True Oneness

Q: What does the Bible say about true oneness among believers?

The Bible teaches that true oneness among believers comes from being in one body, which is Christ. The Bible emphasizes the unity of believers in Christ as a central theme, particularly in John 17:21, where Jesus prayed for His followers to be one as He and the Father are one. This true oneness is not based on shared religious practices or affiliations but stems from being part of one spiritual body. In Ephesians 4:4-6, Paul reiterates that there is one body and one Spirit, which binds believers together in a seamless unity that reflects the relationship of the Trinity. This oneness signifies a mutual love, support, and shared purpose in the Gospel, transcending denominational divisions.

Q: How do we know the one faith is true?

The one faith is true as it centers on the Lord Jesus Christ as its author and foundation. The one faith that unites all true believers is grounded in the person and work of Jesus Christ, who is described as the author and finisher of our faith in Hebrews 12:2. This faith encompasses a shared belief in the essentials of the Gospel, including the nature of God, the redemptive work of Christ, and the necessity of grace. All who possess this faith are children of God, as affirmed in Galatians 3:26. Furthermore, the Scriptures provide a cohesive understanding of faith's necessity for salvation and its defining characteristics, allowing believers to affirm the truthfulness of this one faith as central to their identity in Christ.

Q: Why is the concept of one body important for Christians?

The concept of one body is important as it signifies unity in Christ and the interconnectedness of all believers. The idea of one body is crucial for Christians because it illustrates the spiritual reality that all believers are part of the mystical body of Christ, as articulated in 1 Corinthians 12:12. This unity reflects the nature of our relationships in the church, emphasizing that each member, while unique, contributes to the health and function of the whole. Paul urges believers to comprehend their role within the body, advocating for mutual care and support as seen in 1 Corinthians 12:25-26. Recognizing this oneness helps combat division and encourages believers to work together for the Gospel, embodying Christ's love and purpose.

Q: What is the significance of the one hope for believers?

The one hope for believers is to be like Christ, which provides purpose and assurance. The significance of the one hope for believers lies in the promise of being transformed to be like Christ, as expressed in 1 John 3:2. This hope is not merely an expectation of eternal life but embodies the longing to share in the glory and righteousness of Christ. It serves as an anchor for the soul, especially during trials and difficulties, as seen in Romans 8:18, where Paul speaks of future glory outweighing present sufferings. Furthermore, the hope shared among believers fosters unity and mutual encouragement, as all look forward to Christ's return and the fulfillment of God's promises.

The Lord willing, tonight I'm
going to be speaking from Hebrews chapter 9, verse
13 through 28, the last half of the ninth chapter of Hebrews.
I believe this message will be a message of encouragement and
comfort to believers. Our service is at 6.30 this evening,
and the title of the message will be, Some Words of Encouragement. Some Words of Encouragement tonight
from Hebrews chapter 9. Now, this morning's message will
be taken from the book of Ephesians, but I first want to read a few
verses from John 17. John 17. Now, the title of this
message is True Oneness. True Oneness. Now, here in John 17, verse 20, Now people use this scripture,
they have used it for centuries, to try to bring all religions
and all churches and all professing Christians together. They say
we need to be one, we need to get all the churches and denominations
and professing Christians together in some kind of ecumenical movement
and bring them all under one umbrella. together. And this is the scripture they
use most of the time. In John 17, beginning with verse
20, Our Lord said, Neither pray I for these alone, but for them
also which shall believe on me through their word, that they
all may be one, that they all may be one, as thou, Father,
art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us, that
the world may believe that thou hast sent me." They say the world
is laughing at churches because there is so much division, so
many different churches and denominations and organizations. Why don't
they all get together? They say they all believe in
one God, they all read the same Bible, They all believe in life
after death. They are all aspiring to go to
heaven, so why don't they all get together and be one? Isn't
that what Jesus said? That they all may be one, that
the world may believe that Thou hast sent me. Now, it will never
be done. It will never be done. It cannot be done. It will never
be done because religious people simply are not one. They're not
one. They're divided over the essentials
of faith. They may read the same book,
but they don't agree with what it says. That's the problem. They're divided over the essentials
of faith. Just because they read the same
Bible doesn't mean they agree with what the Bible says. Just
because they all say they believe in a person called God does not
believe that they understand that God's character and attributes. A man said to my son Paul on the
telephone not long ago, he was critical of the article which
Paul wrote, which incidentally was in our bulletins I think
last Sunday. Paul asked him over the phone,
he said, are you familiar with the character or attributes of
God? He said, I don't care anything
about the attributes of God. In other words, he's just God. He has no attributes or character. Well, religious people in this
world can never be one. They do not agree on the inspiration
of the Scriptures. Even the Southern Baptist Convention
is divided between the The people who believe in verbal inspiration,
those who believe in other inspirations or general inspiration, they
don't agree on the character of God. They don't agree on the
fall of man. They don't agree on who Jesus
Christ is. They don't agree on why He died
or if He died. They don't agree on the Holy
Spirit and His work. They don't agree on the resurrection,
or some say that there won't even be a resurrection. They
don't agree on the second coming of Christ. They don't agree on
how God saves sinners. They disagree on the essentials
of the Word, the essentials of faith, and on the attributes
and character of God. How can there be one? It never
will be done. But let me say this, true believers,
wherever you find them, true saints of God, people who have
true faith, they are one. They are one. That's who Christ
is talking about here. He says over here in verse 9
of John 17, He says, I pray for them. I pray not for the world.
I'm not praying for the world, religious or otherwise. I'm praying
for them. I pray for them, which thou hast
given me, for they are thine. They're yours, and all yours
are mine, and mine are yours. And that's the ones he's talking
about in verse 20, and neither pray I for these alone, these
disciples here, these people around me. But I pray for them
which shall believe on me, other sheep I have which are not of
this foal, them I must bring, and I pray for them. And I pray
for them that shall believe on me, verse 21, that they all may
be one. All whom thou hast given me,
all who hear my word, and all who believe on me, that they
may be one, as we are one. True believers are one. They
are one. And listen to me. True believers
are not one because they read the same book. That's not why
they're one. True believers are not one because
they believe in one God. The devil believes in one God
and trembles. True believers are not one because
they believe in life after death and believe in heaven. True believers are not one because
they believe Jesus Christ came to this earth. You know, when
he encountered the demon-possessed man, the demons in him said,
we know who you are. We know who you are, Jesus. Have
you come to torment us before our time? We know who you are.
You're the Holy One of Israel, Holy One of God. So they're not
one just because they believe that a man called Jesus Christ
came to this earth, or they aspire for the same place. I'll tell
you why believers are one. They are one. Because they're
all in one body. They're in Christ. That's why
they're one. I stand up here before you. Is
this arm, is this hand, these fingers, is this part of me? Well, it is part of me. And it's
not part of me because it's the same color. I could bruise this
hand, it'd be dark blue. It's part of me because it's
part of my body. Hold up your hand, Ronnie. Is
that hand part of me? That's not part of me. I love
you and you're my friend, but that's not part of me. That's
not in me. And there's no way you can make
it one. And I just imagine if I cut this in half and you tried
to implant that, it wouldn't work. Believers are one because they're
in one body. They're in Christ. They can't
be anything else but one. They are one. They are one. Is Christ divided? Is the body
of Christ divided? No. Believers are one. They're
one in mind. This hand does what this mind
tells it to do. It doesn't operate separate and
apart from this other hand. They work together. I can drive
a car, this hand on the steering wheel and this hand shifting
the gears. And this foot responds and matches the brake. It works
together. It's not in conflict. It's not
divided. True believers are one in heart.
They're one in mind. They love the same. This hand
loves this body. It'll defend it. Something comes
towards me and this eyelid blinks. Why? It's protecting this eye.
And this hand reaches up and stops the fall. We're working
together. We're one. We're one. We're one in heart.
We're one in mind. We're one in fellowship. We're one in worship, we're one
in doctrines. Believers are one! You don't
need to organize, you don't need to promote, you don't need to
give them a bunch of psychological reasons. They are one! They are one. Our Lord prayed
for them here, that they may be one. And they are. They are
one. They're chosen in Christ. They're
born in Christ. This hand was born in this body. These feet and legs were born
in this body. And everybody here that's in
the body of Christ was born in the body of Christ by an act
of God, by the will of God, by conception of the Holy Spirit.
We're born in Christ. Chosen in Christ. Born in Christ.
We're called. We are adopted. God set His love
and affection on us and made us a part of it. We are the called
of Christ Jesus. We have come to Christ. We have
been accepted and redeemed and blessed and chosen and seated
in Christ. And they want and desire. Believers
desire to see Christ. They desire to be with Christ.
They desire to be like Christ. And I'll tell you this. Turn
to Ephesians. We'll get to the text now. Ephesians 1. And I'll tell you this in Ephesians
1. Ephesians 1 verse 10. And in the dispensation of the
fullness of time, He's going to gather together in one all
things in Christ. Not all things in Christendom,
as they say, or in the church, or in religion, but in Christ. All things in Christ, both which
are in heaven and which are on earth, He's going to gather them
together in one. Now, turn over to Ephesians 4,
and this is what I want to look at for a few moments. There are
several things here having to do with true believers who are
one, this true oneness, true oneness, and why they're one. In Ephesians chapter 4, beginning
with verse 3, I want you to read verses 1, 2, and 3 as one sentence,
because it is one sentence. And Paul says, I therefore the
prisoner of the Lord. He's the servant of God. He calls
himself the prisoner of the Lord because he believed that when
he was in prison, he was there not because men put him there,
but because God put him there. The will of God was being served.
And what he says is this, I therefore the prisoner of the Lord. I beseech
you believers, children of God, that you walk that you walk your
conversation, the tenor of your life, the bend of your will,
you walk worthy in a worthy manner. Walk worthy of the vocation wherewith
you are called. You are the family of God. You
are children of God. You are one in Christ. Walk worthy
of that calling. Walk worthy of that station. Walk worthy of that calling.
with all lowliness, humility, and meekness, and patience, long-suffering,
forbearing one another, forgiving one another in love. This is
all one sentence. Endeavoring to not establish
a unity, but keep the unity. Endeavoring to keep the unity
of the Spirit, in the bond of peace. This is oneness. I beseech
you, all of you, that you walk worthy of that vocation, of that
calling, of that position, state, children of
God, and do it with humility, meekness, patience. and forgiveness,
and endeavor or strive all that is within you to keep that unity,
that oneness. I want you to look at two or
three verses over here in Colossians chapter 3, talking about this
oneness of believers. Colossians 3 verse 14, And above
all things put on love, which is the bond of perfectness. Let
the peace of God rule in your heart, to which also you're called,
in one body, in that oneness, and be thankful. This is that
bond of peace he's talking about, endeavoring to keep the unity
of the Spirit and the bond of peace. What is that bond? Well,
it's love. That's the bond of perfectness,
bond of peace, love for one another. Turn to 1 Corinthians chapter
1. Or 1 Corinthians chapter 10.
I beg your pardon. 1 Corinthians chapter 10. Verse
16. 1 Corinthians 10, 16. Now, verse 15, he said, I speak
as to wise men. You judge what I say. The cup
of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood
of Christ? The bread which we break, is
it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we, being many,
are one bread and one body. For we are all partakers of that
one bread." We're one. That's true oneness in the body
of Christ. All right, back to the text in
verse 4, or chapter 4 and verse 4. Now, here are seven things
that Paul declares which have to do with true believers in
this true oneness. He says that we're endeavoring
to keep the unity of the Spirit in that bond of peace. For there
is one body. One body. He didn't say there
ought to be one body. There is one body. What is this
body? It's the church. It's the church
of the firstborn whose names are written in heaven. It's the
church of our Lord Jesus Christ. It's the church of which He's
the head. And this church has no tyrants.
This church has no hypocrites. This church has no false professors. It is the church of our Lord
Jesus Christ whose names are written in heaven. In Colossians
chapter 1, Colossians chapter 1 is talking about the Lord Jesus
Christ here in verse 14, and it says, "...in whom we have
redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sin, who is
the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature.
For by Christ were all things created that are in heaven, that
are on earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions
or Principalities or powers, all things were created by Him
and for Him, and He's before all things, and by Him all things
consist. And He's the head of the body,
the Church. He is the beginning. He's the
firstborn from the dead, that in all things He might have the
preeminence. For it pleased the Father that
in Him should all fullness dwell, and having made peace through
the blood of His cross, By Him to reconcile all things unto
Himself, I say, by Him, whether they be things in earth or things
in heaven. There's one body, and that's
the church. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
head and we're the body. Let's look at one other verse
over in 1 Corinthians 12. 1 Corinthians 12. Beginning with verse 25. 1 Corinthians 12, 25, that there
should be no schisms or divisions in the body, but that the members
should have the same care one of another. And whether one member
suffer, all the members suffer with it. Isn't that true of a
body? Or one member be honored, all
the members rejoice with it. Isn't that true of a body? Now
you are the body of Christ and members in particular. With one
body. Believers are one. This is true
oneness. It's not an organization on paper. It's not an organization with
officers elected and serving certain terms. It is one body. It's the mystical, spiritual
body of Christ. They're one. All believers. Everybody
in that body. Alright, back to the text now.
The second thing he mentions. Verse 4 says there's one body,
there's one Spirit. There's one Spirit. This is the
Holy Spirit of God. Every believer is a saint. Every believer is redeemed. Every
believer has the Spirit of God. If any man has not the Spirit
of God, he's none of His. I see these television preachers
who profess to be super-spiritual people and super-gifted people,
and they're saying to different folks around about them, but
you need to baptize in the Holy Ghost. I have the Holy Ghost.
You don't have the Holy Ghost. Listen. Christ is a head with
a body. If you're in the body of Christ,
you have the Holy Spirit. This body up here, everything
that this hand has, this hand has. The blood that's flowing
through the veins flows through, they're all alike. Every member
is the same. Some members are more prominent
than others, some are seen more than others, some serve more
active purposes than others, but every part of this body has
life, spirit, soul, Any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he's
none of this. By one Spirit, we're all baptized into the body
of Christ. No man can call Jesus Lord, but
by the Holy Spirit. You see that? One body, one Spirit. This one Spirit regenerates us.
We're born of the Spirit. This one Spirit convinces us
of sin, and He shall convince the world of sin, of righteousness,
and of judgment. This one Spirit reveals Christ. He shall not speak of Himself.
He shall take the things of mine and show them to you, the Holy
Spirit. This one Spirit comforts us. This one Spirit teaches us.
This one Spirit seals us in the body of Christ. Fellowship is a unity of Spirit,
the Spirit of God. This is true oneness. I'm talking
about a miracle, I'm talking about a mystery, I'm talking
about something that escapes the knowledge or attention of
a religious world. Believers are one, because there's
one body and there's one spirit. Now what's the next one? And
there's one hope. There's one hope of your calling. Now, we are the called of Christ
Jesus. He calls. He says over there
in Romans 8, Whom he foreknew, he predestinated to be conformed
to the image of his Son. Whom he predestinated, he called.
He called. We're the called of Christ Jesus.
Our position is no accident. Well, what is the hope of our
calling? It says there's one hope of your
calling. Turn to Ephesians 1. Ephesians
1. Now listen carefully to this. Ephesians 1, verse 18. Let's read verse 17. Paul's praying
for this church. He says, verse 17, Ephesians
1, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory,
may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the
knowledge of Him The eyes of your understanding being enlightened
that you may know what is the hope of His calling, the hope of His calling, and
what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance. All right,
what did our text say? One body, one spirit, one hope,
one hope of your calling. What is that hope? I believe if you'll turn to 1
John chapter 3, you'll have it recorded. The hope of your calling. The hope of your calling. In 1 John 3 verse 1, Behold what
manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should
be called the sons of God. Therefore the world knows us
not, because it didn't know Him. Beloved, now are we the sons
of God. It does not yet appear what we
shall be, but we know. In other words, if it doesn't
appear what we shall be, then that's the hope, isn't it? But
we know that when He shall appear, we're going to be like Him. For
we'll see Him as He is. When He appears, we're going
to be like Him, we're going to see Him. And every man that has
this hope in him. What hope? To be like Christ. That's what that hope is. To
be like Christ. He said, I pray that those whom
thou hast given me may be one, that they may behold my glory.
For thy love is before the foundation of the world, and the glory which
you've given me, I've given them. What is the hope of your calling?
It's to be just like Christ. That's the hope of your calling.
And that's what David prayed. He prayed this, I'll be satisfied
when I awake with thy likeness. Is that not the hope of his calling?
And we have one hope. Back to the text. This one body
with one spirit, one mind, one heart has one hope. And that hope is not, oh I don't want to be picky now,
but I'm looking forward to seeing some friends in heaven I'm looking
forward to renewing some fellowship in glory. I'm looking forward
to no tears and no pain and no sorrow. I'm looking forward to
all of those in treasures. But I'll tell you, the very essence
and core and heart and substance of heaven is to be like Christ. If I have Him and I'm like Him,
then I'll have everything that's of Him. And that's my hope, is
to be like Him. Be with Him, be absent of body,
be present with the Lord. And I tell you, I'm really concerned
about people who keep talking about rewards in Heaven. I'm
really concerned about these people. The very fact that any of us
would desire to have a higher station in glory than another,
something wrong with that, isn't it? For me or you or anyone to feel
like we deserve recognition or we deserve a reward or we deserve
praise or we deserve to have more than someone else when everything
that we are or have or know God gave us in Christ. It seems to
me that the one hope of His calling, we're one body, one spirit, and we got one hope,
to be with the Lord and to be like the Lord and to see Him.
Is that right, John? That's our one hope. And it doesn't matter whether
you live here or Timbuktu or Mexico or Germany or England
or where, Episcopalian or Baptist or Methodist or Presbyterian,
what you are, if you're in Christ, you have one hope to be like
Him. And here's another one here.
He says, there's one Lord. There's just one Lord. Believers
are brothers. We're brothers. We love one another. Oh, we respect one another. I
respect Those who are older than I am and more experienced than
I am, we render tribute where tributes do, and respect where
respects do, and honor where honors do. We call some men dad,
and we respect them, and mom, and brothers and sisters. But
there's one Lord, one Master. Turn to Matthew 23. This is interesting
here, Matthew 23. Let's look at this. Matthew 23. I don't know why religious leaders
seek human glory. I just don't understand why religious
leaders want power and control and office and authority and
recognition and credentials and degrees above the brother. I just, I can't understand that. When you praise another, that's
just one worm bragging on another worm. You know, we're nothing. Paul said, here Paul is the,
I guess one of the greatest believers, apostles and Christians who ever
lived. He says, I'm nothing. And our Lord in Matthew 23 says
these fellows, verse 5, they do their works to be seen of
men. They make broad their phylacteries and enlarge the borders of their
garments, you know, wear robes and crosses and love their uppermost
rooms at feast and the chief seats at the synagogue, the reverend,
the most high reverend, the bishop, the doctor, and their greetings
in the marketplace are like to be called Rabbi, Rabbi, Master,
Master, Doctor, Doctor. High religious terms. Verse 8,
No, but be not ye called Rabbi, Master. One is your Master, even
Christ. All ye are what, brethren? Boy, that's one thing that will
bring a fellow down, is get in the same room with a bunch of
kids he's raised with, won't he? Around Mama's table. You're a big shot. A big shot's
a little shot out of town. I found that out one time. Big
shot comes home, you know. You'll have mama's birthday and
all the brothers and sisters come together around the table
and I tell you, you want to have a humbling experience. They start
talking about what you were and what you did and what you said. Boy, that'll bring you down where
you're good. Be your brethren. Verse 9, Call no man your father
upon the earth. Now, you're not talking about
your natural daddy. You call your daddy dad or father. Don't you call him the old man.
Boy, I don't like that. I don't like that. You call him
dad or father, you pay respect to your parents. Don't you call
them by their first name either. We need to go back to some old
some old solid ground. You know, there are fundamentals
of respect and honor your father and mother. But he's talking
about spiritually. I'm not to be called Father mayhem. Don't you be called Father. For
one is your Father which is in heaven. Neither be ye called
masters. One is your Master Christ. And
He that is greatest among you, let Him be your servant. Does a man or woman in the body
of Christ want recognition? Be recognized as a servant. That's
the best recognition. Be recognized as those who give
of themselves and give of what they have and make others happy.
That's a real servant of God. Oh, I've got to hurry. There's
one Lord. He's Lord by creation. He's Lord
by decree. He's Lord by death. He's Lord. Alright, read. There's one faith. I hear people say, we're not
of the same faith. You ever hear anybody say that?
We're not of the same faith? They may be telling you the truth. They may be. But all who are
in God have the same faith. All who are in God. It may be
small faith or great faith, but it's one faith. It may be weak
faith or strong faith, but it's one faith. It may be early faith
or late faith, but it's one faith. We're children of God by faith
in Christ Jesus, and all who are of faith are children of
Abraham. One faith. Why is it one faith? Well, it
has the same author. He's the author and finisher
of our faith. It has the same object, Christ. In all of His
person and work, we believe Christ. Same object. It has the same
need, center. Empty center. It has the same
foundation, the Word of God. I believe, therefore I've spoken.
It has the same rest. Come unto me and I'll give you
rest. Same faith. There are different degrees of
faith now. There's great faith and little
faith, small faith and weak faith. All right, verse 5, the next
word. There's one baptism. My friends, believers are one. Now, many people say this is
the baptism of the Holy Ghost into the body of Christ, and
maybe. Look here at your Bible a minute.
You notice back here in verse 4 it says there's one body, there's
a little R there that takes you to the center reference. There's
one spirit, there's an S. One hope, there's a T. One Lord,
there's a U or something. One faith, there's a V. One baptism,
there's no mark. There's no reference. The translators
wouldn't touch it. That's right. You see, this sprinkling
business has got a lot of power. Back here in 16 or translation
and all these things, 17, 18. Get along with everybody. This
one baptism. is baptism in water. Exactly
what it is. One baptism of the gospel, and
that's water baptism by immersion. That's what baptism is. One baptism. And the reason there's no mark
or center reference there is because they just chickened out
when they came to that. They wouldn't deal with it. That's
just the whole reason. One baptism. In 1 Corinthians chapter Let
me show you something here. 1 Corinthians chapter 1, verse 13. Is Christ divided? I'm talking about the body of
Christ. Was Paul crucified for you? Were
you baptized in the name of Paul? What is that baptism? Well, that's
water baptism. That's confession of Christ.
That's what that is. Were you baptized in the name
of Paul? That's what he's talking about. One baptism. One Lord.
One Christ. One baptism. I thank God that
I baptized none of you but Crispus and Gaius, lest any should say
I baptized in my own name. We're baptized in the name of
the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Baptism is identification with
Christ. Baptism is confession of Christ.
Baptism is a picture of Christ's death, burial, and resurrection. Baptism is announcing to the
world, I'm dead to my way and my thoughts and my life. I'm
dead. I'm buried. I'm crucified with
Christ. I'm buried and I'm risen to walk
with Him in newness of life. It's a confession of Christ.
Baptism. And there's only one way to baptize,
that's by immersion. There's only one way to bury
the dead and that's out of sight, isn't it? And there's only one
resurrection, and that's to come up straightway out of the grave.
Now let me show you two or three verses. Turn to John 3, verse
23. I'll let you go in a minute.
I want you to look at this. Actually, we ran our clocks up.
It's only 10.15. That's right. It's 10.15. So you just set your
mind. It's just time to start. In John 3, verse 23, listen. And John also was baptizing in
Enon, near to Salem. Why? Because there was much water
there. If a fellow sprinkles, he just
needs a glass. But if a fellow buries somebody,
he needs a lot of water. And that's why he was baptized.
There was much water there. Turn with me to Matthew 3. Back
to Matthew 3. See, there's only one way to...
There's just one baptism. Sprinkling, pouring, won't get
it. That's not the way to baptize. Sprinkling babies is not it.
Baptism is for believers. The eunuch asks for baptism.
What did Paul hedge it about with? He says, if you believe, go make disciples and baptize
them. You can't baptize an infant because
he has no concept of grace or the gospel. In Matthew 3, listen
to this. Verse 16. Matthew 3, 16. And Jesus, when
He was baptized, went up straightway out of the water. And, lo, the
heavens were opened unto Him, and He saw the Spirit of God
descending like a dove and lighting upon Him. out of the water. And when Philip baptized the
eunuch, it says they both went down into the water. Both Philip
and the eunuch. And he baptized him. That's the
confession of Christ. One baptism, and it's the confession
of Christ. Go ye into all the world and
baptize them, preach the gospel, baptize them in the name of the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. He that believeth and
is baptized shall be saved. He that believeth not shall be
damned. Alright, one other scripture
here now in Ephesians 4, back to the text. Believers are one. My message, my point is there's
a true oneness. There's a one body. There's one
Spirit, there's one hope, there's one Lord, Master, there's one
faith, there's one baptism. Now listen, there's one God. One God and Father. And He's the God and Father of
believers. Someone may say, well, Brother
Mann, isn't God the Father of all men? Well, Christ speaks
for God. And Christ said to the Pharisees,
the religious fellows, they said, we have one Father, God. He said,
no, God's not your Father. If God were your Father, you
would believe Me. Isn't that what Christ said?
So in answer to the question, is God not the Father of all
men? Christ said, no, He's not the Father of all men. If God
were their Father, they would believe on Christ. Well, who is their spiritual
Father? You are of your father the devil, he said. And his works
you do. He was a liar from the beginning.
And that's what you are, he said. That's what the Master said.
God is the Father of those who believe on Christ. One Father. And listen. One Father, one God,
one Father of all, of all who believe. He's above all. The Father is above all. He's
sovereign in all things. He's above everything. He's not
subject to anything or anybody. I hear preachers say, now God
will bless you if you let Him. If He's above all, you don't
let Him do anything. Hath not the potter power over
the clay of one lump, the same lump, to make a vessel of honor
and a vessel unto dishonor? He's above all. And it says, and He's through
all. What does that mean? That means by His providence
He directs all things. For some of you, I'll give you
a verse on that, Romans 11, 36. Romans 11, 36. It says, for of
Him and through Him and to Him, of Him, through Him, to Him are
all things. He's above all, He's through
all, all providence comes through Him, through Him. And He's in you all. God dwells in every believer. And verse 7, and unto every one
of us, unto every one of us is given grace. We're one. I don't have any way in this
world of determining who's a Christian, who's not a Christian, who's
a believer, who's not a believer. I'm just saying that those who
are Christians and those who are believers and those who know
God are one. They're one. And he says in verse
7, unto every one of us is given grace. It's the gift of God. And we know where it came from.
is given grace, grace to believe, grace to endure trials, my grace
is sufficient, grace to continue to believe, grace to live for
the glory of God, and grace to die.

True Oneness

What does the Bible say about true oneness among believers?

How do we know the one faith is true?

Why is the concept of one body important for Christians?

What is the significance of the one hope for believers?

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True Oneness

What does the Bible say about true oneness among believers?

How do we know the one faith is true?

Why is the concept of one body important for Christians?

What is the significance of the one hope for believers?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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