Class Notes: 3/10/2010

Unity in the body of Christ is established by the PMA of Bible Doctrine

John 1:14 - And the Word (undiminished deity) became flesh (true humanity), and dwelt among us (the Incarnation), and we (James, Peter, and John) beheld His glory (the visual manifestation of the Uniform of Glory), glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth (Bible Doctrine).

In our previous lessons we reviewed the doctrines that relate to TLJC in his first advent when he was incarnated via the virgin birth.

We have studied the doctrine of the virgin birth that was necessary for there to be no transmission of the OSN and then took up the doctrine of the hypostatic union that explains the mechanics of how undiminished deity and true humanity reside in the person of TLJC and then discussed the doctrine of the kenosis that defines God the Father's protocol for the deity and humanity of TLJC in hypostatic union.

In the context of these doctrines, we have been looking at some of the names and titles for our Lord Jesus Christ in order to see more clearly what God has done for us through him, so we can more completely understand who he is and what he has done for us, and from our knowledge of him have our confidence established in our occupation with him. Heb 12:2;

In view of this, we are presently looking at the phrase "body of Christ" that is used to describe all Church Age believers in their relationship with Jesus Christ. In fact, each person of the Trinity is related to the "body of Christ."

Last time we finished a brief review of the seven ministries of God the Holy Spirit at salvation that create the body of Christ.

These seven ministries are: Efficacious Grace, Regeneration, The Baptism of the Spirit, The Indwelling of the Holy Spirit, The Filling of the Holy Spirit, The Sealing Ministry of the Holy Spirit, and the Sovereign Distribution of Spiritual Gifts to every Believer.

After salvation, the Holy Spirit has two ministries to the believer.

The enabling power of the Spirit inside God's power system is called the filling of the Spirit in Eph 5:18; and walking by means of the Spirit in Gal 5:16.

The teaching ministry of the Holy Spirit can only occur inside the God's power system where the enabling ministry of God the Holy Spirit makes it possible for believers to understand Bible Doctrine and the believer's persistent and consistent PMA of Bible Doctrine results in momentum.

Therefore, the post-salvation ministries of the Holy Spirit are what enable believers to understanding of Bible doctrine, John 14:26; John 16:12-14; 1Cor 2:9-16;

These two functions of God the Holy Spirit set up the life beyond gnosis knowledge descried in, Eph 3:19; and the life beyond dreams described in, Eph 3:20;

"Being filled up with all the fullness of God" demands cognition of Bible doctrine.

"Being filled up with all the fullness of God" means believers use the ten problem solving devices: the rebound technique, the filling of the Spirit, the faith-rest drill, grace orientation, doctrinal orientation, a personal sense of destiny, personal love for God the Father, impersonal love for all mankind, +H or sharing the happiness of God, and occupation with the person of Christ.

This is the result of the believer's thinking being renovated by Bible Doctrine under the mentorship of God the Holy Spirit.

Rom 12:2; "Stop being conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renovation of your thinking, that you may prove what the will of God is, namely, the good of intrinsic value achievement (advance to spiritual maturity), the well-pleasing to God (function of ten problem solving devices), the mature status quo (execution of protocol plan of God)."

Being filled with all the fullness of God means execution of the protocol plan of God. It means ignorance is replaced by cognizance, and that arrogance is replaced by humility that results in tolerance and the function of virtue love as a problem solving device.

We see from this that it is God the Holy Spirit who places believers into union with TLJC in positional unity and then provides the means for their function in experiential unity within the body of Christ.

Ignorance and arrogance are the enemies of experiential unity within the body.

The consensus of thought that establishes experiential unity among believers is only based on the mystery doctrine of the Church Age, and the application of the ten problem solving devices of the PPOG.

Consistent post-salvation renovation of the thinking so that mystery doctrine is understood and metabolized removes ignorance.

The mastery and use of the ten problem solving devices of the protocol plan removes arrogance.

Rom 12:3, "For I say through the grace which has been given to me to everyone who is among you: stop thinking of self in terms of arrogance beyond what you ought to think, but think in terms of sanity for the purpose of being rational without illusion as God has assigned to each one of us a standard of thinking from doctrine."

Arrogance is the major cause of fragmentation and disunity among believers who are members of the body of Christ. The standard of thinking that God provides from Bible Doctrine removes arrogance.

A standard of thinking from doctrine includes motivation, thought, decision, and action related to the mystery doctrine of the Church Age and the unique factors of this dispensation.

This verse mentions the word "thinking" three times. Unity is based upon thinking, not upon doing as most people assume.

Prov 23:7, "As a person thinks in his heart, so he is." This passage states that we are not what we appear to be overtly; we are what we think.

This means that Christian fellowship does not establish unity within the body of Christ.

When emphasis on people takes precedence over emphasis on God the result is the destruction of any benefits that might accrue from Christian fellowship.

Christian fellowship is never a substitute for fellowship with God.
The believer cannot grow spiritually or execute the PPOG through Christian fellowship and its attendant evils, such as "sharing."

Sharing is merely a case of the blind leading the blind, that results in both ending up in the ditch of reversionism.

Sharing ignores the gift of pastor-teacher and the importance of the function of the spiritual gift that God has provided for the communication of the mystery doctrine of the Church Age.

Unity is the result of fellowship with God that comes from the PMA of the mystery doctrine of the Church Age.

Fellowship with God is a part of the protocol plan, while fellowship with other Christians is merely a result at best; at worst, it is a distraction from doctrine.

Christian fellowship is an option, not a mandate.

Christian fellowship is never a substitute for post-salvation renovation of the thinking, or learning Bible doctrine as it is objectively communicated by the spiritual gift of pastor-teacher and taught by God the Holy Spirit.

The key to unity among believers is accurate teaching of Bible doctrine and positive response to that teaching. This means that it is the message from the pastor that is the key to unity among believers. Eph 4:11-13;

This means that the responsibility of the pastor-teacher is to study and teach, with primary emphasis on the mystery doctrine of the Church Age while at the same time not neglecting the whole realm of Bible doctrine.

The teaching of Bible doctrine provides the solutions to problems from the soul of the individual believer in the privacy of their priesthood.

The teaching of Bible doctrine includes the protocol plan of God for the Church Age as well as the ten problem solving devices of the royal priesthood. The teaching of Bible doctrine is the basis for experiential unity among Church Age believers.

This unity must come from within the believer's soul. There is no unity from overt displays of agreement such as shaking hands and smiling. The old sin nature is still there. Unity among believers is only based on the mentorship of God the Holy Spirit what and how they think.

There can never be any true unity in any place where people gather and interact with each other unless it is based on unity of thinking. There must be a general basis of agreement in thinking. Only Bible doctrine can take many different personalities and provide for them the unity that is necessary so that fellowship among believers can be meaningful.

The power of God is in the Word of God it is not in persuasive speech or other forms of manipulation. 1Cor 2:4-5;


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