For a Divided Church

God Wants Unity

Part IV

Teamwork

God has called us into His Church to become part of His team to help Jesus Christ bring God’s government and lasting peace, God’s WAY of life, to this earth. Are we qualifying for a position on His team, to teach His WAY to others?

What would be required of you, if selected, to be on a professional sports team such as basketball? What would be the consequences if you wanted to practice independently, apart from others selected to be on the same team to which you were assigned? Under what rules or standards would you train and practice?

Who would be your authority, your evaluator or judge, your coach? By what rules should such a person evaluate you to determine if you qualified for a position on the team and to any position you may be assigned? Should you even know the rules and their purpose? And if so, then who should teach them to you? Finally, to whom would you be held accountable in all these things? There are many questions that deserve answers if you were selected for such a team.

The answers to these and many other related questions are of interest to us for we are supposed to be training for a team that Jesus Christ is putting together for the Kingdom of God ? How are we doing? Are we training to be part of Christ's team, or are we training independently, separating ourselves from the team He is building? Are we truly part of His Work?

In Mystery of the Ages, under sub-heading, "Individual Christians" -- Ex-Members, God’s end-time apostle taught: “Now what about the "private," or "individual Christian," who says, "I don't want to be a part of the Church -- I want to seek my salvation direct and alone with Christ."

The answer is this; God Himself laid out the plan and the method by which humans may be, after begettal, trained and prepared to become part of the divine personnel of born GOD BEINGS that shall form the KINGDOM OF GOD !

The kingdom of God will be the GOD FAMILY -- a superbly and highly trained and organized family of GOD BEINGS. The Church is God's special school for training those He has selected and called to be trained in His Church -- to be kings and priests, to rule and to teach -- for their part in that kingdom. Only those so trained in the Church will be kings and priests in the kingdom of God .

“ Those called now, I repeat emphatically, are NOT CALLED just for salvation. .....called for a special training provided only in God's Church.”

“The Church is ORGANIZED on GOD'S pattern of mutual teamwork and cooperation to function perfectly together. They shall become the GOD FAMILY as it shall exist at the time of Christ's Second Coming. Remember God IS that divine family!

Take an analogy from Satan's world. A football player says: "I want to play in all of the games, but I'll train alone. I don't want to be part of the TEAM until the games start." Would the coach let him be part of the team in the games, without having learned TEAMWORK during practice season? Neither will God let one INTO His family at the resurrection who refused to be part of it now -- in the CHURCH - in the spiritual "training season" (pp. 270-271).

Again, in Mystery of the Ages under Teachings and Beliefs: “Now we must summarize the teaching and beliefs of God's true Church.

This, naturally, is related directly to the purpose of the Church -- to call out of Satan's present world disciples (students, learners) to be trained to become kings and priests (teachers) in God's world tomorrow when God will open the tree of life (salvation, immortality) to all flesh.

But doctrinally, remember what the Church is called to help restore -- the kingdom, government and character of God. What was taken away? God's law, the foundation of His government and the very essence of God’s character and divine life.

The teachings of God's true Church are simply those of "living by every word" of the Holy Bible.

The first man, Adam, chose to decide for himself right from wrong -- to decide his own teachings, beliefs and ways of life. The world has followed that same course for 6,000 years. The Church is called out of the world to live the way God, through the Bible, teaches” (pp. 273-274).

In this era of the Church we all have to make the decision whether or not we are going to hold fast to what an apostle of God, Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong, taught to us in doctrine (Revelation 3:11). Does the office of an apostle have the depth of meaning to you as God wants you to comprehend? Does doctrines that Mr. Armstrong taught carry any weight for us today?

There is a booklet by Mr. Jonathan Bowles that explains this subject in great detail entitled, “ Just What is an Apostle?” This booklet helps us to more fully understand the significance of an apostle’s office. Please write for it.

Are you really training in the right place? Are you being taught and trained to serve God in His government as Jesus Christ would have you learn? Does God train His people within differing governments and rules?

It behooves us to know where God’s full truth is being taught and the training for His government is taking place at this time. What are some criterion we must use in order to determine these things? We offer to you another booklet, “ The Work of God in the Laodicean Era”, that explains this in great detail. Also, please request an article on “ The Elijah to Come”.

We can safely say that God will have neither a voting government nor a dictatorship ruling in the Kingdom of God . As Mr. Armstrong taught, the government in God’s Church must be the same as will be in the Kingdom:

“The CHURCH, as initially called in this life, is NOT YET capable of RULING the earth -- of sitting with Christ in the THRONE where God originally placed Lucifer -- of administering THE GOVERNMENT OF GOD.

And THAT IS WHY God has placed HIS GOVERNMENT in His Church. That is WHY God’s Church government is theocratic instead of democratic. That is why God has set ranks of government in His Church,.... "till we [in the Church] all come in the unity of the faith, .... (Eph. 4:13).

...That is WHY it is hierarchical in form - - government from GOD at the top on down, ..... It is the SAME government by which Christ shall rule all nations beginning with the millennium! ...And that is WHY Satan has subtlely influenced dissidents in God's Church to become resentful and bitter over God's government” (Mystery of the Ages, page 256).

The Church is, at this present time, divided and splintered, scattered into several dozen, possibly hundreds of groups (see Daniel 12:7). Are there any groups striving to keep these things on track? Some members say they will never join any one group again. Is this the right approach? Finally, whom does God hold responsible for this scattering of His Church?

Three pieces of literature, “Just What is an Apostle?”, “The Work of God in the Laodicean Era”, and an article on “The Elijah to Come” will explain these concepts and problems, giving the solutions to these things for you.