Our Commitment - To Oneness

I. Onen= ess is God’s Concern

A. The Bible tel= ls us that God’s very form of existence is in the

= Oneness of the Godhead. The Father, the Son, and the

= Spirit, each equally God, mutually indwell and interpenetrate

= one another in a state of loving oneness.

B. The Old Testament worship provided= only one temple and

= required the twelve tribes of Israel to come together as on= e

= three times a year.

C. Jesus testified that He and the Fa= ther are one (Jn. 10:30)

D. In one of His last prayers before = His crucifixion, Jesus

= prayed repeatedly that all His disciples would be one (Jn.

= 17:11,21-23).

II. = ; The Natural Man Has No Heart for Oneness

A. At Bethel all natural oneness was destroyed (Gen. 11:6-9).

B. On all the earth only in America have we seen E Pluribus

Unum, “Out of Many, One”, yet even here we are full of

divisions by state, religion, culture, race, language, politics,

religion and whatever else we can find.

C. The religious aspec= t of Christianity has resulted in hundreds

of divisions. The are = more so-called “churches” in Columbus

than bars.

D. The natural man (us= when we are not in our spirit) has no

taste= or heart for oneness (R= om. 8:5-8).

III. The Church is God’s Expression of Oneness

A. At the cross the Lord Jesus restor= ed the oneness lost at

Babel: “He has made both one and has broken down the

middle wall of partition (Eph. 2:14).

B. Sometimes religious “leaders” try to take advantage of the

believers’ desire for oneness. They insist we must follow

them in order to be one, and demand that we meet their

approval (Gal. 4:17).

C. We don’t have= to do anything to become one. God h= as made

us one. This is our st= and (Gal 4:17).

D. Our labor is to kee= p the oneness: “Being diligen= t to keep the

oneness of the Spirit…” (Eph. 4:1-6).<= /p>