Chapter VIII

The Unity and Love of Christ

Note: This chapter was also published originally as a stand alone article, written shortly after Chapter 7.

The last few months -- in fact, the last couple of years, have been ones of sore trial and test. I have had my faith challenged to the very bone.

But I thank the Living Jesus Christ, Who is the Head of His Church, that He has preserved me through all of the trials and test of my life. I still do not fully comprehend His reasons for trying me in certain ways, but I am sure that I shall someday understand -- even if that day of understanding isn’t until the resurrection!

I came into the knowledge of God’s Truth n the mid to late seventies. I learned the foundational truths through the Church with which Christ was then working (or at least the one with which He was working at the time to which He introduced me). Through that Church, I learned many things. Unfortunately, the truth that I learned from them was not complete, and was mixed, as I have stated on some other occasions, with some grievous errors.

I am not going to go through a complete rehearsal of the errors I learned at that time, nor am I going to itemize the truths. These can be left for another time and place. Suffice it to say that, for whatever reason, Christ allowed me to suffer under some very STRONG DELUSIONS -- delusions that have kept me from the discovery of some very fundamental truths! In fact, for well over ten years it was as though I was in a period of spiritual dormancy. Perhaps, like the butterfly, God allowed me to sleep during this period because it was not yet His time fro those things to be revealed! Indeed, I am fairly well convinced that God does not always reveal all of His Truth to us at any particular time because it would not be conducive to the working out of His Divine purpose according to HIS TIMELINE. And, since this NEW TRUTH will unleash such spiritual power that the world can’t help but notice, and since that notice will cause a tremendous BACKLASH OF PERSECUTION ON GOD’S PEOPLE, I am certain that God has saved this understanding until the very last moment of this age!

As I stated in the previous chapter, the first few years of the early Church were marked by a lifestyle and consequent spiritual power that no time in God’s Church has since experienced. These first Christians were close to the FOUNDATION OF CHRIST and the early apostles, and thus were conducting themselves as God would have us conduct ourselves. This zeal for the truth was manifested in their having a UNITY OF PURPOSE in Christ such as has NEVER SINCE HAPPENED among God’s people. Out of this purity of life, zeal, and truth was borne the fruit of the very POWER OF GOD’S SPIRIT working through them in miracles such as has not been seen since. Even the very SHADOW of the Apostles could heal!

But, by the time of most of Paul’s writings, deceitful workers, false apostles, and false ministers had already begin to make their inroads into God’s Church. False doctrines spread like wildfire, infecting the tree with a rot that was to turn the Church of God into the Catholic Church. Gone was most of the power, the fruit of the Spirit, and the simple lifestyle of the early Church. People had started abusing the generosity of other saints, ignoring the incident of Annanias and Sapphira, and people had begun to become weary in well doing as a result.

Some evidently got the idea that they could “sponge off of” the productive members of the Body of Christ, walking about as busybodies, filled with gossip, and probably judging others. Paul said that “if anyone will not work, neither shall he eat.” These people were causing some to become “weary in well doing.” [see II Thes. 3:10-15, which shows what Paul said to do in this situation.]

By the time when the Apostle John was the last of the original apostles still alive, the rot had progressed even further. There were even me ministers who would not read his letters to the church, and who disfellowshipped those who remained loyal to the truth he represented. Even though the majority appears to have went after these false ministers, there were still some few who listened to sound doctrine. The books of II and III John cover this subject.

Further, you should note that John’s trust in his letters, like his Gospel account, concentrates on love and oneness with Christ. Apparently, the original love in God’s Church had all but died out by this time. It is also interesting that John is almost the last to have his epistles included in the New Testament, followed only by Jude, whose epistle is almost wholly devoted to “contending for the faith once delivered.” The Revelation is a prophetic book, but shows the characteristics of the Church through the ages in its first few chapters, serving as one more warning to contend for the faith once delivered.

It seems that human nature falls into one of two ditches. It either makes the Law so binding and all inclusive as to become a smothering burden, or it makes the Law of God of no affect, preferring to turn grace into license to sin. [Rom. 6:1] Humanity seems to follow these two opposite paths, never coming to a proper understanding of what God intends for us.

It does appear that by the time the Apostle John wrote his first letter, the church had begin to teach that “God’s Law is done away,” because John replied by saying: “now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, ‘I know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. But, whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him out himself also to walk as He walked. [I Jn. 2:3-6] In this passage, it is obvious that John was trying to restore the true balance to the Church, as it had been at the beginning.

It seems that humanity never seems to get the point -- or, if they get it for a short time, they will forget if they are not reminded. It is important, though, in this FINAL MOMENT of this wicked age, that we discover once again the power of God’s love and God’s Grace, and that we know how it fits into our daily lives.

Coming from a world that is so far from God -- a world which has had the wrong family structure for hundreds of years, a world that doesn’t look into the Word of God for instruction on the true way of life, a world that is materialistic and hedonistic -- it is almost impossible to come to an understanding of what God wants for us. If our minds, though, are supernaturally opened to an understanding of His Word, then, even today, there is hope.

But, we must cast off the misconceptions created by the “old wineskin” of human tradition. Christ said, “Nor do people put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.” [Mtt. 9:17] We must not try to understand the Truth of God through the blinders of human tradition.

By backing up a few verses, to verses 9, we see that Christ had just called a tax collector to be His disciple (this was Matthew). Christ then went into his house, and was surrounded by sinners and tax collectors. The hypocritical Pharisees, not understanding anything of God’s love, but blinded by human tradition to see religion as a regimen of do’s and don’ts, were incensed. You see, Christ poured His precious NEW TRUTH into these NEW WINESKINS -- sinners unpolluted by the world’s concept of religion -- so that it would not be affected by false religious ideas. The sinners and tax collectors knew that they did not know God’s will already, but the Pharisees and other religious people thought they knew everything already, and so were not teachable. Thus, they could not understand a simple phrase of Christ’s when He said in verse 13 “I desire mercy and not sacrifice.” Now this phrase was a quote of Hos. 6:6, but still, even though they had it in their scriptures, the religious leaders overlooked this truth and twisted God’s Word until it bore no resemblance to its original intent. This is why Christ went on to say in t he latter part of the same verse: “For I did not come to call the [self] righteous, but [those who know that they are] sinners to repentance.” Christ was starting all over, then, with a new priesthood, raising up a new people into which to put His New Truth (new wine), which was really not new, but had been in His Word all along if only the people had had their eyes open to see it.

Thus, when I came into God’s Church back in 1977, I could perceive that something was not quite right. The Church had had great knowledge restored that had been lost through many years of being driven underground. But, God had used a personality t restore the Truth that He had chosen to restore it that was a little bit pharisaic. The very same characteristics that made Herbert W. Armstrong dig for the Truth with a fine toothed comb and fight for that truth like a pit bull against all opposition were the same characteristics that mad e that same man opinionated and blind to the grace of God. The mind that is caught up in legalism -- being ever so CAREFUL that one has EVERYTHING JUST RIGHT -- is the same type of mind that, like the Pharisees, can easily get so caught up in the DETAILS of the truth that THE WHOLE, BEAUTIFUL, PICTURE IS OBSCURED!

It is true that we must “earnestly contend for the faith once delivered” [Jude 3]; however, we must understand that no one since the time of the early apostles fully understood what that faith WAS, and so the legalists must understand that the greatest point of God’s Law, IS LOVE AND MERCY. [I Cor. 13:13] In fact, the entire 13th chapter of I Cor. explains this point very eloquently. Paul says that even if he gave “my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.” [vs. 3]

I think that it is almost impossible for the mind of a Pharisee to properly understand this. Since a Pharisee thinks in terms of do’s and don’ts, and feels that he or she must be EVER SO CAREFUL not to violate God’s Law in even the slightest point, it is easy to think of religion as a physical regimen of things that one DOES OR DOES NOT DO, instead of realizing that even the best of us, humanly, without God’s grace and forgiveness is doomed to die.

Paul spent a lot of time on this subject, so there must have been a pharisaic bent in t he early church once the first love had died out. By the time of John, though, the pendulum had swung to the other extreme, with people no doubt feeling that since God is a merciful God, it didn’t matter what they did, they would be forgiven. Neither extreme is true, but, to err in favor of grace is less bad than to ere in favor of law, because GOD IS LOVE [I Jn. 4:8] Christ hated the Pharisees above all others, because legalism breeds hypocrisy and self-righteousness, which are the two most anti-God attitudes of all, since a self-righteous man is almost impossible to correct. In fact, if I had a choice between a sinner and a self-righteous hypocrite, I would, like Christ, choose to be with the sinner! At least the sinner will listen to reason, and isn’t always comparing himself with others so that he can get a thrill out of how much more he thinks he “knows” and how much “closer” he is to God.

In fact, right up until the moment when I was writing the above lines, there was a tendency of mine that I could not understand. For years after coming into God’s Church, I stayed away from those who “seemed righteous,” and seemed to relate better to those who were, seemingly, a little more “signal,” or just “regular people.” I have even found that the company of some in the world was preferable to that of some of my “brethren” in God’s own Church!

I have heard in sermons and read in articles that one who prefers the more sinful is suspect as far as that one’s closeness to God. I had been taught that a spiritual mind would naturally prefer the company of a like spirited mind. Perhaps this has some truth in it, but, if Christ is to be our example, and we are to follow Him, we can’t escape the conclusion that He spent a great deal of His time with, and was the friend of, “sinners.” I see now the Pharisee’s exclusive attitude is just one more indicator of pharisaicalism -- after all, it was the Pharisee who spent all of their time going to each other’s houses, because they felt that the “dirty rotten sinners” were beneath them, and they didn’t want to become contaminated by association with sinners!

God’s way is a way of love for our fellow man. We should treat ALL MEN AS BROTHERS -- not just the brethren in God’s church. As such, we should have a caring attitude for all, just like the Good Samaritan. [And how we fail to understand Christ’s rebuke to the Pharisees in THAT STORY! The Pharisees considered Samaritans to be on the same level as dogs, yet here was Christ saying that a dirty rotten Samaritan was better than the other good religious folk who passed by. Tsk tsk! Christ was like a bull in a china shop!]

We must come to a point where we want to have a UNIFIED LIFE IN CHRIST! Only then can we truly understand fully what He wants us to know.

Today, the modern life is divided into three main areas: work, home, and religion. These three areas of life were unified in the time of Christ, as pointed out in my article on brotherly love. The family was almost everything. They lived together, they worked together, and they worshipped together. Life was the unified whole it was meant by God to be, not the PATCHWORK QUILT our modern world has made it with artificial separations.

As I stated in the last chapter, when the Christian was called out of this world, he was yanked from the WORLD’S UNIFIED WHOLE INTO GOD’S UNIFIED WHOLE -- THE NEW FAMILY OF CHRIST! This new family became the large EXTENDED FAMILY of the New Family of God, rather than a biological family of MAN. Only through a proper understanding of the extended family can one come to a true understanding of God’s Family. And, only through a proper understanding of God’s family can we come to a proper understanding of God’s purpose for us today, and of what His Kingdom shall be like tomorrow.

Just as God did not intend for our lives to be divided against themselves into three parts, like an unholy trinity, so only by HEALING THIS ARTIFICIAL DIVISION can we fully appreciate what God is doing through humanity.

Herbert Armstrong said in his Autobiography that he did not fully understand God’s Holy Days until he started keeping them. And then, finally, only after SEVEN LONG YEARS of keeping them did the understanding of their meaning become plain! In just such a way, we can NEVER FULLY UNDERSTAND the Family and Kingdom of God, or indeed God’s love, before we heal the three part breach in our lives today!

I cannot say that I fully understand what applying this Truth will reveal to God’s people, but I can say, based on past example in both God’s Church and in scripture, that if we start living God’s way, and TRULY COME OUT OF THIS WORLD, then God will reveal in His due time that which He wants to show us. And when that truth is revealed, that enhanced understanding of the Family of God, we will, I am certain, realize, like having a veil lifted from our minds, why we have not had the spiritual power and zeal of the early church!

For all those years that I fellowshipped with His Church that then was, I felt that there was something missing -- some spiritual dimension lacking that should not be missing. They called themselves brethren and one family in Christ, but did not act accordingly by and large, with but a few exceptions. They called themselves the “Philadelphia era” of God’s church, meaning the era that had BROTHERLY LOVE, but they did not prove it by their actions. Sure, most of them appeared to be “good people” but as far as having a true spirit of Goodly, brotherly love for each other and mankind, it was lacking. There are even some PROTESTANT CHURCHES, of the evangelical type, that appear to have more love that God’s own people -- and I knew that this should not be so.

I also knew that along with love, miracles and other signs should follow the true Church of God. It is true that at the beginning of the Worldwide Church of God, they did seem to have more faith. But, as revealed in Rev. 3, talking about the Sardis era of God’s Church, they “have the name of being alive, but are dead.” To be sure, to look at them physically, they looked like a living, vital organization (that is, until shortly after this passage was written; by 1995 the organization was in a state of rapid decline, and now it has shrunk by about 80%!] -- but the Bible labels them as having a name that has life, and yet is DEAD. In addition, Christ warns the Sardis people to hold on to the truth they had in t he beginning, and is on the verge of death. That aptly describes them at the present moment, 1997.

The reason this phase of God’s church is spiritually DEAD is THE SAME REASON THAT THE PHARISEES WERE SPIRITUALLY DEAD -- they had become to pre-occupied with the do’s and don’ts of the letter of God’s Law, while ignoring the “weightier matter” of the love for each other and their fellow man. Thus, tragically, just as the Bible predicted, these people had restored to them great knowledge in the beginning, but they lacked the Christian love God commanded them to have. Yet, strangely, even though they lacked love, they could not see that fact. They were and are blended by their own haughty attitude (characteristic also of the Laodicean Church, which, puffed up with human vanity and self righteousness feels that it is “rich [spiritually] and increased with goods, and has need of nothing, when you are in fact poor and blind and naked”), arrogantly thinking that they are the only ones through whom God could possibly work, that their leadership is inspired by God, and nobody else, and that that leadership can’t possibly go wrong. This doctrine of infallibility is even now taking their lampstand away from before the very throne of God, who commands them to “wake up and repent, lest I come upon you as a thief in the night.”

You see, as Paul said to the Gelatins, even he could go wrong if he would have allowed himself to. And, if he DID GO WRONG, then the church was to no longer receive Him! The LAY MEMBERS, not some monolithic church hierarchy, ruling in arrogant vanity over the people, were responsible for checking up on those who claimed to be apostles and God’s ministers, seeing for themselves from the very Word of God, our only guide, whether what they taught was so! [Gal. 1:6-9] We can never allow ourselves to become so careless or deceived that we follow a MAN instead of CHRIST, the TRUE HEAD of His Church.

Now that the blinders have been taken from my eyes so that I can see the problems, I now see a new way of life in unity with Christ in every aspect of life, which shall guide His servants in the way that they should go! As I stated above, only by living the way that God intends us, with a UNIFIED life in Christ, can we ever hope to really understand what God wants us to do.

Since writing the previous chapter, I have wrestled with HOW such a thing can be done in a world structured exactly the opposite of God’s pattern. I believe that now GOD HAS GIVEN ME THE ANSWER, AT LEAST IN PART!

If each member of God’s Church would follow the example of the first Christians, and sell all that they had (lands, houses, etc.), and pooled those resources, using them to build a planned community, with everyone living in the same area in each city where enough of God’s people lived to make it possible, then most of the problems we face from a hostile world could be overcome.

In addition, if all business activity were centrally coordinated by the Christian Family (at least in each city or local area) so that each man now worked for his new family n Christ, rather than to enrich some WORLDLY BOSS, then, as stated in the previous article, the family and community could have the resources to greatly expand the scope of the Work of God, spreading the Church’s influence into every aspect of the local community. In addition, the profit from the Family Business combined with the tithes and offerings of God’s people would produce more money for the preaching of the Gospel than ever before in history. The Work could grow like wildfire, as people in the world contrasted their wretched lifestyles with that shown by the Family of God.

We could have every type of business imaginable, but always doing things God’s way, giving people their money’s worth, or even more, thus showing the world God’s way of doing business. This can all be done by individual Christians building businesses and hiring other brethren where possible, and coordinating local efforts with those in other areas when possible through Headquarters.

We could have all kinds of businesses, including banks and mortgage companies! The possibilities are endless.

As soon as possible, it is my intent to start a PUBLISHING COMPANY, publishing a magazine distributed to EVERY HOME IN THE NATION, and eventually worldwide! This could all be financed by the advertising of the businesses of God’s own Family, as well as any outside business that wants to participate. This will not be a religious magazine per se, but will have articles to make people start to think, from where they are, and then provide an avenue for finding out more if the Spirit of God leads them. The revenue generated from the advertising of the businesses will mean that the magazine will be distributed at no cost whatsoever to God’s Work. There are many more details on the specifics of how this will work, but I cannot go into them here.

Further, I believe we will also want to establish our own CABLE NETWORK, showing people how to IMPROVE THEIR LIVES through practical, interesting programs. And, since we will control the network, we will be able to broadcast GOD’S TRUTH nightly into every home, almost, in the nation, and many in the world at large, without the Work being burdened with outrageous broadcasting bills, as the network will be supported by the advertisements sold for our regular programming!

Don’t be fooled, though. We are warned that mankind today, just like ancient Israel, will not long endure hearing sound doctrine. Political and religious opposition and persecution will quickly rise up to shut off the Gospel message, just as it did so many centuries ago to the first era of God’s Church. Crooked, corrupt politicians and religious leaders will suppress us out of FEAR for their jobs, positions, authority, and hegemony in people’s lives. Brutal, deadly force, such as occurred in Waco, will be used to suppress the Truth once again, and the great Famine of the Word prophesied to occur at the very end of the Age will happen. Perhaps the undisputed POWER OF GOD manifested through His Church, combined with the power of the Gospel message will actually help bring on the Great Tribulation! I think, considering past history, and what commonly happens to God’s people and prophets, that this is most likely to happen.

In closing, then, I feel that God’s time has come for His final great message of warning and witness to a dying world. To do this, Christ will not use a moribund body of Pharisees hung up on false doctrines and preoccupied with internal strafes and disputes and divisions, but He will raise up the very stones, if need be, to make sure that His message gets out to the world. God says in rev. 3 that He has set before this church an “open door, which no man can shut.” He also promises that, unlike any other phase of His Church, which had no worldly strength, that we will have a little strength! Yes, it will be but a little strength, but it will be enough to Finnish the Work that God has told us to do. The harvest will be abundant, so much so that in comparison the laborers will be few. Why don’t you bring meaning into your life now, by following the clear Word of God?

We knew that Satan’s sin sick world has but a short time left. Of what use are blind, material pursuits, when the Word of God promises us the true riches? In this world, there are so many tormented, both mentally and physically. We live in the final dying gasp of a sick way of life. Man is reaping the bitter fruit of thousands of years of sin cut off from God. We know that only the return of Jesus Christ can save this world from suicide. But, those called by God now will have the blessing of living in harmony, as much as possible today with the sinful world and incomplete understanding, with the Word of God.

God’s way brings peace of mind. It heals us from wrong thoughts, wrong habits, and wrong attitudes fostered by sin. God also promises His people a measure of material property because the Christian is obeying the Laws of the universe He set up to bring us prosperity. And, finally, as an added bonus God is revealing to us how we are to live together as one Christina Family, both now and into eternity. The blessings are many, and so will be the trials. God does not call us to an easy or a broad way, and not many shall find His Way of Life. Christ is the fountain from which will flow RIVERS OF LIVING WATER in the Millennium. The world will be able to drink freely of those waters only then, but He is offering you a drink of those healing waters now. What a privilege and a blessing it is to have one mind opened to the way of God NOW, instead of having to wait!

If you have read this far, God is probably calling you. Despite the lies you have learned from a dying society, or a dead church body, or a false church body, I am sure that you feel in the back of your mind that all of this somehow makes sense. Perhaps it appears crazy -- the most outrageous religious fanaticism -- on the surface, but, as you peer into the glass, you somehow see that it is, despite prejudice, somehow true. If you can see even this much, then God is most likely issuing a call to you now.

Of curse, Christ Himself recognized that most would trample underfoot the precious gems of Truth His Spirit reveals to the mind. He said that “many are called, but few are chosen.” Yes, indeed, that is so true. The way of God does not at first appear easy, possible, or true. But nothing in this world can deny the Truth of God. Only a few Christians thousands of years ago were privileged to see what you see before you today. They answered the call of God -- sometimes THOUSANDS A DAY! They sensed the truth, the power, the spiritual zeal of those early apostles, and they responded with joy to that call. They left mother, father, sister, brother, cousin, aunt, job, house -- everything for the sake of the God News of God’s soon coming Kingdom! Nothing else had meaning any more. They understood, as did Abraham, that they were STRANGERS AND PILGRIMS in this world, and that their hope was a HEAVENLY -- not an earthly -- hope! [Heb. 11:13]

They came by the thousands into the new Family of God. They who were not a people became a people. Those who were not a nation became a nation -- God’s Holy Nation, Mount Zion! They understood the simple, plain message of those apostles who had given their all several years before to follow Christ. Those apostles asked nothing more of the new Christians than they themselves had given. God stands before you this day. You can elect to do nothing, discounting this precious truth as fanaticism. Or, you can answer the call of God today, put your hand in His, and let Him lead you into all Truth, Joy, and Righteousness. Christ says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with me.” [Rev. 3:20] God is waiting for your response!

If you would like to know more:

The Restoration Church of God believes in reaching out to people from all walks of life, and providing all people the opportunity to improve their lives with each day. Some will be interested in our practical, self help systems only, others in the Spiritual aspect only, and others in learning all they can abut the exciting plans God has for the immediate future.

Our outreach ministry, Destiny Worldwide Associates, is open to all, and is designed to give you the practical, down to earth education you need for success in life. It also makes available the tools you need for success. See The Destiny Central, elsewhere n this domain, for more details. Please be patient as this is a new website, and is still very much under construction.

In the future, companies we decide to work with will give our members, coworkers, and friends the opportunities they need to succeed in life. These are separate corporations, and not necessarily part of the church or sponsored by a Family member. If you desire spiritual enrichment and enlightenment, you are welcome to peruse the many resources available on this web site.

Those involved in one activity of the Family are never pressured to participate in any other aspect , and non-church members of good character are always free to participate in activities of the Association.

I realize that these concepts and ideas may sound a little confusing to people coming to this information with a compartmentalized, rather than a unified, view of life. If there are not Bible studies or church services in your area, we have a weekly web sermon program where you can read a sermon or Bible study once a week right on this website. Soon, we hope to make these presentations in real audio.

So please, browse the many resources on this website and the Destiny site, and stop back often to see what’s new. We are always here to help you as needed.

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