Greetings,
When we consider the topic of unity we often give it a mental assent. This means that we acknowledge that it is a biblical concept and we may even acknowledge that there is power to be tapped into with it. However, when it comes to practical implementation, it remains outside of the confines of our reality. In other words, because we cannot see or understand the logistics behind coordinating a work of unity, we continue in a pattern of mental assent but little to no progress.
In this letter I am going to discuss an obvious obstacle that stands between where the church is and where Christ wants her to be. This obstacle is doctrinal differences. This is a very real, and a very big issue. It is difficult to work with someone that believes A when you believe B. Even when you agree to disagree, if you attempt to teach the same group of people, they will have to make a decision between A and B. It is inevitable that some will get convinced of A, some will get convinced of B, and the people will divide.
When an outsider looks in on the church they may conclude that this is a random unexplainable phenomenon. Without a historical perspective, there is no reason to conclude otherwise. So why do some Christians believe A while others believe B if it is not a random unexplainable phenomenon? Let’s take a look at what Jesus says:
“And he spake also a parable unto them; No man putteth a piece of a new garment upon an old; if otherwise, then both the new maketh a rent, and the piece that was taken out of the new agreeth not with the old. And no man putteth new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish. But new wine must be put into new bottles; and both are preserved. No man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth new: for he saith, The old is better.” (Luke 5:36-39)
In this parable the wine becomes a symbol of the works of the Holy Spirit, or in other words what God is doing among His people. Jesus describes these works as being contained by wineskins. In that day wineskins were leather containers that would become brittle with time. In context, we know that Jesus was explaining that the new message that He came to bring could not be contained by the old wineskin of Judaism. By trying to fit the gospel of the kingdom into the traditions of Judaism, it would cause the “wineskin” of Judaism to burst. However, since we know that the Holy Spirit works through the church, we can also define the wineskins as the organized church. In both approaches, we are looking at the same principle.
A majority of people can agree that God’s final revelation of truth did not stop at the Roman Catholic Church. It is a fact that many (although not all) Roman Catholic Churches do not teach that we are saved by grace through faith. Instead they teach salvation by works. As a result of the work of Martin Luther, the foundation of the protestant movement was established—namely that we are saved by grace through faith. This is why the first step in Christianity is to receive Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior. If we do not do this, we are not saved and we will not go to heaven when we die.
So how do we get from the work of Martin Luther in the sixteenth century to the doctrinal mess in the church today? The fact of the matter is that Martin Luther was one man with one lifetime. The difficulty that he had to overcome in order to reestablish this central doctrine to Christianity consumed much of his life. As a result, he did not overhaul every tradition he carried away from the Roman Catholic Church. Today, except for a few doctrinal differences, most Lutheran churches are conducted in ways that are very similar to Roman Catholic Churches. They also practice infant baptism.
In effect, what Martin Luther did was create a new wineskin. The Holy Spirit was doing a new thing and this thing could not be contained by the old wineskin of the Roman Catholic Church at that time. One hundred years later, an outsider might have listened to the Roman Catholic stance on salvation by works and the Lutheran stance on salvation by grace through faith and concluded that this was a random unexplainable phenomenon. However, if they understand the history, what they see is a move of God to bring people into the freedom and liberty of Jesus Christ. The difference in doctrine was actually established by a restorative work of the Holy Spirit, not by two people reading the same book and deciding to disagree.
Unfortunately, the Lutheran church became an old wineskin after enough time had passed. When God performed the next restorative work in His people, the Lutheran church rejected it. This work of restoration involved the issue of baptism. In the Bible, everyone that was baptized was done so by full immersion after they had made a quality decision to receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior. The Lutherans practiced infant baptism by sprinkling water on babies that were yet too young to make a decision for or against Christ. This tradition had carried over from the Roman Catholic Church. Initially, those that argued and began to practice full immersion baptism came under persecution. This persecution came from both the Roman Catholic Church and Lutherans. Some of these people who began to call themselves Baptists were actually drowned and killed.
Beyond these two examples, there has been a long history of the Holy Spirit pouring out revelations that although at first seemed “new” were actually restorative and for the purpose of bringing people into greater and greater degrees of truth. Unfortunately, most movements that brought in restored truth suffered persecution and rejection from the established groups. Furthermore, many of these movements were riddled with a lack of doctrinal accountability and also brought with them hurtful practices that served to discredit the work that God was actually doing. In the end, we see the principle that the new wine is not poured into old wineskins but into new wineskins.
It is interesting that Jesus adds that when new wine is poured into new wine skins, both the old and the new wine is preserved. After Jesus instituted Christianity, Judaism was preserved. After the Baptists came, the Lutheran church was still preserved. After the Pentecostals came, the Baptists, the Lutherans, the Methodists, etc. were all preserved. The point is that different doctrines do not exist as mere disagreements but exist primarily because of a progressive restorative work by God through His people.
The unity of the church is not going to be an agreement to disagree. Instead, people from every respective move of God will come together on the same fully revealed truths. This will, in effect, become its own new wine in its own new wine skin, but be composed of a great number of people that were formerly participants in groups instituted around past moves of God. The Lutheran Institution as it exists today cannot come together with a Pentecostal Institution because their doctrinal differences are institutionalized and actually serve to define the institutions.
When Noah united the animals in the ark, the animals went in two by two, meaning that only representatives of each kind of animal actually went into the ark of unity. These animals had to leave their respective “habitats” in order to do this. These animals can prophetically represent the denominations, ministry alliances, and other groups in the body of Christ. Only representatives of each of these groups will enter into unity, not the whole percentage of people participating in them. In the end, the people that participate in these institutions will have to abandon their former perspectives and unite around the work and revelations that the Holy Spirit is sowing into those that are listening today. This is how God will unify those in His body that are willing to participate.
Discussion
1. Is the concept of unity in the body of Christ real to you or is it something that you simply agree is ideal?
2. What did you know about the history of the church prior to this email?
3. Why do you think God has moved in incremental stages to progress the body of Christ into greater degrees of truth?
4. Can you remember a time when you heard something about God that was new for you, and after initially rejecting it God worked in you to allow you to receive it?
5. Will you be counted among those that unite around the work that God is doing in His people today and the truths that the Holy Spirit is revealing to those that will listen?
