Turf

One of the ways that the enemy attempts to thwart the Body is division; another is exclusivity.  Those two go hand in hand.  Paul wrote about this in both of the Corinthian letters.  In 1 Corinthians 3:1 – 9, Paul scolds the Corinthian believers for identifying themselves as followers of specific teachers rather than followers of Christ.  In 2 Corinthians Paul is having to deal with “super” apostles who are denigrating Paul and his ministry in order to gain favor with the Corinthian Body.  Before Paul, Jesus had to correct His disciples when they hindered the ministry of those who were not in their circle, Mark 9:38 – 40 and Luke 9:49 – 50.

That still happens.  With churches and Christian organizations there exists the attitude that we are the best, we are doing it right, if you are not with us, then you are not really doing all that you could.  Further, there are gauntlets of membership that have to be run in order to be accepted in the fold.

It is necessary to check and see if one with whom you are thinking of associating is in the faith.  It is prudent to have a dialog to make sure that you are on the same page on the major doctrines.  It is exclusive and divisive to require specific pedigrees in order to acknowledge another’s faith.  It seems to me that is little better than the folks that were demanding the circumcision of new believers in the early Church.

It is much better when the Body works together.  Paul calls the Body, “the fullness of Him,” Ephesians 1:23.  Think of that.  As the Body of Christ, we are His fullness here.  When we unite, when we pull together and encourage one another, help one another that fullness is focused and creates a much stronger impact.

It would be a good thing for all of us to be aware of the barriers we erect between believers.  It would be a good thing for us to begin to pray we would see them and work to remove them.