THAT YOU BE PERFECTLY JOINED TOGETHER
“I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that you walk worthy of the vocation with which you are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love; endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” Ephesians 4: 1-3.
“Now I beseech you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.” 1 Corinthians 1:10.
“What is it that causes dissension and discord? It is the result of walking apart from Christ. At a distance from Him, we lose our love for Him, and grow cold toward His followers. The farther the beams of light recede from their centre, the wider separated they become. Each believer is as a beam of light from Christ the Sun of righteousness. The more closely we walk with Christ, the centre of all love and light, the greater will be our affection for His light-bearers. When the saints are drawn close to Christ, they must of necessity be drawn close to each other, for the sanctifying grace of Christ will bind their hearts together. You cannot love God and yet fail to love your brethren.” –Ye Shall Receive Power, p. 87.
“The reason for all division, discord, and difference is found in separation from Christ. Christ is the centre to which all should be attracted; for the nearer we approach the centre, the closer we shall come together in feeling, in sympathy, in love, growing into the character and image of Jesus. With God there is no respect of persons.” –Selected Messages, book 1, p. 259.
Questions to think about:
How we can be perfectly united together in the same mind and the same judgment?
What is it that causes dissension and discord?
What is the reason for all division, discord, and difference in the church?