WE SEE the beginning of a movement where God is waking up many of His sheep to hear His voice in the midst of the noise and rustle of the denominational confusion. God never intended His Church to be divided,72 confused and led back and forward with every wind of doctrine. “Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.”73
In the current setting of tens of thousands of sects and groups we believe the Lord has His people in almost every one of them. One brother speaking of his personal journey with the Lord felt that the Lord told him to “Leave Mount Ism’s and go to Mount Zion.” With such counsel we agree that the work of God would be much purer and a more brightly shining light in this current world system if saints left the Ism’s they were a part of and joined in unity, under the Headship of Jesus Christ. This does not necessarily mean a physical leaving of a church or denomination, but rather the departing from these divisions in the hearts of God’s people. Jesus prayed in John 17 that they all may be one.74
There is a Biblical simplicity and truth that the true Church is always unified as one in God’s eyes. The Church today is in many ways unified in purpose spiritually, but unity rarely manifests physically in a locality. Yet it is the will of God for the local gathering of the body of Christ to be unified spiritually in a physical setting. The Chinese underground Church is a great example to us. They have eight major branches but are unified with respect to all major doctrines. God has allowed for different sects and groups to form with unique recoveries of truth in each generation. Yet in the end of the age each group must desire the true unity of the body of Christ.
In the end times God is calling for all believers to have the same mind as Jesus Christ in seeing the Church as one, for in heaven there will be only one Church and it is a called-out Assembly that glorifies God and walks in holiness.75 So we must look past all labels and denominations and see each true believer as God sees them. In 2 Timothy the Scriptures clearly show how God sees those who are His: “Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: ‘The Lord knows those who are His,’ and, ‘everyone who confesses the Name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.’”76 So we also see those in different sects and groups who are departing from sin and the ways of the world and we can have fellowship with them as we are on this similar pilgrim way.77
If we would have spiritual eyes to see the body of Christ as the Lord sees from heaven we would be shocked to see believers shining in white78 from all different denominations and sects. Though there is a precious gem of truth to be admired in each denominational group in that they perhaps have more light on a certain doctrine than others, the burden of the Lord for the end times Church is to have a unified body that shares all these truths in balance. The fullness of Christ is God’s ultimate end for each local body, a Bride without spot or blemish, or wrinkle.79 It should be every believer’s goal to be a part of a maturing gathering of believers80 where all grow up into full maturity. In the same way, it is every believer’s individual aim to become perfect even as our Father in heaven is perfect.81 The Lord will have a Bride, His holy people,82 gathered in the end times under one banner: The Lord Jesus Christ.
There are many shining examples in Church history of those brothers and sisters who did not conform to patterns of men and doctrines of men but sought to be under the banner and Headship of Jesus Christ. One brother who was leading many saints into this reality said of his calling from God: “I was to bring people off from all the world’s religions, which are in vain.”83 Few believers today see that such things are vanity, because to promote a denomination in itself is vain; it is promoting the kingdom of man, which is spiritual Babylon. God can free us from all such things and release His body to build His kingdom as one Body.
A longing prayer of a godly saint from the past speaks of the need for a God birthed and God sustained work in gathering His body together: “I want to see something that God builds. I want to find some people so hungry for God that every night they want to pray and make intercession. We’ve tried every scheme and every fancy thing to try and work something up. But what we need is for somebody to come down. Some person! Not a new theology, a Person!”84
May God assemble His children together for His glory alone. So that the Person of Jesus Christ can be magnified and adored.