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The church is the expression of God as His testimony. This expression is produced through the Triune God and all that He has being embodied in the Son and through all the Son’s human living, death, and resurrection being realized in the Spirit who enters into the believers. Ultimately, the Spirit is the Spirit of the Son of God. When this Spirit enters into people who believe in the Son of God, they become the one Body of Christ. The Body is the expression of God in Christ through the Spirit, and it is the testimony of the church. In reality the Body is the church. The church is one because one Body has been produced through one God, one Lord, and one Spirit (Eph. 4:4-6). This is the one faith that is spoken of in verse 5. Since our faith is one, our testimony is also one. Hence, the ground of the church is also one.
When we consider the ground of the church, we must start from the source. The ground of the church is oneness, and this oneness is the testimony of the church; the testimony of the church is the faith of the church. The faith produces the testimony, and the testimony becomes the ground. For example, some people believe in baptism by immersion and regard it as an item of the faith. Consequently, this “faith” produces a testimony of baptism, and in order to maintain this testimony, baptism becomes their ground. Eventually, a “Baptism by Immersion Church” will be formed on this ground. Therefore, faith produces a testimony, and a testimony brings forth a ground.
Baptism by immersion is insufficient to constitute the faith because it is only one of the many truths in the Bible; however, throughout the centuries many genuine Christians have practiced baptism by sprinkling rather than by immersion. Ephesians 4:5 speaks clearly of “one faith.” If baptism by immersion and baptism by sprinkling are regarded as the faith, then there would be at least two faiths because one group of believers would practice immersion and another would practice sprinkling. This shows that neither immersion nor sprinkling constitute the faith; instead, they are merely different opinions and interpretations. Even though some interpretations are scriptural, this alone does not make such interpretations the one faith.
Simply speaking, the one faith in Ephesians 4 relates to God in the Son as the Spirit entering into us, the believers in His Son, to make us one Body. This should be the normal understanding of a person who has been saved, redeemed by the precious blood, and regenerated by God. Nevertheless, we should not divide ourselves from those who do not have this understanding.
Ephesians 4 speaks of seven ones (vv. 4-6). The “trunk” of these seven are one Body, one Spirit, one Lord, and one God and Father of all. One hope, one faith, and one baptism are three additional ones. One faith brings us into a relationship with the Lord and allows the Triune God to enter into us; one baptism terminates everything of us so that all God’s elements can be expressed through us. One baptism does not refer to simply being immersed in water or being sprinkled with water; both of these are merely outward practices. Once a person believes into the Lord, he realizes that through baptism everything of himself has been crucified, terminated, and buried so that all the riches of God in Christ may be manifested in him in resurrection. This one baptism has been applied to all men, regardless of their different practices, such as immersion or sprinkling, facing up or facing down, or physical or spiritual. Even though these practices are different, the essence of baptism is one.
One faith is not a matter of baptism by immersion or by sprinkling, unleavened bread or leavened bread, head covering or no head covering, one cup or many cups, or keeping the Lord’s Day or the Sabbath day. People argue about baptism by immersion or sprinkling, unleavened bread or leavened bread, one cup or many cups, head covering or no head covering, and keeping the Lord’s Day or the Sabbath. These matters should not be counted as the one faith; they are not the Christian faith but merely doctrinal interpretations. The one faith is our fundamental belief; it is very simple and not complicated.
In Acts 8 Philip spoke to the eunuch, saying, “If you believe from all your heart, you will be saved.” The eunuch answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God” (v. 37). People have life by believing in Jesus Christ, the Son of God (John 20:31); this is the one faith. All that the Father has is in the Son so that His Son can be dispensed into us through the Spirit. In order to accomplish this purpose, Christ died for us on the cross and shed His blood to cleanse us. Then He resurrected from the dead and became the Spirit to enter into us so that we, as God’s many sons, would have His life and nature and become one Body. This is the reality of one Body, one Spirit, one Lord, and one God. Through one faith and one baptism we partake of the one Spirit, one Lord, and one God to become one Body (Eph. 4:4-6). “He who believes and is baptized shall be saved” (Mark 16:16). Through faith we are joined to the Lord, and through baptism everything in us of the old creation is terminated so that the resurrected Christ can live out God’s elements through us. Through believing and being baptized, we partake of the Triune God to become the Body of Christ; this is our fundamental faith. No matter how good and important other items of the truth may be, they are not part of this one faith. If we bring other items into the faith, then our one faith will become many “faiths,” and they will produce many testimonies and become the basis of many grounds. Once there are many grounds, there will be different “churches,” resulting in divisions that divide the church, the one Body.
The one faith produces only one testimony, and this one testimony produces only one ground. Baptism and head covering are not part of the one faith, and neither is the truth of the local church. Many brothers and sisters may not accept the truth of the local church or even understand it, but they are still in the one faith. We cannot bring something that is not the one faith into our midst and make it part of the faith. The faith is one; everything else is related to doctrinal interpretations or man’s opinions.
On the one hand, we need to be broad in tolerating different opinions; on the other hand, we are not allowed to have many “faiths.” We can practice baptism by immersion, but we must not make it the faith. Once we regard baptism by immersion as the faith, a denomination will be produced. According to the New Testament, the apostles had a broad attitude toward many different opinions. In Romans 14 Paul clearly allowed people to keep the Sabbath and eat only vegetables (vv. 1-9). Even though he recognized that they were weak in the faith, he did not excommunicate them. Rather, he exhorted those who were strong in the faith to bear the weaker ones (15:1) and not only to bear them but also to receive them (v. 7; 14:1). Some were weak in the faith and did not have the peace to eat meat, so they ate only vegetables. Some regarded the Sabbath because of traditions going back thousands of years; hence, they rested on the Sabbath. Even though they had received the Lord and were saved, they felt uneasy in not keeping the Sabbath. Paul does not say that Christians who kept the Sabbath should be excommunicated. Rather he says, “He who regards that day, regards it to the Lord; and he who eats, eats to the Lord” (v. 6). Thus, since the one who regards the Sabbath day is before the Lord, others may not judge, and since the one who does not regard this day is also before the Lord, others may not judge. Some are strong in faith, so they need to bear the weaker ones and receive them.
Paul was absolutely clear that the ordinance of the Sabbath belongs to the Old Testament and that it had passed away. In the teaching of the apostles there is nothing related to keeping the Sabbath. However, in their attitude and move the apostles were tolerant of those who were weak in faith and who held different opinions with regard to keeping the Sabbath. The apostles never taught believers to keep the Sabbath; nevertheless, the apostles did not trouble those who were saved but still felt the need to keep the Sabbath. The apostles did not excommunicate them; instead, they received them.
In the same principle, baptism by immersion is doctrinally correct, but if some feel that sprinkling is sufficient, we should not trouble them. We should not reject them merely because baptism by sprinkling is not scriptural; we would be wrong if we rejected them. God does not ask for much; He asks only that we have one faith. If we insist on anything outside of the scope of the one faith and make it a criterion to receive others, we will repeat the history of the Brethren.
The Brethren started in Plymouth, England, and they were called the Plymouth Brethren. J. N. Darby was the most gifted among them. He was a pastor from a denomination, but later, he was enlightened by the Lord to leave organized Christianity and serve the Lord. In the beginning the Brethren had the presence and blessings of the Lord. In two thousand years of church history, the Lord’s presence and blessings that were with the Brethren in the beginning had rarely been seen. Regrettably, difficulties soon arose. Another gifted one among them was B. W. Newton. He had strong arguments with Darby regarding the Lord’s second coming and the rapture of the believers. Darby believed that the Lord would descend from heaven and rapture all the saved ones before the great tribulation. This was the so-called pretribulation rapture. Newton believed in a posttribulation rapture. He said that the Lord would not rapture the believers until the end of the three and a half years of the great tribulation. The two could not agree, and eventually Darby asked the Brethren to excommunicate Newton because he felt that Newton was speaking evil doctrine.
After being excommunicated, Newton started another meeting with a few of his supporters and emphasized the posttribulation rapture. Once this precedent was set, many subsequent divisions occurred among the Brethren due to problems of so-called “evil doctrines.” Actually, neither the teaching of a pretribulation rapture or a posttribulation rapture constitutes the faith; they are merely different interpretations of the prophecy in the Bible, and they should not be a basis for division. Therefore, it was wrong for Darby and the Brethren to excommunicate Newton, because it led to divisions among the Brethren.
Furthermore, the Brethren also required those ones who broke bread with them to officially leave organized Christianity. If someone did not leave organized Christianity, they would not receive him to break bread. They considered sects and organizations as being evil, and they thought of those who had some association with sects and organizations as being evil companions. The Brethren’s requirement concerning this point was well beyond the scope of the faith. In the fundamental faith of Christians there is no requirement that people leave a sect; leaving a sect is not part of the Christian faith. It is wrong to consider this as a proper requirement, especially since even a proper thing such as baptism by immersion should not be a required belief. Using unleavened bread is also according to the Bible, but it is wrong to regard this as a required item of the faith. Once we take these practices as items of the faith, we produce different grounds and cause divisions. We may have many opinions, but if we do not produce different grounds based on them, we will not divide. Those who have different opinions must let these opinions remain as opinions, not as the faith. Whenever we regard a different opinion as the faith, different grounds will be produced, and when different grounds are produced, the church will be divided.
We must see the preciseness of the apostles’ teaching. In Acts 2:42 the saved ones “continued steadfastly in the teaching and the fellowship of the apostles.” The apostles’ teaching is very proper and concise, without any error. However, the apostles’ practice and attitude were very broad. The apostles never taught people to keep the Sabbath, yet in their practice and attitude they were tolerant of others who kept the Sabbath. The apostles did not say, “You cannot keep the Sabbath; anyone who keeps the Sabbath will be excommunicated.” The teaching of the apostles is fully of God, and it is proper. However, the apostles’ attitude and practice were tolerant and considerate; they bore others’ weaknesses in order to keep the Body of Christ from being divided.
Although the apostles tolerated different opinions, they did not permit sects and divisions. A person may have agreed with Apollos, but he could not separate himself from others because of Apollos. Likewise, you may agree with baptism by immersion, but you cannot divide yourself from others because of baptism by immersion. We cannot allow divisions or sects, but we can tolerate different opinions. The apostles tolerated others who kept the Sabbath, but they did not allow for the establishment of a “Keeping the Sabbath Church.” There is a difference between keeping the Sabbath and establishing a “Keeping the Sabbath Church.” Although keeping the Sabbath may cause division, establishing a “Keeping the Sabbath Church” will surely cause division. Once an opinion is included as part of the faith, it will produce an improper ground and divide the Body of Christ.
On the one hand, the condition of having many who hold different opinions in the church is not good; on the other hand, this situation is very beautiful because people with different opinions can still serve the Lord in oneness in the church and maintain the testimony of the oneness of the church. Even though a brother was baptized by sprinkling and I was baptized by immersion, he does not call himself a member of the “Sprinkling Church” and I do not call myself a member of the “Immersion Church.” When leading new ones to salvation, we do not need to argue over the matter of baptism; instead, we should fully allow each other to follow the Lord’s leading. This condition is very beautiful. Some may think that this is chaotic; however, in the midst of this chaos there is a hidden beauty. If everything is so orderly, it is not so beautiful, because it will be man-made.
No opinion should be regarded as part of the one faith. The one faith is simple — believe in the Son of God and thereby receive Him as well as the Father and the Spirit. We are redeemed by the precious blood and regenerated to become the Body of Christ, and by His grace we may live Him out; this is our testimony. Based on the one faith, we serve together. This faith is our ground; we do not have any other ground. If we have any other ground, we are in division and are a sect.
To have an opinion does not make one sectarian; to regard an opinion as the faith, however, does make one sectarian. There is a Seventh-day Adventist Church because some people consider the matter of keeping the Sabbath as a part of the faith. There is a Presbyterian Church because some people consider having elders administrating the church as a part of the faith. There is an Episcopal Church because some people consider that there must be an acknowledgment of believing in the “one holy catholic Church.” These so-called beliefs are opinions that have been added to the one faith, but they are not the faith. The faith touches only the Father, the Son, the Spirit, and the Body, and nothing else. We are not required to believe in a holy catholic Church, the Lutheran Church, or even the local church. We believe that the Father is in the Son, that the Son became the Spirit, and that as the Spirit, the Triune God has entered into us, making us one Body to express Him on the earth for His testimony; this is our faith, our testimony, and our ground. Other than the faith, there may be many opinions, but the faith still is absolutely one.
Over the past decades many senior co-workers among us may not have had the same opinion, and their interpretations of the Bible may have differed. However, we were never divided, because we did not make the opinions as part of the faith. Each one learned to humbly say, “This is merely my opinion. I may be right, but that does not constitute the faith. Those who hold different opinions are also saved and spiritual, if not more spiritual than I am.”
The Lord has never required us to all have the same doctrinal opinions. The fundamental faith is simply the one faith; hence, there is only one testimony and one ground. Our teaching must be correct, but our attitude and action must be broad. If someone asks us whether baptism by immersion or baptism by sprinkling is correct, we need to be honest and say, “Baptism by immersion is correct, but if somebody is willing to be baptized only by sprinkling and not by immersion, we will not have any problem with them. We may have different opinions, but we cannot have different sects; we may have different opinions, but we cannot have different divisions. If everyone decides to baptize by sprinkling, we would not say anything. Although in the aspect of the truth, we would still say that baptism by immersion is scriptural, we would have no problem with people holding different opinions, and we could still break the bread, serve the Lord, and preach the gospel together with them. But if a ‘Sprinkling Church’ is established, it will be a sect that destroys the oneness, the ground, and the testimony of the church. Thus, we could fellowship with them personally, but we could not be a part of their ‘Sprinkling Church.’”
Suppose brothers from a denomination would come to fellowship and say, “Brothers, we will drop our denomination and testify of Christ with you all, serving the Lord together on the ground of oneness. However, we cannot abandon one thing — we want to continue to meet on Saturday in order to keep the Sabbath.” In such a situation, we should not respond, saying, “Brothers, if you want to be one with us, you must drop the Sabbath; we cannot be one with you if you keep the Sabbath.” If we speak in this way, we are a sect that is related to not keeping the Sabbath. This will result in two “faiths,” not in the one faith. These two faiths will bring in two testimonies, and these two testimonies will bring in two grounds; thus, the church will be divided. If, however, we are enlightened by the Lord and are selfless, we would say, “Brothers, praise the Lord, when you break the bread on the Sabbath, we will be there, but we want to clarify that this breaking of the bread is for fellowship, because you are not standing on the ground of being a ‘Sabbath-keeping Church.’” We can be one with them even though they keep the Sabbath. Opinions can be tolerated and should be tolerated. The Holy Spirit forbids only the producing of a sect based on an opinion. It is not a problem for people to have an opinion concerning the Sabbath, but there cannot be a “Sabbath-keeping Church.” Once there is such a sect, the church is divided, and this division is condemned by God. The Holy Spirit condemns anyone who establishes a denomination, maintains a denomination, and forms an organization, because Christ is not divided. Whoever takes a different ground causes the church to be divided.
If we would care for God’s heart’s desire and focus on the complicated and delicate matter of the church, we cannot be too simple-minded. God wants us to tolerate opinions yet not form sects. On the one hand, we should not demand that others be the same as we; rather, we need to be tolerant. On the other hand, we should demand that the denominations be dropped.
In 1948, while I was serving in Nanjing, a brother serving with a university campus work came to me and said, “We are all laboring on the campus; we should work together on the same thing.” I understood his background and the reason for his visit, so I simply responded, “Brother, throughout these years in China, many brothers have had difficulties with us. These difficulties were not related to matters of the gospel or to edifying the believers. Concerning preaching the gospel, saving sinners, and edifying the saints, we are the same; there is no problem. All the difficulties relate to the matter of not allowing division in the church by bringing denominations, organizations, or groups into the church.” Concerning the gospel and edification of the believers, we have never had any conflict with other brothers. All the conflict has been related to denominations and organizations. We do not want to argue over different views of the truth, but we can never approve of denominations, sects, or organizations, because they divide the church. I further answered the brother, saying, “Dear brother, concerning the campus work, if we only preach the gospel to the college students, introduce them to the truth, edify them, and lead them to love the Lord, without bringing in any of the organizations of Christianity, we would not have a problem with anyone. In fact, without being connected in an organized way, we are already working together.” He understood my words because his purpose was to organize the so-called student fellowship on campus. We are absolutely for preaching the gospel to students. However, we are troubled when organizations are brought into the student work because this causes the church to be divided.
In short, we have one faith, one testimony, and one ground. Our teaching should be very serious and accurate, yet our attitude and actions should be broad. Nevertheless, we should never approve of the existence of division — whether it is denominational or non-denominational. All divisions damage the church of God. If God’s children, even those with different opinions, were not divided into denominations or sects and did not form organizations but instead held to one faith, one testimony, and one ground in Christ, how much more standing God would have today and how much more loss Satan would suffer! The gospel would be spread widely, and many would be saved and edified.
Regrettably, the evil one, Satan, has been successful with his subtle schemes and has done much divisive work in the church. This divisive work is carried out through many opinions. Not all opinions are from Satan, but if an opinion divides us into denominations, sects, and organizations, then it is one hundred percent of Satan. Satan is using denominations, sects, and organizations to destroy the church of God. Hence, the church today has become very weak, and there is little power in preaching the gospel, in saving sinners, in edifying the believers, or in prayers. Satan dismembers the church through denominations, sects, and organizations, causing the church to lose its impact, position, power, and authority. This is Satan’s subtle scheme.
We need to have the wisdom to understand the complexity of the situation and the subtlety of Satan. Our heart cannot be narrow, but it cannot be so broad that it tolerates what God does not tolerate. Opinions can be tolerated, but denominations, sects, and organizations should be condemned. We should have fellowship with all those who are saved. However, when we touch the denominations, sects, and organizations, we must receive mercy and take no part in them because they are from Satan, who intends to destroy God’s purpose. May the Lord gain us thoroughly concerning the faith of the church, the testimony of the church, and the ground of the church.
