1 Corinthians 1:10 English Standard Version (ESV)

Divisions in the Church

¹⁰ I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.

Yesterday it was said that God makes Himself known in the manner that we will accept. Consider this, we are all different and how we accept hearing God will be different. It is not a matter of what is true, it is a matter of incremental changes in our hearts and minds.

No one instantly knows all truths. We receive them as we are able to accept them. Even when we agree upon the same truth, how we express ourselves may not be the same. We listen to each other differently than we listen to the Spirit. We are human and our interactions with one another are often clouded by emotional attachments or distancing.

In order for the same mind and same judgment to be one, it cannot be that of an individual for then we become man followers and not God followers. It must be the mind of Christ and judgments that are true. Truth is only by revelation of the Spirit of truth.

All of us are not of the same age spiritually. Spiritual maturity doesn’t have anything to do with age. One that insists on “being right” has a tendency to ignore the words of others. He has stopped listening. Even if he is right, it is wrong to shut down communications. Reasoning with one another means listening to understand how the other communicates and find the source of their understanding.

Does theology come from man’s study of God or God’s revelation to man? Are all church doctrines the same? Where do they agree? Where do they differ? Did we all receive the same instructions in godliness? Do they study alone or in partnership with another?

All these issues and more need to be clarified. That cannot be done in silence.

Ephesians 1:17-18 English Standard Version (ESV)

¹⁷ that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, ¹⁸ having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,

It should be obvious from all the words that have been shared thru the prophets that God has every intention for His creation to come to know Him. This revelation of knowledge is not educational, it is heart knowledge. Once the Spirit of truth is given, His is the indwelling presence of God. Coming to know Him there is not a matter of education but rather experience in the Spirit.

God will make Himself know in our hearts in a way that only He knows we will understand. We can tell ourselves that we can come to know God by reading His Word. Jesus Christ is the Word. The Holy Spirit will only testify of Jesus Christ and revelation of who He is in us only begins with reading His Word, the bible.

How will God make Himself known? That is a personal question that only God can answer to those who seek Him with their whole hearts. Doing that is not a mental exercise. Spirit speaks to spirit and as such is a different way of hearing and seeing than with our natural eyes and ears. Paul prayed this for the people in Ephesus because He knew that God would find a way to touch each believer in a way that they would understand.

Seeking God begins with accepting that God is reaching out to us in ways that we are willing to accept. Listening to others and how they hear God may only lead to frustration in trying to make God answer us like someone else and not ourselves.

No matter how we hear God, the message will always be the same because God does not change.