“In religious circles generally, the word "ecumenical" means world-wide in influence. An ecumenical council is one which represents an entire church. The ecumenical movement among non-Catholic churches are striving for union of Protestant churches and to a closer relationship to the two great Catholic ecclesiastical organizations, The Roman and Greek Catholic churches.”
Is this a good thing or a bad thing? It depends upon your perspective.
"SAY YE NOT A CONFEDERACY..."
Our Lord’s parable of the wheat and the tares (Matt 13:24-30) forms an excellent basis with which to begin a consideration of church union.
This parable predicts the history of Christianity for nearly two thousand years. The parable explains that Jesus would sow the Gospel message followed by Satan’s sowing a counterfeit message. Thus the true Church was founded, but the apostate church also grew very quickly. The Lord’s servants inquired about the wisdom of separating the two groups, but the Lord cautioned that such separation would do more harm than good until it was the proper time for separation.
The fact that the gathering out of the tares would have rooted up the wheat also shows prophetically that (at the end of the age, our day) the false church (tares) would outnumber the true Church (wheat). This is in harmony with Jesus’ statements that "many are called but few are chosen," and with His naming His true Church a "little flock."
Just so it has been. The message of the Lord and the Apostles was soon corrupted. The ambition of early churchmen placed power above truth, and the great Roman Church ruled the world. Some did attempt reforms, but the spirit of Satan infiltrated these reform movements so much so that they too became tare-infested and formed their own denominational tare collections—each, however, containing some wheat.
The parable ends with a very important message for us. It says that the day would come when it would be proper to separate the wheat from the tares. This would be in the time of the "harvest," which our Lord elsewhere explains is the end of the age—the end of the call of the Church—the time of His return. We are now living in the harvest of the age. Therefore the Lord looks over his field to see what fruit it has borne.
He considers the tares (nominal professors, the false church) worthless for his purpose (which is to bless the world), and so he determines their destruction—as institutions, NOT as people! Remember that the Lord did very much the same thing at his first advent. He looked over the Jewish church to see if it had borne the proper fruit. When he saw it had not, he determined their destruction—again, as a nation, NOT as individuals. But those Jews who were faithful—those who were "wheat" —he separated and gave them the opportunity of being the first members of the Church. (Compare Matt 23:37-39 with John 1:11, 12.)
Matt 13:30, therefore, becomes a touchstone for our study of what is happening in the ecclesiastical world. Note just what it says: "Gather ... the tares and bind them in bundles." Here it is! The ecumenical drive for unity is here stated with such simplicity!
The Lord is here predicting that prevailing forces which he would maneuver would actually cause the "bundling" together. Of course, the denominations think that unity is for their benefit and strength; but the parable states otherwise. It points out that they are being bundled to be burned (destroyed as institutions). The wheat, however, which is the true Church, is being gathered out from denominationalism to be gathered together with Jesus to reign with him to bless all the families of the earth. (And that includes all the tares here mentioned).
It becomes clear, then, that those who would be faithfully following the Lord at this time (the wheat) could never participate in the church union (tare) movement. Instead, the true wheat will recognize the ecumenical movement as a sign of the nearness of the kingdom. They will be content to lean on the Lord and his wisdom rather than on the organizational stratagems of the so-called churches. The true Church will stand separate (and informed), neither joining NOR fighting the ecumenical movement.
Other Scriptures state the same lesson.
We will take a look at this in our next post.
Return to Index
Is this a good thing or a bad thing? It depends upon your perspective.
"SAY YE NOT A CONFEDERACY..."
Our Lord’s parable of the wheat and the tares (Matt 13:24-30) forms an excellent basis with which to begin a consideration of church union.
This parable predicts the history of Christianity for nearly two thousand years. The parable explains that Jesus would sow the Gospel message followed by Satan’s sowing a counterfeit message. Thus the true Church was founded, but the apostate church also grew very quickly. The Lord’s servants inquired about the wisdom of separating the two groups, but the Lord cautioned that such separation would do more harm than good until it was the proper time for separation.
The fact that the gathering out of the tares would have rooted up the wheat also shows prophetically that (at the end of the age, our day) the false church (tares) would outnumber the true Church (wheat). This is in harmony with Jesus’ statements that "many are called but few are chosen," and with His naming His true Church a "little flock."
Just so it has been. The message of the Lord and the Apostles was soon corrupted. The ambition of early churchmen placed power above truth, and the great Roman Church ruled the world. Some did attempt reforms, but the spirit of Satan infiltrated these reform movements so much so that they too became tare-infested and formed their own denominational tare collections—each, however, containing some wheat.
The parable ends with a very important message for us. It says that the day would come when it would be proper to separate the wheat from the tares. This would be in the time of the "harvest," which our Lord elsewhere explains is the end of the age—the end of the call of the Church—the time of His return. We are now living in the harvest of the age. Therefore the Lord looks over his field to see what fruit it has borne.
He considers the tares (nominal professors, the false church) worthless for his purpose (which is to bless the world), and so he determines their destruction—as institutions, NOT as people! Remember that the Lord did very much the same thing at his first advent. He looked over the Jewish church to see if it had borne the proper fruit. When he saw it had not, he determined their destruction—again, as a nation, NOT as individuals. But those Jews who were faithful—those who were "wheat" —he separated and gave them the opportunity of being the first members of the Church. (Compare Matt 23:37-39 with John 1:11, 12.)
Matt 13:30, therefore, becomes a touchstone for our study of what is happening in the ecclesiastical world. Note just what it says: "Gather ... the tares and bind them in bundles." Here it is! The ecumenical drive for unity is here stated with such simplicity!
The Lord is here predicting that prevailing forces which he would maneuver would actually cause the "bundling" together. Of course, the denominations think that unity is for their benefit and strength; but the parable states otherwise. It points out that they are being bundled to be burned (destroyed as institutions). The wheat, however, which is the true Church, is being gathered out from denominationalism to be gathered together with Jesus to reign with him to bless all the families of the earth. (And that includes all the tares here mentioned).
It becomes clear, then, that those who would be faithfully following the Lord at this time (the wheat) could never participate in the church union (tare) movement. Instead, the true wheat will recognize the ecumenical movement as a sign of the nearness of the kingdom. They will be content to lean on the Lord and his wisdom rather than on the organizational stratagems of the so-called churches. The true Church will stand separate (and informed), neither joining NOR fighting the ecumenical movement.
Other Scriptures state the same lesson.
We will take a look at this in our next post.
Return to Index
