Y
ears ago, during the early 1970's, I
found myself facing a spiritual crisis. Even though I had
been led to an elementary knowledge of God in my youth, for
years I had felt little need for God in my life. I never
really knew him. Approaching my 30's, I was healthy, strong,
and took great pride in my ability to "take care of
myself". But God is patient. And, more importantly to
me, he is merciful and gracious and full of love for his
creation. For many of us, it is when we are brought low that
God can lift us up. In our own weakness, we can experience
the strength and love of God. To paraphrase C.S. Lewis in
The
Problem of Pain, sometimes our hands are so full of good
things that we have no room left to hold the blessings of
God. And there are blessings that he is eager to give us if
we would only extend our hands to receive them. So my hands
were made empty and ready to receive.
I
had a small family. We were living in
a basement apartment in a large city, over 2000 miles from
our small home town. We had almost no possessions. The only
furniture we owned consisted of a used crib and a card table
from the Goodwill store.We were deep in poverty, barely able
to make a living. We were unable to license and insure our
car, or renew my driver's license. I loaned the battery from
the car to another couple who lived in another part of town
and never saw it again. I rode the bus during the week to my
minimum wage job in a box factory across town. We eventually
sold the car for fifty dollars for food and other needs. We
had no washing machine, and could seldom afford to take our
clothes to the coin laundry. My wife, washed clothes in the
bathtub, rubbing them clean in soapy water by hand. We had no
telephone, which made it difficult to find a better job. It
appeared we were trapped with no way out. I felt helpless as
I began to realize how easily my human abilities could be
defeated by simple circumstances of time and place. I was
brought to my knees. It was in those dark days that I sought
God, and he began to speak to my heart of the futility of
human endeavor apart from him. We often are given our first
real glimpse of God through our tears. And so it was with me.
G
od revealed himself to me then. I
began to be filled with an insatiable hunger for his
presence. I was ready to do anything he wanted me to do if
only I could be close to him. I wanted him to come to me, if
only he would, in his glory while I prayed. I wanted to
commune with him in visions, if it were possible. And I
wanted to know in which of the many churches he dwelled. I
wanted to fellowship with the true people of God and worship
in his presence with those that know him and love him. I
wanted to find his true church. Which one was it?
A
s I sought the "true church"
a dilemma began to become apparent. From the perspective of
our little apartment in this "Bible Belt" city, it
seemed that we were surrounded on every side by churches of
every kind imaginable. I had long ago acquired a dislike and
distrust of "organized religion" and was incredibly
frustrated as I agonized over my predicament. If we were to
go to one of these churches, to "try it out," the
preacher would probably collar us on the way out and want to
come and visit us. Not knowing much about "spiritual
truth," being a spiritual "baby" (Hebrews
5:13), and seeking truth without a mentor and guide
(I
know now that Christ has always been my guide. But I was not
aware then that he was leading me), I was afraid of
ending up in "the wrong church" for the rest of my
life. I was in a state of great frustration. So hungry for
the word! So hungry for God in my life!...but where do I go
to be fed? Where do I go to find him? Where is his true
church? Where are his people?
I
knelt and prayed for long hours for
help and guidance. I would lie awake on my bed at night,
praying until I fell asleep exhausted, praying to God that he
would lead my wife, my young family, and me to his people, to
his church, to his presence. I studied the Bible daily, and
read all the Christian literature I could lay my hands on. I
tuned in to religious programs on TV and radio hoping to find
that church that I knew existed. I knew that
everyone
couldn't be right, but I thought that
someone
must be
right.
F
inally, after months of prayer and
study, my wife and I began to attend a church, and soon we
both gave our lives to God. Although this church was not well
known or very large, and their beliefs were considered
legalistic and far removed from mainstream Christianity, we
felt that we had found the "one true church."
(Interestingly,
this church was founded in the 1930's by a man who had then
faced this same dilemma of trying to find the "true
church.")
G
od had at last led us to fellowship
with other Christians, and we truly thought we were finally
in the "true church," We fellowshipped exclusively
with this church for over two decades, making the move back
to our small home town in the mean time. Then, in the late
1980's and early 1990's, the religious "belief
system" of this church began to collapse. God began to
point out certain errors in our doctrines, and then the many
other doctrines that were built on, and depended on, these
erroneous doctrines began to fall like dominos, one after
another. Other churches had long regarded us as a heretical
sect, or even a cult, and now it was being shown to us that
their accusations were not entirely without reason and
substance.
A
great and wonderful miracle was being
performed! A work of mighty power! God led most of an entire
denomination to a greater understanding of the truth! God
dealt with the church as a group, and he also dealt with us
as his individual children, for each of us had unique needs
and varying capacities for such profound changes in our
cherished and heartfelt beliefs. Each of us had to decide the
path we would now take. Some elected to hold to the church's
original beliefs, not accepting these changes, and the church
began to produce splinter groups. We had received "new
wine," and when new wine is poured into an old wineskin,
it splits. When an old church receives new truth, there will
be splits. The old church had to become a "new
wineskin" in order to receive the new wine. It did, and
the new wineskin now bears very little resemblance to the
old.
(For more specific information on this part of my
background, visit
this site
.
Marvel at what God can do to lead the greater part of entire
church to a greater understanding of his truth!)
M
y family and I now enjoy fellowshiping
occasionally with other Christians of various denominations.
We also hosted a small group in our home for a time. We
accept all Christians as brothers and sisters in Christ, and
worship with them wherever they are found, regardless of the
name on the sign out on the lawn or over the door. Someone in
a chat room once made a remark about
"church-hopping" while I was describing my
ministry, and I asked how one could "church-hop"
when there is only one church. The person was unable to
reply. I now clearly see the church as one body, the Body of
Christ. I also understand that not everyone in the church
sees the church in exactly this way. Tragically, many outside
the church do not see it in this way, either.
W
hat is the point I am trying to make?
One of the things that God taught us was that we are not
alone. We have many brethren, in many churches, even though
there
is
only one true church.
The church I
attended was absolutely right
about there being only
one
true church, but, contrary to our beliefs, it wasn't made
up of
our
members alone. Now, our group, who had
called other churches "false churches" and even
worse, found itself publicly apologizing to these other
Christian denominations and their members for our long-time
adversarial stance toward them. As I began to realize the
implications of all of this, my confusion and grief at losing
something for which I had given so many years of my life
began to be replaced with great joy and elation. God had
answered my prayer! He had led me to the true church! It was
not to be found exclusively in any of those church buildings
that surrounded our home in Nashville. It was not to be found
exclusively in any denomination at all. God is so much bigger
than that. In Isaiah 66:1-2, God says, "The heaven is my
throne, and the earth is my footstool. Where is the house
that you build for me? And where is the place of my rest? For
all those things my hand has made, but to this man I will
look, to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and
trembles at my word."
I
t became apparent that no
denomination, congregation, or other sub-group held exclusive
claim to the presence of God. Each Christian has a
relationship with God, regardless of, and sometimes in spite
of, the place where they have been "going to
church." And the fellowship of his people exists in the
bond of the Holy Spirit. Every Christian in whom the Spirit
dwells is responsible for accepting, loving and
fellowshipping with every other brother and sister in Christ.
The martyr Stephen spoke to a group of people who thought
that they were the exclusive people of God. (Their ancestors
had been God's nation, his covenant people, for a while.)
These people could not accept Stephen's words, so they killed
him on the spot with stones. In this final sermon, Stephen
recounted the history of the Israelites, how they had
possessed, at one time, the tabernacle of God (Acts 7:44)..
He told them they had been the "church in the
wilderness" (Acts 7:38), God's "one true
church." Then, before he died, he quoted from Isaiah
66:1-2, mentioned above. Stephen said, "Solomon built
him a house (Solomon built a physical temple to God),
however,
the most High does not dwell in temples made with
hands, as the prophet says, 'Heaven is my throne, and
earth is my footstool. What house will you build for me, or
what is the place of my rest? Hasn't my hand made all these
things?'"
I
f the most High does not dwell in
"temples made with hands," then where
does
he dwell? He tells us in his word: "Now therefore you
are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens
with the saints, and of the household of God, and are built
upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus
Christ himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom all the
building fitly framed together grows unto a holy temple in
the Lord, in whom you are also builded together for a
habitation of God through the Spirit" (Ephesians
2:19-22)
T
he church itself is the holy temple of
God. There is only one temple, and there is only one church.
It is "built" of each and every Christian. God
lives here, in this temple built of Christians, through the
Spirit. Jesus Christ is called the chief cornerstone. There
is one building, supported and strengthened and held together
on this chief cornerstone. There are not many, many
buildings, built on only one chief cornerstone. Neither are
there many separate buildings, built on many, many chief
cornerstones. There is only one chief cornerstone, and there
is only one building built upon it. This is the
authoritative, unrebuttable, true word of God on the matter.
There is no valid argument to the contrary. We have no choice
but to acknowledge the truth of God's word as it decides the
issue. Christians have no excuse whatsoever for permitting
any kind of division or schism in the Body of Christ.
T
hese words to the ancient church at
Ephesus were written to deal with seemingly impossible
differences between Jews and Gentiles in the early church who
were called together to be "fellow citizens with the
saints." The same words apply to us today. All that
remains for us is to come before God and ask him to give us a
clear vision of the church as
he
sees it, and to fill
us with love for all our Christian brothers and sisters. He
is
the Almighty God, my fellow saints!
Do
we trust him?
There will most certainly be obstacles
along the way as we work for oneness, and at times I'm sure
it will appear that we are only creating more schisms.
We
must not lose faith!
Don't believe what other men and
women say about it. Do not accept all their reasons (excuses)
for denominational apartheid, division and warfare. Study and
see what the word of God says about unity, and about
divisions, believe what it says. Then we must trust God to
accomplish his clearly expressed will. There is again a new
wineskin being made ready to receive new wine. That new
wineskin is the
complete church.
We will come together
in Christ. Please choose to work as instruments of God to
make it come to pass, and be a part of this great Christian
church, living in the bond of the Holy Spirit of love.
T
his is only a brief overview of a part
of my life, sharing some of my personal experiences and
allowing you a small glimpse of the thoughts of my heart. If
you share this vision of Christians united in love, please
write us and let us know. Then, do what you can to help lead
our Christian brothers and sisters back together, to
Christian reunion. We were together for a brief moment in
time, at the beginning, when the church first partook of the
Holy Spirit of love. God's word says we will be together
again, as a witness to the world of the power of the the
Great and Almighty God. We were destined to be a living
witness of our loving Father working in and through his
converted children, calling the people of the nations to the
true church of the anointed Messiah who is sent from God to
the world for the salvation of his beloved family.
P
lease pray for this ministry.
John F. Davis,
Director
Christian Reunion Ministries
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