Is Christ Divided?

Greetings in the name of Jesus! This is Rob Haymes. This is 15 Minutes With Jesus. Wherever two or three are gathered together in My name, Jesus said, there am I in the midst of them. To those of you who love Him in truth: mercy unto you and peace and love be multiplied.

Thank you Lord, Amen! Thank you Lord! I want to thank you for this program that you’ve given me today Father. I want to thank you Father for opening hearts; I pray that you would open our hearts to see and understand what the Spirit of the Lord is saying. Thank you Father, in Jesus’ name. 

Today’s program is called, Is Christ Divided? Let’s turn to 1 Cor 1:1, Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, to the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours: grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 

I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus, that you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge, even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you, so that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. 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. For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe's household, that there are contentions among you. Now I say this, that each of you says, "I am of Paul," or "I am of Apollos," or "I am of Cephas," or "I am of Christ." Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?  I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, lest anyone should say that I had baptized in my own name. Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas. Besides, I do not know whether I baptized any other. For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect. For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.  Chapter 2, verse 1, And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.  God is faithful, by whom you were called  into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. In 1 John 1 we read, …truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. …God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. 

Psalm 133, Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious oil upon the head, running down on the beard, the beard of Aaron, running down on the edge of his garments. It is like the dew of Hermon, descending upon the mountains of Zion; for there the Lord commanded the blessing—life forevermore. Where? Where brethren dwell together in unity. In order for us to dwell together in unity we must come out of darkness into His marvelous light. 1 Pet 2:9, But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy. In order to have the fellowship of God’s Son Jesus Christ, we must walk in the light, as He is in the light; we must cleanse ourselves of all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. The Temple of God is Holy!, which Temple we are. In order for our fellowship to be a habitation of God, through the Spirit, we must perfect holiness; we must have the fear of God; we must love Him and keep His commandments; keep His Words. If we keep His commandments we will abide in His love, even as He keeps His Father’s commandments and abides in His love. We must know what they are.  What did Jesus say? What did the Apostles say? 

Don’t be afraid to come out into Jesus’ light; He loves you and He will wash you in the water of His Word, leading you in repentance, and He will cleanse you in His precious Blood, white as snow. Then, as we come out of the darkness into His marvelous light, we can have true fellowship with Him, and with one another. As we embrace His Words, His truth, we can dwell together in unity with Him and with one another. There the Lord commands the blessing: life forevermore. We are being built together for a habitation of God through the Spirit: a holy Temple, in which He is pleased to dwell, where there is no darkness at all. Only those who love Him, and will come out into His light, and be cleansed and be changed, will be there. 

Eph 4:1, I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were 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. Verse 11, 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; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. This all comes about through the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, in His body, the Church, the pillar and ground of the truth, through His true ministers and saints, which He has called and established in His Word; walking in His Word; walking in the light; in the Holy Spirit, and in His love. The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who is given unto us: love unfeigned. We must separate ourselves from the false teachers who don’t bring the true doctrine of Jesus. We must make a real commitment to God, from our hearts, to believe what is written in His Word, over what any man says; over every doctrine of man; over every tradition of men, which make the Word of God of no effect. If we are sincere, and we seek after righteousness with all our heart, we can do this. The Holy Spirit is with us, and He will guide us into all truth: His Word is truth. 

Acts 2:42,  And they continued steadfastly in the Apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the Apostles. This is what they did in the beginning of the Church of Jesus Christ, and this is what we need to do now in the last days. This is the Church, continuing steadfastly in the Apostles’ doctrine: the entire New Testament, as it is written, and revealed by the Holy Spirit. If we are continuing in the true Word of God, then we can have true fellowship, with the Father, and with His Son, and with one another. This is walking in the light. The doctrines of men and the traditions of men make the Word of God of no effect in our lives; they bring darkness; they obscure the Cross of Jesus Christ, and the work of the Cross in our lives. Our fellowship is in the Gospel of Jesus Christ; His sacrifice upon the Cross for our sins; His death; His burial, and His resurrection. Our fellowship is in the power of God that raised Him from the dead, not in the wisdom of men! This is where the blessing is! This is the only place where we can have true unity in Jesus and in the Father, with one another. Behold how good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! There the Lord commands the blessing: life forevermore!

What are we divided over?, the doctrines of men; the lies that have been in the hearts of Christians for hundreds of years. What can we do about it? What can you and I do? We can come back to the Apostles’ doctrine, and begin to steadfastly continue in it, asking the Lord to send His Holy Spirit to teach us and deliver us from every false doctrine of men and of the devil. We must humble ourselves before Him and repent of every lie which we have knowingly or unknowingly embraced. We must confess our sins and we must forgive one another from the heart and love one another and come out into Jesus’ marvelous light and be cleansed and be washed and be sanctified unto Him, that He might build us together again into a holy Temple in the Lord: a holy habitation for our great God, loving Him, and offering Him true worship in the Word of God through the Spirit. Our fellowship is in the truth; in the Word of God; in the Spirit of God. 

Eph 5:25, Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the Word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. 

Thank you for reading this message from 15 Minutes With Jesus at roberthaymes.com . May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you who love Him in truth, Amen.