| Subject: Unity |
Author:
Hillbilly
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Date Posted: 16:56:53 01/05/14 Sun
Acts 2:1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
"United we stand, divided we fall". Well known and understood words that have a simple concept and simple truth. It is written in the Book of Proverbs; "And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken. " (Ecclesiastes 4:12)
The beginning Church had the world against it but it was in harmony and totally united in it's stand for their recently risen Saviour. Jesus had left them with the understanding "If God be for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:21) Where the Church stumbles and falls is in lack of harmony and unity and on this note I must say that most of the dis-unity is centered on the question; "What did God say and what did He mean by it." "Can two walk together, except they be agreed? " (Amos 3:3)
This principle of unity is just as much a part of the "theology" of the world as it is in the Church. The end goal, however is poles apart. In the Book of Genesis we have recorded the result of people being in accord for the wrong reason. Genesis 11:1-8 And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech. 2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there. 3 And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them throughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter. 4 And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. 5 And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. 6 And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. 7 Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. 8 So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.
Notice the harmony and unity of mind and purpose. There was only one problem. The unity was opposed to God and His will. This tower they were building was for the purpose of worshiping contrary to God. These worshippers looked toward the sun, moon and stars for their gods and not to the one true God Almighty. Just as the world was unified against Christ and His Church from its beginning the earliest pagans were unified against God in only a few short years after the flood.
Notice how God solves the problem of the tower builders. Look at verse 7. God confounded their language and gave them different languages according to their family groups. What resulted was confusion, division and then dispersion. Divided they fell.
Now how many times in recent years have you heard the phrase "strength in (or through) diversity"? In our politically correct environment that is exactly what is being taught and foisted off on the American people. It flies in the face of both the Bible and common sense. What is being created is Babel on a wider scale. There are forces at work that intend to both bring the Church down and this nation that was founded on the unifying principles as set forth in God's Word. Satan experienced first hand the abrupt halt of his crowning work after the flood and learned well from his setback. Divide and conquer has been his method since Babel and in our nation it is presently working very well.
When God first broke up "the party" He created different languages which was only understood by their own family or tribe and they soon ceased to be a cohesive force. In contradistinction when God wanted harmony and unity in His infant Church what did He do? He undid the confounding of tongues that was present on that feast day of Pentecost. All of the one hundred and twenty in that upper room spoke the same language but in Jerusalem that day were Jews and proselytes from all over the known world that were dedicated to the Jewish religion. They however weren't Christians and it was God's purpose to present the gospel to them in their own tongue. Acts 2:5-11 And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. 6 Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. 7 And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans? 8 And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born? 9 Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, 10 Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, 11 Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.
The harmony and unity of understanding on the day of Pentecost among the listeners was not because the Galilaeans were miraculously enabled to speak more than a dozen languages at the same time but in the fact that the Holy Ghost took the words that were being spoken in the Galilean dialect and translated them into coherent language in the ears of the listeners. (Notice verses 7 and 8 above) When Peter started preaching in verse 14 he spoke his native tongue. God was the simultaneous translator.
Today, if we are to stand as nation or Church we must have unity on the essentials of freedom and faith. We must be single minded and in accord in God's will or we will not stand. The people of Babel accomplished much through unity of thought and mind. The only problem was as it is today. It was against God!
1 Corinthians 1:10 Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
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