Sabbath 29/3/29/120
Dear brethren,
God, our Father in heaven, does not change.
Malachi 3:6:
For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.
Christ does not his own will, but rather his Father’s will who sent him.
John 5:30:
I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just;
because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent
me.
John 6:38:
For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that
sent me.
Thus while Christ remains a servant of the One True God he cannot change because God does not change. Christ then, like God, remains the same forever.
Hebrews 13:8:
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
Christ is head of the Church; and the Church is subject to him.
Colossians 1:18:
And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn
from the dead;
Ephesians 5:23:
For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church:
and he is the saviour of the body.
Ephesians 5:24:
Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their
own husbands in every thing.
In the book of Revelation John describes a vision in which he sees seven golden lamp stands. The vision is then interpreted for us, explaining that the seven lamp stands are seven Christian Churches of God. We also know that these seven represent seven eras.
Revelation 1:20:
The seven golden lamp stands are the seven churches.
Christ observes, his Churches by walking among them.
Revelation 2:2:
The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand; and walks among
the seven golden lamp stands.
Christ loves his Church, nourishing and cherishing it.
Ephesians 5:29:
For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourishes and cherishes it, even
as the Lord the church:
Of those ‘called out’ and given to Christ by the Father, he will lose none of them.
John 6:39:
And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath
given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.
John 10:29:
My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck
them out of my Father's hand.
Luke 15:4:
What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, doth not
leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost,
until he finds it?
Christ is the Church’s high priest and makes intercession for his church.
Hebrews 7:23-25:
The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death
from continuing in office; but he holds his priesthood permanently because he
continues forever. Consequently he is able for all time to save them that draw
near to God through him, seeing he ever lives to make intercession for them.
Christ will then judge, chastise, strengthen and support the Churches of God, as he walks among them.
Revelation 2:23:
But I have this against thee... unless they repent of her doings I will strike
her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches
the heart and mind, and will give to each of you as your works deserve.
Christ will present a perfect church to his Father.
Ephesians 5:27:
That he (Christ) might present it the father a glorious church, not having spot,
or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
The Churches of God are followers of Christ, with Christ at their head guiding and correcting them as and when necessary. The Churches of God like Christ are also servants of the One True God and should not change
Hence, the Christian Churches of God, checked and chastised by Messiah, are of one mind!
John 17:22:
And the glory, which thou gave me, I have given them; that they may be one,
even as we are one:
Romans 15:16:
That ye may with one mind [and] one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ.
2Corinthians 13:11:
….Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God
of love and peace shall be with you.
1Corinthians 1:10:
Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all
speak the same thing, and [that] there be no divisions among you; but [that]
ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
Philippians 1:27:
Only let your conversation be as it becomes the gospel of Christ: that whether
I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand
fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;
Philippians 2:2
Fulfil ye my joy that ye be likeminded, having the same love, [being] of one
accord, of one mind.
1Peter 3:8:
Finally, [be ye] all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as
brethren, [be] pitiful, [be] courteous:
That’s God’s mind to be precise. There are divisions, but only to show us those who are and are not approved of by God (1Cor. 11:17-19). When they vote, those of one accord reflect the decisions of the Holy Spirit in the Church.
Those in dispute need to consider why they are not of one accord with the rest of the body. Satan wants nothing other than to stop us from doing our Father’s business. He will stop at nothing to achieve this. We have been chased to the corners of the earth, captured, imprisoned, tortured, burnt alive, buried alive, chopped into pieces, cut down the middle, gassed, bombed and shot.
He has one third of the angels at his whim. Do you think they are focused on the Binitarians or Trinitarians? Do you think they are focused on the Hindus or the Buddhists? Do you think they are focused on Islam in its present state? No! They are focused on the work of the Churches of God.
They have killed us in masses every century since our existence and if it were not for Eloah’s will that we continue for the sake of the nations, the so called “free world” under which we are now able to operate freely without being publicly persecuted would never have come to pass and the false systems would have completely conquered the world by force.
The provisions of the free world, which by God’s will our nations gained and maintained through the blessings of Jacob’s inheritance, not only provided the Church with a safe haven for a time but also enabled the establishment of the Internet and thus the publishing of our faith to the nations.
Our doctrine is water tight, it cannot be refuted theologically. Until Satan is permitted to destroy the free world at the time of Jacob’s trouble all attacks on the Church must come from within and this is done by attempting to divide us on a number of issues, most of which are not related to doctrine.
Romans 16:17:
Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary
to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.
1Corinthians 1:13:
Is Christ divided?
We read above that we are to mark those who cause divisions and cause offences. We are to avoid such people. Some of the people causing division have attempted to argue that this text relates only to doctrine and is not applicable to administrative issues. This view is false.
The doctrine we have learned includes the teachings of Messiah who states:
Luke 11:17:
But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, “Every kingdom divided against
its self is brought to desolation; and a house divided against a house falleth.”
Matthew 16:18:
And I say also unto thee, “That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build
my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Therefore, it follows that if Christ will present a perfect church to his Father and that it will prevail against the grave; that his church must not be divided for a house divided falls and is thus not perfect and would not prevail.
The doctrine then that we have received from both Christ and his disciple Paul is to avoid anyone who would seek to divide God’s Church, for any reason, because a house that is divided cannot stand.
If Christ is the head of his Church and he discovers that some are planning to cause division, they will be removed from his body, for he will not permit division as he walks among us.
Again, is Christ divided? The answer to this is clearly no!
The Scriptures are a guide for all Christians throughout the ages.
The Scripture states:
1John 2:19:
They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us,
they would [no doubt] have continued with us: but [they went out], that they
might be made manifest that they were not all of us.
Thus we must conclude that anyone who leaves without returning unto us is not of us.
The Church is akin to a fruit tree and a fruit tree needs pruning because it has some branches that are draining energy from areas that would be likely to produce much fruit. It also has some dead branches and both of these restrict the performance of the tree.
If not tended correctly the tree will fail to produce a quality fruit and eventually if left unattended for prolonged periods it will cease to produce fruit at all. Christ is therefore akin to a gardener who takes care of his tree in order that it may produce perfect fruit for the owner of the vineyard.
The dead branches are removed for the benefit of the tree and the fruit it is intended to produce. Let us not then seek to commune with those he has removed from our presence, for our benefit.
Nevertheless, let us be always in prayer and fasting for those who are in error. Bless those who would seek to harm or discredit us, for in this we have our Father’s approval and we can rest assured of His promises.
The years ahead will bring many trials for the Churches of God and those who come through upholding the faith will receive their just reward. Let us all strive to be loyal, dedicated servants who are able to work collectively in being about our Father’s business.
Let us not be distracted by those who fall away, for many are called but few chosen.
Let us walk according to the path set before us by his son Yehoshua, the Messiah, the path of total obedience. Love God; love each other, love the faith to which we are called.
Who can bring any charge against God’s elect? (Rom. 8:33)
Trust and support the decisions of our appointed leaders throughout the World Conference. They are appointed by God our Father, to do His will in his son’s body, which is the Church, and all have the Holy Spirit. If we do not then we have no business in the organisation. Regardless, Christ will not lose any that are given to him by God.
John A Nicholl
Christian Churches of God, UK.
© Copyright 2006 Christian Churches of God, All Rights Reserved
