The storms, chaos, and crises we face within and outside of the church offer unprecedented challenge and opportunity. Maximizing the opportunities of this season – including Christianity once again becoming the source of meaning and purpose in people’s lives – requires we address the problems created by our doctrines. The challenges we face will be exacerbated if we do not.

Let me say it again for emphasis: Doctrines are generally necessary, good, and serve an important function in the formation of Christians and the function of the Body of Christ. The problems with doctrines lie in the priority we give them, our restricted focus on them, and our misuse of them. The well-intended but flawed applications of our doctrines have truly damaged the Body of Christ and unnecessarily thwarted Jesus Christ’s purpose in building His church into His wife.

In summary, doctrines create problems for the Body of Christ in the following ways.

1. They provide a ready substitute for faith, good works, truth, etc.
2. They are used for the wrong purposes (e.g., defining and protecting our fellowships, relating to God).
3. They unnecessarily divide the Body of Christ, delaying the Lord’s return.
4. They inhibit us from spiritual growth in the truth, discourage stewardship of the mysteries of God, and lead to an ignorance of wonder.
5. They encourage living from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, thereby trapping us in our heads and away from our hearts.

We will flesh out each of these assertions here and in subsequent articles. As always, your comments, concerns, and questions are welcomed and appreciated. We are also available to speak on this topic.

In Part One, we argued that there are things doctrines simply cannot be (e.g., faith, truth, the will of God). In Part Two, we presented the eternal purposes of God – reign, intimacy, habitation, and glory – that doctrines simply cannot accomplish. Here we will present what is arguably the most damaging problem with our doctrines: our divisive use of them.

The Priority of Unity

And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, “Alleluia! For theLord God Omnipotent reigns! Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Revelation 19:6-8

One of the greatest opportunities afforded to us by God through the storms, chaos, and crises of this season is the transformation such seasons invite. Indeed, the intensity of the storms suggests God is up to something special, perhaps even the final reformation of the Body of Christ into the wife of the Lamb. Stop and consider that for a moment. Does it not excite you? Does it not make you wonder, what if? What if we are the last generation of the wife who has made herself ready?

Three observations about this passage: First, “His wife has made herself ready” suggests we have a significant part to play. Second, “the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints,” not their righteous doctrines. Third, the wife of the Lamb will certainly not be dismembered, but perfectly complete, whole, and beautiful. This begs a rather worrisome question: How on earth are we to get there from here? Something quite radical must occur!

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Romans 12:2

Our transformation originates in the renewing of our minds; and this by the Holy Spirit (2Corinthians 3:18). Our participation with the Holy Spirit begins with our repentance – literally, a change of mind (metanoia). The most significant change of mind NOT being considered by church leaders is a shift toward the prioritization of the unity of ALL believers over our divisive doctrines. Without question and without hyperbole, the exercise of our doctrinal differences has done the greatest damage to the Body of Christ.

The Bridegroom has not been praying for an indoctrinated wife, but one who is unified.

I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. John 17:20-23

Notice carefully: Our unity with one another preconditions our unity with the Father and Son, which in turn preconditions the world believing the Father loves them and sent Jesus for them. This does not preclude other approaches to evangelism, but it is the Holy Bible’s prescribed method. Indeed, Jesus has given His glory to us for that very reason. Is this not the Gospel? Should it not be the core of our doctrines? Then why are we so divided?

Second only to the Father’s glory, Jesus’ deepest desire is for our unity. He encourages us to love one another. He has been praying over 2000 years and has given us His glory that the Father would make us one. The purpose of the five-fold ministry is the same.

And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 4:11-13).

Reflecting on Matthew 16:24 – Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” – Oswald Chambers suggests:

Individuality and personality are not the same; and the former constrains the latter. God designed human nature for Himself; individuality debases human nature for itself. The characteristics of individuality are independence and self-assertiveness. It is the continual assertion of individuality that hinders our spiritual life more than anything else.

The same is true for church fellowships and denominations. Our desires to be unique “expressions of faith” work against the desires of our Lord; even to the point of competition against one another. Writing more than fifty years ago, A. W. Tozer recognized this problem.

A local church, as long as it is indwelt by the Holy Spirit, cannot entertain the psychology of competition. When it begins to compete, it is a true church of God no longer. We should ask God to give us the psychology of, and desire for, cooperation. A. W. Tozer

Our divisiveness has worked to conform us to the world. We are not in a good place. A kingdom divided against itself cannot stand (Mark 3:24) is the reason so many denominations have fallen into egregious sin. What more can one say? We will close with several Bible passages and quotes, hoping they will be words for faith and encouragement toward repentance and transformation.

Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. 1Corinthians 1:10

“No divisions among you.” Are reasons for division rising up in your mind? Set them aside and give a moment’s consideration to “no” meaning no.

Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Philippians 2:1-4

Divisiveness in the church has been a challenge since the First Century. We have a lot of momentum in the wrong direction. Reversing course will require significant effort – exceedingly, abundantly greater effort than we can ask or think… according to the power that works in us. What might God do with those who will submit to that power. 

For Jesus to become Christ, he must surpass the bounds of space and time, ethnicity, nationality, class, and gender. Frankly, he must rise above any religion formed in His name that remains tribal, clannish, xenophobic, or exclusionary. Otherwise, he is not the “Savior of the World” at all. Christian Scripture says that to be a Christian is to be known by your love (John 13:35), not the name you give yourselves… or which creed you subscribe to; but by your love—boundless, unconditional, and indiscriminate love. Richard Rohr

I would add one additional qualifier: Sacrificial love is the core of God’s love for us – the love Jesus commands us to have for one another. And yes, He would have us sacrifice much of our doctrinal correctness in love for one another.

Remind them of these things, charging them before the Lord not to strive about words to no profit, to the ruin of the hearer. 2Timothy 2:14

Here’s a couple of questions worth considering: Would you rather be right or in relationship with the brother or sister God puts into your sphere of care? What role does our separation from them play in their ruin?

We shall never be able, I say, to rest in the bosom of the Father, till the fatherhood is fully revealed to us in the love of the brothers. For He cannot be our Father, save as He is their Father; and if we do not see Him and feel Him as their Father, we cannot know Him as ours. G. MacDonald

Now there’s a good starting point. Can we at least see our Father and feel our Father as their Father? Or will we be like the prodigal’s older brother (Luke 15:28-32)?

And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also. 1John 4:21

We evidence our love for God by the love we have for our brothers and sisters in Christ. How comfortable are we governing our love in deference and defense of our doctrines? The Body of Christ in other parts of the world is not so divided – particularly due to suffering, trial, and persecution. We cannot seem to find unity without it. Even before the Great Commission there is the command to love one another.

A Word About the Kingdom of God

For the kingdom of God is not in word but in power. 1Corinthians 4:20

I woke up from a dream the other day, thinking about the way I think about the kingdom of God and the world. Particularly during my formative years as a Christian, I spent so much of my time struggling to exercise my faith in the workplace that I never approached work as being within God’s kingdom. Instead, I treated work as a place to which I needed to take the kingdom. In other words, I had the boundaries inside out.

This inversion of the kingdom threatens other contexts as well: the kingdom in my family versus my family in the kingdom; the kingdom in my church fellowship versus my church fellowship in the kingdom; even the kingdom in me versus me in the kingdom. Then there is the matter of our thinking about God’s kingdom in relation to our doctrinal boxes. Which defines, contains, and constrains the other?

It seems to me we should challenge our paradigms around containers, particularly the kingdom container. “Your kingdom come” is not about geographic or even spiritual presence, but the effect of His kingdom in a particular place and time. His kingdom never left wherever “here” might be because “here” has always been a part of His kingdom.

The doctrinal box problem is both a product of our faulty perspectives and a motivation for the persistence of that error – in every area of our lives. The kingdom of God does not fit withing our more easily defined, recognized, rationalized, and measured boundaries. Put the kingdom on the inside of everything, and it becomes easier to understand and manage. Of course, this is only possible by leaving some or much of the kingdom behind.

Furthermore, it strokes our ego to think we are taking the kingdom with us into the world, as persons and fellowships. We communicate this to encourage a change in behavior, but doing so muddles our presentation and understanding of the truth. Pursuing this line of thinking in regards to our doctrines provides:

1. A fuller understanding of the kingdom and its application over every area of our lives;
2. A better understanding of faith;
3. A better understanding of religion;
4. An invitation to re-examine the meaning of other Christian terms and concepts;
5. The exposure of our doctrinal boxes;
6. An increased understanding and appreciation of the ongoing Incarnation (i.e., where the kingdom and the material world meet); and,
7. Whatever additional knowledge and faith this leads to, general and specific to a believer’s life.

Perhaps it is important to point out that we do not intend to disparage or reduce the importance of any Christian terms or concepts, but to clarify and reimagine the kingdom of God as the boundary for everything else. Ultimately, we hope that the kingdom perspective will make us free to love one another and encourage the wife of the Lamb to make herself ready.

God bless you with wisdom, discernment, patience, and courage for a life characterized by more than the doctrines you have been given – that the wife of the Lamb would make herself ready for His return.

Have a strong day in the Lord,

Rob

#iamjustthepen