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Lesson 8 for August 23, 2014

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Jesus founded the Church.

Jesus prayed for the unity of the Church. Jesus provided for the unity of the Church.

Jesus taught us how to keep the unity of the

Church.

How to avoid disunity.

How to restore unity.

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And I also say to you that you arePeter, and on this rock I will build Mychurch, and the gates of Hades shall notprevail against it. (Matthew 16:18)

Did Jesus say that Peter was the

foundation of His Church?

See 1 Corinthians 3:11 and Ephesians 2:20.

Jesus made a pun. In Greek, the word for Peter

ispetros, and it sounds similar to the Rock

(Petra) on which the Church would be founded

on; that is, Jesus.

God is called Rock both in the New and Old

Testaments (both the persons of the Father

and Jesus)

Jesus clearly used the symbol of the Rock to

reference Peters affirmation: You are theChrist. (Mt. 16:16)

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But his bow remained in strength, and the arms

of his hands were made strong by the hands of

the Mighty God of Jacob (from there is the

Shepherd, the Stone of Israel)(Genesis 49:24)

He is the Rock, His work is perfect; for

all His ways are justice, a God of truth

and without injustice; righteous and

upright is He. (Deuteronomy 32:4)

The Lord is my rock and

my fortress and my

deliverer. (2 Samuel 22:2)

The Lord is my rock and

my fortress and my

deliverer; my God, my

strength, in whom I will

trust; my shield and the

horn of my salvation, my

stronghold. (Psalm 18:2)

Because you have forgotten the

God of your salvation, and have

not been mindful of the Rock of

your stronghold, therefore you

will plant pleasant plants and set

out foreign seedlings. (Isaiah 17:10)

Are You not from everlasting, O

Lord my God, my Holy One? We

shall not die. O Lord, You have

appointed them for judgment;

O Rock, You have marked them

for correction.(Habakkuk 1:12)

and all drank the same

spiritual drink. For they drank

of that spiritual Rock that

followed them, and that Rock

was Christ. (1 Corinthians 10:4)

Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to

those who are disobedient, The stone which the

builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone,

and A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense. They

stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which theyalso were appointed. (1 Peter 2:7-8)

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I in them, and You in Me; that theymay be made perfect in one, and thatthe world may know that You have sent

Me, and have loved them as You haveloved Me. (John 17:23)

The Father and the Son are different, but they are

one in nature and purpose. We, the believers, have

different temperaments, cultures and skills, but we

must also be a united Church through Jesus Christ,just like the Father and the Son are.

We must accept Jesus as the

Lord of our lives for that to

happen. He must mold our

character. We must

surrender our will to Him.

The closer to Jesus each one of us is, the

closer we will be to our brothers and sisters.

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Harmony and union existing among men of

varied dispositions is the strongest witness

that can be borne that God has sent His Son

into the world to save sinners. It is our

privilege to bear this witness. But, in order

to do this, we must place ourselves under

Christs command. Our characters must be

molded in harmony with His character, our

wills must be surrendered to His will. Then

we shall work together without a thought

of collision.E.G.W. (Counsels for the Church, cp. 4, pg. 44)

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And they continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine and fellowship,in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. (Acts 2:42)

UNITED IN THE TRUTH

In order to have unity, we need to agree on

the content of the truth as presented in theWord of God. Any attempt to attain unitywithout adherence to a body of biblicalbeliefs is destined to failure.

UNITED IN LOVE

In order to have true love, we must have

less of self and more of Jesus. Our selfishpride must die, and Jesus must live in us.Then we will truly and sincerely love oneanother, making possible the perfectunity that Jesus prayed for.

The believers in the apostles time were perfect in one (Jn. 17:23) thanks to two gifts

they received from Jesus: Truth and Love (doctrine and fellowship)

We need to remember that love without truth is blind, and truth without

love is fruitless. Mind and heart must work together.

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You shall not go about as a talebearer among your people; nor shallyou take a stand against the life of your neighbor: I am the Lord. (Leviticus 19:16)

If you ever think you must speak of someone,

lets ask yourself the next questions first:

1. Is what I am about to say true (Exodus 20:16)?

2. Is what I am about to say edifying (Ephesians 4:29)?

3. Is it possible to say it in a loving way (Proverbs 25:11)?

Gossip is an infringement of the ninth commandment

and opposes Jesus order: Judge not, that you be not

judged. (Matthew 7:1)

No one has been called to judge others, or to speak ill

of someone, or to compare himself to others. We

must fix our eyes on Jesus.

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Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and thereremember that your brother has something against you, leave yourgift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled

to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.(Matthew 5:23-24)

If we ever offend anyone or we are

offended by someone, then we should

follow the method Jesus introduced in

Matthew 18:15-18.

1. Talk to your brother or sister alone.

That solves most of the offenses.

2. If you dont become reconciled, deal

with the issue before two or three

neutral witnesses.3. If the issue is not solved yet, tell it to

the Church.

Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritualrestore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lestyou also be tempted. (Galatians 6:1)

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If matters of difficulty betweenbrethren were not laid open before

others, but frankly spoken of

between themselves in the spirit ofChristian love, how much evil

might be prevented! How many

roots of bitterness whereby many

are defiled would be destroyed, and

how closely and tenderly might the

followers of Christ be united in His

love!

E.G.W. (Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, cp. 3, pg. 59)