1 Corinthians 1:10: „Now I exhort you, brothers, through the name of our Lord Yehoshua Mashiah, that you all speak the same, and there be no schisms among you, but you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same opinion“.
Divine vision:
People went into a church. They were radiant with light, some more than others, some not at all. Then they came out and they were all radiant. What happened in the church? Children of Elohim [1] sat together, they praised God, and the light spread.
1) What is a Christian brother?
We in Germany have work, family, worries … and try to cope with everything on our own. However, we need social contact. It does not help to just hide at home all the time. It is good when brothers and sisters in faith meet.
What are brothers and sisters in the traditional sense?
- Someone from the same family
- Someone with the same parents
- Someone with the same seed
- A relative
How do I recognise a brother or sister in Mashiah (Christ)?
The decisive factor is verse 12 in gospel of John, chapter 1.
John 1:1-13: „1 In the beginning was the Logos, and the Logos was toward the Elohim, and Elohim was the Logos. 2 He was in the beginning toward the Elohim. 3 All things were made through him, and without him not one thing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of the humans. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, but the darkness did not lay hold of it. 6 There came a man, sent from Elohim. His name, Yohanan. 7 This one came as a testimony, to bear witness of the light, so that everyone might believe through him. 8 He was not, he, the light, but so that he bore witness of the light. 9 He was the light, the true one, which illuminates every man coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, but the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own did not receive him. 12 But as many as received him, to those who believe in his name, he gave them the power to become children of Elohim, 13 who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but out of Elohim“
- Become a child of Elohim
- Believe in the name of Yehoshua (Jesus)
- Accept the light (light = word of Elohim = Yehoshua; v. 14 [2])
- Thus one is a Christian, a child of the same Father and a brother or sister in faith.
Digression: What is a Christian?
Christian comes from Christ = Anointed One; like Yehoshua (Jesus).
Acts 11:22-26: „22 But the news came to the ears of the Assembly of Yerushalaim and they sent Barnabas to go as far as Antioch. 23 When he had arrived and that he had seen the grace of Elohim, he rejoiced, and he exhorted them all to remain attached to the Lord with all their heart. 24 For he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith. And a great number of people joined the Lord. 25 But Barnabas went to Tarsus to seek Shaul. 26 And having found him, they took him to Antioch. And it happened that they gathered together during the whole year with the Assembly and that they taught a fairly large crowd. And it is in Antioch that, for the first time, the disciples received the name of christians.“
2) Speaking the same thing
Why should the children of Elohim, that is, brothers and sisters in faith, speak the same thing?
We need the same language to understand each other.
Language: through body and words.
We also need the same doctrine (= teaching). When we go „outside“ to evangelise, we must be ONE.
Acts 2:42: „And they were persevering in the apostles‘ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.“
Why do brothers understand differently? Why don’t we speak the same language?
- Different understanding/interpretation
- Different fathers
- Different spirits
- Different perspectives
- Different interests
- Different visions/goals
Example: Actually, you come to the assembly to be strengthened in Mashiah. But some come to find a spouse or some distraction from everyday life.
The main reason for misunderstandings and different ways of speaking among sisters and brothers is the different teachings they receive and have in their minds.
3) False teachings
1 Timothy 1:3: “I beg you, as I did when I was going to Macedonia, to remain in Ephesus, so that you may order certain people not to teach other doctrines”
1 Timothy 4:1-3: „1 But the Spirit expressly [3] says that in the later times some will depart from the faith, clinging to deceitful spirits, and doctrines of demons, 2 by the hypocrisy of false teachers, having their own conscience branded with a hot iron, 3 forbidding marriage, and commanding to abstain from foods, that Elohim has created to be taken with thanksgiving by the faithful and those who have known precisily the truth.“
- There are demonic teachings
- Caused by deceitful spirits
- False teachers (liars, hypocrites) spread these.
Acting (by hypocrites, sanctimonious people):
So-called “brothers and sisters” pretend to be holy or to have a revelation. But we must be honest before Elohim and people and not pretend that everything is fine.
Lies:
A lie is the opposite of the truth. Lies are told by false teachers. You can recognise them by comparing what is said with the Bible.
False teachers:
John 1:13: “who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but out of Elohim.”
If one is born of Elohim, this comes from Elohim himself, that is, from his grace. Those born of the flesh are already branded. They already have the mark and do not change (they are ‘hardened with a branding iron’).
John 8:38-47: „38 I, what I have seen with my Father, I speak, and you, therefore, what you have heard from your father, you do. 39 They answered and said to him: Abraham is our father. Yehoshua said to them: If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham. 40 But now you seek to kill me, I, a man that has told you the truth which I have heard from Elohim. This, Abraham did not do. 41 You do the works of your father. Then they said to him: We, we were not born of illicit sexual intercourse! We have one Father, Elohim. 42 Yehoshua then said to them: If Elohim was your Father, you would have loved me, for I came forth out of Elohim and came. Not even I came from myself, but he sent me. 43 Why you do not understand my speech? Because you cannot hear my word. 44 You are out of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in truth, because the truth is not in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own, for he is a liar and the father of lie. 45 But, because I speak the truth, you do not believe me. 46 Which one of you convicts concerning sin? And if I speak the truth, why do you not believe me? 47 He being out of Elohim hears the words of Elohim. Therefore you hear them not, because you are not out of Elohim“
Revelations 22:18-19: „18 For I testify to everyone hearing the words of the prophecy of this book: If any one will add to these things, Elohim will add to him the plagues that are written in this book: 19 And if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, the Elohim will take away his part from the book of life, and out of the city, the holy and the things which are written in this book.“
4) Divisions
Divisions must indeed exist, but between children of light and children of darkness. There must be no divisions between true brothers and sisters!
Greek term: eritheia (spirit of strife, jealousy, partisanship)
James 3:14-16: “14 But if you have bitter zeal and partisanship spirit in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. 15 This wisdom descends not from above: But is earthly, animal [4], demonic. 16 For where jealousy and partisanship spirit is, there is disorder and every evil work.”
Phillipians 2:3: “nothing according partisanship or vainglory; but in humility let each esteem others superior than themselves.”
If you suspect another person without asking Elohim about the background, you only pay attention to the bad little things about the other person. Suddenly, you only see the other person in a negative light and may even incite others to do the same.
James 4:1: “From where come wars and fightings among you? It is not from this, from your pleasures that war in your members?”
There are also people who sow discord and make statements that cast others in a false light. The following is an example of how the devil brings division. Someone paints their face white on the left side and black on the right side. They walk between two friends/brothers or sisters in faith, each of whom sees only half of the face, one white and one black. Thus, one claims to have seen a white person, the other to have seen a black person. A quarrel ensues, each calling the other a liar or a fool, and they no longer understand each other. Discord replaces brotherly love.
5) Being of one mind
Trust
2 Kings 22:7: “Howbeit there was no reckoning made with them of the money that was given into their hand, because they do faithfully.”
When working on the temple under King Yoshiyah (Josiah), the people were to trust the workers to do their work correctly to the best of their ability. This also means that true brothers and sisters should trust one another and beware of false accusations (which begin in the mind). People who work honestly for the kingdom of Elohim are trustworthy.
Distrust
If we suddenly look at a brother or sister with distrustful eyes, this is a precursor to possible later divisions.
Summary
We must do everything we can to promote unity, pray for our brothers and sisters, ask Elohim for clarification on the matter, talk to the brother or sister and bring things up for discussion. There must be no divisions among the children of Elohim. We should not have the attitude of being served, but of serving one another.
Romans 12:1-2: „1 I exhort you therefore, brothers, by the compassions of Elohim, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, well pleasing to Elohim: this is the spiritual sacred service, yours. 2 And do not be conformed to this age: but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may examine what is Elohim’s good, and well pleasing, and perfect will.“
Ultimately, it is about renewing our minds [5] so that love, rather than hatred and mistrust, reigns among us.
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[1] Elohim is the original name of the Creator, which is incorrectly expressed in English with the word „God“.
[2] John 1:14 is proof of Yehoshua’s divinity!
[3] Yehoshua also said this. This is another passage that shows that Yehoshua is the Spirit.
[4] [3:15] The word also means „carnal“ or „spiritual“.
[5] The Greek word that means „renewal of the senses“ is “metanoia”. This is also the term for “repentance, penance”. The renewal of the senses is therefore nothing other than a turning away from the path previously taken and a complete change of direction in thinking. See our teaching on “Conversion” for more on this.