Instructions for oneness

After I Peter 3:8-12

You want unity, 

oneness, so do this:

don’t speak evil,

don’t speak deceit,

don’t do evil,

turn to doing good,

seek peace,

pursue peace,

because this is what

the Lord seeks, what

the Lord wants, what

the Lord prizes and

values. 

Seek it, pursue it,

and hold it tightly

when you find it,

never letting go.

 

Photograph by Aaron Blanco Tejedor via Unsplash. Used with permission.

Some Friday Readings

 

The Continental Divide of Doctrine – Time Challies.

 

Listen Lord – poem by James Weldon Johnson at Kingdom Poets (D.S. Martin).

 

Sorrow Like My Sorrow – Cody Ilardo at Power & Glory.

 

Lost and Found: The Ancient Bible of Mount Sinai – Jason Clark at This is the Day.

 

Do Human Beings Have Immortal Souls? – Mark Daniels.

Oneness

After I Peter 3:8-12

We are one, we are

to be one, always,

in all circumstances,

one mind because

our thoughts are his;

one sympathy because

we all need it;

one brotherly love because

we die for each other;

one heart because

we share his heart;

and oneness in humility,

because he loves

each of us so much

that he gave his life,

that we would be saved.

Some Sunday Readings

 

How to Prevent the Next Generation’s Loss of Faith & Knowledge – Glenn Brooke at the Institute for Faith, Work, & Economics.

 

Sin Makes You Stupid – Kevin DeYoung at Clearly Reformed.

 

Evaluating Trump’s First Week of Executive Actions – Joe Carter at The Gospel Coalition.

 

A Song for Anna – poem by Andy Patton at Rabbit Room Poetry.

 

Choose Your Fighter – Spencer Klavan at Rejoice Evermore. 

 

“The Shepherd God,” poem by Jane Schulert – Society of Classical Poets.

 

Light spills – poem by Joy Lenton at Poetry Joy.

 

 

Oneness

After Galatians 3:25-29 

A polyglot; a riot

of difference and

individuality; a riot

demanding acknowledgement,

acceptance, celebration.

 

And yet.

And yet.

 

Oneness. Oneness

through faith. Difference

and diversity sink

beneath the reality

of oneness in faith, 

the great leveler and

the great elevator.

 

Cultures pale.

Socio-economic status

becomes meaningless,

because of this oneness 

we share, this oneness

of faith.

 

Photograph by Riccardo Genervi via Unsplash. Used with permission.

The path to oneness

After Ephesians 4:1-16

It begins with speech,

or speaking, not merely

uttering words but

speaking truth in love,

which assumes careful

consideration of the thoughts

expressed and words spoken.

Speaking truth in love leads

to growth, growth in every way,

growth into the head, for it is

the head that makes the body

grow, the whole body, joined

and held together, each and 

every part it comes with,

and each part working

as it should, in harmony,

together as one.

 

Photograph by Lukas Vanatko via Unsplash. Used with permission.

The point is

After Ephesians 4:1-16

This walk, this oneness,

this training, all these

resources assembled,

all of this has a point:

achieve unity of faith,

achieve unity of knowledge,

become mature (i.e., grow!)

in the maturity of the ideal

of the One, leaving behind

the immaturity of childhood,

the tossing by every wind

and wave by every new thing,

passing fancy, human deceit,

human cunning, schemes

of men (and women too)

masquerading as truth

and light. That’s the point:

maturing enough to leave

all that behind as useless

and unnecessary and

downright counterproductive. 

 

Photograph by Jukan Tateisi via Unsplash. Used with permission.

Support logistics

After Ephesians 4:1-16

When we were called up,

and assembled into our unit

formed for basic training,

which could be and often is

rigorous and uncomfortable,

he didn’t leave us leaderless

or without resources.

We weren’t an army

without officers or leaders

or a supply train, 

a formless mass to be

tossed about by every wind

and wave. The call included

rather extensive resources:

apostles, prophets, evangelists,

shepherds, teachers, people

gifted to come along side

and lead the troops for the work

we were called to.

 

Photograph by Diego Gonzalez via Unsplash. Used with permission.

Oneness

After Ephesians 4:1-16

One body

one spirit

each one called to

one hope

one Lord

one faith

one baptism

one God

on Father

one grace

one gift

one sacrifice

given to each

one of us.

 

Photograph by Tania Malrechauffe via Unsplash. Used with permission.

A body's walk

After Ephesians 4:1-16

If you ever wondered,

mused, or thought (aloud)

how a body works,

the prisoner has an answer:

worthy of the path

you’ve been called

to walk, which means

humbly and gently,

patiently and lovingly,

bearing with one another

in love (even if you don’t

like each other’s politics),

because you’re eager,

eager to maintain,

maintain the unity,

the unity of the spirit,

the spirit in the bond,

the bond of peace. 

 

Photograph by Andraz Lazic via Unsplash. Used with permission.

No longer strangers

After Ephesians 2:11-22

We are no longer strangers,

no longer aliens, foreign

to each other and ourselves.

We are now brethren,

citizens of the same nation,

members of the same house,

a household of solid foundation,

the only one that lasts,

enfolded and protected 

by the one cornerstone,

what holds us together,

what holds it all together,

a household under construction

for transformation as a temple,

indwelled.

Photograph by Tyler Nix via Unsplash. Used with permission

Expelling pride

After Philippians 2:1-4

It is a cancer, this thing

called pride, a cancer

eating away at the body,

consuming healthy cells

and organs, choking off

life, because that is what

it’s called to do,

take a life.

destroy a life,

obliterate a life.

Its cure, sometimes

painful, always a hard,

different thing, is

oneness, or being 

of the same mind, having

and sharing the same love,

existing in one accord,

a unity not possible

without oneness of Spirit.

Photograph by Hannah Valentine via Unsplash. Used with permission.

How should we then live?

After Philippians 1:27-30

It’s clear: yes, we have freedom,

our spirits and souls unchained,

unshackled. But no: that doesn’t

mean anything goes. Instead,

we have a command: to live 

worthy of the good news,

because the “how” signals

good reports, indicates 

a standing firm together, shows

unity in striving side by side,

and no fear of opponents. How

we live tells opponents that

their destruction will come;

it’s no wonder they hate us,

and will hate us. Belief and

firmness of spirit is inevitably

accompanied by hatred, 

by the heaping of abuse, 

by suffering. This is not

your prosperity gospel.

Photograph by Aaron Blanco Tejedor via Unsplash. Used with permission.

Oneness

After John 17:20-23

They will know who

we are, by our love;

we know and understand

that, we have for a long time. 

But there’s more: 

they will know where

we come from, by our oneness,

our unity, our wholeness. 

Because that oneness stands as 

the signpost, they reach past

to the one who erected

the sign. They do know who

we are by our love, and 

they know where we come from

by our oneness.

Photograph by Annie Spratt via Unsplash. Used with permission.

“What is the Church?” by R.C. Sproul

We talk about what life is like in an increasingly secular age, but it’s difficult to look at anything in the news media, social media, web sites and other communications without finding constant references to religion of almost all kinds, but especially Christianity and Islam. We may live in an increasingly secular age, but you wouldn’t know it from what everyone is talking about, arguing about, expressing fears and concerns about, and thinking about. It can be as tiresome as it is repetitive; no one is convincing anyone except the people in their own echo chambers.

I find this even roiling into conversations of my fellow Christians, with mainliners pitted against evangelicals, traditionalists versus “seeker supporters,” people arguing for and against something called “relevance” in worship services. There’s some faith, little hope, and no love being shown; instead, we embrace our own righteous anger and use it like a weapon.

Author, speaker, historian, and Calvinist R.C. Sproul has been publishing a series entitled “Crucial Questions,” which actually might provide some relief. No. 17 in that series is What is the Church?, and Sproul takes us back to 325 A.D., the Council of Nicea, and the Nicene Creed that resulted.

Consider the context. For only a few years, Christianity had been a legal religion in the Roman Empire. It was engulfed in the Arian controversy, which concerned the divine nature of Jesus and his relationship to God the Father. It was threatening to tear the church apart. The Emperor Constantine called the council and presided over its beginning, although others presided over the discussion and debate. The council eventually beat back the Arian heresy and developed the Nicene Creed, which is still recited in churches around the world today. (The Council also did a number of other things, like determine which books comprised the Biblical canon.)

R.C. Sproul

In his book, Sproul focuses on one element of the creed, which defines the church as one, holy, catholic, and apostolic. Taking each term in turn, he explores what the church is and what it is called to be. He doesn’t gloss over the divisions plaguing the church; in fact, he discusses the major ones.

He distinguishes between the visible and invisible church. He describes what it means for the church to be holy (and believers to be saints). He considers the church’s universality. And he explains what is means for the church to be founded on the apostles. He finishes the work by noting what it means to be a servant and what the true marks of church are.

Sproul is the author of numerous books, articles, sermons, and speeches on Christianity, church history, theology, Calvinism, and related topics. Sproul leads the teaching fellowship Ligonier Ministries, based in Sanford, Florida.

What is the Church?, published in 2013, is a reality check for any of us who describe ourselves as Christians. It is both refreshing and convicting.  

Top Photograph: Hereford Cathedral by Michael D. Beckwith via Unsplash. Used with Permission.