By Joe Ventilacion
(Bro. Joe Ventilacion is a minister of the Iglesia Ni Cristo)
Could we still uphold UNITY when there is a CONTROVERSY?
Controversy comes up when something happened that does not make everyone happy and satisfied or when a strong disagreement exists about something among a group of people. Division and disputes happen when a certain group of people would insist their way of thinking instead of finding a way to have a common ground wherein everybody could be at peace and harmony.
One of the major teachings written in the Bible that the Church of Christ upholds at all times is UNITY. The Bible teaches that God is not a God of confusion but of peace (1st Corinthians 14:33) so peace should prevail within the Church. Apostle Paul admonished the faithful that they should “strive for the things that bring peace and the things that build each other up” (Romans 14: 19 CEB).
Division and strife is not of God but is earthly, unspiritual and devilish as taught by James (James 3:14-16 MEV), the apostle who was at the center of the controversy during the time that he was administering the entire Church. This teaching on unity is so crucial that any one who wants to join the Church must know its bases and embrace it religiously.
Before we go on further, let me first cite the biblical proofs for this teaching. Let us start with God’s pronouncement as it is recorded in Psalms 133:1, 3:
“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the dew of Hermon, descending upon the mountains of Zion; for there the LORD commanded the blessing – life forevermore.”
Upholding the teaching concerning the unity is vital since it is relevant to the blessing that God has in store for those who shall obey it. God promises the blessing of eternal life. A person who wishes to receive eternal life could not avoid to observe or keep the unity of the brethren which is good and pleasant in the sight of God. For this reason, anyone who wants to join the brotherhood in the Church of Christ is obligated to practice or observe unity.
To highlight the significance of the unity that His disciples should observe, the Lord Jesus Christ even prayed to God about this in John 17:9 and 11. Let me quote the important things in his prayer:“I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me . . . that they may be one as We are.”This prayer of Christ is for His disciples. They were given to Him by God. How did God give them to Christ? By calling them into the body of Christ (1st Corinthians 1:9; Colossians 3:15; 1:18) which is the Church of Christ (Acts 20:28 LAMSA). Anyone who joins the Church of Christ could not avoid to practice and observe the unity which Christ prayed to God. He called this type of unity as a “perfect” unity (John 17:23), the kind that He and God the Father are jointly observing (v. 22).
It is not surprising that people outside of the Church of Christ do not understand this unity. We do not wonder that the people who belong to the world could not understand this unity because they do not even know God! (John 17:25). Professing to be wise, they became fools (Romans 1:22). And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, He gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done (Romans 1:28 ESV).
Christ did not pray for them, and He calls them as the people that belong to the “world” (John 17:9). He prayed for us, members of His Church, to be one or united. And who are included in this unity of the brethren? Christ said that “that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us” (John 17:21). God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ are in this unity of the Church of Christ.
How many times have you heard people outside of the Church questioning our unity? You probably have heard or read their their opposition to the unity we observe. Others would appeal to emotions and others would present their faulty logic and philosophy just to persuade us to give up our unity. Some would reason out by saying that they are not against our unity per se but they are simply against our unity with the Administration of the Church.
No matter how nice the arguments that are presented to undermine our unity, we are being reminded by the learned Apostle Paul that “don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that comes from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ” (Colossians 2:8 NLT). Philosophy is defined by Webster as “a particular set of ideas about knowledge, truth, the nature and meaning of life, etc. and could also mean as the most basic beliefs, concepts, and attitudes of an individual or a group.”
As a group of people who were called by God to have fellowship with His Son Jesus Christ (1st Corinthians 1:9 TEV), Apostle Paul is telling us in the next verse:“I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak in agreement and there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same frame of mind and the same judgment” (1st Corinthians 1:10 MOUNCE).
The philosophy that was advanced by Apostle Paul is not a product of his own thinking but a frame of mind that came from the Lord Jesus Christ. He emphasized that “there should be no divisions among you but that you should be united in the same frame of mind and the same judgment.”
You might be asking that this exhortation from Apostle Paul is hard for us to do since we have different minds. Each one of us have our own ideas and thinking shaped by our own experience, by our education or profession, by our environment and by the people around us. Not only that, we live in different areas of the world since the Church is now situated in several countries and territories so we are divided geographically. Impossible to achieve? Very hard to do?
When we became members of the Church of Christ, we joined with millions of others who, although are strategically separated from one another but are spiritually united. How could this be done?
Remember that we belong to only one Church, and since we are the body of Christ and He is our Head, we are told to “be renewed in the spirit of our minds” (Ephesians 4:23 ESV) and to possess or to “have the mind of Christ” (Philippians 2:5 ESV). We were likewise told not to have divisions among us but to be united in the same frame of mind and the same judgment.
Was this unity of mind and judgment exhibited by the early Church when it was rocked by controversy? Yes, they did. There was a time that they were embroiled in a dispute concerning the need for circumcision of the Gentile believers (Acts 15:1-2). A group from Judea arrived in Antioch of Syria insisting that the believers should be circumcised as required by the law of Moses, and they claimed that refusal to submit to this requirement would mean that the Gentile believers will not be saved. What did Paul and Barnabas do? Did they just remain silent and let the Judeans do whatever they would like to do in the Church?
Paul and Barnabas disagreed with them, arguing vehemently. The infighting in Antioch is a direct violation of what Christ prayed to God for His disciples. There was no unity of mind during this tumultuous period. Did they go to their own separate way after they have voiced out their own opinions? No, they did not. In fact, in order that unity will prevail, what did they do?
They have decided to send Paul and Barnabas to Jerusalem, accompanied by some local believers, to talk to the apostles and elders about this question. The church sent the delegates to Jerusalem (v. 3) and were welcome by the whole church (v. 4). Why did they go up to Jerusalem? The headquarters or the Central Office of the Church was located in that city during their time.
Paul and Barnabas reported everything God had done through them. However, there was another group from the sect of the Pharisees who believed who stood up and insisted that the Gentile converts must be circumcised and required to follow the law of Moses. Again, at this juncture, there was still no unity of mind. What did the apostles and elders do? They met together to resolve the issue (v. 6).
After a long discussion, Peter stood up and provided the council with his stand. He told them that he some time ago, God chose him to preach to the Gentiles, that God accepted them by giving them the Holy Spirit (v.8). He told them that those who are insisting that the Gentiles should be circumcised are challenging God by burdening them with a yoke that even their ancestors were not able to bear (v.10). Everyone listened quietly as Barnabas and Paul told about the miraculous signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles (v.12).
When they had finished speaking, James stood and told them, “Brothers, listen to me” (v. 13). As they listened to him, he told them that the conversion of the Gentiles is exactly what the prophets predicted and he proceeded to cite the prophecy. What did he say next to the assembled council so that they will have a single frame of mind and that there will be no more divisions among them? He told them his judgment. What was his judgment?
“And so my judgment is that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God” (Acts 15:19 NLT).There is only ONE apostle who made the judgment: James, the leader of the church during the apostolic times. If the other apostles such as Peter, Paul and Barnabas would make their own judgments, will there be a unity of mind? Certainly not. What about if the sect of the Pharisees would also make their own judgment, will there be a unity of mind? Will Christ’s prayer come true that the Church should be “ONE” if each one would use his own mind and make decision on his own?
You have probably seen a chaotic scene in a courtroom; that after the judge announced his decision, a group applauded it while some shouted loudly showing their disapproval of the verdict. We have seen it several times on TV that people in the courtroom have quarreled and fought each other. Others who were not satisfied with the decision would voice out their opinion outside of the courtroom and later on had assembled themselves, picketed and demonstrated in public to show their displeasure over the decision. Could you call this a unity of mind?
Going back to the biblical narrative, did the disciples in that council whose mentality was opposed to the decision of Apostle James protested vehemently when he made a judgment? Did they go to their own separate ways and simply walked out of the room? Did they accuse James of being unfair in his decision? Did they bring their dispute to the political leaders of the city so they could publicly show their grievance and resentment?
On the contrary, the council which was consisted of the apostles and elders, together with the whole church in Jerusalem chose delegates, and they sent them to Antioch of Syria with Paul and Barnabas to report on this decision. They brought the letter from Jerusalem to Antioch, where they called a general meeting of believers and delivered the letter (v. 30).
Did any of the ministers who were sent back to Antioch refuse to read the letter? Did any of them say that his heart is heavy and would not read it because the decision from Jerusalem does not favor the group of the Judeans and the Pharisees who where there in their headquarters during the deliberation?And as they were reading the letter, did anybody walk out of the meeting? Did anybody cry or weep when it was being read? Was there a commotion in their gathering?
Luke reported that “there was great joy throughout the church that day as they read the encouraging message” (v. 31). Then Judas and Silas, both being prophets, spoke at length to the believers, encouraging and strengthening their faith (v. 32).
When a decision has been reached and the faithful were informed of the judgment, what is the next step? Apostle Paul, who was the primary advocate of the Gentiles during the council meeting, issued this instruction to the Philippians:“DO ALL THINGS WITHOUT COMPLAINING AND DISPUTING” (Philippians 2:14).
Accepting a judgment from Church leaders without complaining and arguing, but instead receiving it with joy and happiness, shows respect and submission to the one who made the judgment. But there is more to that because Apostle Paul spoke about “obedience” not only in his presence but much more in his absence, that by being obedient, they are working out their own salvation (Philippians 2:12).
Readers of my posting come from around the world, majority are members of the Church of Christ. Wherever you are situated, whatever is your situation in life, we are bound together as members of the same body, one or united in obedience to the words of God. We must remain united with God and His Son Jesus Christ since this is what God expects from us, this is what Christ prayed for.
So we now come to an interesting question that needs your honest answer.
Are you truly ONE with GOD and our Lord JESUS CHRIST?
Before you would answer this question honestly, please take a closer look at the verses that I have quoted below. Even if you have answered the question in the positive, reflect upon the truth presented by Apostle John. It is still worth your precious time to read his statement of faith:
“THAT WHICH WE HAVE SEEN AND HEARD WE PROCLAIM HIM ALSO TO YOU, SO THAT YOU TOO MAY HAVE FELLOWSHIP WITH US; AND INDEED OUR FELLOWSHIP IS WITH THE FATHER AND WITH HIS SON JESUS CHRIST” (1st John 1:3 ESV).
Apostle John represents the Church Administration during his time when he issued this statement. This one runs parallel to the words of Christ when He proclaimed that “anyone who welcomes my messenger is welcoming me, and anyone who welcomes me is welcoming the Father who sent me” (John 13:20 NLT).You are ONE with God and His Son Jesus Christ if you are ONE with the Administration of the Church.
May the LORD continue to bless our Executive Minister, Brother EDUARDO V. MANALO with exceeding knowledge and wisdom, coupled with sound judgment, in leading us to our own salvation.
A final word of exhortation comes from Apostle Paul, a person who is not privy to nor immune to controversy:“Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you” (2nd Corinthians 13:11 ESV).
(All Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version unless otherwise indicated.)
