Gods Standard for Unity

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Gods Standard for Unity

• (Eph 43-6) Endeavoring to keep the unity of the
  Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body,
  and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope
  of your calling One Lord, one faith, one
  baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above
  all, and through all, and in you all.

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Unity of the Spirit

• (Rom 814) Led by the Spirit Sons of God!
• How?
• Through the words of those He spoke thru
• (2 Peter 120-21) Knowing this first, that no
  prophecy of the scripture is of any private
  interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old
  time by the will of man but holy men of God
  spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

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Examples

• Samuel (2 Sam 232)
• John (Rev 27) How did the churches hear the
  Spirit?
• David (Acts 116)

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Unity of the Spirit

• Led by the Spirit United with God and with one
  another
• Fulfillment of Jesus Prayer!
• (John 1720-21) Neither pray I for these alone,
  but for them also which shall believe on me
  through their word 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.

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Interdenominational Relationships

• Anything but United
• Modern practice
• Call for Unity in Division
• Pick and choose what standards they want to be
  united on
• God already made the POLICY!

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Gods Standard for Unity

• One Body
• One Spirit
• One Hope
• One Lord
• One Faith
• One Baptism
• One God

Our Foundation for Unity
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ONE GOD!

• Our Father
• Atheist Must Accept This else no Unity
• (Ps 141)
• (Heb 34)
• Idolators must accept this else no Unity
• (Ex 3414)
• Not only a Pagan type of religion
• (Col 35) Mortify therefore your members which
  are upon the earth fornication, uncleanness,
  inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and
  covetousness, which is idolatry

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ONE GOD!

• Seeing how there is one God, there must be one
  type of worship His Way!
• (Ps 2227)
• How will they worship?
• (John 423-24) But the hour cometh, and now is,
  when the true worshippers shall worship the
  Father in spirit and in truth for the Father
  seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit
  and they that worship him must worship him in
  spirit and in truth.

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ONE GOD!

• Try these statements See if you agree
• One God is just as good as another
• Take the God of your choice
• Must be united on our One God!

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ONE LORD!

• Our Savior Christ
• (Acts 236) God hath made Jesus Lord and Christ
• (Phil 211) Every tongue should confess this fact
• One Lord One Authority
• (Matt 175) No longer Moses and Elias God said,
  hear ye him
• (John 1016) Sheep Hear One Fold, One
  Shepherd
• (Matt 2818) All Power given to Jesus!

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ONE LORD!

• One Lord One Salvation
• (John 146)
• (Acts 412)
• Try these statements See if you agree
• One Savior is just as good as another
• Take the Savior of your choice
• Must be united on our One Lord

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ONE SPIRIT!

• Our Teacher
• Jesus promised the Comforter
• (John 1613) Guide you into all truth!
• (John 1426) Two-fold office of the Comforter
• Teaching
• Reminding
• (Luke 2449) Endued Clothed
• Clothed completely surrounded Baptism
• (Acts 18)

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ONE SPIRIT!

• The Apostles received this Power
• (Acts 21-4) filled all the house Immersed
  with the Holy Spirit
• They received the Baptism
• Who is they?

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• The question, then, Who were filled with the
  Holy Spirit? depends upon the reference of the
  pronoun in the statement, "They were all together
  in one place." Those who suppose that the whole
  hundred and twenty are referred to, have to go
  back to the fifteenth verse of the preceding
  chapter to find the antecedent. But, if we
  obliterate the unfortunate separation between the
  first and second chapters, and take the last
  verse of the former into its connection with the
  latter, we will find the true and obvious
  antecedent much nearer at hand. It would read
  thus "The lot fell upon Matthias, and he was
  numbered together with the eleven apostles. And
  when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they
  were all with one accord in one place." It is
  indisputable that the antecedent to they is the
  term apostles and it is merely the division of
  the text into chapters, severing the close
  grammatical connection of the words, which has
  hid this most obvious fact from commentators and
  readers.

JW McGarvey
Original Commentary on Acts
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ONE SPIRIT!

• The Spirit is our teacher through the inspired
  word of God
• (2 Tim 316-17)
• Try these statements See if you agree
• One Teacher is just as good as another
• Take the Teacher of your choice
• If the Teacher is important, then why not the
  doctrine that the Teacher teaches?

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ONE FAITH!

• System of Doctrine
• Many Believe that Doctrine doesnt matter.
• God says it does (Eph 44) One Faith
• (Phil 127) Stand Firm in Unity Striving Together
  for the FAITH OF THE GOSPEL!
• (1 Cor 1613) Stand Firm in the Faith!
• (Jude 3) Beloved, when I gave all diligence to
  write unto you of the common salvation, it was
  needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you
  that ye should earnestly contend for the faith
  which was once delivered unto the saints.

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ONE FAITH!

• We have no right to the faith of our choice To
  accept this faith is to accept the word of God
  no more and no less!
• (Rom 1017) Faith comes from Gods Word
• (Acts 2725) Paul was told and Paul believed
• We must obey this One Faith
• (Gal 56) Faith which works through love
• (Rom 1626) Obedience of Faith
• (Rom 617-18) But God be thanked, that ye were
  the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the
  heart that form of doctrine which was delivered
  you. Being then made free from sin, ye became
  the servants of righteousness.

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ONE BAPTISM!

• Birth (John 33) (John 35)
• There were many baptisms
• Those of the Old Law
• Baptism of John
• Baptism of the Holy Ghost
• Baptism of Fire Future baptism
• Right now theres only one Water Baptism
• (Matt 2819-20)
• (Mark 1615-16)

To All Nations
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ONE BAPTISM!

• This Baptism is for the Remission of Sins
• (Acts 238)
• This Baptism is a burial
• (Rom 63-4)
• This Baptism puts one into the Body of Christ
• (1 Cor 1213)
• (Gal 327)
• Example
• (Acts 241 47)

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ONE BODY!

• The Church One, Singular, Only
• (1 Cor 1220) One Body Many Members
• (Col 315) One Body
• Jesus is the Head
• (Eph 122-23)
• (Eph 523)
• We are reconciled to God in the Body
• (Eph 216)
• Is one church as good as another?

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ONE HOPE!

• Eternal Life
• (Titus 211-14)
• (Matt 2521) Well done, thou good and faithful
  servant thou hast been faithful over a few
  things, I will make thee ruler over many things
  enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

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Conclusion

• One Body
• One Spirit
• One Hope
• One Lord
• One Faith
• One Baptism
• One God

Gods Standard for Unity