The Name Of

J e s u s:

-1-

It’s For Life,

Not Just For Christmas

I cannot think of anything that has been used & abused more than The Name of The Lord. It is wilfully blasphemed by the world & sadly taken in vain by The Church. We call on it. We sing about it. We end our prayers with it. We address the powers of darkness using it. The Name of The Lord is precious & should be treated as such, most especially by His Church. Unfortunately, it has become little more than a magic wand with which we attempt to rubber stamp our prayers, in order to guarantee answers in our favour. That has to change. In this short series of articles we will look at what The Church has been taught by leading lights within the Charismatic movement & modern Neo-Pentecostalism. Unbiblical, irreverent claims have been made by some, on, as well as in, Jesus' Name. We have to take it back! Before we get into the nitty gritty of the falsehoods surrounding The Name of The Lord, we have to make something abundantly clear; The Name of Jesus encapsulates all that He is. Beyond the arguments about whether we say Jesus, Yeshua, Iesus or Iēsous, is the matter of which person we are actually talking about. If you go to Mexico City & open the phone book, there are thousands of individuals with the name Jesús. Are demons cast out in the name of one of those men? No. The Watchtower invokes His Name. Mormonism invokes His Name. Seventh Day Adventism invokes His Name. Christian Science invokes His Name. The Christadelphians. Are they all petitioning the same Lord Jesus Christ as the believing Church? I think not. Even within The Church at large, there is another Charismatic, Neo-Pentecostal Jesus, who is inept, having laid aside power & glory. He has to have man’s permission to act. He is bound to & restricted by the principles of the force of faith. In his death He took on the sinful nature of satan, experiencing spiritual death & torture in hell, before eventually being born again. This is not the biblical Jesus. This is not The Son of God. This is not our Saviour. In these meetings we will be examining the use & abuse of The Name of The Lord Jesus Christ. It’s quite a thing. Whatever The Church at large claims as its mission, is being done in Jesus’ Name. But is it an accurate representation of Christ?

Do you recall singing Caroline Maria Noel’s great hymn, ‘At The Name of Jesus’? It is a rousing song of praise. Find it & sing it. It’s quite a tune. ‘At the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, every tongue confess Him, King of glory now; ’tis the Father’s pleasure, we should call Him Lord, Who from the beginning, was the mighty Word.’.

What about Newton’s glorious theme? ‘How sweet the Name of Jesus sounds In a believer’s ear! It soothes his sorrows, heals his wounds, and drives away his fear.’. Edward Perronet’s thunderous anthem exhorts us, right out of the gate, as he blasts; ‘All hail the power of Jesus’ Name, let angels prostrate fall. Bring forth the royal diadem and crown Him Lord of all.’.

Those words are drenched in sound doctrine. Not feelings. But truth.

We could go on & on. We’re also familiar with expressions such as ‘Stop, in the name of the law.’. ‘Open up, in the name of the king.’. These are pictures of human authority, but they are a far cry from the Divine power of The Name of The Lord.

Charismatics & Neo-Pentecostals alike have fallen into a particular disposition of teaching regarding The Name of Jesus, promoted & popularised in the main by two men; E. W. Kenyon & Kenneth E. Hagin, respectively. Technically, Kenyon’s work is the main culprit, because Hagin shamelessly plagiarised the writing of Kenyon, until he was unceremoniously outed in 1983. Many thanks to Mr. D. R. McConnell’s excellent work; A Different Gospel. I wholeheartedly & enthusiastically recommend it.

With these things in view, what has The Church at large been taught concerning Jesus’ Name. Well, let’s look at what Kenneth Hagin said. ‘The only good book devoted entirely to it (the subject of The Name of Jesus) that I have found is E. W. Kenyon's The Wonderful Name of Jesus. I encourage you to get a copy. It is a marvellous book. It is revelation knowledge. It is the Word of God.’. No. It ain’t.

The Name of Jesus © copyright Kenneth Hagin 1979 (emphasis added).

Cheers Ken, but for biblical reasons I have to strongly disagree. Kenneth Hagin loved Kenyon’s book so much, that he brazenly plagiarised large portions of it & published said sections, without giving credit where credit was due. Hagin did this much in the same way that he had when he ripped off the writings of J.A. MacMillan for his book The Believer’s Authority. These issues were highlighted in our very first article ‘Betrayal: A Clarion Call to Defending The Faith Once Delivered to The Saints’.

My aim here is to properly eviscerate demonstrably false doctrine purported to The Church at large, regarding The Name & Person of Our Lord & Saviour, Jesus Christ.

Before we delve into the matter at hand, we have to look at what The Name of The Lord actually meant to those who lived in its radiance. The Name of The Lord is as much Him, as He Himself. For those who treat it with the casual abandon of a cheque guarantee card, I issue a warning. Hitherto you may have said & done things with The Name of Jesus out of ignorance. Stop it. Now.

Because of erroneous teachings referencing The Name of The Lord, The Church at large has settled for the transactional, rather than the relational. Understanding Jesus’ Name ought to correct that, but often fails to do so because of the nature of the instruction surrounding it. If you have a copy of The Name of Jesus by Kenneth E. Hagin & or E. W. Kenyon's volume on the same subject, burn them. They make excellent kindling. Take your Bible & examine the claims these men made, in the light of The Scriptures.

⁷ Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain (Exodus 20:7). 

¹² And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD (Leviticus 19:12). 

¹¹ Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain: for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain (Deuteronomy 5:11).

Word of faith doctrine concerning The Name of Jesus has violated all of those commands. Surely the propagators of these falsehoods went to one of their favourite translations to check, before poisoning believers with damnable heresy. They will often go to their version of choice, The Amplified Bible, which says this; ‘You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain [that is, irreverently, in false affirmations or in ways that impugn the character of God]; for the Lord will not hold guiltless nor leave unpunished the one who takes His name in vain [disregarding its reverence and its power].’ (Exodus 20:7emphasis added).

This goes way beyond the common, popular invocation of The Saviour’s Name & title, or the exclamation oh my G’d; calling upon Deity for no real reason. In fact, taking The Lord’s Name in vain is to attach the Divine Name to any word, action or endeavour that is diabolical & diametrically opposed to the truth. False doctrine, false teaching & false prophecy all fall into this category. To take, or bear The Name of The Lord in vain, is to seek to endorse, authorise, guarantee or warrant falsehoods using His Name, as if The Lord were signing off on the undertaking. That is why whoever does this will not be held guiltless. They will not be innocent.

His Name is so holy that it is considered ineffable. Remember, The Name of The Lord is as much Him, as He Himself. If we take His Name in vain, if we attach it to falsehood, if we disregard its power, its dignity & fail to reverence it; we are in trouble & we are in real danger.

²⁰ Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. ²¹ Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him. ²² But if thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries (Exodus 23:20-22).

The ineffable Name of The Lord holds such authority & commands such power that the Jews will not speak it. They refer to YHWH as Adonai or HaShem; The Name. God puts His Name, His authority, His dominion & His power within the angel, as a type of Christ Who would come bearing the Divine Name later. This is not to say that was an angel that later became Messiah. That is the Arian Heresy.

Jesus came in His Father’s Name. He made the ineffable, effable. He made the invisible, visible. He made the unapproachable, accessible. This is The Lord Jesus Christ. This is The Eternal Son. This is our Saviour. His Name is to be exalted. His Name is to be revered. His Name is ever to be worshipped, trusted & adored.

We who are not Jews, have little or no idea what bearing His Name means. We neither love it, nor fear it. Yet we will casually use it with a cavalier attitude. If The Church doesn’t reverence His Name, how can we expect The World to? Let’s consider carefully what we do & say in His Name. The received wisdom of word of faith doctrine concerning The Name of The Lord begins with a statement Kenyon made, which was later reiterated by Hagin. Let’s look at it.

‘E. W. Kenyon began his book The Wonderful Name of Jesus with this personal account: One afternoon, while giving an address on "The Name of Jesus" a lawyer interrupted me, asking: "Do you mean to say that Jesus gave us the power of Attorney; the Legal Right to use His Name?". I said to him, "Brother, you are a lawyer and I am a layman. Tell me—did Jesus give us the 'Power of Attorney?’. He said, "If language means anything, then Jesus gave the church the Power of Attorney.". Then I asked him, "What is the value of this Power of Attorney?". He answered," It depends upon how much there is back of it, how much authority, how much power this Name represents.". Then I began to search to find how much power and authority Jesus had. All the power, and all the authority that Jesus had is invested in His Name!.. The measure of His ability [the measure of the ability of the Lord Jesus Christ] is the measure of the value of that Name, and all that is invested in that Name belongs to us, for Jesus gave us the unqualified use of His Name.’.

The Name of Jesus © Kenneth Hagin Ministries 1981 (emphasis added).

This statement sounds feasible enough, but when examined more closely it makes little or no sense. This meshes perfectly with the word of faith movement’s obsession with legal rights & privileges. If The Lord Jesus truly gave The Church the power of attorney, or the legal right to use His Name, does this apply only to American law? What about The UK & wider Europe? What about Africa, or Asia? More to the point, if this is a question of legitimacy, surely it’s Israeli law that we should be looking into. If it is in fact the case that Kenyon’s assertion is correct. I put it to you that it is not.

I’m not talking about erecting buildings or establishing institutions. I mean discovering what The Lord actually meant when He used the phrase ‘In My Name’.

Jesus did not give The Church the unqualified use of His Name. This view is wrong. It is erroneous. It is Hellenistic. It is hedonistic. I contend that it is Jesus Christ Himself, Who possessed the power of attorney to act in His Father’s Name, because He alone is Messiah. He then sends us out to represent His Name, as ambassadors. We must not confuse the two concepts. These things will become clear as we see them in The Scriptures, not in these books filled with mistaken, misplaced & misapplied falsehoods.

 

 

 

 

 

 

copyright © by david Samuel Parkins mmxxvi all rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the author, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is presented & without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser

 

 

 

 

 

A very short word:

 On sonship

WHAT I DIDN’T KNOW THAT I DIDN’T KNOW, ABOUT disciples

 

Wake up, beloved. Wake up. ‘Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.’ (Ephesians 5:14). Have you not seen & heard what’s occurring in The Church at large? Do you not know what’s stirring, what’s happening, what’s coming? Are you deaf? Are you dumb? Are you blind? Just in case you’ve been living under a rock for the past 70 or so years, it turns out that The Lord is taking the anointings of past moves of The Spirit, putting them all together & rolling out the greatest, biggest, hugest mushroom cloud making revival event ever known to man! This stuff will be so overwhelming that it will probably be viewable from space …or so it has been said. Yes, I may be exaggerating, a little, but those of you who are familiar with my particular peculiarities will know that what I say is tinged with seriousness. For many a false apostle, prophet, preacher & teacher, this is a last roll of the dice, Why? Because their father the devil knows that he has but a short time. In the face of this onslaught, what are the faithful  going to do? Are we going to lay back in the comfortable softness of compromised western Christianity? We are in an hour when The Lord expects those whom He has made sons (John 1:12), to act like sons. I don’t mean walking around as if we owned the place. We can leave that to the false apostles & prophets of the word-of-faith movement & the new apostolic reformation. I mean living as loyal, faithful & loving sons of God, taking our chief example from The Son of God Himself. It can’t be any clearer than that! If you are simply warming a bench in your fellowship, you need to repent. Unless…well no, but…unless you’re just a mere churchgoer.

The charismatic mega church model has a lot to answer for in this regard, because when there are large numbers of people attending church gatherings consistently, it’s considered a success! Everyone wants the big numbers. The people roll in.  False teachers roll in. The money rolls in. False doctrine rolls in. The world rolls in. False brethren roll in. Beyond the bright lights, loud music, fluff & candy floss, there is little or no substance. As long as the crowd turns up, everyone is happy. However, if these crowds are not drawn by a love of the truth, which ought to be taught systematically, they are no different to the vermin that are attracted by piles of putrid, festering rubbish. There is no discipleship in these gatherings. There is only membership. The two are not synonymous.

Membership is easy. You may make promises. You may shake someone’s hand. You may get a pat on the back. You may sit in the same seat every week, trying not to fall asleep during services. Members attend meetings. Members are present in body, if not in mind. But they go no further. They do very little, if anything at all. There is a distinct lack of prayer & God’s Word in their lives. You don’t have to continue in The Word to be a member; you just have to continue coming. You arrive. You say hi. You leave. You say bye. Moreover, a church member will hear their Pastor preach or teach sound doctrine & immediately upon leaving the service they will promptly go & listen to a heretic, with no distinct ability to tell the difference between the two. I kid you not.

The Lord wants us to move into a real discipleship, which means an engagement with Him & with His Word. You & I are less likely to drift away or into error, if we are discipled & more likely to be useful to The Kingdom of God & of His Christ.

³¹ Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; ³² And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.  ³³ They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? ³⁴ Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. ³⁵ And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever. ³⁶ If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed (John 8:31-36).

Discipleship brings us into a knowledge of the truth of God’s Word. That truth makes us free. This is more than membership. The disciple is one who has not only believed in Christ, but also one who continues in Hs word. The disciple is disciplined to The Lord Jesus Christ & no one else.

²⁴ Then again called they the man that was blind, and said unto him, Give God the praise: we know that this man is a sinner. ²⁵ He answered and said, Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see. ²⁶ Then said they to him again, What did he to thee? how opened he thine eyes? ²⁷ He answered them, I have told you already, and ye did not hear: wherefore would ye hear it again? will ye also be his disciples? ²⁸ Then they reviled him, and said, Thou art his disciple; but we are Moses' disciples.’ (John 9:28).

Whose disciple are you? Who are you following? Whose words are you listening to? Paul says, ‘If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness; He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings. Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.’ (1^st Timothy 6:3-5).

‘This is the sort of thing you should teach, and if anyone tries to teach some doctrinal novelty which is not compatible with sound teaching (which we base on Christ’s own words and which leads to Christ-like living), then he is a conceited idiot! His mind is a morbid jumble of disputation and argument, things which lead to nothing but jealousy, quarrelling, insults and malicious innuendoes—continual wrangling, in fact, among men of warped minds who have lost their real hold on the truth but hope to make some profit out of the Christian religion.’ (1st Timothy 6:3-5 J. B. Phillips Translation).

Sitting in front of your television, watching TBN, Daystar or doomscrolling YouTube shorts & trawling the internet, is no substitute for proper systematic teaching. At the risk of upsetting some & angering others, I will say this; significant portions of so called Christian broadcasting, are not fit for purpose. This is not discipleship. This is not The Gospel we hear preached today.

²⁴ The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord. ²⁵ It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household? (Matthew 10:24-25).

Whose disciple are you? Who are you following? Whose words are you listening to? I am not saying that we shouldn’t listen to ministers who instruct us in God’s Word. God has set teachers in the body (1^st Corinthians 12:28). But can that person disciple you? Can they lead you? Can they guide you? More importantly, will they give an account for you? The answer is no.

It frustrates me that many will pay more attention to strangers than they will to their own Pastors. Moreover, they will donate huge sums of money to charlatans & heretics, while neglecting the needs of the fellowship that they belong to. Too many Christians follow the path of least resistance. They do not consider counting the cost. Even as I write these words, I am conscious that I have some repenting to do.

²⁵ And there went great multitudes with him and he turned and said unto them, ²⁶ If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. ²⁷ And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. ²⁸ For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? ²⁹ Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, ³⁰ Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish. ³¹ Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand? ³² Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace. ³³ So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple. ³⁴ Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be seasoned? ³⁵ It is neither fit for the land nor yet for the dunghill but men cast it out. He that hath ears to hear let him hear (Luke 14:25-35). 

Whose disciple are you? Who are you following? Whose words are you listening to? The charismatic mega church model doesn’t have time for discipleship, so it promotes membership. More people. More money. Confess. Believe. Declare. Decree. Rinse. Repeat. There is no sitting down in order to count the cost. There is no forsaking all to follow Him.

You will become the disciple of those watch; those whose books you buy; those whose teachings you follow. You will become faithful to them. Whose disciple are you? Who are you following? Whose words are you listening to?

When they say jump, you ask how high. When they say give, you ask how much. This is not a joke. This is a symptom of a direct dereliction of duty by ministers & negligence on the part of believers. There is no excuse.

¹⁸ And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. ¹⁹ Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: ²⁰ Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen (Matthew 28:18-20).  

The Church needs to get back to basics, because the faulty foundation of cuteness, politeness, neatness & niceness isn’t cutting it. Christ’s example of commitment to The Father is the disciple’s standard of allegiance. ‘Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.’ (John 20:21). These men were not walking in membership. They were walking in discipleship. They believed in Him. They continued in His word. As they preached The Gospel, they made disciples, not members (Acts 2:42).

The mistake made by many in The Church at large is this: they forget that it is both the example of Christ’s life & the manner of His death that we are to observe. We hear about His birth & we celebrate it. We hear about His death & we remember it. But for the most part we ignore the masterclass of His life as an example of discipleship. This is why we as believers are told explicitly about the manner of lives we are to live. The real difference between membership & discipleship is the difference between actively going to church & actually being The Church. Forget what the false apostles, prophets, preachers & teachers are saying. Keep your money. Burn their books. Turn them off. Listen to your Pastor teach sound doctrine. Follow Christ & Christ alone. When we embrace biblical discipleship, this will truly be one of the greatest, biggest, hugest mushroom cloud making revival events ever known to man!

 

The good, the bad

& the ungodly

-6-

choosing the lord’s side in the current christian civil war

In concluding this series of articles, I have to pick up where I left off in our last meeting; the matter of truth. On this knife edge is balanced our integrity. If you or I violate the truth that binds us to The Gospel & its Christ, we abandon a holy standard. Let me speak for myself for a moment. I know that my conscience will not allow me to seek a unity with anyone or an affiliation to anything that blasphemes YHWH, The Holy Spirit or Our Lord & Saviour, Jesus Christ. I can only hold to a biblical doctrine; a true Christology; a clear orthopraxy. I cannot pretend that the obvious, glaring differences between myself & others, do not exist or matter. They do. I say this concerning primary fundamental matters. I don’t actually care about carpets, accoutrements or curtains. But I do care about salvation by grace alone, through faith alone. I do care about believer’s baptism. I do care about the inspiration of The Scriptures. I do care about The Incarnation. I do care about The Trinity. I do care about eternal punishment. I do care about God’s purposes for Israel, without whom we Gentiles would have no access to The New Covenant. To those who suggest that these elements can be swept aside, as if they were secondary, in favour of the appearance of a united front, I would say this; how dare you attempt to arbitrarily dismantle the work of Christ at the cross with such casual abandon? It is an insult! Hebrews says, ‘He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden underfoot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.’ (Hebrews 10:28-31). My conscience will not allow me to do this. I thumb my nose at hollow ecumenical efforts in the same way that they spit in the face of Christ, His Apostles & those who earnestly contend for the faith once delivered to the saints. In the words of that great theologian, Luke Skywalker, to his nemesis Darth Vader; I’ll never join you! Pah! ‘But they are altogether brutish and foolish: the stock is a doctrine of vanities.’ (Jeremiah 10:8).

You would be forgiven for thinking that God was a sad but benevolent father, looking down on The Church at large & asking why His children aren’t getting along. Such is the subtle & insidious nature of ecumenicalism. It is nothing more than the assumed fatherhood of God & brotherhood of man. Unfortunately, we cannot simply put our differences aside & pretend that they don’t matter. They do!

I have been asked whether or not I believe that The Lord wants His Church to come together. Emphatically yes. As long as it is His Church. Denominational lines do not concern me. Doctrinal lines do. Whatever we believe will lead directly to what we practise. It is not enough to pay a nominal lip service to the faith. We must be born again (John 3:3-7, 1^st Peter 1:23).

Any church, movement, group or denomination that is Christian in name only, is not a candidate for biblical unity.

Any church, movement, group or denomination that promotes demonstrably false Doctrine, is not a candidate for biblical unity.

Any church, movement, group or denomination that possesses an aberrant Christology, is not a candidate for biblical unity.

Any church, movement, group or denomination that openly rejects The Scriptures, is not a candidate for biblical unity.

This narrows the field significantly. Not because I say so, but rather, because this was the teaching of The Lord Jesus Christ & the Apostles. Despite this, there are still those who will twist The Scriptures, to their own destruction. Let’s look at some of their favourites.

¹² For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. ¹³ For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. ¹⁴ For the body is not one member, but many. ¹⁵ If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? ¹⁶ And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? ¹⁷ If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling? ¹⁸ But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him. ¹⁹ And if they were all one member, where were the body? ²⁰ But now are they many members, yet but one body. ²¹ And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. ²² Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary: ²³ And those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness. ²⁴ For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked: ²⁵ That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another.  ²⁶ And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it. ²⁷ Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular. (1^st Corinthians 12:12-27).

‘You see..’, they say, ‘..we are one body, therefore it doesn’t matter which part of The Church you belong to; we are simply different members of the body of Christ & didn’t Paul say “For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.” (Ephesians 5:29-30)?’. I strongly disagree on the grounds that it is wholly unbiblical. You & I are members of the body of Christ if we are born again. Paul is speaking to believers, not unbelievers. Paul is admonishing those who have believed the true Gospel, not a false one. Paul is teaching the Doctrine of Christ, which he & the other Apostles received from The Lord Himself, not the doctrines of demons. Despite this, there are still those who will twist The Scriptures, to their own destruction. Let’s look at another one of their favourites.

¹ I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, ² With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; ³ Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. ⁴ There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; ⁵ One Lord, one faith, one baptism, ⁶ One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. (Ephesians 4:1-7).

‘You see..’ they say ‘..God wants unity, not division. Paul uses the word “one” several times in order to emphasize that point. Therefore, all churches must come together’. Oh please; will you go & read Ephesians chapters 2 & 3!! 

Paul says, ‘For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to youward: How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel: Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power.’ (Ephesians 3:1-7). Paul is highlighting the fact that we are to make every effort to maintain a unity that only God can establish through The Gospel, uniting believing Jews & believing Gentiles in Christ.

Paul says keep the unity. He doesn’t say create it. Paul uses the word one several times in order to highlight the fact that there aren’t two or three or four bodies. There is one. Are you listening, you ecu-men? This applies to born again believers, Not every Tom, Dick & Harriet.

¹³ But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. ¹⁴ For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; ¹⁵ Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; ¹⁶ And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: ¹⁷ And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. ¹⁸ For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. ¹⁹ Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; ²⁰ And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; ²¹ In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: ²² In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit (Ephesians 2:13-22). 

Despite this, there are still those who will twist The Scriptures, to their own destruction. Let’s look at another one of their favourites.

¹⁴ I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. ¹⁵ As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. ¹⁶ And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd (John 10:14-16).

The Lord was not speaking about denominations here. He references those sheep who are His & those sheep who need to come in. This is Ezekiel 34. Ecumenicalism proports the falsehood that this is Jesus bringing The Church together. ‘We’re all His sheep’, it is said. That is a lie; some of those who promote this movement are goats.

⁵ Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. ⁶ Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. ⁷ Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, ⁸ And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed (1^st Peter 2:5-8). 

¹⁴ And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. ¹⁵ And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful (Colossians 3:14-15). 

⁵ So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another (Romans 12:5).

⁶ That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 15:6).

²⁸ There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28).

¹³ Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: ¹⁴ That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; ¹⁵ But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: ¹⁶ From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love (Ephesians 4:13-17). 

I encourage all those who truly believe, to resist ecumenicalism as a doctrine of demons. Take a stand against it. If we look again at what The Lord Jesus Christ said & know what He meant, we will recoil from any endeavour to partner with immoral, idolatrous, blasphemous heretics who have their own agenda. Today we are told that we should all come together as one in Christ. Tomorrow we will be told that we should all come together & buy the world a Coke. The true Church will remain distinct, doctrinally pure & faithful in its practise. God bless. 

 

 

 

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