A United Church

by J. McIlvenna | Category: General | Sept 1962

In view of the discussions that have been taking place in many parts of the country between the various church leaders with a view to having a united church in Great Britain, consisting of the Church of Scotland, the Church of England, the Roman Catholic Church, and any other denomination desiring to join, it would seem to be expedient to look at God's desire for His people of this present dispensation. But as there are certain divine principles which run right through the word of God, it would be desirable, first of all, to look at God's people of a past dispensation and then to trace the divine principles as they apply to this present dispensation.

As God's desire for communion with man was broken through sin, it was necessary that God should call out a people for His own possession, and this He did by calling Abraham out of Ur of the Chaldees (Genesis 12.1-8), The instructions that were given to Abram were very clear" Get thee out of (1) thy country, (2) and from thy kindred, (3) and from thy father's house, ... and I will make of thee a great nation."

It was necessary that Abram should separate himself from all that he held dear in order that God might make of him a great nation. His country, his heritage in that country and his kinsfolk, all must be left behind if he were to be separated unto the LORD. So, in response to the word of the LORD, Abram went forth.

He took Lot, his nephew, with him. After Abram's trouble in Egypt, and the trouble with Lot's herdsmen, it became obvious that another separation must take place, namely between Abram and Lot. Lot chose the well-watered Plain of Jordan and moved his tent to Sodom. Then it was that God appeared to Abram again.

In Exodus 10.24-26 we have the call of God to His people, Israel, through His servant Moses, to separate themselves from Egypt. At first, Pharaoh was adamant in his refusal to let the people go, but after he had known the judgement of God upon him, he reluctantly agreed to let Israel go, but their flocks and herds should be left behind. God's call however was to complete separation, therefore not a hoof should be left behind. So, having been redeemed by the blood of the lamb, they were separated from Egypt, and later, God revealed His desire, which was, that they might make Him a sanctuary, that He might dwell among them. See Exodus 25.8. When the tabernacle was completed in accordance with the command of God, we have that beautiful picture of a people dwelling together in unity (Exodus 40.83, 84). Of this people Balaam said in a later day, "It is a people that dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations" (Numbers 23.9).

As God's rest in creation was marred because of sin, so also was God's rest in His people, because they adopted the gods and ways of the nations, and in their desire to be like the nations they said, "Make us a king to judge us like all the nations" (1 Samuel 8.5).

It was a sad day in the history of Israel when they desired to be "like all the nations," for in doing so they were rejecting God as their King. The man whom we would least have expected to have caused serious trouble in Israel was Solomon, who had been used of God to build the house of God in Jerusalem, and yet it is sad to note that it was he who broke down the wall of separation between Israel and the nations, and introduced things which were contrary to the will of God. This he did by marrying women of foreign nations, and eventually worshipping their gods (1 Kings 11. 9). Because of Solomon's disobedience God decreed that the kingdom would be divided, which took place in the days of his son, Rehoboam, who through his own added folly lost ten tribes to Jeroboam.

Israel went on further into sin like the nations, and the two tribes did that which was contrary to the will of God (1 Kings 14.22); the ten tribes gave to the golden calves in Bethel and Dan the place they should have given to God.

God could not allow such disobedience to continue unpunished and so Israel were led into captivity from which they have not returned (1 Kings 14.14-16; 2 Kings 17), and Judah were carried off by Nebuchadnezzar into Babylon, where they remained for seventy years (2 Kings 21. 10-14; 2 Chronicles 36.16-20).

In Matthew 10.84-86 we have the words of the Lord Jesus Christ, " I came not to send peace, but a sword," and here we have the parallel to what we had in the call of Abram. In Abram's case the call of God resulted in separation, likewise in this present dispensation the call of God brings about separation. Spiritual separation may divide members of a household, but there is no scriptural command for those who have answered the divine call to leave their home and live apart from their unbelieving kinsfolk unless the enmity of their kinsfolk makes it impossible for them ~o remain with them.

The divine principle is further seen in John 17 in which we have the prayer of the Lord Jesus Christ concerning His disciples. In that prayer the Lord twice stated that the disciples were not of the world even as He was not of the world (verses 13, 16), in other words they had a call which had separated them from the world just as much as Israel's call had separated them from Egypt. There was also the Lord's desire, a desire expressed no fewer than four times, "that they may be one" (verses 11, 20, 21, 22, 28). This visible oneness could only be seen in churches of God forming together the house of God, and this unity is first seen in Acts 2. Therefore the divine principle for God's people of this present dispensation is the same as it was for the past dispensation, a united but separate people. In Israel's case they were united round a visible tabernacle and separated from the nations, but today God's people should be united in churches of God and separated from the world and from all other denominations.

But just as in Old Testament times, periods of depression set in, so also has it been in this present dispensation, and early in this dispensation so far as we know, the Fellowship ceased to exist. Why then is it that we who issue this magazine claim to be churches of God in the Fellowship of the Son of God, Jesus Christ our Lord?

While Judah was in Babylon they could not sing the songs of Zion, but after seventy years God caused the spirits of some of them to be stirred up to return to Jerusalem to rebuild what had been destroyed by king Nebuchadnezzar (Ezra 1.5). Only a small number were prepared to sever their connexion with Babylon that they might obey the will of God. It was not as formerly when not a hoof was left behind. There were many difficulties for those who returned to Jerusalem; their adversaries were numerous and much purging out had to be done. This was necessary if God's will were to be accomplished in them. So, in our day, some, having had their spirits stirred up by God, returned from a spiritual Babylon to constitute again the Fellowship of the Son of God, Jesus Christ our Lord, but like those who returned from the Babylon of a past day, these were only a small people.

The principle found in Ezra, where some came and asked that they might help in the building of the house, saying, "For we seek your God as you do" (4. 2) were firmly answered, "Ye have nothing to do with us to build a house unto our God," applies to us today. God desires unity in His people, and separation from the world, and separation from the sects and systems of men who seek to serve God in a way contrary to the will of God for His together people in the

house of God.

J. McIlvenna | Sept 1962
General