[Thankful Jane]

David Canfield in post #65: Some of the later posts focus on our need to have an attitude of oneness in the heart, which is very good. But, in the New Testament we not only see such an inward attitude; we also have solid, definite local churches, with a defined and identifiable leadership. The believers absolutely needed to be gathered together with these churches, so that the Lord could have His testimony. This is why we must be sure that our basis for gathering is according to the New Testament, especially given the horrible and hopelessly confused situation in Christianity today. So, it is not enough to have an attitude of oneness; we must also learn how to meet in such a way as to keep the oneness. This is why the matter of the proper ground is so crucial.

Igzy in post #62: The situation in Christianity is "horrible and hopeless" only when compared to an idealistic standard which may not even be what the Lord desires.

The following are some notes I made about a month ago. I’m posting them, after editing them for readability, as food for thought, because they came to mind after reading the above. (Sorry, there are verses without references but they can be found by searching a King James version, if you are interested.)

Lee taught us that God's foremost, all-consuming concern, with respect to His house and to the bride of Christ, was a testimony of “oneness.” This is the premise upon which he built his case that God needed a “practical expression” of oneness on the ground of locality.

After looking into the Bible for myself to see what it reveals to be of greatest importance to God, I have come to believe that Lee’s premise was false.

In the Bible, I cannot find that “oneness” is what is most important to God with respect to His people and His habitation. Rather, I find that His emphasis is on their holiness, in both Old and New Testaments. There is no possibility of any thing called oneness, without holiness. The Father is holy. Jesus is holy. They were perfectly one in that holiness. Christ died for us that we would also be made holy. As we are made holy by the blood of the Lamb and by the washing of the water in the Word, we are truly one with God and Christ and with one another.

I am convinced that the Bible supports that the most important thing to God concerning His people and His habitation is holiness, not oneness; He desires and requires, first and foremost, that His people, His habitation, be holy.

A word search of the Bible on “oneness,” “unity,” “be ye one,” “be one,” etc. produces a paltry list of verses supporting the idea that God’s desire and requirement for His house is “oneness,” in comparison to the list of verses that show his desire for it being holy.

A word search on “holy,” “holiness,” “be ye holy,” “be holy,” returns hundreds of verses which appear to be primarily about God’s people and about what God desires and expects concerning them.

For example:

- His habitation is a mountain of holiness.

- Holiness becomes thine house, O LORD, for ever.

- And they shall call them, The holy people, The redeemed of the LORD: and thou shalt be called, Sought out, A city not forsaken.

- But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness

- The people of thy holiness have possessed it but a little while: our adversaries have trodden down thy sanctuary.

- And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

- For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.

- That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

- According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love.

- If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

God’s people are called “saints” which means “holy ones.”

In the Local Church, because we became convinced that what we called “practical oneness” was pre-eminent in importance to God, everything in the Bible went through that filter. In verses such as above, we would understand the word “holiness” as if it actually said “oneness.”

How much righteousness and holiness do we see in the Local Church today? Holiness has been let go in order to preserve sectarian oneness.

How many messages did Mr. Lee give on holiness??? What is one of the biggest doctrinal hang-ups that many people, who leave, or kind-of-leave, the Local Church, have? Are they hung-up about needing to be holy? No, they are confused about “church” and are struggling with "oneness” concerns. Some are so stuck on the idea that God is looking for a “testimony of oneness” that this colors all their thinking and fellowship …. They believe they still have a superior understanding of the topic.

The operative Local Church belief is that Christ is coming for the church that is practically one, even though the Bible says of His bride that she is “holy and without blemish,” not that she is a testimony of practical oneness. She is clothed in fine linen bright and pure. She is clothed with the light. She has come out of filthiness and is washed and sanctified (made holy) by His Word and His blood. Revelation calls the New Jerusalem the Holy City not the Oneness City.

It seems that once infected with the “practical-oneness-is-what-God-is-after” disease, it is almost impossible to recover from it.

I was surprised to realize that in John 17, there is no evidence that Jesus was praying for a visible or practical church oneness that others could see, as Lee claimed. Instead, He was praying that we all be one as the Father and Son are.

Joh 17:11 And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one,as we are.

How are the Father and Son one? Just what does “one as we are” look like? Does it look like a bunch of people surrounded by a city boundary who can say “we are one because we understand and practice the doctrine of locality?”

Take a look at Revelation. Just what are those in heaven saying--those before the throne of God and the Lamb, those who are seeing Him as He is on the throne … what are they saying day and night?

“Oneness, Oneness, Oneness” ??

No, their cry is, “HOLY, HOLY, HOLY” over and over and over, day and night.

Be ye holy as I AM holy. I AM is holy, so must we be.

Being taught that Satan feared our “oneness” most of all, we embraced, as supreme in importance, a perverted, packaged definition and model, of oneness (ground of locality). We then practiced that model at the expense of holiness. Why? because we were deceived by the devil who really feared our walking in holiness by the blood and the Word.

Satan knows that when God’s people are clean, righteous, holy, they can move heaven and earth with their prayers and that God’s enemies will be made a footstool for the feet of Jesus. He also knows that defilement defeats God’s people and stops God’s answers to their prayers. Having a vested interest in stopping our effective prayers, Satan had to make something more important to us than holiness. In our case, that something was a special understanding and practice of “oneness.” When there was a choice between being “holy” or being “one,” holy lost out.

So, the bad news is that in the Local Church case, oneness has trumped holiness and the devil has won, at least temporarily…but the good news is that Revelation shows multitudes of cleansed ones, holy ones, undefiled ones--the bride of Christ--who overcame Satan.

May we be in that number.

Instead of continuing to spin our wheels in the church oneness mire, shouldn’t we begin now to learn how to say “Holy, Holy, Holy,” to be holy as He is, and to move heaven and earth with our prayers?