     
|
 |
|
Beliefs & Practices
Concerning the Church Life (continued)
ONENESS
Another vital concern in the church life is the keeping of the oneness. Before He was crucified, the Lord prayed that those who believe in Him would be one even as He and the Father are one. Therefore, we must diligently maintain the unique oneness of the Body of Christ, which is expressed in local churches established on the ground of oneness with all believers in a locality. We must care for the oneness; therefore, we must repudiate all division and abhor it. What a shame and a reproach to the testimony of the Lord is the divisive state of today’s Christians! In the church life, we stand for the unique oneness of Christ’s Body. In order to maintain this oneness, we meet as believers on the ground of oneness, we receive all believers according to the common faith, and we seek to grow in Christ so that we may be with Him in the Father and in the Father’s glory, where we are perfected into one. We believe that the Lord’s prayer in John 17 will be answered on earth and that as we are perfected into one, the world will believe and know that the Father has sent the Son.
MUTUAL CARE FOR ONE ANOTHER
In the practice of the church life, we care for the saints, the believers in Christ, in a practical way. We delight to bear one another’s burdens, to extend hospitality to visitors, to open our homes for fellowship, and to meet the practical needs of the brothers and sisters through loving service in the name of Christ. We encourage one another, refresh one another, minister Christ as life to one another, and build up one another. Our church life is not limited to meetings in our place of meeting; it goes on all the time.
>> pages 1 [ 2 ] 3 4 (all)
|
|
|
