LESSON V: CHRIST'S PRAYER FOR US
I. Our Savior's Plan and Prayer
1. Christ loved us enough to die for us.
2. He planned the establishment of His church (Matt. 16:18), and set it up just like He wanted it to be. He sent the Holy Spirit to guide the apostles when the new law went into effect (Acts 2). All who became Christians were added to the same church. All scholars agree there was only one church in N.T times and that Peter, Paul, James, etc., were members of the same church. God planned for it to remain so. How do we know?
3. Christ prayed for unity, that all of His followers through the ages "may be_______" (Jno. 17:20,21). Did he ask the impossible--or is it possible for his prayer to be answered? For all His followers to be united? How, then, can we account for the religious division among professed believers in Him? Let's look backward briefly.
II. The Bible Teaches That Some Would Depart From God's Plan.
1. Acts 20:28-30 "... of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them."
2. II Thess. 2:3,4 says that before the second coming of Christ there would come a falling away and that one man would "as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God."
3. I Tim. 4:1-4 tells us that in the latter times (which means the Christian dispensation) some would teach false doctrines, "forbidding to ____________ and commanding to abstain from ____________."
III. The Fulfillment Of These Predictions: The Development of Roman Catholicism
As stated in Acts 20:28-30, the departure was to begin with the elders of the church (in other words, among the leaders or overseers). History confirms this. One change followed another until the divine pattern was altered beyond recognition. Briefly, some of these changes which gradually developed were:
1. Change in church government. The elevation of one elder or bishop over a congregation in the second century was the first step in the multiplication of church offices (archbishops, cardinals, etc.) which led to the designation of Bontiface III as the universal bishop or pope in 606 A.D.
2. Change in name. In second century they began to use the name "catholic"; later "Holy Catholic Church" and then "Holy Roman Catholic Church".
3. The use of holy water was introduced in 120 A.D.
4. The doctrine of penance (the infliction of punishment for the remission of sins) was first introduced in 157 A.D.
5. Infant baptism was introduced in the third century.
6. Sprinkling --first case Novation in 251 A.D.; not legalized as the standard form of baptism in the Catholic Church until 1311 A.D.
7. The doctrine of purgatory developed from 593 A.D. -- decreed as canon law in 1439 A.D.
8. The general introduction of instrumental music in the 5th and 6th centuries. Because of much disagreement among leaders in the Catholic Church, it was not widely accepted until the 8th century.
9. The adoration of images dates from the 7th century.
10. The sale of indulgences dates from 1096 A.D. -- reached its peak in the 16th century. Objections to it helped to bring on the reformation.
11. The doctrine of transubstantiation (that the bread and fruit of the vine becomes the literal body and blood of Jesus after being blessed by a pries) was fully accepted in 1215 A.D.
12. Auricular confession (private confession to pries) enjoined as a substitute for public confession by Leo the Great (440-461). In 1215 A.D. it was made obligatory every year for all Catholics.
13. The pope declared infallible in 1870 A.D. (Note 11Thes. 2:3,4 again).
14. The doctrine of the assumption of Mary's body into heaven was made Catholic doctrine in 1950.
IV. Efforts to Reform the Catholic Church Resulted in the Development of Protestantism.
1. Men in every century lifted their voices against the departures from God's word, but they could not stem the tide. Then such men as John Wycliffe (1324-1384), John Huss in the 15th century, and William Tyndale (1484-1536) rebelled against the Catholic church and made an effort to get the word of God into the hands of the people. (The dark ages had come as a result of the Bible being chained to the pulpits and denied to the common people).
2. Martin Luther in Germany (1483-1546), a Catholic monk, finally defied the pope of Rome by nailing to the door of the church in Wittenburg ninety-five theses protesting the abuses of the Roman Catholic Church. He is known as the father of the Reformation Movement.
3. Zwingli (1484-1531) in Switzerland was engaged in a movement to call the people back to scriptural practices; he removed images and organs from the churches. His life was taken by Catholics.
4. Henry VIII, King of England, broke with the Catholic church and became head of the Church of England, known in the U.S. as the Episcopal church. The state church of England; its laws are made by Parliament.
5. John Calvin (1509-1564) in Switzerland, became the father of Presbyterianism; and John Knox (1505-1572) carried on a similar movement in England.
6. John Smith in Holland in 1608 immersed himself, Thomas Helwys, and 37 others. The name Baptist was not applied to this group until 1644.
7. John and Charles Wesley in 1729 founded an organization later called the Methodist Church. They lived and died as members of the Church of England and had no intention of starting another church.
8. All of these men were trying to get closer to the pattern as God had given it. However, the result was that the number of religious bodies multiplied, with varying names and creeds and practices. Now there are more than 300 different religious bodies in the United States alone.
V. THE RESTORATION OF NEW TESTAMENT CHRISTIANITY.
In the period around 1800, a number of men in different parts of the world -- each working independently without the knowledge of the others -- began movements to abolish all human names, creeds, and practices, and, and to return to God's word as the only guide in religion, to "speak where the Bible speaks and remain silent where the Bible is silent." This is the principle taught by God. These men saw that efforts to REFORM certain practices of Catholicism were only developing many new religious bodies; so they began to RESTORE New Testament Christianity to the world. These men did not start a new church or teach a new doctrine. They simply pointed people to the church and doctrine given by God.
VI. IS IT POSSIBLE TODAY TO HAVE THE SAME CHURCH THAT EXISTED IN THE FIRST CENTURY? Yes, if we adhere to certain fixed divine principles.
1. SEED PRODUCTS AFTER ITS OWN KIND. This is an unalterable law of God, easily visible in the natural world. The kind of plant is dependent upon the seed sown. One who sows watermelon seed will not reap squash or cucumbers. Nor is the plant dependent upon the character or name of the sower. For instance, if Mr. Smith plants watermelon seed, such will not produce "Smithites" but watermelons. God's spiritual law of sowing and reaping is just as fixed and certain.
2. THE WORD OF GOD IS THE SEED OF THE KINGDOM (Lk. 8:11). In the first century, the pure word of God, without addition or subtraction, produced undenominational Christians - - neither Catholic nor Protestant. We read of neither in God's word. This, all that in necessary to produce Christ's church in any century is to reach back and get the same seed and plant it in the same kind of soil, honest hearts (Matt. 13:23). Thus, church identity is not established by succession -- but by the kind of seed that is sown.
3. WE CAN KNOW WHAT KIND OF SEED HAS BEEN SOWN BY EXAMINING THE PLANT. The existence of so many varying religious bodies today testifies that something has been sown besides the pure word of God. The seed has been mixed with the teachings of men. For instance, if we were to go to some heathen land and sow the teaching of the Catholic Catechism into men's hearts, what would be produced? Catholics, of course. What about the Methodist discipline? The Baptist Manual? The Book of Mormon? If we taught the Book of Mormon, it would never produce a Presbyterian.
4. THEREFORE, IF ONLY THE PURE WORD OF GOD IS PLANTED INTO HONEST HEARTS, IT WILL PRODUCE CHRISTIANS ONLY -- with no denominational name, creed, or practice.
5. EACH OF US SHOULD CHECK THE IDENTIFYING CHARACTERISTICS of the religious body to which we belong. Have we obeyed the plan of salvation outlined in the N.T.? Engage in the same items of worship? Wear the same name? Follow the same creed (word of God only)?
If so, then we are members of the same church as Paul, Peter, James, and others, without any denominational affiliation.
6. TRUTH DOES NOT CONTRADICT ITSELF. Therefore, it is not possible for many contradictory doctrines to be true. For instance, two plus two equals four. There is only one right answer. All answers which are at variance with it are false. So we see that truth is narrow. Error is broad, having many contradictory answers.
7. TRUTH IS FIXED AND UNALTERABLE. For instance, two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen constituted water centuries ago. It still does. The discoveries of science did not contradict or obliterate that truth, but built upon it (as well as many others). The same principle applies to spiritual truths. What is a spiritual truth? Christ said: " thy ________________ is truth" (Jno. 17:17). It alone can make us free of sin (Jn. 8:32).
8. GOD IS NOT THE AUTHOR OF CONFUSION but severely rebukes and condemns division. (I Cor. 1:10-13). If God had wanted to place His approval on religious division, that would have been a wonderful opportunity. Instead, he admonished that "there be no divisions among you."
CONCLUSION:
GOD NOT ONLY CONDEMNS DIVISION BUT COMMANDS UNITY, that we "walk by the same rule and mind the same thing" (Phil. 3:16). Thus, religious unity is not optional, but a clear-cut command.
CHRIST PLANNED FOR RELIGIOUS UNITY by establishing one church, not many.
CHRIST PRAYED FOR RELIGIOUS UNITY among His followers: "that they may all be one." This prayer can be answered only if the religious world is willing to follow His plan for unity.
