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The apostles taught the same thing to all the saints in all the places and in all the churches—1 Cor. 4:17; 7:17; 11:16; 14:33b-34:
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We also must teach the same thing in all the churches in every country throughout the earth—Matt. 28:19-20.
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There is no thought in the New Testament that a teaching is good for one church but not for the other churches; rather, the New Testament reveals that all the churches were the same in receiving the teachings—Titus 1:9.
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The genuine oneness is an all-inclusive, comprehensive oneness that includes all positive things—Psa. 23:6; 36:8-9; 43:3-4; 84:1-8, 10-12; 92:10; 133:1, 3b:
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The Lord has given us the glory that the Father has given Him so that we may be one in the Father and in the Son; this points to a oneness in the divine nature and the Divine Being; oneness is actually the mingling of the processed and consummated Triune God with the believers—John 17:21-23; Eph. 4:3-6.
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When the oneness is recovered, all the spiritual riches and all the positive things are recovered with it, because they all exist in the oneness—v. 3; 3:8:
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All the godly things and all the spiritual riches are ours on the genuine ground of oneness—Deut. 8:7-9; 12:12, 26-28.
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The genuine oneness is not a partial oneness; it is a great, complete, comprehensive oneness, a oneness in entirety.
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Psalm 133 is a psalm on the oneness that includes all positive attributes and virtues; if we see the vision of the oneness of entirety, all the germs of division will be killed, and we will be delivered from every kind of division.
Morning Nourishment
1 Cor. 4:17 Because of this I have sent Timothy to you, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, who will remind you of my ways which are in Christ, even as I teach everywhere in every church.11:16 But if anyone seems to be contentious, we do not have such a custom of being so, neither the churches of God.
Oneness is all-inclusive. It includes God, Christ, and the Spirit….In the oneness revealed in [Ephesians 4:3-6], we have God the Father, Christ the Lord, and the Spirit as the Giver of life. This oneness includes such positive things as our regenerated spirit and our transformed and renewed mind. Everything positive is included in the proper oneness. (CWWL, 1979, vol. 2, “The Genuine Ground of Oneness,” p. 254)
Today’s Reading
Our practice of oneness is based upon the attribute of the oneness of the church: one Spirit, one Lord, one God, one Body, one faith, one baptism, and one hope [Eph. 4:4-6]….Moreover, the practice of this oneness is according to the apostles’ teaching (1 Cor. 4:17b; 7:17b; 11:16; 14:34a). The apostles taught the same thing to all the saints in all the places and in all the churches. At the same time, the practice of this oneness is also according to the same speaking of the Spirit to the churches (Rev. 2:7, 11a, 17a, 29; 3:6, 13, 22). The seven epistles to the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3 are words spoken to all the churches….All the churches have the same Bible, and everyone is practicing oneness according to the same speaking. Finally, the practice of oneness indicates that the seven churches as the seven lampstands are completely identical (1:20)….Although they are distinct and self-contained, they are completely identical in nature, shape, function, and expression. (CWWL, 1990, vol. 2, “The Oneness and the One Accord according to the Lord’s Aspiration and the Body Life and Service according to His Pleasure,” pp. 74-75)The reason for this oneness is that God Himself is one. Oneness is His nature. In all God’s acts we see one origin, one element, and one essence. In God’s creation we see one God and one corporate man. In His selection we also have the one God and one man. Moreover, in the church we have the one Spirit and one new man. Eventually, in the New Jerusalem we have the unique Triune God in the one city characterized by the one throne, the one street, the one river, and the one tree. Therefore, the oneness about which we are speaking is not a partial oneness; it is a great, complete, comprehensive oneness, a oneness in entirety….If we see the vision of the oneness of entirety, all the germs of division will be killed, and we will be delivered from every kind of division.
The oneness [in John 17:21-23] is not merely that of individual units coming together in harmony and agreement. Here the Lord said that He has given us the very glory the Father has given Him in order that we may be one in the Father and the Son. This points to a oneness that exists in the divine nature and the Divine Being. The three of the Triune God are one in Their nature and being. The oneness of the believers in Christ should be essentially the same.
[In Ephesians 4:4-6] Paul speaks of the Body and of the one Spirit, the one Lord, and the one God and Father. The fact that the Body and the Triune God are mentioned together indicates that oneness is actually the mingling of the Triune God with the believers.
When we come back to the oneness, all the godly, heavenly, spiritual things return…[and] are ours on the ground of oneness. (CWWL, 1979, vol. 2, “The Genuine Ground of Oneness,” pp. 243, 292-293, 330)
Further Reading: CWWL, 1978, vol. 3, “Truth Messages,” ch. 7; CWWL, 1990, vol. 2, “The Intrinsic Problem in the Lord’s Recovery Today and Its Scriptural Remedy,” chs. 1-2