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January 10 - ADVANCE-Battle Formation
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One faith
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Thanks for your message this month, Brian. I think that its really important that Christians work together as a community rather than fight against each other. God has obviously put each of us where we are, dealt us each a "hand of cards" so to speak, and has a special plan for each of us that is unique that helps the body of Christ.
I love the theme of "one body". As one body we actually, in a way, make up the physical body of Jesus here on Earth. We are all connected in a mystical way, and as when one sins, the whole body suffers, but when one glorifies God, the whole body also is blessed.
This request is addressed to everyone here, not just Brian (just to be clear). Obviously, you are probably already waiting for the "but". The thing that struck me that I agree with is how Brian said that we shouldn't let theology divide us, such that we shouldn't get into fights over it and let it drive us apart. But if I understand the spirit of what Brian said, the manifestation of "not letting theology divide us" is that we should just accept what each other believes so as to not create tension, rather than having the discussion and trying to come to an agreement on what the truth actually is. Maybe I'm wrong, if so, correct me, please.
If so, I'm honestly wondering, since my theology is so different from most of the members of this forum, how a person from a non-Catholic viewpoint understands these verses, in particular, what I have highlighted:
Ephesians 4:1-6
I, then, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace: one body and one Spirit, as you were also called to the one hope of your call; one Lord, ***one faith***, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
What exactly does it mean to the DABbers here to have "one faith"?
Thanks, looking forward to your insight.
Andre
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Catholica 02/13/2010 10:40 |
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Ryan Fitz
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02/13/2010 21:09 |
This is an issue that has been close to my heart. It is interesting that Jesus's final prayer before the crucifixion was for unity, and that years later the number one issue facing us Christians today is arguably that unity.
face it, there are divisions and fightings among the churches we fellowship in every Sunday. This type of thing is a perversion that has been with the Church since the days of Paul, and personally I feel it is Satan's greatest "tee hee hee" in the Body of Christ. I find it amazing that in just about every epistle the writer takes a moment to command the churches to "be of one mind, one spirit, forsake not the assembly, love one another, walk in one accord", and yet we as the church seem to take extra precautions to make sure that those verses never become a reality. Jesus Christ taught us the power of unity ("when two or three are gathered in My name...") and even made it a point to ask the Father that we would all be one as He and Him were one. It is any wonder why we face such spiritual opposition when it comes to unity? I honestly believe that the biggest problem among the Body at this point is not simply false doctrine. Our Lord promised that the wheats and the tares would be seperated in due time. The Family of God's problem is that, thousands of years down the line, we still have not come to terms with the fact that we need each other."
I want to make it clear do not believe the problem is false doctrines. We all have different opinons on some issues and most of the time can back it up with some king of evidence. Of course there is only one doctrine, but will we ever fully know this doctrine until we meet God.Its unlikely. The problem is that while debating these doctrines we become catholics, and lutherans, and baptists, and evangelicals, and pentecostals, and nondenominations, and every other denomination in the planet. and forget who we are. We are christians, We are one in christ, We are one family. We are not 33,000 different groups, we are one group, in one spirit. Don't forget that. We all disagree on issues, but Christ is the center for all of us. Doctrine is not the problem, We are the problem. as we forget who we are.
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Brian Hardin
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02/13/2010 23:12 |
I don't remember saying anything about theology dividing us although I ultimately think that's true. Our theology is our best experience and understanding of God. Since we have so many stories and come from so many cultures and diverse backgrounds there is no way to not have meaningful and sometime spirited discussions but in my mind the idea isn't to be "right," the idea is to know God.
The "one faith" in Ephesians would have nothing to do with the Roman Catholic church, The Anglican, Methodist, Baptist, Orthodox, Lutheran, Church of Christ, Presbyterian, Assemblies of God, Charasmatic, Emergent or any other flavor. I believe Paul is speaking of the katholikos church in which we are all a part of the Catholic or universal (general) church. What we have one faith in is Christ.
I love theology as much as anyone and through it's study I am challenged both by those who have gone before and struggled to understand certain things and by those both in my circle of friends and right here in these forums to arrive at truth. My theology is not my relationship with Jesus though. It informs it but it is not it. My theology is also not my relationship with my brothers and sisters (the Body of Christ.) My theology helps me understand my place in the story but it is not my story. The common ground we share, the one faith, is our faith in Christ.
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