Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Prayer Meeting Lesson Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/pm/pm20040623.htm

APPLYING THE CHRISTIAN'S POSITIONAL RICHES IN CHRIST
Part XXII: Applying The Truth That Believers Are In The Fellowship Of The Saints
(John 17:11, 21-23; Ephesians 4:1-3)
  1. Introduction
    1. Even Jesus said that unity among believers in Christ is a hallmark quality of true Christians, John 13:35.
    2. However, Christian unity has been pushed on believers to where they are pressured to unify in ecumenical ties with those who are not even of the faith, something Jesus would oppose, cf. John 17:16-17. A true believer may try to unify with church attenders who are openly carnal, a move 2 Timothy 3:1-5 counters!
    3. Accordingly, we stand in need of discerning the true boundaries of a true fellowship with true saints!
    4. A positional truth believers enjoy the moment each trusts in Christ is that they are put by God into the fellowship of His saints, cf. Lewis S. Chafer, Systematic Theology , vol. III, "Soteriology," p. 253-254. Applying this truth clears up misconceptions about unity and leads us to fulfilling fellowship in Christ:
  2. Applying The Truth That Believers Are In The Fellowship Of The Saints.
    1. When Jesus gave His great intercessory prayer for His followers in John 17:1-26, He made His requests applicable not only for His current disciples, but for all true believers in Church History, cf. John 17:20.
    2. Now, His requests in that intercessory prayer were all answered in the affirmative by the Father:
      1. Jesus prayed as a righteous Being and made requests in accord with God's will, Matthew 17:5b.
      2. Since 1 John 3:22 reveals one gets answers to prayer when he lives uprightly before God, and since 1 John 5:14-15 states one gets answers to prayer when his prayers also match the will of God, then all the requests Jesus made in His great intercessory prayer of John 17 are or will become realities.
    3. Thus, when Jesus asked the Father in John 17:11, 21-23 that His disciples be preserved by God so that they would be unified, a true spiritual unity of Christ's followers was formed by God.
    4. Paul also noted a true unity of believers was created by God, mentioning it in Ephesians 4:1-3:
      1. Paul claimed that all true Christians are to endeavor to preserve the unity that the Holy Spirit has created of the Church, and that they are to do so in the bond of peace, Ephesians 4:1, 3.
      2. Accordingly, "Never are Christians exhorted to make a unity by organization or combines; they are rather besought to keep the unity which God by His Spirit has created (Eph. 4:1-3)," Ibid., p. 254.
    5. Well, the New Testament authors warned of false unities in Christendom that God has NOT authored:
      1. Paul warned Satan has false ministers who disguise themselves as true ministers, 2 Cor. 11:14-15.
      2. John claimed unbelievers sometimes act as though they are believers in the Church, and in time they depart from the body, showing they were false brethren, 1 John 2:18-19 with 1 John 4:1-3.
      3. In the end, there will exist a huge false world religion full of false Christians, a body known to us as "Babylon the Great" that God will judge in the coming Great Tribulation Period, Revelation 17:1-6.
      4. Thus, God will then call true believers in that body to leave it so as to avoid its judgment, Rev. 18:4.
    6. We thus have a summary on applying the positional truth of being in the true fellowship of God's saints:
      1. We who truly believe in Christ do not have to try to work at creating unity with other true believers: we are already spiritually unified with other true believers in the Lord, and that as a work of God, Eph. 4:3.
      2. However, false brethren, false ministers and Satan all infiltrate groups of true believers, 1 Jn. 2:18-19.
      3. Since purging Christendom of all such parties would be disruptive for weak Christians, God allows false brethren to remain in Christendom, but seeks to mature believers in it, Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43.
      4. Thus, we must seek to fellowship with God as true believers so that God will gravitate us toward true fellowship with those who truly walk with God: God merely asks that we preserve that divinely established fellowship once it arises, something any believer wants to do if he follows the Lord!
      5. However, extremely carnal true believers or false brethren will become abusive and very unholy, and God calls us to shrink back from them even if they are in Christian groups, 2 Timothy 3:1-5.
Lesson: We are NOT to TRY to CREATE UNITY among Christians: GOD does that for EVERY believer the INSTANT he trusts in Christ. Yet, once we OBSERVE it, we must PRESERVE that TRUE unity GOD creates in the bond of peace while AVOIDING clearly ungodly folk even in Christendom!

Application: TRUE unity is GOD'S to CREATE: OUR role is only HEEDING it so as to PRESERVE it while avoiding godless folk in Christian groups who only DETRACT from God's true, peaceful unity.