The Unity of the Spirit
1Corinthians 1:10-31 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.
11 For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.
12 Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.
13 Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?
14 I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius;
15 Lest any should say that I had baptized in mine own name.
16 And I baptized also the household of Stephanas: besides, I know not whether I baptized any other.
17 For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.
18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
19 For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.
20 Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.
22 For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:
23 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;
24 But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.
25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.
30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
31 That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.
Starting In verse 10 Apostle Paul calls the church at Corinth to be in one accord, with one doctrine, where there would be no divisions among the brethren. The Word of the Lord was given so that each one in the church would be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgement. This was the greatest challenge in the church in Apostle Paul’s day and also is still the greatest challenge in the present....to be in one accord with each other, receiving the same calling to the Lord Jesus, by the Holy Spirit of Truth requires the same mind and heart in the truth as when the Holy Spirit established the truth of the Word of God in each Apostle in the beginning. It is important that it be by the Holy Spirit, for then it would be by the unity of the Spirit that the church would be made up of the same mind and in the same judgement that the Holy Spirit would give to each one.
Men have tried for quite awhile now, I believe in their own power and strength, to have unity between the different churches, it is called ec-u-meni-cal. No matter how they try though, people who have been in their own traditions in the certain named traditional churches and in their own certain traditional set ways, will never be in complete unity with one another for there will always be separation when it comes to thinking more about their own religious name and thinking about their own church, that it is better than the next one. I think we all pretty much think in this manner. As long as the carnal minds of men are involved it will always be this way. As long as it is this way I believe we all fall short of God’s complete Glory for us and that is why there is less power in our lives to completely do the will of God.
In Verse 17 we see something that would say there is a difference between the wisdom of man and the wisdom of God. For the wisdom of God to start coming into a person, first that one must take on the new man by listening to the Holy Spirit of Truth to show that one the goodness of Jesus and how he should let this goodness come into his life by accepting Jesus as his own personal Savior and inviting Jesus to come into his heart. When he does this, the Holy Spirit enters into that one and God’s Power starts to take over that life. If that person yields completely to the Holy Spirit, God’s Word will take affect upon that life and God’s wisdom will be spoken to that heart. If that person yields to this wisdom, Spiritual healing will take place. A change takes place in that life and the change will be continuous as long as we have an ear to hear the Holy Spirit speak to our hearts. It has been put into my heart to think of God’s wisdom as being His love that would take over my being. It has been my experience that it only happens as people are yielded to His Holy Spirit of Truth. I have found that as I yield myself over to Him there is Power to receive more of God’s Love each day and Power to show love. There is wisdom to treat people with loving patience and understanding and going the extra mile.
Godly Love and Godly patience cannot be taught by men alone. My advice is to surrender all to Jesus and just seek Him more in prayer. If everyone would do this simple thing of surrendering to Jesus, God’s Word and His cleansing of the world will be so real. His Power will come into each one like as in the beginning of the early church. When the first men of the church obediently waited upon Jesus, to give the Holy Spirit, they were so affected by the Holy Spirit that I believe they felt His Presence upon their being so much that they had Power to preach Jesus and had Power to perform miracles in ministry. Not by themselves, but by the Power of the Holy Spirit within and surrounding them. They had Power in their ministries to let the Holy Spirit Work the Wonderful Works of God in their own lives and in the lives of others who would listen to them.
The teaching by the Holy Spirit goes beyond what man can teach each heart in Godly wisdom and Power. For as the Presence of the Lord is felt in each one who truly has the Holy Spirit dwelling within, the wisdom of God becomes the real truth that overshadows all that men attempt to bring goodness into their minds and hearts from the wisdom of the world. For the wisdom of the world attempts to do good in their own power and strength. It just doesn’t work for if Jesus isn’t in a person’s life and in it in a continual way, God will not accept that one. It is the difference between the Spiritual and the natural. It is plain that those who cannot distinguish between the correct calling by the correct and only Holy Spirit of Truth and the incorrectness of the knowledge of the natural educated mind of man, that we see who has the Holy Spirit and who has not ever known the Lord at all. It is the difference between who is a Christian and who is not. The natural mind of man might seek to be religious, but remains yet carnal, still laboring in sin and has not yet come to the point of letting Jesus take his life completely into the Kingdom of God. This explains why so many people who even have membership in churches and would think of themselves as Christian, but yet cannot distinguish between the Spiritual truth that should be affecting their lives and bringing their lives into a Spiritual relationship with their God and Savior and the carnality of the world that remains in their hearts and keeps them distant from God. It needs to be said the true reasons God does not answer prayer in some instances is because He does not hear the prayer given by those who remain carnal and not growing in the Lord, but remain in their own will of the world that yet exists in their being when they cannot surrender themselves to Jesus completely and let themselves be led by the Holy Spirit. Jesus made it very clear to the Apostle John that everyone who is in the church must have an ear to hear the Holy Spirit.
In the Book of Revelation, chapters 2 and 3 Jesus told John to write the same thing to all the seven churches: starting with the church at Ephesus: He said in Revelation 2:7 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; Then to each church He gave a reason why they should have an ear to hear. He said, To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. To the church at Smyrna He said, Revelation 2:11 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death. To the church at Pergamos He said, Revelation 2:17 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it. To the church at Thyatira He said, Revelation 2:26-28 And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: 27 And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father. 28 And I will give him the morning star. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
To the church at Sardis He said, Revelation 3:4-6 Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy. 5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. 6 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
To the church at Philadelphia He said in Revelation 3:12-13 Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name. 13 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
And last He said to the church at Laodicea in Revelation 3:21-22 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. 22 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
In these letters that He dictated to John to write to the seven churches, all the types of churches that represents these seven all through the ages, Jesus made it clear that everyone must have an ear to hear the Holy Spirit speak to them. He gave the results of listening and obeying the Holy Spirit. He said they that overcome will have all the good things that He mentioned in the end, but those who do not have an ear to hear, will lose out on all these things. There will not be any exceptions.
I believe that everyone who does not have an ear to hear the Holy Spirit is in grave danger of not obeying the Word Jesus gave us in keeping His Word of Love. They also are in grave danger because they are not in the unity of the Spirit. It is a fact that we cannot obey His Word without the leading of the Holy Spirit of Truth. We see the proof of this by all the disunity in all the divisions of the churches throughout the centuries and to this day, that it is even worse as time goes on. It all goes back to who people listen to: God’s Wisdom by The Holy Spirit of Truth or to the wisdom of the educated men in the church who have gotten their wisdom and knowledge from others who may, or may not have the correct wisdom from God. Sometimes it is very hard to distinguish the difference because men who give wisdom are in the position they are in. These people have earned their position in the very highly educated way. Everyone seems to respect position more than having the Presence and Power of God in them and on them to do service to the Great God of Heaven through Jesus who saved them and through the Holy Spirit that preserves them unto the coming day of our Lord Jesus. In that day He will deal with the respected worldly position of the people who have man’s religious wisdom instead of the Holy Spirit wisdom of God. He will take those who have the Power of God upon them and He will give them all these great things that He mentioned in these seven statements and He will take them out of the world to be with Him forever.
I don’t want to be in the category of those who do not have an ear to hear the Holy Spirit speak the Word of God to their heart. I want to be in the group that obeys and has the Power of God in my life. I want to listen to the Holy Spirit of Truth that would draw me only to Jesus and would only give me Jesus, just more and more of Jesus. This is the Name above all Names, Jesus my salvation and Christ the Anointed One who is the only one who can give salvation if we but submit ourselves unto Him only and let His Holy Spirit lead us all the way to Him and to His Glory that He has awaiting each of us as His Body of Believers, His Church.
Do you, at this moment, have an ear to hear the Holy Spirit direct your heart to Jesus and His Righteousness? Can you let the Holy Spirit direct where you go and what you see and what you listen to and what comes out of your mouth? To most of us there is a certain degree of the Spirit in us and how much we will do as a result of this Spirit in us, but is there anyone here who will submit him or herself all the way to Jesus and surrender all to Him? Each prayer meeting I tell the Lord, I surrender all. Those who come to the prayer meeting will bear me witness that I do this. Is there more here that would surrender themselves unto the Great King of Glory? And surrender themselves often and give themselves more to Him than they would give to the world? I would put this out to everyone here, and even plead for everyone here to not remain in your own little self, but to grow into a true body of Christ, a Spiritual body of Christ and not just a superficial member of a church organization. In Spiritual understanding I want everything that the Lord has for me as a Christian to grow into the true Holy Spirit filled body of Christ as it was in the beginning when the Holy Spirit was given to those who tarried for the gift that Jesus gave to the church. The Holy Spirit was given as Jesus had promised and as a result Great things happened. Great things can still happen. If people would pray for these things, this whole area would feel the impact of Holy Spirit filled people in prayer just like it was in the beginning.
