Quote:
Originally Posted by OBW
...the evidence of the ground of oneness is simply to declare yourself to be according to a secular/political boundary and declare that everyone else is not.
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I have been very interested in the idea of multiplicity and/or unity in scriptures, and its ability to inform our discussion.
In the aspect of "Spirit", we have the "one Spirit" of Ephesians 4:4 and we have multiplicity of spirits pretty much everywhere else. We have the "spirits of just men made perfect" in Hebrews 12, we have "angels as ministering spirits" in Hebrews 1, etc. We even have 7 spirits before the throne in Revelation 1.
Perhaps nowhere is this dichotomy more evident to me than in Zechariah 4:6. "By my Spirit" (singular), says Jehovah of hosts (plural).
So I would like to mention a parable that has informed me somewhat, and relate it to
OBW's comment above, and perhaps place "the problem of the church" in a more spiritual context. The parable was related by the Roman Centurion to Jesus in Matthew 8. My point is this: the centurion had a "host" of soldiers under him, but as an emissary of Caesar the centurion infused them with unity of purpose. If you met a soldier who had been told by the centurion "Do this" (v.9) you would actually see "the will of Caesar expressed". Whatever the soldier is doing is actually "one" with Caesar, via the intermediary order of the centurion. Thus, even though you see multiplicity (many soldiers) you see unity (one purpose).
Now, contrast that with the bedlam of God's enemy. When Jesus asked the Gadarene wild man, "Who are you", the answer was, "We are many". Absent the unity of God's will expressed and carried out, you have confusion and turmoil. You don't have "one", you have "many", you have "Babylon".
Now, on to
OBW's remark. The church does have a defining feature of unity, and this, I would posit, is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We all realize that: a) there is a God; b) we were cut off from God by our sin; and c) we have access back to God through our faith in the Lord Jesus. This is the "one Spirit" that transfuses the many.
Now, what "political/secular boundary" allegiance, using
OBW's words, furthers this notion? None, I say; it merely brings in confusion. This is akin to the Babylonian notion of forcing allegiance to some man-made construct. The external, force "unity constraints" reveal that the source is not "one", but actually "many".
The confirmation of a Babylonian source arrives with subsequent edicts propping up this "boundary allegiance" (see e.g. in Daniel 3/Revelation 13). "One publication" comes to mind, along with "one apostle" and so forth. All these reinforcing constructs get further and further away from the one Spirit of Jesus Christ, but they are needed to keep the whole structure from collapsing under its own weight.