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.