One Church

Let me set the scene for you. Jesus enters Jerusalem. It is a celebration. The people are ecstatic. He has a smile on his face as he rolls in on his fat donkey and there are thousands of people lining the streets praising him. His disciples right behind him. Everyone supports his teachings. They can’t get enough. Everyone there is ONE.

The party continues into the night. Jesus speaks an encouraging message of hope and forgivness. His yoke is easy. What he teaches everyone can follow. He comes to the world with one goal in mind. . .

The evening ends, Jesus retires to his sleeping place. Takes off his dusty sandals, washes his face, and goes to the roof under the stars. He knows that within the next few days Judas will betray him and he will be spat at by the very people who welcomed him so warmly that night. He gets on his knees and prays. He prays for his disciples and the work they will do after he is gone, and then. . . get this. . . he prays for us. Check this out:

“I ask not only on behalf of these [believers], but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be ONE, as You, Father, are in me and I in you. May they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory you have given me I have given them, so that they may be ONE, as we are ONE. I in them and you in me, that they may become completely ONE. So that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”

Read that a few times.

Does it break your heart?

You see, I get a sick feeling in my stomach when I read that. What have we become? Are we ONE?

I don’t think so.

Jesus’ dieing wish for Christians was for us to be one. He did not say anywhere ‘Lord may the Church of Christ be one and the Baptist be one and the Assemblies of God be one and the . . . be one.

So many people wish to make church like the New Testament church. Ok lets start at ground zero. Where in the bible does it mention any form of denomination? Nowhere.

Lets check out some church history. Ok it looks to me like Jesus in Matthew 16 tells Peter v. 18 “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my church.” After Jesus’ death, Peter heads to Rome to preach to the Jews right? AD 45 he builds the first Catholic church with himself as the first “Pope” or father. Something like 266 Popes have succeeded him to this day. There is your first example of a “denomination.” The Roman Catholic church. Did you know that?

Then in AD 1054 there is the huge break off the Catholic Church. And that is where we come in. Denominations start to break off everywhere and now almost a thousand years later, here we are in America with over 2,000 different Christian denominations. Does that sound like the ONE that Jesus wanted us to be? Now this could be true if we (the 2,000 denominations) were all together and believing the same things and not fighting about stuff but sorry to point it out, as you already know, that doesn’t quite describe us today.

Here’s what I’m thinking. . . I have grown up my whole life in the Church of Christ. Essentially a late break-off of the Catholic Church and I have also grown up believing that the Church of Christ is right. It’s funny to me that you can grow up strongly believing in something without ever really figuring it out on your own. I almost thought there for a minute that the Church of Christ had been around since Jesus. I mean there is all this talk about the Church of Christ wanting to be the “New Testament” Church. . . hello! Wouldn’t that be Peter’s Church. . . The Catholic one?

Again this blog is meant to be food for thought. And there is more to come on this post and I want to make it clear that I have no intentions of becoming Catholic. I don’t think any “denomination” today has the unity that Jesus prayed for or there wouldn’t be denominations. I mean look at the start, Peter starts a Church and tells the people what Jesus said in Matthew 16 and automatically they think their church is the “right” one. And that is where we fall into the trap of Satan. He wants to divide us. And I’d say he has done a pretty good job of it right from the start.

Again there will be more of this but I’m tired and would like some sleep. Goodnight.

Think about it. What would it take for us to reunite the Body Of Christ? What is it gonna take for us to be the ONE church Jesus wants us to be? The answer may be found in my previous post about loving one another no matter what. Hint, hint.