How Does That Work?

Especially children seem to possess an inner curiosity as to how things work or function. I think God built into all of us a desire to want to know. For example, we might wonder, how does the relationship between God the Father and Jesus Christ work, and why does it run so smoothly?  What makes that relationship work is the fact that Christ willingly, not grudgingly or by coercion, submits to the authority of the Father. Even as a human being, He submitted His will to the will of the Father (Matthew 26:42).
    
There has never been a conflict between the Father and the Son because Christ knows that the dictates from the Father are based on love for the good of others. Christ’s conviction gives Him total peace of mind  and confidence. We must have that same kind of conviction, even if we sometimes do not fully understand some of the trials and tests we go through.
    
There are currently scatterings amongst the churches of God, which are not caused by God–yet they are allowed by God. The Church is not a corporate entity but a spiritual organism. When God’s Spirit dwells in begotten members of the God Family, they are true converted Christians–and we believe that there are true Christians within the various corporate organizations. Some groups erroneously and quite foolishly claim that only they comprise the Body of Christ. This arrogant and divisive position is totally contradicted in Scripture.
    
In spite of all this, there are some, claiming to be Spirit-begotten members of the God Family, who will not come under the authority of Church government which God placed in His Church (compare Ephesians 4:11).  Their mindset is like this: “I will submit to no man.” They think they are spiritually mature and no longer in need of the ministry to tell them anything. Yet God works through His faithful ministers for the benefit of the members (Ephesians 4:13).
    
Postulating their belief in “individual Christianity,” they don’t realize that by separating themselves from the trunk of the tree and becoming independent, they drift away and are tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine. They suffer from self-aggrandizement and have become prey for their adversary, the devil, who loves to divide and conquer.
    
God tells us that iron sharpens iron, yet they believe they are spiritually strong enough to sharpen themselves. This is a dangerous condition to drift into. Those who do firmly stick to the trunk of the tree and do not neglect assembling on the Sabbath with members of the Church, continue to grow in grace and knowledge and spiritual understanding of Jesus Christ, the HEAD of the Church.
    
The truth of the matter is that if we want things to work out for us spiritually, we have to willingly submit now at this time to the authority of the faithful ministry in the Church of God.  If we fail to do so now, how can we be entrusted to be submissive to Christ and the Father in the Millennium and then on throughout eternity?
    
God does things in steps. We are physical now, but it is our potential to become spirit beings in the near future. If we submit now in the flesh, we will submit in the future in the spirit. Some self-willed individuals may disagree with this concept, but that’s how it works; how it has always worked; and how it will work for all eternity.