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Sunday Evening, June 22, 2008,
This evening, Bro Dale brought a lesson on The Union Heaven Gave
Us. He focused on Eph 4:1-6, where the oneness principles of God
were outlined for the church in Ephesus.
Eph 4:1-6 I
therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk
worthy of the vocation by which ye are called, With all
lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one
another in love; Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in
the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye
are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one
baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and
through all, and in you all.
Paul spends the first three versus of this chapter addressing the
necessity of having a right attitude towards those with less
understanding than ourselves. Truth, if it is really truth, will
cause one to be humble and will not lift a person up in pride.
Having a haughty spirit and having an understanding of truth are
incompatible. They both cannot coexist in the heart of the same
individual. If we are ever to come in the unity of the faith and see
doctrine alike, we must first maintain the unity of the Spirit and
operate "with
all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one
another in love".
After this 1/2 hour discussion, which set the stage for the
remainder of the lesson, we discussed the 7 doctrinal principles of
oneness, addressing each one individually.
One body, one Spirit,
one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism and one God.
These are basic
principles of the Christian faith, yet there is a great need today
to get back to the simplicity of the Gospel. At the end of the
lessen, we sang that old familiar song, The Bond of Perfectness.
One verse says,
God over all, and in us
all,
and through each holy brother.
No power on earth or hell withal,
can rend from each other.
To read the outline of
the lesson, please
click here.
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