FGGAM’s Vice Chairman and Global Destiny Ministries Founder, Pastor (“Papa”) Bill Ruhl, has prepared the following commentary for the church:
THE CHURCH NEEDS UNITY
What’s missing in the Body of Christ that is hindering its ability to be effective in these days to turn back the tide of darkness in society? Unity!
Today we have a body that is fractured and divided over doctrinal differences, spending more time denigrating one another than standing united in prayer in a battle against the principalities and powers of darkness that have infiltrated our fragile society.
Ephesians 6:11-13 gives us this directive: “Put on the full armor of God, so that you can make your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world’s darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore take up the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you will be able to stand your ground, and having done everything, to stand.”
The Word says that we are to be one in Christ. According to Galatians 3:27-28: “For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
And we are to be properly joined together; not at odds with one another. According to Ephesians 4:16 (Amplified Bible): “From Him the whole body [the church, in all its various parts], joined and knitted firmly together by what every joint supplies, when each part is working properly, causes the body to grow and mature, building itself up in [unselfish] love.”
Jesus warned us to not be divided by the doctrines of man. According to the words of Jesus in Matthew 15:8-9: “‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”
We are warned to let there be no individual interpretation. Our guide and reference is the Holy Spirit defining scripture according to its content, context and conversation (Ref. 2 Peter 1:20-21 and 1 Corinthians 2:6-16).
Think about it Church! What do we accomplish when we spend more time undermining the legitimacy of our brothers and sisters in Christ than we do forming a united front against the enemy of our souls and the destroyer of morality in society? Divided we fall; united we stand. Matthew 12:25 and Luke 11:17 state that Jesus knew the thoughts of the men standing by as He cast out a demon, and Jesus said unto them that every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand.
The Body of Christ must come together in this hour as One! According to Ephesians 2:14-22: “For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father. Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.”
In closing, one final thought. Remember when the disciples came to Jesus complaining about those who were “outside their group” and asking Jesus to silence them and send them away? Church, listen to this! According to Mark 9:39-40, this is how Jesus responded: “Do not hinder him, for there is no one who will perform a miracle in My name, and be able soon afterward to speak evil of Me. For the one who is not against us is for us.”
The Body of Christ must quit trying to silence (hinder) one another and instead we must become One voice crying out in this wilderness time:
“Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness [remove the obstacles]; [m]ake straight and smooth in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised, [a]nd every mountain and hill be made low; [a]nd let the rough ground become a plain, [a]nd the rugged places a broad valley. And the glory and majesty and splendor of the Lord will be revealed, [a]nd all humanity shall see it together; [f]or the mouth of the Lord has spoken it.” (Isaiah 40:3-5)
Amen! Blessings! As One Church!
Papa Bill Ruhl