Oh Church!! How my soul weeps for you in all of your misunderstandings and failures! Why must we always take what is perfect in the eyes of God and pervert it by our own means and desires? Hear the words I'm about to say, and process them in humility, with a mind open to the leading of the Holy Spirit...
God is not Catholic.
God is not Protestant.
He is not confined to any denomination, institution, or human title. He is the eternal King, the Head of one body, not many. Ephesians 4:4-6 declares: "There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called—one Lord, one faith, one baptism...". Not many. Not divided. Not uniquely righteous in our own denominational right.
Yet today, His body has never been more divided. What rights have you all, as mere humans, to rip apart the very thing that Jesus himself built, in order to claim a more perfect design than He? When will we start fighting for re-alignment with the calling of the early church and stop opposing the efforts of one another?
Jesus never came to establish denominations. He did not suffer on the cross so that His followers could separate themselves into religious identities defined by human interpretation and tradition. He came to establish one Church, built on Himself alone. Again, this is ratified by Scripture itself in Ephesians 4:4–6.
One body. Not many bodies competing for legitimacy.
Not fragmented pieces operating in isolation or pride.
One unified body under one Head, Jesus Christ.
Paul confronted denominational thinking in its earliest form when the Corinthian church began identifying themselves by leaders and affiliations. His rebuttal for these things was clear- "What I mean is this: One of you says, ‘I follow Paul’; another, ‘I follow Apollos’; another, ‘I follow Cephas.’ Still another, ‘I follow Christ.’ Is Christ divided?” -1 Corinthians 1:12–13
This is still an issue today, and growing ever more prevalently. Why are we divided about Christ? What is there to be divided about when using Scripture as our user manual?
Denominational blindness occurs when believers begin to see their own traditions as the authority instead of Christ. When loyalty to systems becomes stronger than loyalty to Scripture. When identity is rooted in affiliation rather than surrender.
Church!!! This was never Christ’s design!
Jesus did not invite us into denominations. He invited us into Himself. He said: “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit.” -John 15:5 Notice that He did not say, “Remain in your denomination.” He said, “Remain in Me.”
Christ is the source of life. Not institutions. Not labels. Not traditions.
Denominations themselves are not the root problem. Pride is.
Division is the fruit of pride. Unity is the fruit of humility.
The church today often struggles with unity because it struggles with humility. Pride elevates differences. Humility elevates Christ. Take pause... none of us are completely right in our thinking. Not one. We all fall short. But humility allows us to set aside the things that really do not matter in the grand scheme of things and focus on the things that really do- the inerrant Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Paul urged the church with these words: “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”
What bond do we truly have? We are barely able to tolerate other "churches" because we see them as false or competition.
Yet Jesus prayed specifically for unity among His followers. On the night before His crucifixion, He prayed: “That all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.” -John 17:21 This was the prayer of the Son of God, spoken just hours before He would lay down His life. Unity matters to Christ because unity reflects Him.
The early church understood this. They were not united by labels. They were united by surrender. “All the believers were one in heart and mind.” -Acts 4:32
The church today does not suffer from lack of information. It suffers from lack of humility. Unity begins where pride ends. And so here we are... knowing that this is a problem. But all sitting in quiet denial, realizing there may be issue, but having not clue where to even begin.
Imagine the church family, if churches combined. Imagine the new relationships that could form, the connections, the teams that could be built.... Imagine the power being harnessed through prayer teams, the talent being shared by our worship teams... Imagine the resources that would be availble to serve the community by combining expenses from many into one, rock solid, absolute Jesus-praying, Jesus-praising, Jesus-worshiping, Jesus-proclaiming rockstar family of believers!
And so, someone must stand tall. Someone must begin to tear down the walls that we have so proudly built around the legacies of our old belief systems.
And this... this is that call. Not one to abandon truth or to devalue certain tradition, but to abandon pride. To take the backstage and allow our Savior to step forward.
This is not a call to abandon conviction, but to abandon identity that competes with Christ and His original design of the real Church.
Christ is not returning for denominations. He is returning for His bride.
One bride.
One body.
One Church.
Not 45,000 of them (FYI: this is the estimated number of denominations around the world).
Every single believer, from the pulpit to the newest convert, needs to realize their defiance and return, all of us, back to the same place: The feet of Jesus. There, there are no denominations, only surrender and love.
So what do you say? Who's interested in starting the conversation? I'm more than happy to be involved in this movement back to center.
CALL TO ACTION: Seeking the truest of hearts since now the calling has been made. Seeking the faithful remnant- who are called by Christ, with hearts on fire... Let's see where our church leaders truly stand in their understanding of God's desire for His church, deep down in their own heart of hearts.
Are you willing to put self aside? Are you willing to talk about how God could elevate His church through collaboration? Fear is a tool of the enemy. So is pride.
Take your thoughts and concerns to the throne of the King. Then, let's talk.
~ Devin
Devin Osborne
