“Ye are called in one hope” and to this we all give assent. There is only one hope for the faithful in Christ; all will be given immortality and will reign with Christ on the earth. There are not a variety of hopes with some being given immortality while others are made “very good” for 1,000 years. Some are not to reign on earth while others live in the heavens or go elsewhere in the Universe. There is only one hope of the gospel.
And there is only one faith. There is not one gospel to the Hindus and another to the Muslims and another to apostate Christians. There is one Truth, one way, one set of promises, one revelation of God’s dealings with men, one testimony of right moral standards.
There is one God who works through one Spirit and accomplishes His plan through one Lord. To all of this we readily assent.
And there is one baptism into one body. But one body is a unity that is difficult to accept and more difficult to implement. We are individually called and have individual identities. We come from different backgrounds and associations and circumstances. We do, and so did the first century saints as they responded to the preaching of the apostles.
At Pentecost
They had come from all over to Passover with many staying on to Pentecost “Parthians, Medes Elamites . . .” (Acts 2:9). They came from different synagogues in Jerusalem and Judea and Galilee. For the most part they were strangers to one another. Yet when about 3,000 individuals were baptized “they continued stedfast in the apostles . .. fellowship . And all that believed were together” (Acts 2:41-46) They formed one body of new borns in the Lord. They did not continue as unrelated individuals each returning to his prior affiliations only now with a clear grasp of the plan of God. They did not do so. Now they had a new relationship, a new allegiance, a new affiliation, new associates, they had become new members in a family which bound all of its members together as one.
I am of Paul
As the gospel spread abroad through the mouths of many preachers, there was a natural tendency for new converts to form special loyalties to their mentors in the Truth. “I am of Paul, I of Apollos, I of Cephas” was natural and therein lay the problem. “Ye are yet carnal . . . for while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal ?” (I Cor. 3:3-4).
The flesh delights in the superior feeling of excluding others; it is bent to envy, bitterness, strife, party loyalties and discord. There is little wonder then, that as the Gospel took root amongst the Gentiles difficulties would occur in the many individuals learning to work together as one body in Christ.
The new brethren and sisters had come from all levels of society. Some were slaves and some slave owners; some were artisans and some rabbis; some had been epicureans and others stoics; Jewish converts had been loyal to specific rabbis. Now they were to work together as one body in Christ. Each was to appreciate the value of the other’s contribution:
“For the body is not one member but many” (I Cor. 12:14). The situation was difficult indeed so there is little wonder that five of the 17 “works of the flesh” denounced in Gal. 5:19-21 relate to disrupting the desired unity in the ecclesia (variance, emulations, strife, seditions, herecies).
A Broader Family
On a broader scale, regional unity was sought for the family relationship went beyond the immediate ecclesia to all those upon whom God’s name was called. Philippians and Thessalonians, Corinthians and Galatians were now one in Christ. To make this oneness a reality, Paul formed traveling parties with brethren drawn from different areas as they moved about. Hospitality was commended for brethren drawn from different areas as they moved about. Hospitality was commanded for brethren and sisters traveling in distant places. Circular epistles were written for brethren in neighboring ecclesias to share and discuss. There is one body and one Spirit as we are called in one hope so the apostles took deliberate action to make this teaching a reality.
In our own day the same objective is served by regional activities such as ASK, fraternal gatherings, youth conferences, study days and visiting speakers. On a national basis, Bible schools, the Truth Corp. and The Tidings serve to bind us as a community with a feeling of oneness. On a world wide scope, the magazines from other continents, shared publications from England and Australia and international visitors help us think of the family of God as our family throughout the world. These things are right and good, for the flesh has a natural tendency to divide along partisan, ethnic and racial lines.
Every Part Important
As with the natural so with the spiritual body the proper contribution of each part to the whole is essential to the maximum development of the body. Therefore every individual in an ecclesia has an obligation to the whole to effectually apply himself to the well being of the body and the ecclesia has the responsibility to encourage the healthy contribution of every part. The whole body is “fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, when each part is working properly” (Eph. 4:16 KJV & RSV).
The instruction is clear that the body will not develop properly if it is divided so that the parts no longer contribute to the well-being of the whole. There is one body in Christ, one family in God and the members of that family are with all lowliness and meekness, with long suffering, with loving forbearance of one another to keep “the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:2-3).
Our Situation
In the light of the admonition of the Word, the situation in the “brotherhood” in North America is not good. As everywhere, we have the chronic problems within ecclesias of “cliques” and of devoting oneself to the world rather than upholding the body. These are matters needing constant exhortation and effort to mitigate. On a broader scale, however, the brotherhood here is plagued by formalized divisions which present some incongruous situations.
In addressing one another, members in the Amended or Unamended or Berean communities refer to their opposites as “brethren” as being “in Christ” “in the hope of Israel,” yet hold that the other is a fellow in a different ship.
As Amendeds, we probably feel the Berean situation is not our fault, the schism is their concern. We would accept them, they are the ones who refuse us. Such is not the case, however, with our position regarding the Unamended. There we do take the initiative in maintaining the separation.
Inconsistencies
Yet consistently no re-baptism is required on the part of members moving from one fellowship to the other. A united “Christadelphian” position is taken on military affairs before the governmental authorities one of the reasons being there is strength in unity in standing against the world. When intermarriages occur consistently one partner changes “fellowships.” Even though no change in beliefs has occurred they find themselves separated from brethren they have met for years. Public proclamation efforts overlap in some areas with interested friends confused by two Christadelphian ecclesias so distinct from all other denominations, sharing the one true hope, understanding the one true God and His son, yet refusing to meet with one another. In some areas, two small eccelsias exist which find no doctrinal disagreement amongst themselves but face a difficulty with visitors from afar if they fully work together.
The anomalies continue and could no doubt be tolerated if it were not for the Biblical teaching (doctrine) of one body and the apostolic example to implement the ideal in practice. The excuse is used that until the Kingdom comes we must live with an imperfect situation. Our human weakness stands in the way of achieving the ideal. That certainly is true. In all Christadelphian “fellowships” the carnal problems of pride of position, of bitterness over past offense, the superior feeling of excluding others, and reluctance to say we were wrong are there in full measure. Each one of us struggles with the “spirit within us that lusteth to envy.”
The Flesh No Excuse
Yet the weakness of the flesh does not justify having a variety of “hope” in the body. Because a person comes from a Hindu background, or Muslim or Roman Catholic and finds rejoicing in the hope of Israel a difficult concept, this does not justify tolerating a wide range of “hopes” in the ecclesia.
Our human weakness is a problem, to be sure, but it does not justify the certification of a wrong situation.
There is one body, one family of God and it is hardly tolerable for us to be “Brethren” yet not to be “in fellowship.”
No doubt wrong views exist in important areas of Bible teaching, but how is it possible for people holding so many right views to deny clear Scripture in one area. It is not consistent for so much Bible based doctrine to be espoused and one Bible based teaching to be denied. Something is wrong. Either the root is decayed and the whole tree will soon show it or proper exposition has not been advanced of the schismatic tendency of the flesh has taken over.
The drive to continued effort to remedy this situation in Christadelphia comes, therefore, not from weakness, nor looseness of doctrine, nor an overdose of charity but from a recognition that there is one body in Christ. Yes the flesh is a problem in working to the ideal but it can not be the final victor in this situation. Our community loves the Word, believes the Word, bows to the Word in all areas. Surely sound and clear exposition of the Word will rectify the situation we face if we do not let the schismatic tendency of the flesh defeat us.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One