The Spirit and Unity

W. Carl Ketcherside

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     The Holy Spirit is a personality. He is not a nebulous mass of goodness in the spiritual atmosphere nor a gray cloud of righteousness floating about in the firmament. He is not a mere influence or disposition. He is the cause and not a result; a principal rather than a principle. These truths we have previously affirmed and committed to print in this little journal, together with ample scriptural documentation. It is not necessary that we rehearse them.

     When Jesus was preparing to depart from this earth he comforted his sorrowing disciples with the words, "I will not leave you orphans; I will come unto you. One does not cease to be an orphan if you inaugurate a law for him to obey or give him a book of instructions to follow. He remains an orphan until adopted by someone who takes the place of the loved one who has gone away. So Jesus said, "I will ask the Father to give you another Helper to be with you for ever, even the Spirit of truth: the world cannot receive him, because it neither sees nor knows him, but you know him, because he remains with you and will be within you."

     The term "for ever" is an idiomatic expression which means "unto the age" or "during the age." The Holy Spirit has been sent to abide with the saints on earth during the age in which the Lord is absent. He does not replace Jesus as a savior or mediator. "There is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." The Spirit is our Helper, or Strengthener, while the Son directs his rule of conquest from his place at the right hand of the Father. In his present capacity, the Spirit could not precede Jesus to earth nor be here during his presence on earth. The Son said, "I am telling you the truth--my going is for your good. If I do not depart, the Helper will not come to you; whereas, if I go, I will send him to you."

     The coming of the Spirit was not only to refresh the saints and make them flowing fountains of grace and truth, but also to assure them that what Jesus had promised while on earth had taken place in heaven. Since the Spirit was to act as the divine medium of proof of the coronation of the new king in a remote capital city, he could not come until Jesus had been coronated in His glory. This is in harmony with the words of John 7:37-39, "Now on the last day, the great day of the festival, Jesus stood and cried aloud, 'If anyone is athirst, let him come to me and drink; he who believes on me out of his body, as scripture says, streams of living water will flow' (he meant by this the Spirit which those who believed in him were to receive--as yet there was no Spirit, because Jesus had not been glorified yet)."

     It will be conceded, I think, that the testimony to such an event as the transfer of power from God to His Son, must be presented in undeniable fashion. The two

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forms of credible human testimony in the order of their validity are visual and audible. Thus the Holy Spirit employed these two methods in his initial coming, so that Peter could say, "This Jesus God raised, as we can all bear witness. Uplifted then by God's right hand and receiving from the Father the long-promised holy Spirit, he has poured on us, what you now see and hear."

     This is the dispensation of the Spirit so far as God's elect on earth are concerned. At the foundation of the world the Spirit was associated in creation. God originated the plan, the Logos (Word) executed it, the Spirit hovered over the primordial earth when it was waste and void, bringing order out of chaos. Before the advent of the Logos, who became flesh and dwelled among us, the Spirit motivated the prophets of God, enabling them to predict and describe in advance the coming reign of the Messiah. Now the Spirit has been sent by the Father to complete the divine purpose on earth. He now dwells among us as Jesus once abode with men to perfect the design of heaven. The Son must reign until he has put all enemies under his feet. The Spirit is not a ghost, but a holy guest among us, laboring to this end.

     It is not our intention in this article to discuss the many facets of the work of the Spirit. Neither time nor space would allow of this. We shall restrict our theme to the responsibility of the Spirit in the divine imperative of unity and the furtherance of that fellowship of the saints who are made brothers by the blood of the Lamb. So intimately is the Spirit related to this fellowship that it is designated after him, and so important is it that it is associated with the two greatest themes of God's revelation--grace and love. "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and fellowship in the Holy Spirit, be with you all" (2 Cor 13:14). God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit--these embrace all that is called Deity. Grace, love and fellowship--this is the trinity which makes it possible for man to share in divine nature.

     Any theory of Christian unity which ignores or minimizes the influence of the Holy Spirit in cementing the saints together must be rejected as inadequate. The koinonia to which we have been called of God is one of the Spirit. It is not a fellowship created by human agency. It cannot be legislated by a convention nor can it be conferred by a conference. It can be enjoyed but not enjoined. The Holy Spirit produces, promotes and protects this fellowship. Each of these is a different action and requires a different exercise of power. Our purpose in this article is to discuss each of these in order as revealed in the new covenant scriptures.

     1. While it is distinctly affirmed that the world cannot receive the Spirit (John 14:17), it is just as positively affirmed that He will convict the world of sin, righteousness and judgment (John 16:8). The first two of these have to do with character, the last with destiny. It is observable that the Spirit does not convict of sin by detailing a list of acts which constitute it. The same holds true for righteousness. Acts are fruits and these are produced from thoughts. "A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit" (Matt. 7:18). The divine order is "Clean the inside of the cup first; then the outside will be clean also" (Matt. 23:26).

     Accordingly, the Spirit convicts of sin by striking at the very heart of that which

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destroys relationship with God--rejection of Jesus. "Of sin because they believe not on me" (verse 9). In the same vein, righteousness consists of acknowledgment of the Lordship of Jesus so that every walk of life is an act of faith and not of sight. "Of righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you see me no more. Righteousness is the opposite of sin. If one is the rejection of Jesus, the other must be acceptance of Him. All sin is disbelief; all righteousness is faith.

     The world is convicted of personal accountability in that the very ruler of the world is subject to trial. "Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged" (verse 11). If the world leader is brought to bay there can be no escape for any of his followers. All conversion is preceded by conviction. No one realizes the need of a Savior who does not recognize that he is lost. Man must make his choice between Jesus and the prince of this world. He must be confronted with the tragedy resulting from the wrong decision. The work of convicting the world is the work of the Spirit. It is the initial sifting of the wheat and chaff and the first step toward creation of "the fellowship of the granary."

     2. The Spirit provided the message of the envoys to an alien world. It was not decreed by human philosophy nor couched in brilliant language. "When I came to you, I declared the attested truth of God without display of fine words or wisdom" (1 Cor 2:1). God made use of a divine agent as well as human agents. It was the task of the divine agent to convey the mind of God to the human agents who, in turn, relayed it to the world of mankind. "When the Helper is come, whom I will send you from the Father--the Spirit of truth that issues from the Father--he will bear witness to me and you also are my witnesses, because you have been with me from the first" (John 15:26, 27). One of the envoys stated it thus, "We speak of these gifts of God in words found for us not by our human wisdom but by the Spirit."

     It must never be concluded that the Spirit merely gave the word and retired from the scene, or that the revelation of the message rendered him inactive. The Spirit operates through, and in conjunction with, the word, but he operates. Just as the surgeon operates with an instrument, the scalpel, so the Spirit operates with an instrument, the sword (Eph. 6:17). Any doctrine which minimizes or eliminates either the Spirit or the word falls short. It is not the Spirit only, nor the word only, but the operation of the Spirit through the word.

     3. The Spirit introduces all of the obedient believers into one body and thus forms an active fellowship of all who respond to the Good News. He does this without regard for national or social distinctions. He generates a vital unity of all who are regenerated. "As the human body which has many parts, is a unity, and those parts, despite their multiplicity, constitute one single body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by the Spirit into one body, whether we were Jews, Greeks, slaves, or free men, and we have all had experience of the same Spirit" (1 Cor 12:12, 13). The Spirit never inducts an obedient gospel subject into other than the one body. It follows that every sincere baptized believer is brought into the one body, and is in the fellowship of the Spirit.

     4. Baptism can only change the state of a believer. It can transfer but cannot transform him. Any inward renewal must be the work of the Spirit. Since the fellowship is one of saints, or holy ones, it is obvious that, as a part of the saving process, the pledge of allegiance to Christ must be accompanied by a new creative act. So we read, "But when the kindness and generosity of God our Savior dawned upon the world, then, not for any good deeds of our own, but because he was merciful, he saved us through the water of rebirth and the renewing power of the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5). Peter wrote to God's scattered people in Asia Minor, that they were "hallowed to his service by the Spirit, and consecrated with the sprinkled blood of Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 1:2).

     The Holy Spirit creates the fellowship of the saved ones by convicting the world

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in pointing out the true nature of sin and righteousness and the certainty of judgment based upon accountability. He does it by bringing the testimony of Jesus to bear on human hearts, leading all who are obedient thereto into the one body by immersion and fitting them to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light. Thus they share in the divine nature through a renewing of the mind in Christ Jesus. This introduces them into "fellowship with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ" (1 John 1:3). They become shareholders in the divine purpose, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. They share in the suffering of Christ here and in his glory hereafter (Rom. 8:17). This closeness of identification of God and the believers is described as a mutual indwelling. "Hereby we know that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit" (I John 4:13). The fellowship of the saints is "the fellowship of the Spirit" by right of creation.

     1. The Holy Spirit makes the fellowship vital by bringing to each participant a real sense of "belonging." The very nature of fellowship demands that those involved realize a genuine feeling of togetherness, regardless of past relationships or present circumstances. Those who were children of disobedience and children of wrath, and who "in times past in the lust of the flesh, fulfilled the desires of the flesh and of the mind" must know that He "hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (Eph. 2:6). We are not only freed slaves but are adopted children. We are part of the family.

     It is at this juncture that the indwelling Spirit provides assurance and gives certainty to our fellowship by making it possible for us to call out to our Father in our need. "The Spirit you have received is not a spirit of slavery leading you back into a life of fear, but a Spirit that makes us sons, enabling us to cry, 'Abba! Father!' In that cry the Spirit of God joins with our spirit in testifying that we are God's children" (Rom. 8:15, 16). Our fellowship is based on mutual sonship. We are the children of one father and are brothers if we are in the Lord. Many of our problems of brotherhood are psychological. While we seem to be skeptical of the standing of others it is our own inner conflicts and doubts which bother us. These are caused by our legalistic approach which always produces slavery instead of sonship. The indwelling Spirit makes it possible for us to respect others by producing a proper evaluation of self. "To prove that you are sons, God has sent into our hearts the Spirit of his Son, crying 'Abba! Father!' You are therefore no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then also by God's own act an heir" (Gal. 4:6, 7).

     Our disregard for our brethren, coupled with our judgment of them, is a reflection of our own state of insecurity. We imagine that we become more endeared to the Father by a self-righteous attitude which

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covers up our weakness by criticism of the failings of others. This is always inimical to fellowship and the Spirit within gives us a sense of relationship which calms our fears. "Let us therefore boldly approach the throne of our gracious God, where we may receive mercy and in his grace find timely help" (Heb. 4:16). "Let us make our approach in sincerity of heart and full assurance of faith, our guilty hearts sprinkled clean, our bodies washed with pure water" (Heb. 10:22).

     2. Fellowship is a state in which we are bound together by a common tie, for which reason koinonia is sometimes translated "communion." The Greek word is from the root koinon, which means "common." Of the many attributes which we must possess and wear as an enveloping garment, there is one which has power to draw together divergent elements and hold them together. "To crown all, there must be love, to bind all together and complete the whole" (Col. 3:14). J. B. Phillips translates this passage, "Above everything else, be truly loving, for love is the golden chain of all the virtues."

     Like so many requirements of the divine nature, this love must be supplied by God. He not only specifies the attribute essential to attainment of the human being but also provides the means of attainment. Man is not divine and can never become so while in the flesh. To expect divine nature of us is to expect what is impossible. But the Spirit which abides in us is divine and can project divine qualities through us if we surrender unto Him. One of these qualities is agape, love, and it is a fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22). It is one of a catalog of attributes which can never be achieved by mere legalistic compliance. It is distinctly said, "There is no law dealing with such things as these."

     Those who have been justified by faith "have been allowed to enter the sphere of God's grace" and in this sphere are enabled to exult "in the hope of the splendor which is to be ours." Being still human and having often suffered from discouragement and frustration, there is danger that we may be filled with doubt about the fulfillment of our hope. Accordingly, we are given the assuring information that, "Such a hope is no mockery, because God's love has flooded our inmost heart through the Holy Spirit he has given us" (Rom. 5:5). The deepest recesses of our inward being are flooded with love that drives out "envy, fits of rage, selfish ambitions, dissensions, party intrigues, and jealousies" (Gal. 5:20). None of these exotic plants can thrive in the full light of the warmth of love.

     Without the Spirit there will be no outpouring of love to fill our hearts and without such love there can be no real "fellowship one with another." "By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren" (1 John 3:16). Love is realized and identified only as we recognize the significance of the sacrifice of Jesus in our behalf. We were precious enough unto Him while we were yet sinners that He died for us. Paul says that in this, "God commended his love to us." John says, "In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent His Son to be the expiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. No man has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us."

     It is not by mere chance that the next statement reads, "By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his own Spirit" (1 John 4:13). Without his Spirit we cannot have his love. Without that love there can be no genuine brotherhood. Our divisions are not, as we so often think of them, testimonies to our faithfulness but indications of our lovelessness. We dare not wait until our brethren are sinless and free from error to commend our love to them, for God commended his love to us when we were yet sinners. This love is a love for the unworthy and it is a love that does something for them. It commends itself to them. It sacrifices itself for those who least deserve it.

     Since Jesus gave his life to obtain the fellowship of the saints it will do us well to question what we have ever done to

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maintain it. We are distinctly told that he pleased not himself, and from this the apostle reasons, "Let each of us please his neighbor for his good to edify him" (Romans 15:2). One cannot have God's way by insisting on having his own way. Yet there are many divisions among brethren in the religious world which stand as shameful monuments to an inflexible will which often mistakes self-gratification for fidelity to God. We need to cultivate that love which is understanding and forgiving. "But concerning love of the brethren you have no need to have any one write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another" (1 Thess. 4:9) God did not teach us love by writing a letter but by sending His Son to die. The cross is the rallying standard of our fellowship.

     3. The Holy Spirit promotes fellowship by revealing unto us the true nature and status of Jesus and by transforming our lives from one degree of glory to another on an ascending plane to make us more like Him. One function of the Spirit was to glorify Jesus. "He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it unto you" (John 16:14). When Paul "preached Christ crucified" in Corinth, he declared that it was "in demonstration of the Spirit and power" (1 Cor. 2:4). No one comprehended the thoughts of God but the Spirit of God (verse 11). These things "God has revealed unto us through the Spirit" (verse 10). The apostles received the Spirit of God to enable them to understand (verse 12) and they imparted these things in words taught by the Spirit (verse 13).

     The gist of the message was that "He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, whom God made our wisdom, our righteousness and sanctification and redemption" (1:30). If Jesus is everything, then anything else apart from Jesus is nothing. All doctrine finds its relevance only as it is related to Jesus. Any discussion of doctrine for doctrine's sake is useless and futile. It is powerless to make one righteous unless it leads to identification with him who has been made our righteousness. All study for the mere purpose of gaining wisdom is wasted unless it submerges and overwhelms our being in Him who has been made our wisdom. It matters little how many things in the Bible we know if we do not know Him It is knowing Him that is "eternal life" (John 17:3).

     The Christian system is not a philosophy. It was not propounded by philosophers nor couched in philosophic terms. It is not a systematic theology. It is personal and invested in a Person. He is not to be accepted merely because he is a better teacher of moral values and ethical standards than others, but because He is the Son of God. He is the center and circumference of God's revelation. That which does not proceed from him has no authority; that which does not lead to him has no value. One of the outstanding causes of strife and division has been the undue emphasis on things of minor importance. As we become engrossed in such matters Jesus is forced to fade into the background and we divest ourselves of his character to defend our concepts of his doctrine. When any point of argument becomes more important than the object of all faith our fidelity is misplaced.

     There is no force in any religious system reduced to a purely rationalistic or legalistic code, which can hold all men--rich and poor, great and small, learned and unlearned--together in one body. It matters not if such a system originate in heaven or on earth. Only the magnetic personality of one directly related to our yearning and needs can ever accomplish the task. When Jesus is elevated and held aloft he draws all men unto him. The Holy Spirit, in the revelation, leads us into greater oneness by enlarging our concept of the fulness of his life. "For in him the whole fulness of deity dwells bodily, and you have come to fulness of life in him" (Col. 2:9, 10). In him we have "put off the old nature with its practices and have put on the new nature, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator" (3:9, 10). We are instructed to "put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness and

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patience, forbearing one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving one another; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive."

     The apostles, filled with the Spirit, had not time for and gave no space to the discussion of the many trivial points of difference which must have plagued both the Jewish and Gentile disciples. Relative to all such they simply urged, "Mend your ways, heed my appeal, agree with one another, live in peace, and the God of love and peace be with you." Such problems of difference were to be left to God to adjust since he alone understood the motivation. "Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another?"

     Doctrine which attacked the position and primacy of Jesus was rebuked with severity. Those doctrines which were of such gravity as to separate from God were dealt with unrelentingly. These were doctrines of demons which caused men to give heed to seducing spirits. They were doctrines which scattered the sheep and drew away disciples after designing men, the kind of men who "denied the Lord that bought them." Any point of difference among the disciples of the Master ought to be measured against the Master himself. If it is not as important as his blood it ought not be allowed to separate us from those who have been cleansed by that blood. We are blood-brothers of the Lamb. That which has been purchased by His blood should never be sold cheaply nor sacrificed for anything of lesser value.

     That which separates from God is the opposite of that which unites with God. We leave God by a reversal of the procedure which brought us unto God. We come to God by an acceptance of His Son and by pledging our allegiance unto him. It is obvious that rejection of Jesus and refusal to longer give our allegiance to him will sever us from God. That which will not separate from God is not of sufficient importance to separate us from each other. When we allow any such thing to separate us it is obvious that we think more of it than we do of Jesus. In fact, we substitute a belief in that thing as a Savior for we postulate that unless a man believe in it he cannot be saved. Since Christ cannot be divided it is evident that those who are divided are trusting in something besides Jesus to save them. Frequently it is their own self-righteousness!

     The Holy Spirit has revealed that Jesus is the center of our unity as well as its foundation. Obedience to Jesus is the only test of fellowship authorized by God and likeness to Jesus is the only test of character. We must be transformed to have the likeness of Jesus. Only through the indwelling Spirit can this be accomplished. "And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being changed into His likeness from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit." As we become like Jesus we become richer in mercy, grace and kindness. Our perspective is changed until we have a proper sense of value which enables us to make allowances for one another in love.

     4. The Holy Spirit promotes unity by helping our weakness in prayer. Regardless of who or what may be to blame for our present divided state in Christendom, it is evident that we have failed to preserve peace among God's children. We have allowed ourselves to become fractured and fragmented until our schisms are a scandal and a shame. We must be humbled and humiliated by our tragic miscarriage of the divine purpose. Family ties have been disrupted and severed. We need to call upon the Father with broken and contrite hearts.

     Unfortunately, we do not know how to present our petitions in an acceptable fashion. We fall short in prayer as we do in peace. It is in this emergency the Spirit comes to our aid. "Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words. And he who searches the hearts of men knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God" (Romans 8:26, 27). An analysis of the content of this verse will prove to be one of the most rewarding

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adventures of the spiritual life. It is like going down into a mine filled with gems and being told to help yourself to these precious treasures. Almost every word is rich with promise.

     Do not forget that Jesus promised he would send another Helper to abide with us during His absence. This passage positively affirms that the Spirit helps us. One area in which he assists is mentioned. This by no means exhausts his help but is an example of what he does for us. There are things we ought to do. These constitute a responsibility as well as a privilege. Notice the expression, "We do not know how." It is true that in our weakness we do not know how to do some of the things we ought to do. One of our problems is how to pray. How can we convey our deepest inner desires and strivings unto God? How is it possible to translate the soul-yearning into the language of the tongue?

     All language is but a combination of sounds. There are no combinations adequate to communicate the deepest emotion which tugs at a broken heart. Such a feeling is too deep for words. "But the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words." The Spirit cannot supply the yearning. He intercedes but does not interfere with the thought processes. It is our desire he conveys and he cannot intercede for a heart that is waste and void. That is what is meant by the expression, "He who searches the hearts of men knows what is the mind of the Spirit." It is obvious that the prayer must originate in the heart of man. God is able to search the heart. He knows the longing exists. He also knows the mind of the Spirit.

     In 1 Corinthians 2:11 we are told that the Spirit knows the mind of God. In Romans 8:27 we are told that God knows the mind of the Spirit. This is infinite knowledge and it is also proof of the personality of the Spirit. He has a mind, he knows, and is known. "The Spirit intercedes for the saints." The saints are those in Christ, the holy ones, the children of God. The Spirit dwells in the heart of every saint. "Because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts" (Gal. 4:6). "God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us" (Rom. 5:5). "He has put his seal upon us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee" (2 Cor 1:22). The Spirit inhabits the hearts of the saints. He is in position to intercede for their needs because he is in the place where their desires originate. He knows our minds and God knows His.

     The first real step toward securing of unity is a sense of personal remorse for our disunity. None of us is wholly guiltless. Those who claim to be are frequently among the most culpable of all. Their arrogant, loveless, and accusing spirit is the very thing responsible for strife and dissension. There must be confession and this must be accompanied by a hunger for peace and a passion for brotherhood. If this is so intense and ardent that no words can be found to express it the Spirit will intercede in our behalf. It is at this juncture that the legalistic attitude defeats the divine procedure. It is thought that we must debate ourselves into agreement upon every matter of doctrinal difference before we can have unity. Every action of every faction must be argued out to the satisfaction of all; every contention of every community must be contested to a standstill before we can proceed. If it be true that our unity is "the unity of the Spirit' we need to surrender to the power of the Spirit and allow him the freedom to operate freely in our behalf. Those who truly desire unity should not meet to debate but to pray. The procedures of the past have only produced partition and partisanship. In their implementation lies no hope for a better day.

     I have been anxiously awaiting that time when the divided heirs of the restoration movement in some community, would include in their programs for the year a "sweet hour of prayer" one Lord's Day afternoon each month--twelve such seasons of prayer in a year. As I envision it such meetings should be devoted ex-

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clusively to prayer. The specific purpose would be confession upon our knees, and the imploring of the Father to lead us out of our present state of confusion and strife. There should be no songs, no readings, no talks. Invitations to join in the meeting should be sent to all segments of the brotherhood of saints. Those who gather before the hour should avoid collecting in groups to discuss but should go directly to their seats for silent meditation. Promptly at the hour appointed the one who presides should call upon all who are burdened and distressed by the state of the Christian world to "take it to the Lord in prayer." When every one has prayed or when the hour is finished, the president should end it with a solemn benediction.

     Those who leave the building should do so quietly and reverently. Any greeting should be soft and subdued. There should be no refreshments served after such a gathering. Indeed it might be well if those who came to the hour of prayer would fast on that day until after the occasion and in preparation for it. Those who have the courage to inaugurate such a program would need the faith that knows no frustration. They must be prepared for only a few consecrated ones at the first few meetings. The meetings would not even be announced by the elders or clergy in many congregations. These often stand betwen their flocks and unity in Christ. Thus "the fellowship of the concerned ones" who meet to pray the first time would need to petition the Father for the Holy Spirit to surge through and work mightily in the hearts of those not present and to open up great doors and effectual by which to reach them.

     Perhaps only one congregation in a community would be willing to make available their facilities at first but as others became interested and invitations were extended the meetings should be held in different places. The prayer band of saints should not be afraid to go anywhere to pray for peace. We may meet with any person or group upon our knees before that throne "where every knee should bow and every tongue should confess." In a meeting where all cry out unto God from anguished hearts and do so voluntarily, there is no question of "recognition or endorsement" of others because no one has to call upon any other. Only the Father determines who is worthy and who is not Only the Spirit knows whom to aid!

     I might be mistaken about any prediction of results, but judging from past events, I would not be at all surprised if out of such throwing ourselves into the arms and upon the mercy of God, there would come a great revival. It could well be that in such an area where the prayers and tears of the saints mingled, all that was worthwhile in the restoration movement as a contribution to our contemporary needs would be reanimated and a fire be kindled by the winds of God fanning the dying embers, that would again sweep over a world thinking in terms of unity. The Holy Spirit has not lost his power. We have only nullified and negated it in our generation by our prejudices and littleness. We have quenched the Spirit by thinking only in terms of partisan growth as opposed to genuine kingdom extension.

     Such a prayer council of all "the concemed ones" carried on regularly, and augmented as other hearts were touched, would identify the attendants with Jesus on the night of his betrayal. It was then he prayed for all who believe in him through the testimony of the envoys, that they all might be one in the Father and the Son. Jesus was literally very close to the cross when he thus prayed. We would be able to draw near and "kneel at the cross" upon such occasions as I have outlined. We must never forget that our blessed Lord conditioned the acceptance of Him by those who believe not, upon the oneness of those who believe. The world will be won to believe in Christ, when those who believe are one in Christ! What good will it do, in the final analysis, for us to expand missionary budgets and send men to the four corners of the earth to plant rival parties to divide those who are led to believe in him? Humble men, with little finance, but

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backed by our united prayers and efforts could do a great deal more if we could wholly enlist the Spirit to act unreservedly through us to convict the world. But the Holy Spirit cannot promote the party spirit, for this is a work of the flesh.

     Perhaps there are those who will object that as much could be done if each individual prayed alone in his own closet. Let me not be thought of as minimizing the value of private prayer. Indeed we need prayers at home daily in behalf of just such meetings as I have mentioned. But it is a part of God's design that we accomplish the purpose of heaven in a koinonia, a fellowship of the redeemed and sanctified ones. A lone wolf policy is not adapted to sheep.

     The ekklesia of God burst in upon the world as the climax of a prayer meeting. "They went up to the upper room, where they were staying,...All these with one accord devoted themselves to prayer." "They went to their friends and reported...And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God...And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God with boldness." "When he realized this, he went to the house of Mary...where many were gathered together and were praying."

     God does not need a great prairie fire sweeping over the landscape in order to begin his work of answering the prayer of His beloved Son. If we can but unite our forces in prayer, this is a sufficient spark of unity with which to commence. If we are willing to confess our failure to keep the bond of peace and join in confessing that we have fallen short of the divine ideal, such casting down of ourselves will enable the Lord to lift us up.

     Nehemiah began his work of restoration by reminding God that, while His people were scattered, He had promised that, upon their reformation, "though your dispersed be under the farthest skies, I will gather them thence and bring them to the place which I have chosen." God's people were powerless to return to the place He had ordained for them. But they could return to the person who had called them to be His own. When they did this He could "gather them" and "bring them." In the same way we cannot see our way out of the Babylon of confusion in which we have become entangled. We do not need to do so. It is the divine task to gather and bring us home. It is our responsibility to turn to God from our factional ways. We do not need to know the way to return, we need to turn to the Way!

     A good way for us to begin is like Nehemiah began. Certainly it proved to be effective in his case. "I now pray before thee day and night for the people of Israel thy servants, confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against thee. Yea, I and my father's house have sinned." The fact that God's people were where they should not have been was testimony to their sin. The fact that we are in a condition where we ought not to be is proof of our failure. We need to quit defending the mistakes of our fathers. Their partisan attitudes afford no adequate foundation on which we should build among our contemporaries. Adding fuel to feuds may destroy the world but it cannot save it!

     "The Spirit himself intercedes for us." What a powerful prayer-helper we have. Why should we spurn this divine Comforter and Assistant? Why should we quench the Spirit any longer? "The Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God." Is it not the will of God that we be one in Christ Jesus? Is it not the will of God that there be "no schism in the body"? Is it not the the will of God that we "all speak the same thing"? Is there anything too great for the Spirit to accomplish if we surrender wholly and unreservedly to him? If we could help ourselves out of our predicament why did Jesus send us "another Helper"? Is not the presence of the Spirit among us proof of our own helplessness? If the Spirit brooding over the primeval state of the world brought order out of chaos, why can he not do the same for the chaotic state of

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the new creation? He can! He will if we will allow him to work effectually in us. "The power at work within us is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think" (Eph. 3:20). As Alfred Lord Tennyson said, "More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of."

     The sacred scriptures reveal that it was God's intention to effect his will in our lives through a fellowship, that is, a community of the called out ones. These constitute the "life brigade" in a dying world. They are in the fellowship with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. They have accepted the testimony of those who saw "the eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested unto us." They are children of light. They are addressed as "children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding forth the word of life" (Phil. 2:15, 16). All of the called ones constitute one great fellowship, or body, as distinguished from those who have not responded to the call. They have not only been called out of something, but they have also been called into Someone.

     The called ones are God's own people. "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, that you may declare the wonderful deeds of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were no people but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy but now you have received mercy" (1 Peter 2:9, 10). God's people have all been baptized into one body by the one Spirit and they all freely drink of that one Spirit. Thus the fellowship is created and maintained by the Spirit. There is but one Spirit and consequently there can be but one body of the called out ones. Jesus is distinctly said to be the head of the soma (body), the ekklesia (called out ones).

     In the constant contact and conflict with the world there is an ever present danger that the called saints will forget their real sense of mission. This danger is intensified when it appears that the Lord delays His coming. Because of such delay some fall victims to the propaganda of false philosophers who assert the impossibility of termination of the present order based upon the continuity of the past (2 Peter 3). Others return to their former state, "having loved this present world" (2 Tim. 4:10). Perhaps an even more prevalent problem is that members of the divine family get on each other's nerves during the long interval. They fall out among themselves and kok upon each other as enemies instead of as fellow servants of the same Lord. Some become dogmatic, assertive and arrogant, and disrupt the peace and order of the household. Jesus spoke of a certain type of servant who said, "My master is delayed in coming," and who began to beat the menservants and the maidservants (Luke 12:45).

     Since the divine plan of the ages cannot be overthrown permanently, and since it involves a koinonia of the ekklesia, that is, a fellowship of the called ones, the Spirit must protect and preserve this fellowship in spite of all of the attempts of Satan to destroy it. It is our personal conviction that the Spirit providentially directs the affairs of the kingdom of heaven on earth during the absence of our King. When the spiritual state becomes arid and dry, springs of hope are made to burst forth and create oases in

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the desert. When sectarianism and factionalism become rife and men despair of ever having peace again, there comes a period of "Great Awakening." These are "times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord."

     The Spirit works through men, the divine Agent collaborating with human agency. Every reformer and restorer who calls the people of God to return to their true sense of mission has been used by the Spirit. Often, because of the great darkness which covers the earth during their generation, these can see but dimly. We must never judge the reformers of one age or place by those in another era or locality. Progress can never be measured by how far one has to go but by how far he has come. One can only walk in the light that is available unto him. It would be interesting to know what would have been accomplished by some of our modern critics of Luther and Calvin if they had been reared in the identical circumstances of these men. Considering the little impact we make upon the thinking of our own brethren in these days of mass media we should be humbled by the tremendous accomplishments of men in the past. We are warming ourselves by the fires that others have kindled.

     We do not know all about how the Spirit works nor do we need to know. We can see the fruits and recognize the results. It is my own conviction that "the leaven concept" is vital to any understanding of the function of the Spirit in our age. Those who are wholly committed unto Christ Jesus radiate an influence that affects others whom they contact. We reproduce in our own lives in a meager way that which our great Example did in such magnificent fashion. The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us in order that we might translate the word into living flesh among those with whom we dwell. The Son of God became the Son of man that the sons of men might become sons of God. By his contact with the world of mankind, the world was transformed. We carry on the work of transformation in our age.

     But with the passing of the centuries and the popularization of the Christian system, the line of demarkation between the world and the church becomes less clearly defined. The world assumes so much that belongs to the church and the church so much that belongs to the world, it is difficult to differentiate between the two. In the misty twilight zone which results there is ever the temptation to the faithful to withdraw from the social structure to preserve truth. In former days this was accomplished by creation of monastic orders. In these orders, rigid forms of discipline and self-denial were adopted to discourage the nominal professors and purge out the unworthy. In our modern day, although such orders still exist, the realm of Christendom has generally substituted the faction with its exclusivist attitude and closed door policy.

     There is one difference between the monastic order and the factional system. The former was instituted in a time of loose morals when even the clergy practiced and publicly sanctioned licentious behavior. The monastery was primarily a sanctuary from immorality and vice. Now that Christianity has influenced the world in the moral realm until civil governments generally prohibit and punish immorality, the urge to separate from society for the purpose of preserving moral purity is seldom present. There are few indeed who withdraw to caves to live as religious hermits. The feeling is prevalent that one possessed of high moral ideals should remain in contact with the social structure and battle within its framework for a realization of the code he believes to be beneficial for the well-being of mankind.

     The result is a change of emphasis. In a world of moral overtones where intellects are highly trained and men have the leisure to engage in research, when universities are scattered throughout the world and thought transmission is universal in a matter of minutes, the great problem is preservation of mental integrity and purity of thought. It is one of semantics and dogmatics as opposed to one of physical relationships. Again the temptation to withdraw from what is

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deemed doctrinally corrupt is impelling! Factions replace the caves of the consecrated hermits and the monasteries of the loyal ones.

     It is true that some sects practice a rigid behavioral code, making certain acts condoned or ignored by others, as tests of admission to or of the continuance in their society. In a majority of cases, however, the test is some doctrinal facet which acts as a barrier to separate the faction from those who do not regard it as particularly significant to the development of Christian maturity, and who are, therefore, branded as liberals, compromisers, or false teachers. The doctrinal test which may consist of a particular attitude toward cups, classes, colleges, or a multitude of other things, tangible and intangible, actually constitutes a form of discipline to hold the adherents "in line." As men have tortured their physical persons to drive out evil and promote chastity, so in an intellectual age they place their minds in a straitjacket of partisan conformity in the hope that by sacrificing their liberty to think they may avoid licence and preserve purity of thought and doctrine.

     It is not our intention or purpose to pursue the psychological aspects of the party spirit which make it possible for otherwise brilliant men to defend the most exclusivist type of sectarianism while they vehemently deny that they are sectarian at all. This field of exploration must await another time and occasion. Suffice it to say that the various forms of escapism, including the monastic and factional, are clearly the result of a misconception of the nature of truth. A goodly number of people hold to certain truths who are quite ignorant of the nature of truth. Just as it is possible within the physical realm for people to beget or adopt children who know but little of the nature of man, so they can conceive or adopt certain truths while wholly unaware of the nature of truth.

     Truth is imperishable. It requires no defence or protection to insure its own survival. Its ultimate victory over error is assured. The Spirit operates in and through revealed truth to effect the divine aim. When truth is brought into contact with error its effectiveness is multiplied. Leaven cannot achieve its purpose or potential unless it directly affects the mass or lump. Jesus, as the truth, came all the way from heaven to make contact with sinful men. The partisan religionists of his day sought to "bottle him up" and keep him from directly encountering sinners. But he demonstrated the divine method of approach which is not at all one of sectarian bigotry or exclusivism. Jesus contacted both sectarians and sinners and associated with them without becoming either sectarian or sinful.

     In our present state the religious parties, miscalled "churches," require leavening. The constituents have made no real commitment to Christ Jesus. They do not respect his lordship over their lives. They have no true concept of that discipline which is the essence of Christian ethics. The transformation must be from within. It can only be wrought by the fellowship of the concerned ones. These constitute the true leaven in any group. When they withdraw they abandon the group to its fate and place themselves in a position where they are ineffective. They also form another party. Leaven on the refrigerator shelf is inactive. Leaven is not intended to affect or transform leaven.

     The Spirit works through the fellowship of the concerned. These are the real leaven and if forced to have a separate identity it is only temporarily so. The spiritual leaven is a small lump with universal vision operating within and upon a larger party with private and provincial interest. The fellowship of the concerned seeks to lose itself in the great ocean of brotherly love; the larger party or sect seeks to protect and preserve itself by building dams of confinement and concealment. The Spirit operates in these times of schism by ecclesiolae in ecclesia (little churches within the church). Those who are called of God to work for unity of all believers must work within the framework of all believers who have been called. Many of these are factional in both outlook and outreach.

     Leaven does not achieve its purpose by

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calling attention to itself. It does not separate to form one lump of leaven and another of dough. It can do nothing from a distance. It is not noisy, violent or abrupt. It does not agitate but permeates, its nature is to ferment rather than to foment, to inspire rather than to incite. It finds the greater life by losing its own. This is the true mission of the genuine ecumenical spirit. It is not to seek ways of salvaging denominational machinery from the tragic wreckage created by the tornadic winds of sectarianism. It is to affect the hearts of all who love the Lord with a sense of fellowship until all the members of the one body may function together in harmony and unison.

     Life in the Spirit and with the Spirit is one of genuine adventure. In every adventure there is an element of risk but it is this very element which provides the challenge that summons men from the mundane to the heroic. It is this which impels men who labor daily in an office to train and discipline themselves and then travel thousands of miles to inch their way up the wind-swept slopes of a mountain such as Everest. Such men are called foolhardy by those whose stereotyped lives offer no greater challenge than a change of cereal for their morning breakfast. These critics seldom know the surging thrill that comes from conquest of the elements.

     Jesus was the greatest adventurer of all. He met the challenge of the cross and its attendant agony without a whimpen Postulating that it was possible for one to love his enemies, he put this philosophy to the supreme test. Gazing down from the rude tree, upon the ones who had driven the spikes into the torn flesh of his hands and feet, he said, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." Almost everything that God has done in creation has contained an element of risk. Certainly this was the case in making man a rational being with the power and right of choice for if it is possible for man to choose there is always the possibility that he will choose not to follow God.

     We tend to fish too close to shore and dabble in the shallows because it is safer. The result is that we toil all night and take nothing. We need to launch out into the deep and let down our nets. We were not born anew to specialize in the superficial or to scratch the surface. Our destiny is not to joust at windmills nor box at fleeting shadows on the wall. Too often we have lived empty lives because we have suffered from empty hearts--hearts in which the Holy Spirit has been grieved and quenched.

     There is no greater challenge in our century than that which comes from active identification with the prayer of Jesus for the oneness of all who believe in Him through the testimony of the apostles. That testimony is being circulated to the remotest bounds of the earth. The printing press is the modern gift of tongues. Day and night, without ceasing, its whirling cylinders imprint the language of the Spirit upon the swiftly moving rolls of white. The trees of the forest, the rice straw from the fields, and the castoff clothing from our own backs, all are blended together into paper and made to bear the message of salvation until jungle-dwellers in the fastnesses along the Amazon and Orinoco, cry out again, "How hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?"

     But the unification of those who believe the message has not kept pace with its circulation. As a result, those who were united in paganism have often been divided in Christendom. The scandal of the church is that it has allowed the message which was given to unite to become the source of its strife and contention. The fault lies not with the message but with our false emphasis. We have forsaken the unity of the Spirit because we have forgotten the spirit of unity. We must recapture the latter so we can openly manifest the former. We must think peace, preach peace, and practice peace.

     This will not be an easy decision to make in our present distressed and distorted condition. All of us have been reared in certain factions or have grown up and come into them. Regardless of which faction we are affiliated with, those

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who are in it regard it as the church of God upon earth to the exclusion of all others. To extend the fraternal hand to others is equated with forsaking the Lord. Loyalty to the party is confused with fidelity to the one body. To share your knowledge with other groups will bring the accusation that you "have gone over to them." This will mean that you will be maligned, misrepresented, and calumniated, by those who have always been your associates. You will become the target of sarcasm, invective and aspersion.

     If you have a real concern for unity of all believers your heart will be torn between conflicting emotions. The call of far places and great heights must be weighed against the inner clamor for conformity and orthodoxy. It is in such a strait that the Holy Spirit provides the answer. It is evident that divisions are created by those who deny the personality and indwelling of the Spirit. "It is these who set up divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit" (Jude 19). The real power to risk all you have to gain all He has to offer comes from the vitality of the Spirit.

     In his majestic treatise on the unity of the body, the apostle in 1 Corinthians 12, asserts that there are varieties of gifts, service and working, but only one Spirit. He declares, "To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good." Whether supernatural gifts in the supernatural era of the church, or natural gifts in the natural age of the church, it is the Spirit which empowers and makes them effective. The same Spirit by which we are baptized into one body is the Spirit by which we are sustained and maintained in that body. The fulfillment of our Christian vocation is the work of the Spirit. The strength is supplied by God for any service we render. "As each has received a gift, employ it for one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who utters oracles of God; whoever renders service, as one who renders it by the strength which God supplies; in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 4:10, 11).

     We face a tremendous challenge in our age. There is evidence that there may be an impending break-through in the "unsound barrier" of division in the Christian domain. We have contributed much to the disunity of the past. What have we to contribute to the unity of the future? In a world filled with dissension we have added our parties and factions to augment the confusion. Can we measure up to the needs of a changing society in which the emphasis is upon unity? What do we have of a constructive nature to offer those who seek for oneness? Will we be content to plod along in our partisan exclusiveness, hoarding behind closed doors and high walls that which should be shared by all? Will we continue to castigate, execrate and anathematize those noble souls whose horizons expand until they heed the admonition to "Lift up your eyes and look upon the fields"?

     The crying need of our age is for men filled with the Spirit of God, men who dare break with tradition, and if need be, die for the vision which they have cherished, until now it nourishes them. The call of God is borne upon every whispering breeze to those who have been enslaved by partisan positions, fettered by fears of reprisal, shackled by bigotry and littleness. The world will not be won to the Christ of a national ideal, to a white man's God, a denominational dogma, or a parochial creed. Jesus is not the shepherd of a sect but of the whole flock of God. He is not the Lord of a faction but of the whole church of the redeemed ones. A concept which embraces anything less than the ultimate unity of all who believe in Him as one mighty army, is too meager to match His prayer, and will be self-defeating. There is no power in the universe by which we can reduce the body of Christ into a faction or expand any faction into the body of Christ.

     We reject the spurious proposal that we must remain apart and at sword's points until we have argued every action of every faction, debated every detail of every dogma, and reached conformity on

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every conclusion of every complainant among us. This is the sectarian way. It is the way of prolonged strife and drawn out dissension. We are not called to feud to the death but to find the life that is in Christ Jesus. Our peace is not in a program, a proposition or a platform. It is a person. "He is our peace who hath made both one." The way to have unity is to unite, not have a debate. We cannot argue ourselves into agreement nor debate ourselves out of division! In all of our decades of debate we have not overthrown a single sect but we have created a great many new ones!

     Let us resolve to make way for the Spirit and we will find the path of peace. We deny that the Spirit of God divides the family of God, It is men who are devoid of the Spirit who set up divisions. If we will allow the Spirit to have his way with us we will be united in the Way. Our problem is that we have been in the Spirit's way, rather than in the way of the Spirit. We have been hindering instead of helping, standing athwart the path instead of walking in it. We have gloried in our efforts, gloried in men, gloried in our partisan success. Let us now glory in the Lord--all of us! We can restore the spirit of the early saints if we return to the Spirit and allow Him to dwell in and motivate us. This is truly the great adventure of our day. It can be the crowning achievement of the twentieth century, overshadowing even the conquest of space. The Spirit challenges us to overcome our sectarian attitudes!

Other works by W. Carl Ketcherside

Other Restoration Movement Texts