The Christian life - Church..

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com. That's cornerstonerbc.com. OK, so brothers and sisters, let us please open up our Bibles to Philippians chapter one, Philippians chapter one. We are going to continue with our series of Bible studies on the life of the Christian life.

And tonight we're going to continue addressing topics that pertain to the life of the church. So if you please open your Bibles to Philippians chapter one, we're going to be reading from verse twenty seven to verse thirty, three verses, four verses there. And tonight we're going to be addressing the topic of unity, church unity, if you want, or unity in the body. We're going to be speaking about how the church, why the church, why is it important for the church to be unified, united? We have been saved by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and we have been baptized into his body.

And by virtue of our union with Christ, we are not only united to him, but we are also united one to one another. as the apostle Paul says that in first Corinthians and also in Romans chapter 12. So we're going to be addressing the topic of oneness, the oneness of the local church or the unity of the church. And we're going to be doing that starting from Philippians chapter one, verse 27. So if you have your Bibles there, I trust that you will do.

Let me please quickly pray for us that the Lord may lead us, help us to concentrate, to focus at times. I understand that it's even difficult. to do it when we are doing it this way, connected, and not doing it face to face. So let us ask our Lord, our Savior, who can do all things, to help us to have freedom as we speak, to have a humility as we speak, humility as we receive, as we read the scriptures together, and that the Lord may help us to be conformed to the image of Christ, just by reading and meditating upon the scriptures, that He will be with us in each one of your houses, with your families, wherever you are, and as we share together in the scriptures. So let us come before the Lord.

Heavenly Father, once again, we come before you in the name of your son, Jesus Christ. We cannot come before your presence if we do not come by the merits and in the name of your son, Jesus Christ. Nobody can approach you, Father, if we don't come by virtue of the completed work of the Lord Jesus Christ. And he has given us the instruction. He has given us the promise that if we ask in his name, that if we pray in his name, that if we enter into the presence by virtue of his completed work, that we can do it with boldness, that we can do it with certainty, and that we can do it with faith.

So Lord, I pray, I pray that you may help us, Lord, in these meditations that we will have about the oneness of the church, the oneness or unity of the church, of the congregation of the saints, that you will help us, Lord, to grasp, to get something in our hearts, a line upon line and precept upon precept, Lord, that we will be made more like the Lord Jesus Christ, that we will get something from the Scriptures that we will share together and that you will have mercy upon our souls, O Lord, that you will give us love, that you will give us truth, that you will give us one mind, that you will give us lowliness of mind, that you will give us Christlikeness and that you will unify this local body. Bless us, Lord, as we do all of these things. Bless the brethren as they are listening on the other side. Lord, help us. through the temptations to distractions and to things when we're doing it this way, Lord, that we may be reverentially coming before you and in our hearts and in our minds.

And as we read the scriptures together, I pray these things in the name of your son, Jesus Christ, our savior and our redeemer. Amen. Very good, dear brothers and sisters. As I said, I want us to share together around this topic of church unity or oneness, if you want. And we're going to be starting from Philippians chapter twenty seven.

Perhaps I will get you to read some passages of the scriptures, perhaps that will help us in our flesh to remain focused on the words that are said and are preached so that we will read together the scriptures. And perhaps these will help us in the flesh to to concentrate our minds. And then by the mercies of the spirit, I hope that he will guide us into illumination and maturity in the spirit. So let us read together Philippians chapter 1, verse 27 to verse 30. And I'm reading as I always do from the English Standard Version of the Bible, addressing the topic of unity or oneness.

This is the word of the Lord. It says, only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, the apostle addressing the Philippians, so that whether I come and see you or I am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind, striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in Him, but also suffer for His sake, engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had, and now hear that I still have." Amen.

This is the word of the Lord. And if you see there in verse 27, the apostle calls them to, that I may hear, he says, of you, that you are standing firm. And then he uses this word related to unity, standing firm in one spirit, with one mind, striving side by side. Unity, oneness, one spirit, and one mind. We are united in Jesus Christ, not only spiritually by virtue of our salvation, but also in the mind, because Jesus Christ is truth and love.

We are supposed to be, and this is the expectation of the apostle. This is the desire of the apostle. He desires to hear that they are standing firm and they have one spirit in one spirit and with one mind. This is church unity or the oneness of the church. And this is a very important topic Not only for the local congregation, but also for us to understand the nature of the universal church along history through the ages of church history.

You perhaps know that many people, many theologians and different camps of theology and even different denominations have had a lot of controversies when it comes to the wrongness of the church. How much should the church be unified and come together? Some people have erred on the side of ecumenism, ecumenical doctrines or ecumenical practices in which they will not care so much about distinctions of truth and distinctions of doctrine. And they will try or strive even at times with a lot of effort to bring every type of Christian who professes faith in Jesus Christ and who has been baptized in water or who has been baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit to bring them together just by virtue of a profession like that. And they say that all Christians should be unified and come together in one spirit and in one mind.

This is one side of this controversy, the ecumenical side that tries to bring everyone into this unity of the church. And on the other side, we also have people that have error or that have made a mistake of just simply separate themselves from other Christians, thinking that they are the ones who hold the truth. who are the ones that are the true remnant of God at times, they will say that they are the real people of God, and then even not considering the professional faith of many other believers. There's these extremes of ecumenism, the inclusion of everyone into the faith and into the church, and it's even separatism, that people will at times either churches or individual will separate themselves from even individual. At times you sadly will find people, individuals that separate themselves from Christianity.

claiming simply that they can have a relationship with the Lord on their own, separating themselves because of the shortcomings and the problems and the situations that take place in the church. Now, it is a very important topic, and independently, brethren, of the controversies and independently of the interpretations of men throughout history about how much the church should be unified. We are to care about this, and we are to care about not only the universal level of the church, but more importantly, perhaps, We are to care about the unity or the oneness of the church in the local level. And this is what I want to share with you. And I will try to do it briefly going to specific points that I think will be helpful for us as a congregation, as a small young congregation, thinking and considering this topic of oneness or unity, of course, from the scriptures.

So what I want to do with you tonight, my dear brethren, is that I want to answer just four questions in relation to oneness and to unity, and specifically for our local church. So I want us from the scriptures to consider four different questions that relate to unity or the oneness of the church. And I hope that that will give us more clarity and that will move, I hope, our hearts to desire not only to live our lives before the Lord, but also to be unified as a congregation, as a local congregation. Now, four questions that I think will guide us through understanding the biblical doctrine and then into practice and things that we can do as a congregation to be strengthening the Lord, to be united as believers, as members of the local body. Now, these four questions are these.

The first one that I want to address together is why is it important? Why is it important to speak about church unity? Why is church unity important at all? So I want us to speak about the importance of church unity for the local church. Second thing, I want to pay attention to the words of the Lord Jesus Christ.

So what did the Lord Jesus Christ say about unity in the church? So not only the importance of unity, but also what did the Lord Jesus Christ say and what did he teach to his disciples? And of course, to us, the church about the oneness of the unity of the church. Third, from there, once we analyze, once we study that information, that those doctrines even coming from the mouth of the Lord, I want us not to see after that. They practical manifestations in the local church.

So how should the local church practically manifest unity or oneness if you want? And then fourthly, the final questions that I want us to address is what can we do as cornerstone reform Baptist church? What can we do as a congregation, a small congregation? What can we do so that we are unified and we come together, not only in a spiritual way, but very practical taking it from the scriptures? coming together, what can we do to pursue and to grow in unity as a local congregation?

So the importance of unity, what did the Lord Jesus say about unity? Also, what are the practical manifestations of unity? And fourthly, what can we do as Cornerstone Reformed Baptist Church to pursue greater manifestations of the Lord Jesus Christ in us, moving us to be more unified? So the first one, why is it important? And the importance of these, of course, we're going to see it here in the chapter or in the passage that we have just read.

But I want to take you quickly to Ecclesiastes chapter four, Ecclesiastes chapter four. So go in your Bibles, please, to Ecclesiastes chapter four. And there's a very popular verse that I think most of you will know in Ecclesiastes chapter four, verse nine. If you go there. Ecclesiastes chapter four, verse nine through 12.

So if we were going to answer this question of why is it important church unity or church oneness for your life, for my life and for the congregation, we could answer that question in only one word. And that is endurance. Endurance. Church unity is important. for your soul and for my soul and for Cornerstone Reformed Baptist Church, because by being united and being unified as brothers and sisters, we endure individually and together.

Now, there are many more reasons why church unity is important, but I just want us to focus on that. Church unity is important for your soul, my dear brother or sister, and for my soul. Because of endurance, if we are joined together and if we are unified in the Lord Jesus Christ, we will endure. And when I say endure, we will endure difficulty and we will endure trials and we will endure the oppressions that can come our way individually and as a congregation. So these are the words.

In Ecclesiastes 4, verse 9, it says, two are better than one because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up. Again, if two lie together, they keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone?

And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him. A threefold court is not quickly broken. The coming together of two make them stronger. And this is the principle not only in the Old Testament, but this is the principle for the church. When we come together and when we are unified, not only abstractedly in a spiritual sense, but also practically manifested because of that spiritual reality, then we can endure individually and as a congregation.

And that is what the apostle was trying to say there in Philippians chapter one. If you return to that passage that we started and that we read together in verse 27, the apostle said, if you return there to Philippians chapter one, the apostle makes exactly that point. that the oneness in spirit and the oneness in mind is for the purpose of not being frightened by the opposition of the oppressors. If we read it once again, it says in verse 27, only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ so that whether I come and see you or I'm absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit with one mind is striving side by side together. for the faith of the gospel.

And then it says in verse 28, I'm not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them that is the opponents of their destructions, but of your salvation and that from God. So the coming together of the saints, the one spirit, one mind is the striving side by side of the saints for the faith of the gospel is also with the purpose that comes with it. If you want that we will not be frightened of our opponents, verse 29, for He has been granted to us not only to believe, but also to suffer for His sake, the sake of Christ. Faith and sufferings, they come together.

It has been given to us that we will not only believe in the Lord, but that we will suffer and that we will go through tribulations. And the best way for us to go through tribulations and trials is not alone, is together. It's a church unified, united in one mind, in one spirit, in the Lord Jesus Christ, and practically manifested in our lives coming together. That is why it is important. Why is it important for us to consider this topic of unity?

Because of endurance, individual and also collective endurance. The second thing that I want us to see together is what the Lord Jesus Christ has said about the oneness or the unity of the church. Perhaps you may have that passage already in your mind before even I announced it, because there's a very popular passage in John Chapter 17, in which the Lord speaks about unity, the unity of the body. So if you come with me, please, to John Chapter 17. In John Chapter 17, there's a few verses there in which the Lord gives us very important, very important things about a concept.

and light about this topic of unity or oneness in the church. So if you come to John Chapter 17, let us read together from verse 17 to verse 21. You may remember this very interesting passage here as the Lord Jesus Christ is speaking to His disciples about His departure and His interceding for them. He's given them the promise of the Holy Spirit. The Comforter is coming, and He will teach you.

He will guide you. He will show you the truth. He will be with you. He will empower you. And He's speaking about His departure, and He's strengthening the disciples.

He's speaking about the future. He's speaking about the promises. And then He's addressing here in verse 17 of John 17, this topic of oneness. So let us read together there, and let us just get something of what the Lord says about unity from this passage here. It says in verse 17, sanctify them in the truth.

Your word is truth. As you send me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. As for their sake, I consecrate myself, or I sanctify myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth." In those two verses or three verses there, the Lord Jesus Christ is speaking about the sending of the disciples into the world and the sending of the disciples into the world. just as the Father has sent the Lord Jesus Christ, is by and for sanctification.

So they are to be sanctified, and the way that they are sanctified is in the truth, is in the words of God that sanctify them. But also they have been set apart to be sent into the world, just as the Lord Jesus Christ was chosen by the Father, if you want, appointed by the Father, perhaps, to complete the work that He was given. And just as the Lord Jesus Christ was consecrated, set apart to complete the work, that He was about to complete, going upon the cross and dying. So also the disciples were sent into the world, sanctified, set apart to go into the world with the same truth that the Lord Jesus Christ had given them. And then He says something very interesting in verse 20.

It says, I do not ask for this only. So he says, I do not ask these only for these disciples, these apostles that are here with me only. And then he says, but also for those who will believe in me through their word. So the sanctification, the setting apart and the sending into the world because of the sanctification of Christ in the completing of the work that He was given by the Father, it was not only for the disciples, but also was given to those who will believe in the future, who will believe in Me, He says, through the word, through their word, the word of the apostles. And then He says in verse 21, He gives a purpose, that they may all, that is together the apostles and those who will believe, that they may all be one.

So we have the topic of unity, that they may all be one. And then he says something very powerful. Just as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. Very powerful words there of the Lord Jesus Christ, speaking about this consecration of these apostles that were going to be sent into the world. And he's saying, I'm not speaking only these words about this, about you disciples, but also about those who will believe because of the words that will be preached through you.

Now, I want you to see how here the Lord Jesus Christ is extending not only his prayer and his intercession before the father from the disciples to the future, to the believers, But also He's extending the consecration. He's extending this desire that people will be sanctified and consecrated. But even now, He's extending His intercession, per se. He's now asking that they will be one. Not only that they will be sanctified to be sent into the world to preach the Word and to carry the message, but also that they will be one.

Now, there are many things that we can say about this passage, but brethren, let me just point you to a couple of things here that are very important for us to know and to practically have in our hearts when we think about what our Lord, what our Savior, what the lover of our soul thinks about unity. First of all, I want you to see here that it's not only Jesus's desire, but it's also Jesus's intercession for his people that they will be one. is the desire of the Lord of glory, that both the disciples and those who will believe through the word that will be preached and given through the apostles, that they will be unified. This is not only the desire of the Lord, but it's also the intercession. This is a prayer.

This is an intercession of the Son who does everything that the Father is pleased with, who does everything perfectly before His Father. He's interceding. praying, if you want, he's coming before his father to ask that his desire of oneness will actually take place for the disciples and those who will believe. And this unity or this oneness is for all. It says that they may all be one who the disciples and those who will be converted through the hearing of the word preached by the disciples or through the disciples.

The second thing that I want you to see, not only that this is the desire of the Lord Jesus Christ for us as a congregation, even for all saints after the ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ for every single believer, every Christian after the ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ, the desire of the Lord is that they will operate in oneness, that they will be one. And this was the intercession of the Lord. But the second thing is that this unity is not just, it's just not only coming together. It's just not agreeing mentally or agreeing in the mind to certain set of doctrines. It is a very, very powerful unity, a unity or a oneness that is compared to the oneness that the Father and the Son has.

It says there in verse 21, that they may all be one, just as you, that is the Father, are in me and I in you. So that is that the unity that the believers can have by virtue of the accomplishments of Christ and the promises and intercession of the Lord for His apostles and the church who will believe through the preaching and the words of the apostles, the desire is that they experience A level of unity, a level of oneness that is compared with the oneness that the Father has with the Son. Just as you, Father, are in me and I in you. And this is not only going to be the qualifier of the unity, but also this is going to exemplify, if you want, or this is going to represent, or this is going to be an evidence of the unity that the believers will have among them and the unity that the believers can experience and have with God Himself. It says in the continuation of the verse, just as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that additional purpose, they also may be in us.

That is, that both the disciples and both together with those who will hear and be saved will be united to one another in such a powerful way, even compared to the unity of the Father and the Son, but even also experience the fellowship together with the Father and with the Son and, of course, with the Holy Spirit in us, just as they are united. And then he gives us even the purpose of that unity. He says, so that, this is the purpose of unity for the body of believers. This is the intention. This is the desire of that unity or the goal, if you want, of that unity, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

That is very powerful, brethren. It's very, very, very powerful. Unity in the church is not only important so that we will endure until the end individually and as a church, but unity is the desire of the Lord Jesus Christ, the intercession from the heart of the Lord Jesus Christ before his father, that we will be united with a type of unity that goes beyond the abilities of the flesh. A type of unity that goes beyond the schemes of communal living or community in the flesh is just beyond people coming together and agreeing to certain preferences and to, you know, I like that and you like the same so we can come together and we can agree to coexist together. The type of unity that the Lord desires and intercedes for His people is divine unity rooted in God Himself, produced by God Himself, and the unity that can be experienced by the believers, one with the other, so that this unity, this coming together will be a testifier or even will be an instrument for people to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.

It says, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. In other words, you know, when they come and they see how you love one another, they will know that you are my disciples. You will know that this unity that you have in love one for the other is categorically different to any other type of relationship that humanity can have. That this unity that the church has, brother and sister, coming together is completely, categorically, substantially different to any other type of unity that humans can have. And that even that is a witness of the presence of God among them.

And this is even convicting power. Of course, people are not saved just by seeing people living the gospel. People need to hear the proclamation of the gospel. But the life of Christ in the life of another person is a token, is a testimony of the work that only can be done from above. And this is why he concludes.

And this is basically what he says. If you continue reading in verse 22 says, The glory that ye have given Me, I have given to them, that they may be one, even as We are one. Verse 23, I in them, and you in Me, that they may become one. perfectly one, so that the world may know that You sent Me and loved them, even as You loved Me. Father, I decided that You also, whom You have given Me, may be with Me where I am to see My glory that You have given Me, because You loved Me before the foundation of the world."

And then the Lord continues with these glorious words, speaking, about the greatness of the love of God and what produces not only in the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ, but also what is supposed to produce in the people, in the disciples and those who will believe. Now, brethren, how are we going to think about this? Just simply that our Lord, our Savior desires, that is the desire of the heart of our Savior, that the church, that the believers will be unified, that they will come together. Now you will see from here why so many people have error or have made mistakes in extremes, you know, like, okay, so all of us should be together. Everyone who professes faith in Christ should come together, ecumenism.

And at times the other extreme will be separatism, you know, separate. I don't know if that's how you pronounce the word, the separate from others saying, Yes, you know, like we're supposed to come together, but these are the requirements for us to come together. You don't meet those requirements for us to come together. So I cannot be with you those extremes there. So.

The question that one will ask, or at least that I asked myself when I was reading this this afternoon is this is an intercession of the Lord Jesus Christ before the father. Will the father or has the father answered the request of his son? Has the father who is seated upon the throne, has the father who is completely and fully and perfectly pleased with the works, deeds, prayers, supplications, and requests of the Lord, has he fulfilled this or will he fulfill the coming together of the church and the oneness, the perfectly coming together? And then many people will say, yes, he will do it. But He has not done it yet.

He will do it once we obtain the stature of the fullness of the faith, according to what the Apostle Paul says in Ephesians chapter 4. This is an eschatological promise that will be fulfilled when sin is no more, because with the presence of sin, the people cannot come together. And while there is truth in that, sin will produce in us death, and death produce separation, and there will be conflict. Let me submit to you that the Lord has fulfilled this is fulfilling these and will bring things to fulfillment completely. Now, sometimes this is the easy answer that pastors and theologians will give to difficult questions.

That is all answers together. But I think that this is the testimony of the scriptures. Now, when you read the scriptures, brethren, sometimes we take things that are directly applying to us 2000 years ago, 2000 years after the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. And while that is truth. One is always to address the scriptures as per what the author intended to say, and what the testimony of the canon speaks of that particular passage, so that we are supposed to derive and build doctrine from there.

When you pay attention carefully to the intercession of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the request of the Lord Jesus Christ, and those who participate in that request, you can see, I think, perhaps very clearly, I hope, that many of the things that the Lord requested are actually fulfilled, and not very long after this, because He's requesting or interceding for His disciples, that is, the apostles. And He says in verse 20, I do not ask this for them only, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word. There's going to be people who will believe through their word of the apostles. And while we have the words of the apostles in the scriptures, and that is true, there are people also that receive the words of the apostles in a more immediate sense. Those who, according to the context of John 17, also received the comforter that was promised.

Those who received the Holy Spirit and those that came together as the result of all of this intercession of Christ, the giving of the Spirit. And of course, that will be found in the book of Acts. So if you come to the book of Acts, Then we move to the 3rd question, and we're going close to the end now, the 3rd question. And then that 3rd question, if you remember that I said is what are the practical manifestations of unity as the Lord desires that unity there in Gen 17 and taking into account the importance of unity of the oneness in the church. So when was that immediately or initially fulfilled?

Let me just admit to you that this was indeed fulfilled in the book of Acts, and it's supposed to be. And it's not only that it was fulfilled, but it's the desire of the Lord that the same spirit that was given to the people of the early church will abide in the church before the Lord Jesus Christ comes, and that we will be partakers of the same blessings and the same beauties of community in the gospel and in the Lord Jesus Christ. And of course, this will be brought to final and eschatological consummation when sin is no more. And then we're dwelling with the Lord Jesus Christ. But let us focus now what is more practical and pertains to this age, which is before the Lord comes.

And if you go to the book of Acts, very quickly in chapter one, you will remember in verse eight that here's the sending into the world, right? This is the sending into the world of the disciples just as The Lord was telling to the disciples that just as you send me, I have sent you into the world. So it says, verse 8, it says, you remember this very popular verse, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea, in Samaria and to the end of the earth or to the uttermost part of the world. They are being sent. This expectation, and even that the Lord Jesus Christ had already breathed out the spirit in John chapter, I think it's 2020.

He had already breathed out the spirit. They had not received the comforter as given in Pentecost, but they had the spirit living in them. This is the whole argument of John in the gospel of John. You will see the manifestations of this presence of the spirit among them in verse 12. It says in verse 12 of the same chapter one of the book of Acts, who had received this instruction of being sent into the world.

It says, then they returned to Jerusalem from the Mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day journey away. And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room and where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew and Philip and Thomas and Bartholomew and Matthew, James, the son of Alpheus and Simon, The zealot and Judas, the son of James, and as he says, verse 14, all these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer together with the women and Mary, the mother of Jesus and his brothers. They were together. They were devoting themselves to prayer together with the women. But one would say, okay, there's no fullness of unity.

And of course, there's no fullness of unity here because there's something missing. There's something that was going to be given to the church. And that happens, of course, as you know, in the book of Acts in chapter 2. In Acts chapter 2, verse 1, it says, when the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And then, you know, the Scriptures, of course, how the Holy Spirit comes mightily upon the disciples.

And the Holy Spirit opens their mouth to speak in different tongues and in different languages. And people that had come to Jerusalem will hear the glories of God in different languages. Some people are going to mock this. And this mocking of this manifestation of the power is going to be used by the same spirit to mock and to judge those who are mocking the works of the Lord. And the way that he does this is by rising a feeble preacher, by rising a weak fisherman, by rising one that is despicable or despised in society, namely Peter, empowering him to speak.

Words that they were unable to understand, words that they were unable with all their studies and with all their fleshly ways, they had been unable to see in the Scriptures. But now these men of low reputation who is together with all of these other people comes to preach this mighty sermon that we know. It is mighty taking the Holy Scriptures and taking the Old Testament and preaching about all of these glorious things. You remember He preaches the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the result of that mighty preaching by Peter is the salvation of many. And when you go very quickly there to verse 41 of chapter 2, then you see the result now of the coming of the Spirit upon these disciples that had already been together, who had already been sent into the world, to preach the gospel, to be witnesses of the Lord.

Now you see here the result of the coming of the Holy Spirit in verse 41 of chapter 2. It says, so those who received his word, a passage that we have read many times. So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about 3,000 souls. All of these people added into the kingdom of the Lord. And then he says, verse 42, Let me just show you here, as we have done it many times, practical fulfillment of the coming of the promise, the intercession and the prayer of Christ.

It says, and they those as these are those who had been visited by the spirit, those who had been saved and they devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and the fellowship, the breaking of bread and the prayers. And all came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed, not only the apostles, but all now, all those who believed. And how did they believe? They believed through the words that were preached by the apostles.

All those who believed, in verse 44, were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking the bread in their homes, assumed together, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising together God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their, that is their number, Day by day, those who were being saved. Brethren, here in chapter 2 of verses 42 onwards, we have a glorious manifestation of oneness, togetherness, unity.

That this is not the result of the might and the ability of the humility even of these people. This is the result of Christ intercession. And first of all, of course, the work of the Lord Jesus Christ upon the cross, the completed work of the Lord Jesus Christ, the desire of Christ for his people and descending of the Holy Spirit, which was part of the intercession and which was part of the prayers and which was part of the promises of the Lord Jesus Christ for the disciples before he departed. It was that I'm going to send the Comforter, the Holy Spirit. And when the Comforter came, indeed, truth was empowered for the apostles and those who believed were impacted, not religiously, but with the might and the power of the Holy Spirit to be united as one, together as the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ.

This was something that happened only there in Pentecost. Well, there are many things that only happen in Pentecost, namely the coming of the Holy Spirit. But once the Holy Spirit is given to the church, it's the same Holy Spirit for all the church and all the congregation. And it's the same might, and it's the same power, and it's the same word that sanctifies us. And even though we don't have the apostles with us, we have the scriptures and the testimony of the apostles that have made us and brought us to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.

And then we can be partakers of the same blesses of oneness and unity. This is the practical manifestations. Now, brethren, let me very briefly here, please. Let me very briefly here speak about practical things that we can see in this unity, in this togetherness of the church, this early church by virtue of the power of the spirit, by virtue of the intercession of the Lord. But let us please, if you, If you please in your in your mind and in your heart, and if you are listening to me on the other side, brethren, if you can bear with my words, let us let us please pay attention to these four things that I want to show you characteristics of these practical unity for this early church that I think will be beneficial to us as a congregation.

I want to show you four. Perhaps there's more, but this is the ones that I saw. So four different things, four characteristics in this passage about unity. about oneness in the early church that can be for us, and that we should take into account when we consider unity in the church. The first one is found in verse 44.

Now, they're found through the passage there, but I just want to point the first one in verse 44. It says, and all who believed were together. Now, they were together. They were physically and positionally together. That is that this oneness of the church, this unity of the church, even though it is true that it's spiritual in nature and the whole members or all the members of the universal church are united to one another by virtue of the grace that they have received and the baptism into the body of the Lord Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit, the practical manifestation of this spiritual unity happens in a physical sense, with the necessity of physical proximity, if that is a word, if you understand that, you know, like of tangible, physical closeness.

So the saints, for the saints to be partakers of this unity and this coming together, they have to be together. It's opposite to what we are doing now. They have to be together in the physical closeness, verse 44, and all who believe were together. So that's why it's very important, the local church. The local church is a manifestation of the universal church, and this local church is a physical environment that is supposed to reflect these spiritual realities in which the members of the local body are in a physical proximity one to another so that they can exercise and experience the spiritual blessings that they have received in Christ one with the other.

So, brethren, unity, togetherness, oneness for our church requires physical proximity. Separation in the physical, what produces is religion. We only reduce down Christianity to attending the Lord's Day. Some people will just reduce it just to attending the Lord's Day and that's it. And then just by attending the Lord's Day, this is just like ticking a box and that's it.

But the church The community of the church and the unity of the church is much more than the events of the church. The church is supposed to be alive, and the life of the church requires togetherness, oneness, unity, being in a physical proximity, one with the other, so that we can minister one to the other with the gifts that the Lord has given us. That is the first thing, physical proximity. not only on Sunday, but as we live our lives, physical proximity. The second thing that I want to see is how they died to the things that are passing away that will normally separate people.

Now, I want to be very clear here. I'm not going to be speaking about, you know, communism or socialism or bringing possessions all together, but I want you to see how in their hearts These oneness of the Spirit given to the saints made these people died to these possessions that will naturally separate them and will produce boundaries one to the other. It says in the continuation of verse 44, and had, that is all of them together, all things in common, and it continues, and they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all as any had need, that is, my dear brother and sister, is not so much the external thing of, you know, selling things and giving it to the brother, but it's more the heart. The heart of these people were taken in such a way that physical possessions, physical riches, properties and money and belongings and all of these things were not cause of separation, but rather were the means by which a more profound spiritual unity could be manifested. Now, once again, I'm not saying that Cornerstone Reformed Baptist Church should do this, but Cornerstone Reformed Baptist Church should have this heart.

Because if we have this heart, there may be a time in which providentially we're confronted with something like this. Now, I know that this is uncomfortable and it's very unfair that I'm not seeing you in the face to say these things. But brethren, it's not about the possessions. It's not about the external things. It's not about doing that and selling and then just distributing these things among the people.

It's about having that heart that is moved by the Holy Spirit that cannot be moved by us. People have made the mistake and error through generations in which they do this in the flesh and they end up just with a lot of controversies and a lot of conflict. But on the other side, we have also allowed ourselves to be taken by the comforts of the Western world in which we are empowered to be individualistic and to treasure up things unto ourselves in which we don't even consider these matters in the heart. So, brethren, I'm not saying that we have to do these things, but let us consider these our hearts before the Lord. And I don't want to confront you with any difficult question, but this is the question that I ask myself.

If I had to give everything that I have for the brethren, would I? And then just the situation of my heart that when I ask that myself, that question speaks of where my heart is. And this is I suppose that this is the question that each one of us should ask. Not saying that we should do that. Once again, I don't want to.

sound that I'm just speaking about money or things like that, but I'm just speaking about our hearts. First thing, local proximity. The second thing, brethren, our heart that is so taken by the Holy Spirit that those external things that will naturally separate us are not obstacle to unity, but actually the means for bringing people together, contributing to their needs, providing for what they need, all things in common and all of those heavy words there for the flesh. And in verse 44 and 45, the third thing that I want you to see, my dear brethren here is just this commitment that they had this commitment to religious practices. And I know that in English, perhaps you have these were religious as something negative every time that we're like, you know, when sometimes when we're in surface and we're sharing the gospel with people, they ask, is that religious stuff?

And I said, yes, it's religious stuff. But then they have this negative connotation that it took me three people to realize that you have this negative connotation with this word religious. But there's nothing wrong with religion. What is wrong is with fleshly religion. But true religion is to have a heart that is given to the needy, according to James chapter one, and keep oneself unspotted from the world, the widow and the orphan.

That is true religion. Now, true religion, the religion of the Lord Jesus Christ, requires practical commitments. And see here, brethren, how this togetherness, this oneness of the church in verse 46, how move them to be devoted and committed to religious practices, in religious activities, in the positive sense. And it says, and day by day, day by day, attending the temple together. Now, I'm not saying that we should have church every day, but I just want you to see the heart, the heart of the necessity, this urging need in the brethren of being together and being one with the other.

It says, and day by day, attending the temple together and breaking the bread in their homes. It says, day by day, they receive their food with glad and generous hearts and together, once again, praising God. These are religious, as the Puritans will call, the religious duties of the soul, praising God together, breaking the bread together, attending, you know, like the coming together of the saints together day by day, having favor with the outsider individually and together. They were committed, they were devoted in their heart to these religious activities, with these practices of our religion, because their hearts had been taken captive, brethren. The hearts have been taken captive by this outpouring, this manifestation of the Holy Spirit that is also with us and that can be outpoured in our hearts in the same way individually and as a church.

So brethren, those three things. And of course, I want to show you the fourth thing, and I will try to be brief there. But the fourth thing, my dear brethren, in verse 42, that is not about only coming together, local proximity, being one with the other, and then just spending time together. And it's not all about just having this heart to external things that they will not prevent the unity of the church, but rather there will be the means for unity is in this case possessions. And it's not only about diligence and commitment in, in religious practices as in verse 46, pricing the Lord together, breaking the bread together, attending the temple together, you know, having favor and all of these things, but it's also the substance of all of those relationships, brethren.

And this is something very important that we ought to consider, and that is in verse 42. It says, And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, to fellowship, the breaking of the bread, and the prayers. The coming together, the togetherness, the physical proximity of the saints, and the unified hearts that they had was with the purpose of experiencing one another in the context of the apostles' teachings. That is the truth of the Scriptures. Fellowship, one with the other.

Fellowship with Christ and fellowship with one another. The breaking of the bread, either eating together day by day in their houses or on the Lord's day, breaking the bread or in the prayers. That was the fellowship. This is the unity. This is the togetherness of the church.

Brethren, please, brethren, this is how we are to manifest the external practices, if you want, of unity, of oneness. point when we come together just to simply have relationships as any other person will have, even, you know, like moralistic people, when the saints come together, it's not that we are going to bring a service into our coming together. But brethren, if if if you're coming together with the brethren, if the sisters are coming together, if the brothers are coming together and there's no prayers and there's no there's no asking one another about a something, brother or sister, you know, like What are you studying in the scriptures or considering matters of the teachings of the apostles? If we are not having this fellowship that is centered upon truth, then brethren, how are we going to edify one another? We don't edify one another by a good moral, by good manners, by a good smile, so by a good, you know, like a social skills.

We don't edify one another like this. We need one another. But as long and insofar as we are vessels that are carrying Christ, we need Christ. And the church is just the means by which the shining glory of Christ and the love of Christ is manifested one to another. So this is very important, brethren.

Remember what I said in the first thing is unity of the church is important for endurance. And this unity of the church is not a unity of the church only just coming together. We have to do it in Christ. We have to love one another in Christ. We have to deal with the spiritual matters together.

We have to pray together. We have to consider important things together. Brethren, why are we going to be offended once a sister, a brother asks us, what are we reading on the scriptures? Why do we get offended with those things? Why do we get offended when someone says, let us pray?

Or can we pray? If we get offended, then there's something wrong. Then there's something wrong in our heart, because we should not get offended by someone asking us, what are you reading in the scriptures? Or what are you contemplating in the scriptures? I feel uncomfortable about it.

This should move us into greater manifestations of fellowship. And truly, I was deciding in my heart and praying to the Lord that I would be able to see you face to face, to see these things that I'm saying. But brethren, Just consider this. The things that I've said correspond to what is written. Let us consider those things, not as my words, of course.

And finally, brethren, the fourth question I have spoken to you about the importance of being united, namely endurance, also the words of the Lord Jesus Christ there in John 17, also the practical manifestations of this unity here with the early church. And now let me just tell you, what can we do as a church? What can we do as a church to be more unified? What can we do as Cornerstone Reformed Baptist Churches to be unified? And let us hear, brethren, with faith and humility in the heart to consider these that I want to share with you.

So I want to speak to you about a virtue, a virtue that is needed in Cornerstone Reformed Baptist Church so that we will experience these levels of unity and these levels of oneness as a congregation, as a church. It's a virtue. So it's something positive. It's a virtue that we should have. because of our union with Christ.

But before I present that virtue in the positive sense, let me present it in the negative sense. Let me present it in what is not the opposite of it, and we will take it from there. So let us come to a passage in the Old Testament in 2 Samuel. If you can, please, 2 Samuel. I have just realized that I don't know exactly in which chapter it is.

2 Samuel. And I don't have you in front of me to ask you. So 2 Samuel. 2 Samuel Chapter 15. So come to 2 Samuel Chapter 15, please, in your Bibles.

I want to show you the opposite of the contrary to the virtue that we need in Cornerstone Reformed Baptist Church to be unified. I want to show you the opposite. because the opposite will be more easily manifested in us. So sometimes it's good to point to that which we should have, but at times it's better to start by pointing to that which we have replaced that we should have with. And then from there pointing to what we should have.

So 2 Samuel chapter 15, you can read, you know, the context of these and the lots of problems and situations and the controversies that were taking place in the kingdom there. Absalom was one of the sons of David. And there were a lot of controversies and difficulties and unrighteousness and fighting for power and things like that. But Absalom, he desires not to take the kingdom. And David is the king.

Absalom, his son, desires to take the kingdom. And for him to take the kingdom, he has to remove his dad, David. Let us read and see here the heart of Absalom. And this is what we should not and that we should be very careful to have in our hearts. So it says in 2 Samuel chapter 15.

After this, Absalom got himself a chariot and horses and 50 men to run before him. And Absalom used to rise early, very diligent, and Absalom used to rise early and stand beside the way of the gate. And when any men had a dispute to come before the king for judgment, Absalom will call to him and say, From what city are you? And when he said, your servant is of such and such a tribe of Israel, Absalom very conveniently would say to him, see, your claims are good and right, but there is no man designated by the king to hear you. Now he has not stopped there.

He has not spoken anything against the king, but he has in a very subtle way. He has not just put something on the king. He said, in verse 3, Absalom would say, See, your claims are good and right, but there is no man designated by the king to hear you. Then, in verse 4, Absalom would say, Oh, that I were judge in the land. Then every man with a dispute or cause might come to me, and I would give him justice.

And whenever a man came near to pay homage to him, that is because he was the son of the king, right? So they will come to pay homage to him. And then he would put out his hand and take hold of him and kiss him. In other words, false humility. Once again, and whenever a man came near to pay homage to him, he would put out his hand and take hold of him and kiss him.

Thus Absalom did to all of Israel who came to the king for judgment. He will prevent them from coming to the king. He will speak to them these words. And it says, So Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel. Satan in him cunning ways manifested and rooted in something that has been rooted in the hearts of men since the fall, pride.

Brethren, pride. The desire to be exalted. The desire to be better than others. The desire to be heard. The desire to be accepted.

The desire to be applauded. The desire to be recognized. The desire to be followed. The desire to be the example. The desire to be the standard.

And whatever other words comes into your mind, pride. Pride took these men to go even against his father and to do all of these cunning conversations and all these cunning devices to steal the heart of the men of Israel. And this is going to cause David to flee from Jerusalem because he actually managed to steal the hearts of the men of Israel, brethren. Pride produces and moves the eyes of self to be centered in self. Pride is manifested in self-entitlement.

You know, like I deserve these things. They are not providing what I need. This is what I deserve. And I'm upset in the heart, and I'm secretly upset in the heart because they do not provide what I need. They are not who they are supposed to be.

I deserve those things, self-entitlement. And that moves to self-pity. You know, like only if I had the possibility of have this or that, or if they would do this or that, building walls of indifference to the brethren for self-entitlement, of self-pity, or just this selfishness, you know, moving us to just be centered in self. And everyone else is judged by my mind, and everyone else is judged by my heart, and everyone else is judged by my standard, and everyone else is put through the standard of my perfect mind. And if they do not meet it, then even can get into frustration, And then even I can get upset, and even I can get into depression because of the frustration that I see in the lack of conformity of those around me to the image of Jesus Christ.

No, brethren, this is prideful behavior, and this steals the heart from gratitude and thanksgiving. Gratitude and thanksgiving. I'm not speaking gratitude and thanksgiving to the Lord. Of course, we give thanks to the Lord, but gratitude to the Lord because of those who are around us. Gratitude for the brothers and sisters that the Lord has placed around us.

Selfishness will always remove that gratitude, genuine gratitude. And then we will have this hyper-Calvinistic view of giving thanks. Oh, the Lord has blessed me with such many things. The Lord has provided for me what I need. The Lord has provided what I have.

The Lord has provided all of these things. And many times those things have been provided through the brethren or have been provided to our own people around us. But this selfishness moves to a person to only acknowledge the divine. God has given this to me, which is true. But the hearts are removed from gratitude towards the brethren, gratitude to the one that conforms, the one that guides, the one that helps brothers and sisters, gratitude in the heart, one for the other, helps us to fight against against pride in the heart, to be thankful for the faces and the countenance of those who the Lord has placed around us and seeing them as valuable.

Because then if this is what we should now have, pride, then the virtue that we should have in our heart, brethren, is humility. Of course, that is found in Philippians chapter 2. Then if you turn to Philippians chapter 2 and we finish there, that is found in Philippians chapter 2, brethren. Humility is what we need in our hearts. not to have these prideful ways, not to have these prideful thoughts, not to have these prideful ways of self-entitlement, selfishness, self-pity, never saying thanks to the brethren, never being thankful for what the Lord has put around us, but rather humility, brethren.

Chapter 2 of Philippians. It says, so if there is any encouragement in Philippians chapter 2 verse 1, so if there is any encouragement in Christ, if any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind or like-minded, unity, having the same love, unity, being in full accord and of one mind, unity. Do not face nothing from selfish ambition or conceit against pride. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility or in other other words, in lowliness of mind, a mind that considers self in a lowly way, lowliness of mind, says do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility, count others more significant than yourselves. count others or consider others better than yourself.

Consider others as superior, if you want, if that offends our flesh, but consider others as superior as yourself. This is what we ought to do for us to be of one mind, of one accord, to consider others, that every time that we enter into the congregation, everyone is better than I am. Everyone that is there is superior, more significant, of more value, of more worth, if you want, than what I am, contrary to the prideful flesh. Brethren, let each of you look not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. And of course, this is just because Christ Jesus has given us a great example, brethren.

Our Lord has given us the greatest example, the one who had all the glory as God himself. He will say there from verse five onwards with this glorious passage that being in the form of God, he did not consider robbery to be equal with God. He made himself of no reputation. He condescended to be incarnate, to take the form of flesh. There was the humility, the humiliation of Christ.

And He not only died, but He submitted to the law of the Lord. He submitted to the law even of Moses. He submitted perfectly to the law of Moses. He was the lawgiver, His righteousness, and He submitted to the law Himself. And He received the punishment of the law as if He was a sinner.

He died upon the cross. This is the humility, the condescension of the Lord Jesus Christ. And in that condescension, He died upon the cross for unworthy sinners. And then we will say, yes, but he was then highly exalted. Yes, brethren, he was highly exalted by the Father, and he was given a name that is above every name, and every knee will bow or shall bow to him.

But brethren... In eternity, the condescension and the humility of Christ continues because now this God who was a spirit and this God who is a spirit better than this God who is transcendent in glory, He has already condescended to be a man. And He will remain like a man in the appearance of a man for the rest of eternity. And in Jesus Christ, we will not only see the depths and the beauties of all the attributes of God, But also in Jesus Christ, we will see eternally the humility of God in condescending not only to redeem us, but to remain in the likeness of a man, to remain in like a man, to be with us. He has condescended in that way.

Now, any prideful way in us is contrary to the gospel. That's why the apostle says, walk worthy of the gospel of Christ. And this oneness of mine, brethren, requires Requires humility and requires that we fight against pride and all of those things. Brethren, may the Lord help us and may the Lord guide us to be unified as Cornerstone Reformed Baptist Church, his church, and to be unified in the Lord. May the Lord bless these words to your ears and to your hearts.

Amen.