The apostle Paul discerned a divine agenda in relation to the Church. Reflecting Christ's concluding prayer for a replication of the divine oneness within the believing community (John 17:21-23), the apostle's outline began with "unity of the faith" (Eph. 4:13). That we have fallen considerably short is, of course, an understatement.
Answer does not lie in a further splintering of the Body by the creation of additional organizations and/or self focused identities. We recall a pastor who, having formerly served in a well known denomination, now led a congregation that had experienced "deliverance from sectarian bondage." In fact, he enthused, their fellowship now consisted of five such congregations - seemingly oblivious to having exchanged a large multi-church denomination for a five church denomination. As any student of Church history can attest, endeavors of this nature are far from new.
We would propose three catalysts that will almost certainly prove conducive to the fulfilling of Paul's vision of a matured Bride "without spot or wrinkle...holy and blameless" (Eph. 5:27).
1. A coming move of the Spirit in which Christ's "High Priestly" prayer of John 17 attains fulfillment among the truly committed.
2. An intensifying time of difficulty wherein believers become necessarily dependent upon one another (Matt. 24:9)
3. A call to separation from end time apostasy at a time in which, to the discerning, the choice becomes clear and the decision unavoidably mandated (Rev. 18:4).
Paul perceived the Church, not in terms of sectarian identity but rather, "all who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours" (I Cor. 1:2); "all who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity" (Eph. 6:24); and "all who have loved his appearing" (II Tim. 4:8). To the degree that this becomes the determinant factor in faith and fellowship, the rest will increasingly come into place.
Burl Ratzsch
