Is Christ Divided?

Is Christ Divided?

I was extremely edified when I read brother E. Aslaksen’s article “Two Types of Parties” which appears in the current issue of Skjulte Skatter. Read it again and again and it will be a help to you. Now and then, in these times of factionalism, we need a powerful sword over all idle talkers, a sword whose blow is able to comfort those who mourn in Zion. How can all these parties be gathered into one body, into Christ? One party gathers around its baptism in water, another around its baptism of the Spirit and speaking in tongues, a third around its outstandingly correct method of holding meetings, a fourth around head-coverings for women, a fifth around its large churches and renowned pastors, a sixth around its doctrine about the millennium, etc., etc. All of these have a limb that is too long, and none of them may approach the Lord’s table to offer the bread of his God. Lev. 21:18. In the body of Christ there is no limb too long; it is the cross that has given it such a beautiful form.

On the cross the enmity is put to death.

On the cross, factions are destroyed. Not only the cross of 1,900 years ago, but the cross today—now, in 1920. Every religious paper and every denomination has its own hero and its own martyr. Let this hero and martyr suffer with Jesus on the cross, and then we will meet him again as a new creation, where there is neither hero nor martyr. The old man boasts of great accomplishments, especially when he becomes religious. He is skilled at recounting all his good deeds, which are innumerable; all the revivals where he was the central figure—the be-all-and-end-all; all those he has led to baptism; and on and on. Let the cross put all this to death.

Religious papers are filled with descriptions of cozy religious times and luxurious living; they tell stories about wonderful trips where the hero basks in his own brilliance. If God’s light were to penetrate this darkness, I am afraid the hero would be relegated to the shadows. Yet all these people consider themselves to be in Christ.

“Have I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth?” If this exhortation were fully received today, it would have the same effect it had in those days of old: namely liberation. However, there is nothing new under the sun; the old white-washers lie down like sheep in the kingdom of death, and their children and grandchildren faithfully perform their ministry on their fathers’ tombs. They are always ready to crucify a Messiah and to cry for the release of a Barabbas.

Let the cross destroy these white-washers; let a downpour wash the walls, so we can see them in all their ugliness; let the Sprit of judgment and burning illuminate them, and then judgment will return to righteousness. We need food that is salted in these last days; we need truth and not lies. Is it so hard to understand that all these religious parties that oppose one another have nothing in common with the body of Christ, where everything works in harmonious unity? A 10- or 11-year-old child should be able to understand this. What if my arms were to declare war on my legs and my eyes refused to acknowledge what my ears heard, or if my body refused to obey my head, how could my body survive? Exactly the same state of affairs exists with all these factions: they all consider themselves to be members of the body of Christ.

However, where each person cleanses himself in obedience to the truth, and each person takes up his cross, and each person denies himself and lives for Christ, then unity grows, as do brotherly love, patience, longsuffering, generosity, etc., and factions cease. This is the body of Christ, and every person is a member of this body. Is this so difficult to understand? This should belong to the elementary principles of Christianity; but it has been made into something mystical. Why? A lack of godly fear! Don’t try to say that it is anything else. The Spirit testifies explicitly of this, and we will testify of this too. Sloppy, sluggish, unrighteous religiosity plagues the whole world. “I could wish you were cold or hot; but because you are lukewarm, I will vomit you out of my mouth.”

Rev. 3:15-16.