THE DANGER OF GROUPS

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The world—and even much of the modern churches—is obsessed with the idea of “unity.” It is forming groups, getting membership bigger and having satellite churches. But we can read in Genesis 11 a dangerous unity that is very much alike with the unity among churches today: the Unity of Babel.

To understand why God hates this unity and why the He wants His Church to be dependent on Him and scatter them than form a group, we must look back at the creator of a false unity: Nimrod.

In Genesis 11, we find humanity gathered in one place, speaking one language, with one goal. On the surface, it looks like a dream come true. But this was a Unity of Confusion. A false one organized by men.

The leader of this movement was Nimrod. The Bible describes him as a “mighty hunter before the Lord” (Genesis 10:9). But he was not a hunter of animals, he was a hunter of the souls of men, leading them into his organized group. The formation of this group and their decision to remain in one place was a direct act of rebellion against the Word of God, who commanded humanity after the flood to multiply, replenish the earth, and spread abroad (Genesis 9:1, 7). Nimrod, however, openly contradicted this divine instruction.

Why Nimrod did this? Because people elevated him as their leader and placed their confidence in him. He therefore began to see himself as god. It is always in the inherent nature of the carnal man, that when people gather in great numbers, they begin to worship their own collective power. They said, “Let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name” (Genesis 11:4). The people themselves make Nimrod their god. And because of the too much lifting up from the people, Nimrod believes that he is a god.

Nimrod was a picture of the Antichrist who is yet to come. Just like him, the Antichrist will be worshiped by many people and will claim to be god himself (2 Thessalonians 2:4; Daniel 7). Like Nimrod, he will try to rule the world through pride and rebellion against God. But in the end, he and his kingdom will also be judged and destroyed by God.

This is the kind of false unity form in the tower of Babel: it is man-centered, organization-driven, and designed to make a “name” for a group or a leader. The same with modern churches today.

Pastors and leaders of churches today believe that if they can just get many church members together, if they can gather other local churches to join them, organized joint fellowships, and host massive camp meetings, they will have spiritual strength. They think that they will be strong and powerful. They think that there is strength in their unity. Their source of strength is in their group.

But the Bible proves that whenever fellowship begins to find its strength in its group, size or its activities, God intervenes. God is not interested in “groups.” In fact, He often sends strong delusions specifically designed to confuse those who merely depends on the strength of their groups or organizations rather than following the Truth.

Just as He confounded the languages at Babel, God scatters groups to see who will stand on the Word alone. He calls the “seed of Abraham” to come out from the midst of these groups. Abraham was a great example of a man called by God to get out of the Babel group. He needs to leave Babel and go to the Promised land.

Our strength is not in any group; our strength is in the Lord.

This is why the Lord told us to get out of any denominations because you cannot be free to be used by Him if you are in any groups.

Consider the small assemblies, like the Church in Trece Martires and Makato. To the outsider, these Churches may seem “inactive” because they lack the constant roar of programmed activities or massive joint fellowships. Yet, they remain standing. Why? Because their life is not sustained by groups or organizations, they are sustained by the Spirit of God because God’s Spirit can freely work in them.

We often quote Psalm 133:1:

“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!”

We must understand, however, that this unity is not organizational—it is spiritual. You do not need to organize a group or a joint fellowship in one place to be united. God’s ultimate plan is for His Church to scatter across the Earth while they are perfectly joined in the Spirit. This is why His command to His disciple and to us is to “Go and teach all nations” (Mat 28:19). They need to scatter all over the world. He did not tell them to remain in Israel and form a big group.

Therefore, the true meaning of unity in Psalm 133:1 is being united in the Spirit of God Who dwells in us. It is unity in spirit. It is Spiritual and not physical. It is not to conduct and organized a physical joint fellowship in order for the churches to be united. We are united by the Spirit of Christ because we are His one Body.

Churches who are united in Spirit are only those churches who are free. Meaning, the Spirit of God can freely work in them because they are not under any group or organization. Therefore, those who are in groups are the opposite of Psalm 133:1.

The Bible tells us of the two kinds of Biblical Unity: they are the Unity of the Spirit and the Unity of the Faith.

1. The Unity of the Spirit (The Infancy Stage)

According to 1 Corinthians 12:13-14:

“For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many.”

Ephesians 4:3 “Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

The Unity of the Spirit is what happens at the start of a believer’s walk. We achieve this the moment we are born-again. You are automatically united in the body of Christ the moment you are born-again because His Spirit that unites each member is now dwelling in you. This unity is the “infancy” stage of the believer where we recognize we are all part of the same family. It is a gift given by God to every new babe in Christ.

2. The Unity of the Faith (The Maturity Stage)

Ephesians 4:13 “Till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.”

While the Unity of the Spirit is the starting point, the Unity of the Faith is the goal. This materializes only when believers are developed, equipped, and brought to full maturity in the body of Christ.

Unity in Faith does not mean we all the same revelations, believe the same doctrines and attend the same camp meeting or joint fellowship. It means that every different part of the Body of Christ—no matter how small or hidden—functions properly and in sync with the Head. Just as the heart and the stomach have different functions in the body, unity in the faith does not mean that every part receives the exact same role or revelation. The heart pumps blood, while the stomach digests food. Even though the stomach does not do the work of the heart, it still faithfully performs its own function because both are necessary for the body to live and grow.

In the same way, every member of the Body of Christ has a different calling and purpose. Each part must faithfully fulfil its God-given function so that the whole Body may grow into full maturity and achieve the Unity of the Faith.

Think of the human body. When you are fully mature, your organs do not need to “fellowship” with each other to function.

The kidneys do not need to receive the specific signal that the brain is transmitting to the heart. When the brain tells the heart to pump faster because of a sudden move, the kidneys don’t need to hear that specific revelation; they simply continue to filter blood according to their design.

In a mature Body of Christ:

You don’t need to know every “activity” of the other parts to be in unity with them.

You don’t need a central headquarters to tell you how to move.

You simply need to be in proper coordination with the Head, which is the Lord Jesus Christ.

When you are mature, you are equipped to serve your role. You are not dependent on the “group” to tell you that you are a believer. Even if we are “scattered” in the different parts of the Earth, yet we are more united in the Body of Christ than the people at Babel ever were.

Do not be deceived by the “Unity of Confusion.” If your spiritual strength depends on being surrounded by a group, a crowd or an organization, your foundation is on the plains of Shinar, not on Mount Zion.

Just like Abraham, God is calling a people who are mature enough to stand alone if necessary, yet remain perfectly joined to the Body through the Spirit and the Faith. Stop looking for strength in the “Team” or the “Group.” Look to the Head. For when the Head moves, the mature members move with Him—not because they were organized by a man, but because they are alive in the Spirit.