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All churches be One
All churches be One
All churches be One
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All churches be One

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Jesus came to this world to save sinners and the lost, to join people in the world together with his divine love. Our Lord and Savior give the purpose of his Spirit anointed ministry to the people in the synagogue. God the Father sent him to preach the gospel to the poor, the sinners, the afflicted, the humble, destitute and to those who are crushed in spirit; the brokenhearted and those who tremble at His Word. Christ said that he was sent to heal those who are bruised and oppressed; the healing of Jesus Christ consists of physical and spiritual healing. All churches must adopt Christ's message, words, preaching teaching. They must preach the Gospel of God exactly as Christ taught and preached it; without adding to it, or taking away from it. This book will open the hearts and minds of all the believing Christians in a way that they will worship the Lord with the Spirit of truth and holiness so that they will come to the knowledge and understanding that God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit is One God - the Holy Trinity ever one God.

LanguageEnglish
Release dateMay 13, 2014
ISBN9781939415615
All churches be One

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    All churches be One - Grace Dola Balogun

    Jesus Christ’s Priestly Prayer

    After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: ‘Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life; that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the gloryI had with you before the world began. I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name --the name you gaveme --so thattheymaybeoneasweareone. WhileIwas with them, I protected them by the power of your name – the name you gave me – so that they may be one as we are one. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled. I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. Theyare not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may betruly sanctified. Myprayerisnotforthemalone. Iprayalso for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one. Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they maybeoneasweareone. Iin themand you in meand Iamin you. Maytheyalso bein usso thattheworld maybelievethatyou have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one. I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them(John 17:1-26).

    "Joy to the Earth! The Savior reigns: let all their songs employ; while fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains repeat the sounding joy, Repeat the sounding joy, repeat, repeat the sounding joy." (Words of Isaac Watts, 1719)

    Dedication

    I dedicate this book to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He is the one and only Head of the Church, the foundation of the Church, the Cornerstone, our Gracious Redeemer and our King of kings, the Lord of lords, and the God of gods. He came to this Earth and purchased the Church with His own precious blood. We are part of His body, His flesh and His bones. The one and only, the Husband of the Church, the Blessed Ruler of all the souls of humanity on Earth; who prayed on the night of His crucifixion and said, My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you in me and I am in you(John 17: 20-21a).

    I dedicate this book also to all the believing Christians, scholars, adults, pastors, ministers, young adults, as well as people of all other religions who will read this book to gain the understanding and come to the knowledge that all the Churches in the one body of Christ must have one doctrine in order to be one body of Christ – let Churches be one as Christ is one in all the Churches.

    No more let sins and sorrows grow, nor thorns infest the ground; he comes to make his blessings flow far as the curse is found, far as the curse is found, far as, far as the curse is found. (Words of Isaac Watts, 1719)

    Preface

    The Church:

    The word Church in the New Testament means: The called out ones. Agathering of people, which means in the Greek Language: Ecclesia – Church.

    The assembling of the citizens for the purpose of the affairs of the people; it is also referred to one particular meeting. Church also called Saints separated to the worship and service of God. Church always means people, never a building or organizational, or corporate structure. The assembly was in confusion. Some were shouting one thing, some another. Most of the people did not even know why they were there. If there is anything further you want to bring up, it must be settled in a legal assembly. After he had said this, he dismissed the assembly (Acts 19: 32, 39, 41).

    Church in the Hebrew language means Synagogue, which also denotes the Israelites’ sacred meetings. In the New Testament Church is used for the community of God’s people.

    Church means the body of Christ where Christ is the Head of the Church. The people of God, the Kingdom of God, the Temple of God, the Bride of Christ, and the Body of Christ. The Church was called the people of God, which can be summed up in the covenantal Scripture, which God the Father said, Therefore, say to the Israelites ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians’ (Exodus 6:6-7).

    The Lord is saying that He declares the essential meaning and purpose of His covenant at Sinai where the Lord promised to redeem Israel from the bondage of slavery and adopt them as His people and be their God. Israelites in return must promise to do the will of their Redeemer. The emphasis here is that Israel was helplessly held in bondage by a force they could not hope to overcome. Only by the Lord their God could they be freed because of God’s covenant with the patriarchs and His love for His people; He would indeed deliver them.

    God’s redemption of Israel from Egypt served as a major basis for the transfer of ownership of Israel to Himself. Israel was God’s by creation and election and now by redemption. The Lord God Almighty said I will be their God and they will be My people – Therefore, the people of God are, consists of those in the Old Testament and in the New Testament who responded to God’s calling to faith and whose spiritual origin rests primarily on the grace of God through Christ Jesus our Lord. Speaking of the people of God transcended from the Old Testament and the New Testament, which brought out questions about the relationship between the Church and the people of Israel. The Old Testament and the New Testament are the continuity of each other by the plan, or according to the plan and the authority of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

    The Church was first revealed in the Old Testament: He was in the assembly in the desert, with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers, and he received living words to pass on to us (Acts 7:38). The assembly in the desert refers to Israel as the people of God. Just as Moses led the assembly of the people in the Old Testament, Christ leads the assembly of the New Testament Church designated by Abraham’s seed and the Israel of God stands in continuity with the assembly of the Old Testament; and like the Old Testament, the Church of the New Testament is in the desert. It is a pilgrim Church on a journey of faith to the Promised Land. For this reason we must never become too comfortable with life here on this Earth.

    In order to make this point clear: The Lord gave me two stone tablets inscribed by the finger of God. On them were all the commandments the Lord proclaimed to you on the mountain out of the fire, on the day of the assembly (Deuteronomy 9:10). This connection, which speaks of the Church as the Church in the wilderness, offers the same idea that was inferred from the intimate association of words, viewed as pre-existent therein before the creation of Israel. The Church was established in the New Testament. The Church according to the New Testament is the eschatological Israel incorporating Jesus Christ the Messiah, which is a progression between Old Testament to the New Testament. What was promised to Israel has now been fulfilled in the Church through Jesus Christ, especially in the Spirit of New Covenant. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws (Ezekiel 36: 25-27). God the Father promises to restore Israel not only physically, but also spiritually; this restoration involves giving them a new heart that is as tender as flesh so that they will respond to God’s Word. Also, God will put his Holy Spirit in them. This is the work of God that will encompass the New Covenant, which was established by Jesus Christ. Without the empowerment of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, it is impossible for a person to have true life and to follow the ways of God. It is very essential that the Church – body of Christ -remain open to the voice and guidance of the Holy Spirit.

    Joy to the world! The Lord is come: let earth receive her King; let every heart prepare him room, and heaven and nature sing, and heaven and nature sing, and heaven, and heaven and nature sing. (Words of Isaac Watts, 1719)

    Chapter One

    Jesus Christ’s Prayer For The Church

    In the Book of John, Scripture speaks of Jesus Christ’s prayer to the Father, "After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: ‘Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life; that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.

    I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name – the name you gaveme –so thattheymaybeoneasweareone. WhileIwas with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.

    I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but thatyou protectthemfromtheevilone. Theyarenotoftheworld, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.

    My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one. Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one. I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

    Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them" (John 17:1-26).

    Jesus’ prayer for His disciples and all the believers shows that our Lord has the deepest longings for His followers, both then and now. It is also a Spirit inspired example of how all pastors and ministers should pray for their people, to include how Christian parents should pray for their children. In terms of praying for those we love and that are under our care, our greatest concerns should be that they may know our Lord Jesus Christ and His Word intimately, that God the Father may keep them from the world, from falling away, from Satan and from false teaching, so that they may constantly possess the full joy of Jesus Christ. Thus, that they be holy in thought, deed and character and that they may be one in purpose and fellowship, as demonstrated by Jesus and God the Father.

    Christ also prayed for believing Christians’ protection, joy, sanctification, love and unity within the body of Christ – the Church -those who belongs to God, believe in Christ and that that are separated from the world. He wants them to obey the Word of God, and the commandment of Christ, and accept His teachings and preaching.

    Our Lord prays for Himself and sanctifies Himself. Jesus Christ sanctifies Himself by setting Himself apart to do the will of God the Father to die on the Cross. Jesus suffered on the Cross in order that those who believe in Him might be separated from the world and set apart to for God forever. Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ also prayed for the unity of all the body of Christ – and for the Church, which is spiritual unity. Unity based on living in Christ, knowing Him, and experiencing the love of the Father and the fellowship of Jesus Christ.

    In that, believing Christians may lead others to Jesus Christ, that they may persevere in the faith and finally be with Christ in Heaven and that the love that the Father has for Jesus may be in them, so that they love Jesus with the same fervent love that the Father does, and that Jesus Christ, byHis Spirit, maydwell in and with them. It is a special quality of life that believers receive when they partake of the essential life of God through Christ; this allows them to know God in an ever-growing knowledge and fellowship with the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.

    Jesus prayed for the sanctification of all the believers with the truth – sanctify means to make holy, to separate or set apart for the Lord. Jesus Christ, the evening before His crucifixion, prayed that His disciples would be

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