joined together in the same mind and
in the same judgment." 1 Cor. 1:10.
7. What was a prominent
cause of division in the early church?
"For I know this, that after my
departing shall grievous wolves enter in among
you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own
selves shall men arise, speaking perverse
things, to draw away disciples after them."
Acts 20:29,30.
8. What was already at
work in the church in Paul's day?
"For the mystery of iniquity doth
already work: only he who now letteth [hindereth]
will let, until he be taken out of the way." 2
Thess. 2:7.
9. Before Christ should
come, what did Paul say was to take place?
"Let no man deceive you by any means:
for that day shall not come, except there come
a falling away first, and that man of
sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who
opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is
called God, or that is worshiped; so that he as
God sitteth in the temple of God, showing
himself that he is God." Verses 3,4.
NOTE.-The huge system of error now fostered
in the papal church is the result of the
falling away here referred to. Says Wylie in
his "History of Protestantism," Vol. III,
page 25: "Rome manifestly was the
schismatic; she it was that abandoned what
was once the common faith of Christendom,
leaving by that step to all who remained on
the old ground the indisputably valid title
of the true church."
10. Together, what do
believers in Christ form?
"Now ye are the body of Christ,
and members in particular." 1 Cor. 12:27.
11. Being members of
Christ's body, of what else do we become
members?
"So we, being many, are one body in
Christ, and every one members one of
another." Rom. 12:5.
12. As members of one
another, what is the duty of each?
"That there should be no schism in
the body; but that the members should have
the same care one for another." 1 Cor.
12:25.
13. What should they
endeavor to keep?
"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 long-suffering,
forbearing one another in love; endeavoring
to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of
peace." Eph. 4:1-3.
14. What unity of faith
is finally to exist among God's watchmen?
"Thy watchmen shall lift up the
voice; with the voice together shall they sing:
for they shall see eye to eye, when the Lord
shall bring again Zion." Isa. 52:8.
15. What solemn
message, just before the Lord's coming, will
unite God's people in bonds of faith and love?
"Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour
of His judgment is come: and worship Him that
made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the
fountains of waters. . . . Babylon is fallen, is
fallen, that great city, because she made all
nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her
fornication. . . . If any man worship the beast
and his image, and receive his mark in his
forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink
of the wine of the wrath of God." Rev. 14:7-10.
See Rev. 18:1-5.
16. How are those who
receive this message described?
"Here is the patience of the saints:
here are they that keep the commandments of God,
and the faith of Jesus." Verse 12.
17. When the Lord
comes, what will be the united cry of God's
people?
"And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is
our God; we have waited for Him, and He will
save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for
Him, we will be glad and rejoice in His
salvation." Isa. 25:9.
HOW
blest the sacred tie that binds
In sweet communion kindred minds!
How swift the heavenly course they run
Whose hearts, whose faith, whose hopes, are one.
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