GOD IS EXCLUSIVE

"DEI"
In today's diverse society, we are often instructed that we need to be more tolerant and inclusive of others who differ from us.  We need to accept others regardless of race, gender, religion, sexual preference, disability, age, or socioeconomic status.   The work place, schools, sports, entertainment, and most all other social  areas are being held to these rigid standards of inclusion and diversity.  From 2014–2016, Google spent $265 million to increase its diversity numbers (to little avail), a number that has become even more well known after the company recently fired an employee who wrote a memo against diversity efforts.   Many corporations have  come up with an acronym "DEI" standing for  "Diversity, Equality, and Inclusiveness."

This is really ironic to me, because in the Strong's Concordance of the New  Testament, the Greek word "DEI" (#1163) means:  " what must happen, what is absolutely necessary."   This "DEI" from the Bible works just the opposite as their acronym "DEI."  Their term means to be flexible, and make changes in order to be included into a diverse group or society.  Tolerance is stressed to overlook any differences.  This negates absolutes such as right or wrong,  and black or white.  With them, everything is to be different levels of gray.  However, in the Bible, God is absolute, he only works in areas of right or wrong, white or black.  Again, the Greek word in the NT "dei" means "what is absolutely necessary."  Whenever you see the word "must" in the Bible, it is the Greek word "dei," such as in John 3:7 "Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must ("dei") be born again."  So, just a little humor here to start off this exercise in how God's thinking differs from the world's thinking.

Another word we also hear today is the word "exclusive,"  which means the opposite of being inclusive.  Being exclusive  seems to be the negative word today.  They say it denotes being absolute, narrow minded, discriminating, judgmental, and bigoted.   However, the word itself is nuetral.   The word exclusive means  being independent from or not being shared by others.  For example, an exclusive interview means that permission is only given to one media source to conduct the interview.  All other sources would be excluded or not allowed to participate.   Another example would be a marriage where a man and a wife devote their intimate love for each other and exclude all others.  So, exclusiveness is a good and necessary idea.   It has to do with being restricted or being limited to one person, one group, one idea, one way, or one area, and all others are excluded or not admitted.

GOD IS INCLUSIVE IN SALVATION
What about God?  Is God inclusive or exclusive?   The answer is:  He's both, depending on what situation we are talking about.  Because of His grace, God is inclusive when he invites people to come unto Christ for salvation, for He is not a respecter of persons.  He does not exclude anyone from salvation based upon race, gender, nationality, or financial status.  Everyone is welcome to come.

 The Bible says, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus" Gal 3:28.  And,  "The Lord is not ...... willing that any should perish, but that ALL should come to repentance" (2Pet 3:9).  Yes, God is inclusive when it comes to salvation.   All are invited and welcome to come unto Him.  He has made preparations for all to be saved.  Every single person.   In this regard, He is inclusive.

GOD IS EXCLUSIVE IN THE METHOD OF SALVATION
However,  when it comes to the method of how people approach God for salvation, then God is very much exclusive.  There is only one way to be saved.  All other ways are excluded.  There is only one road to heaven, not many.   Salvation is through the Lord Jesus Christ and His death for us.  Christ is the only way.  Christ is the exclusive way.  God rejects all other ways.  So, every person that tries to go to Heaven without Christ,  will be excluded from Heaven.

This is very important in our "inclusive" society today, because people around the world believe there are all kinds of ways to get to heaven, and who are you to say there is only one way and their way is wrong.  When we say "Christ is the only way to heaven," then get ready to be persecuted.  You will be accused of being narrow-minded and a bigot.  You are not being inclusive.   However,  God is indeed narrow-minded.   In Matthew 7:13, Jesus said, "Enter ye in at the strait (or narrow) gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:"   So, Jesus is saying that the way to heaven is narrow.

Furthermore, even if people come to God for salvation, God rejects everyone who has  the wrong response to the Gospel.   The correct response to the Gospel is to repent or change your way of thinking, then believe, trust God for salvation.  The Gospel means that we are to trust Christ and Him ALONE for salvation.   All our works are to be excluded.   Salvation is exclusive because it is  by Grace through Faith alone in Christ alone.   We must exclude any of our works for salvation, because God excludes them.    If we add just one of our works to what Christ did for us, then God will not save us.  Adding just one work,  and Christ becomes void.  The whole deal is off.

"Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.   3 For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.   4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace" (Gal 5:2).

Now, God doesn't care if someone is circumcised or not (1Co 7:19), that is not the issue here, but if anyone is saying that you must also be circumcised to be saved, then that is a different story.  Verse  4  shows that these Galatians were indeed adding circumcision in order to be saved or justified.   People do the same thing today.  You often hear that you must also be baptized to be saved, that believing in Christ alone is not enough.

But, look what Paul is saying to these Galatians.  He tells them that if they add anything to what Christ has done, then it voids the whole thing.  "Christ shall profit you nothing."  "Christ is become of no effect unto you."  To make matters worst, it isn't just one work of the Law being added for salvation, but it results in putting themselves under the "whole" Law for salvation.  God says that if they want to obey this one aspect of the Law, then He will put them under the Law to obey the "whole law,"  which has over 600 commandments.   You see, you cannot divide the Law, picking and choosing what you want.  It is a complete package.  But, the Lord is telling us He sees these people as trying to be saved by Law, not by Christ.   "...to every man that is circumcised,  he is a debtor to do the whole law" (Gal 5:3).

Here is how it works.  With Grace and Law, it has to be one way or the other.  It cannot be both ways.  It cannot be mixed, Christ plus the Law.   If a person approaches God based upon Christ's work alone, then God puts that person under Grace for salvation.  However, if a person comes to God for salvation and believes it's Christ plus circumcision, or Christ plus baptism, or whatever, then God puts them completely under the Law for salvation.  Verse 4 says, "They are fallen from Grace."  Now, this doesn't mean they were once under grace and then fell from it.  No, by adding  their works for salvation, they are rejecting salvation by grace.   They come near the door of Grace, but when they try to add works, then they fall away from it because salvation is not by Christ plus their works.  Listen, you must choose only one door, salvation by by Grace through faith in Jesus Christ, or the other door, salvation by Law keeping.

It is either under Grace entirely, or you're under the Law entirely.   It can't be both ways.  You must choose one or the other.   Grace and Law cannot be mixed.  Each one is a separate complete package.  If you receive one, you must reject the other one.    Look closely at verses 3 and 4 and you will see that Paul is saying you cannot mix Grace and Law for salvation.  ".......to every man that is circumcised (for salvation), that he is A DEBTOR TO DO THE WHOLE LAW.   4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever OF YOU ARE JUSTIFIED BY THE LAW."  Even though they think they can be justified by  Christ plus their keeping the Law, Paul says that God can only see them as trying to be justified by Law.

We see this clearly in Romans 11:6,  "And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work" (Rom 11:6).   This is clear here.  If salvation is by grace, then works are not involved, or grace would not be grace.  If salvation is by works, then it is apart from grace, or it wouldn't be by works.   Salvation must be one way or the other, either by Grace through Faith in Christ, or it is by your works in Law keeping.

"For BY GRACE are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:  NOT OF WORKS, lest any man should boast" (Eph 2:8,9).

 "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us..." (Titus 3:5a).

So, if you try to add one work to salvation, then God will remove Christ from the offer, and will put you completely under the Law for salvation.  Then,  you must never break even one Law or even one aspect of the Law in order to go to Heaven, which you know is impossible to do because we are all sinners.  Now, this is the way God sees it.  But, most people don't see it that way.  They believe they can mix Grace and Law even though God says you can't.

God's offer of Christ for salvation is an exclusive offer.  If you come to the table to bargain with God for salvation, and you try to offer Him your good works plus what Christ did for you,  then God will exclude Christ from the offer.  "Christ becomes of no effect unto you."  "Christ profits you nothing."  God will walk away from the table and all you have left is your good works on the table. 

GOD IS EXCLUSIVE
Listen, God is an exclusive God.  He doesn't overlook things, and He doesn't accept mixtures.  Now and then, people  throw some good works or religion at God and think that will satisfy God, but it doesn't.  Either God will have His way completely in the matter, or He will totally reject what you offer Him.  He is Exclusive.  He will have His way, because His way is the right way and He excludes all other ways.

We must realize that an exclusive God is absolute.   With God it is either right or wrong, black or white.  With God there are no gray areas.  Now, many would disagree with that, saying that any matter in the Bible where it isn't specified as right or wrong would then be a gray area.  No, this is not right.  Those are liberties, not gray areas. 

For example, God's first commandment to man was not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  Right?  So, if you didn't eat of that tree, then you were doing right.  If you ate of the tree then you would be doing wrong.  It was a matter of right and wrong.  However, God also said that they could freely eat  of any of the other trees in the garden.  This means they had liberty to eat  or not eat of the other trees.   Listen, this is not a gray area.  It is still a matter of right or wrong.  It would always be right for them to choose any of the permitted trees to eat of.   You see,  gray is a mixture of black and white.   A mixture of right and wrong.  We don't see God giving any gray areas in the Bible, only right and wrong, and if God doesn't comment on a subject in the Scripture, then we have liberty to do or not to do it.

A good example would be in Romans 14 where it didn't matter to God whether a person ate only herbs or another person ate whatever.  It was a matter of liberty, not a matter of right or wrong.   God didn't care as long as someone didn't make it a command which is what they were trying to do.   But, this is not a gray area.  It was a matter of liberty and it is always right to give someone liberty in matters not specified by God as right or wrong.  In God's eyes, it's right to do this.  It would be wrong not to allow liberty here.  So, it is still all a matter of right and wrong, even when liberties are involved.  It's right to allow liberty, and wrong to not allow it.  God gives the liberty, and who are we to take it away.  Galatians 5:1 says, "Stand fast therefore in the LIBERTY wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage."  He is speaking of liberty they now have from the commandments of the Old Testament Law.  After Christ's death, believers are dead to the Law (Rom 7:4,6),  free from all those commandments of the Law, including the commandment of circumcision in this passage.   Circumcision is now a matter of liberty,  but it was still being taught as a commandment and as a part of salvation, Christ plus the Law.

So, what is a gray area?  Well, again, the color gray is some type of mixture of white and black.  Mix a little white with black, and you get a darker gray.  Add a little black to white and you get a lighter gray.  All shades of grays, but they are all different levels of a mixture of white and black.  White and black are absolutes.  Gray is a mixture of two absolutes.

So a gray area in the Bible is when people try to mix right and wrong.  You can pick out almost anyone that did wrong, and you will find them living in a gray world, mixing right and wrong.  The Pharisees were probably the best  example.  Not everything they did was wrong.  They did some things right.  But, Jesus called them hypocrites, you know, shiny on the outside, dead on the inside.  They were a mixture of right and wrong.  A mixture of truth mixed with lies.

GOD WAS EXCLUSIVE IN THE OLD TESTAMENT:  HE DID NOT ACCEPT MIXTURES
God was absolute and exclusive in the Old Testament.  He would not accept any mixtures.  The Bible says in Deuteronomy  22:9, "Thou shalt not sow thy vineyard with divers seeds: lest the fruit of thy seed which thou hast sown, and the fruit of thy vineyard, be defiled.   10 Thou shalt not plow with an ox and an ass together.   11 Thou shalt not wear a garment of divers sorts, as of woolen and linen together.

Why did God not accept mixtures with these Hebrews?  What was wrong with plowing with an ox and a donkey together?  Now, I can understand not mixing an ox and a donkey for plowing, that there might be a practical reason to not do that.  Being different animals, maybe they wouldn't work well together.  But,  why make it a law?  If it were just a practical reason, couldn't these Hebrews figure that out and not do it?  So,  I don't think practicality had anything to do with it.  So, why did God say not to do it?  I believe it was a picture of God not accepting mixtures, that they were to be pure. 

Furthermore, I can't think of any practical reason why they were not to wear a garment of wool along with one made of linen, other than God teaching them to not mix things in their lives.  Maybe to teach them that they needed to be separate, consecrated to God.  Same goes with the forbidding mixing the diverse seeds.  Be separate.  Don't mix.  Be pure, don't mix with the heathen.  All this to say that God does not accept mixtures.  Thus,  He will not accept a mixture of Grace and Law.  It must be one or the other.

The Law has it's purpose.  It was to be a school master to bring us unto Christ for grace and salvation.  But, Law and Grace had different purposes and were never intended that we mix them together.  But,  man says you can mix them, even though God says that they cannot be mixed.  He sees each of them as a distinct, discrete unit that works separately for different divine purposes.

Now, what would have happened if one of those Jews said, "Well, I won't mix an ox with a donkey.  I have an ox and a horse, and a horse is not a donkey, so I can mix them."  Well, would that work?  Would God accept that?  In the mind of this person, it would be okay, but the question is, would it be okay with God?  This shows the rebellious nature of man, trying to sidestep God's commandment.  "But, he is literally obeying the command, isn't he?  It's a horse, not a donkey."  No, he is missing the whole  point of the command.  This is clearly brought out in the other two commands.

"Thou shalt not wear a garment of divers sorts, as of woolen and linen together."   Notice, that here that the command is not to wear a garment of "divers sorts," which implies that there should be no mixture of any kind of materials, with wool and linen given as examples.  God also said the same thing concerning "divers seeds," where He doesn't specify what kind of seeds.  This clearly shows that God is more interested in the overall picture rather than taking each example literally. 

Notice also there is a difference in the nature of the examples given.  An ox and a donkey are each complete units and cannot be given by measure such as the divers seed and the divers cloths.  For example, a person could mix just a little bit of linen with the wool.   Maybe only 10% linen and 90% wool.  Well, would that be okay?  Hey, it's mostly wool, just a little bit of linen, and surely, God will not reject it all if it's mostly right.  No, God said no mixture, whether it's a  90/10 mixture, or trying to substitute a horse for a donkey even though they are similar.  Again, we have man making gray areas out of God's clear commands of right and wrong.  The whole point here is not mixing different things,  because God is not a God of Mixtures or gray areas.  He is an Exclusive God, and He will reject it all if it's not done His way.

GOD IS EXCLUSIVE:  IT'S HIS WAY OR HE REJECTS IT ALL, NO PARTIAL CREDIT
Now, God sees sin the same way.  God demands perfection and will not accept sin, not even one sin.  Most people will admit that they are not perfect, that they have sinned, but most people believe they do a lot more good than bad.  They think that their good deeds will somehow out weigh their bad deeds and God will let them into heaven. You know, like one of those balancing scales, and since our good deeds out weigh our bad ones, then the scales will tip in our favor.  But, this is not what the Bible teaches.  God does not accept good deeds and bad deeds mixed together.

 I don't know how many good deeds Satan did in Heaven, but for just one bad deed, God cast him out of Heaven.  Furthermore, for one sin, Adam and Eve were cast out of the garden of Eden.  I am sure they did lots of good things, lots of good deeds. But, for just one sin, it brought on the curse and the fall of mankind.

So, you see, it has nothing to do with percentages, or how much good someone does.  God must be obeyed or He will reject it all.  It has nothing to do with degrees of effort, or levels of goodness.  God demands perfection, and since we have a sin nature and cannot be perfect, then God will not allow us into heaven by our Law keeping, trying to be good enough to go to heaven, because nobody can be that good for you would have to be perfect.  No, there is absolutely no hope for us other than God's other plan which is salvation by Grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.   When we confess, or agree with God, that we are lost sinners without hope in getting to heaven on our own, and that we need the Pure, Perfect Son of God and trust Him and His Work for us, then God will let us into heaven.  Why?  Because Christ was Perfect and sinless, and He died for us.  God has justified us, or declared us to be righteous.  By the death of Christ, we are positionally sinless and stand perfect before God.  He became sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him (2Cor. 5:21).

So, there are no mixtures here.  We are 100% sinless, because through the death of Christ, all our sins have been forgiven and removed.  We have no good deeds or bad deeds that play any part in the matter of salvation.  Christ did all the good deeds and accepted all our bad deeds when He hung on the cross.  That's it.  But, people don't think this way today.  Nothing is absolute, but everything works by degrees.  Everything is relative.  Things can be mixed.

God is an exclusive God!  God says in Exodus 20:3, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me."  God alone must be their God.  It is not God plus Baal, or God plus Asheroth, but God alone!  Exclusively God.  It has to be just Him or not Him at all.  Even when these sinful Jews claimed Jehovah as their God, He said no, I am not your God, because Baal is.  It cannot be a mixture of the two.

OBEDIENCE IS TO BE EXCLUSIVE
Now, God isn't satisfied with being their only God.  He also wants to be completely obeyed.  It is to be His way fully, not mostly His way and partly our way.  It is not a mixture of His way and our  way.  No, God is to be obeyed, and that means completely.

Let me ask you,  did King Saul obey God when He told him to kill all the Amalekites and all their livestock?  We would say no, he didn't obey God.  But, wait a minute.  Saul mostly obeyed God.  Maybe 99% obedience.  He only messed up and disobeyed a little, and he even had a good motive to do that.  But, God told Saul to kill all the enemy and spare nothing, not even the animals.  But, Saul spared King Agag and the choice animals.  But, Samuel says to Saul, "Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king."  Samuel speaks as if Saul didn't obey God at all, that he had rejected the word of the Lord."  Saul  got no credit at all for mostly obeying God.  Because Saul rejected God, then God will reject Saul.  Even though Saul did mostly what God said to do, he did not completely obey Him, and God saw it as full disobedience.  Full rebellion.  No partial credit for Saul.  No, it was all rejected.  God accepted no gray areas here.  No mixtures.

My point here is that God is exclusive.  It was to be exclusively His way.  It was His way or the hi-way, so God sent Saul down the hi-way.  All that Saul did was rejected, even all the good things he did. None of it counted.  It didn't profit Saul at all.  It became of no effect for him.  It didn't count.  Saul might have seen it as mostly obeying and have a good excuse for the partial disobedience (using the choice animals as a sacrifice to God), but God didn't see it that way.  God said, "To obey is better than sacrifice."

Let's look at another good example where God is exclusive, that it must be either 100% His way, or it's 100% your way, with no partial credit given.  That God cannot accept it by mixture, or by degrees.

 The Bible says in Matthew 6:24, "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

Now, no doubt there are many who claim to be Christians that love "mammon" or money.  It is clear that you cannot love God and money at the same time.  It must be one or the other.  God sees it that way.  Love God, or love your money.  Now, there is nothing wrong with having money.  We must have it to get by, but we are told not to love money, for "the love of money is the root of all evil."  We also must be careful to not trust money in our lives.  We must trust God.  Love God.  Serve God.  But, we cannot love, trust, or serve God and money at the same time.  It can't be done.  It's one way or the other.  We must choose.  Devoting ourselves to one will cause us to ignore the other one.  Devote yourself to God, and money won't be that important to you.  Devote yourself to money, and God won't be important to you.  We may not see it that way, but God says that's the way it is. 

But, man disagrees, because  people look at things by degrees, or by mixtures.  Someone says, "Well,  even if I am devoted to and love money a little,  it's just a small thing, after all everyone is a sinner, I'm not perfect.  I do mostly love and serve God."

But, God says you can't do both.  You can't love God and money at the same time.  God sees it as one or the other.  Even though you feel you are "mostly" serving God, it is all excluded by God.  It doesn't count.  It won't profit you.  It is of no effect unto you.  God removes Himself from the equation, and all you have left is you serving money.  Now, no one is going to admit that they serve money, that they love money, or that they trust money.  They will tell you they love, serve, and trust God.  But, it doesn't matter what they say, because God knows the truth.  God knows they love money, and He says they cannot love or serve Him and money at the same time.  God doesn't see himself in their equation, because God is not there regardless if it is a mixture of 90% love for God and 10% love for money.  God speaks in absolutes because He works in absolutes.  God does not accept mixtures.  It's either one way or the other with God.

What about the Pharisee and the publican praying in the temple?  The Bible says, "The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.   12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.   13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.   14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other"(Luke 18).

Now, the key word here is the word in verse 14, "rather."  The publican was justified "rather" than the Pharisee.  Not, justified more that the Pharisee, but justified rather than the Pharisee.  All those good things the Pharisee was doing, trying to live right, fasting, praying, tithing, didn't count at all.  Because of his pride, all those good things he was doing were rejected.  They were excluded by God.  They did not profit him at all, they were of no affect unto him. God did not give partial credit.

GOD IS EXCLUSIVE WITH  JESUS' NAME
Having said all this and given all these examples of God being absolute without mixtures, that He is an Exclusive God, that it has to be 100%, or it's all rejected, I move on to the topic that all this is pointing to:  The Name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now, here we are going to get into some sensitive issues because this deals with choices people make that are very important and personal to them.  People get angry when you speak out about some of these things, but I have to give the truth as I see it from God's Word.  Speaking of "choices," did you know that in the Bible, the word "heresy" literally means "choice."  That's right.  Look it up.  You see, God says something in His Word, and many people will think of it differently, and make their own choice in the matter.

I remember when I was a young man that I went to a Billy Graham meeting in a large civic arena.  During the invitation, hundreds of people went forth to the altar and were met there by ministers.  Over the intercom, these people were given instructions what to do, and among the instructions, they were told to go and join the church of their choice.  Now, did you get that?  To join the church of their choice.  Well, that is heresy.  Why?  Because the Bible clearly tells a new believer what they are to do.  It never leaves it up to our "choice."  That's what heresy is, choosing to do something you think is right rather than what the Bible says.  This is rampant today.  Somebody might disagree, "Well, I think......"   Hey, it doesn't matter what you think.  What does the Bible say about it?

The Bible is very, very clear about the Lord Jesus Christ and we need to know and practice what we see from the Word concerning Him.  He is most important to God, so we must get it right.  It doesn't matter what we think about it, or what professor so and so thinks about it, or what most churches think about it.  We must know what God thinks about it.

I am going to pick out one aspect concerning Christ that is very important because I believe it is the KEY to getting everything else right concerning Him.  It is the starting point, where we begin to understand Him better and how we are to live and serve Him.  It is most important in knowing how we are to function as a local church and how to please the Lord.

What is this Key that I mentioned concerning the Lord Jesus and our service for Him?  Well, a key is an instrument that opens a door.  How do you get in?  Open the door.  Turn the key and open the door.  That is where you start the journey.  The Bible is clear what the key is concerning the Lord Jesus Christ and our service for Him.  The Bible is so clear here that it is so easily missed.

So, what is the key?   The Name of Jesus.  The name of the Lord Jesus Christ.  The Bible is clear that whatever we do, we are to do in Jesus' name.   "And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him" (Col 3:17).

The Scriptures are clear that what we do for Christ is to be done in Jesus' Name.
1)  We are to be saved in Jesus' name (Acts 4:12).
2)  We are to pray in Jesus' Name (John 16:23).
3)  We are to do good works in Jesus' Name (Col 3:17).
4)  We are to be baptized in Jesus' Name (Acts 2:38, 8:16, 19:5)
5) and we are to gather as a church in Jesus' Name (Mat 18:20, 1Cor 5:4).

It is this last one in the list, the church, that I want to look at concerning Jesus' Name.  In Mathew 18:20, Jesus speaking about the future church, said,  "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them," and in Paul said to the church at Corinth in 1Cor 5:4, "In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together..".

It is clear in these two verses that the church is to gather in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ.  He said where two or three are gathered in MY Name, there will I be in the midst of them.  What name?  In Jesus' Name.  And, Paul said to the Corinthians that they were to gather in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.  This is clear that the gathering together of believers in the church is to be done in Jesus name.  And, in view of everything we have seen concerning the character of God, I strongly believe that means in Jesus' name alone.  There is to be no other name for the gathering.  Just His name.  His name is to be exclusive.  All other competing names are to be excluded. 

Listen, God is an exclusive God.  He doesn't overlook things, and He doesn't accept mixtures.  This is especially true with mixing another name with Jesus' Name to gather by.  Now and then, people  throw God some religious works and think that will satisfy God, but it doesn't.  Either God will have His way completely in the matter, or He will totally reject what you offer Him.  He is an Exclusive God.  He will have His way, because His way is the right way and He excludes all other ways.  He is exclusive when it comes to Salvation.  None of your works to be added.  None.  Only by faith, trust in Christ and His work, Alone!  Likewise, God's  way is exclusive when it comes to the church gathering.  No other name.  Only Jesus Name.  God is exclusive.  He will not accept mixtures that we offer Him.  Jesus plus something else.

You want proof of that?  Listen to what the Christians in the church at Corinth were saying,   "I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ."......Paul's answer:  "Is Christ divided?"  (1Cor 1:12,13).  And today, we hear likewise:  "I am a Baptist," "I am a Methodist," "I am a Catholic,".........Paul's answer would be the same today: "Is Christ divided?"

Please consider that these Corinthians were not giving up on Christ and only following their favorite man, Paul, Peter, or Apollos.  No, they still were of Christ, but also of Paul, Peter, or Apollos.  Not just Jesus, but Jesus and Paul.  Not just Jesus, but Jesus plus Peter.  Now, they wouldn't say it that way, but that is what they meant when they said, "I am of Paul," or "I am of Peter."

It's clear the Corinth church was made up of Jewish and Gentile believers.  It very well could be that the Gentile believers identified themselves with Paul, who was the apostle to the Gentiles (Rom 11:13), and also to Apollos who ministered among the same churches as Paul (1Cor 3:6).  On the other hand, the Jewish believers no doubt identified  themselves with Cephas, which is the Hebrew name for Peter who was based in Jerusalem.

Paul's response to them was, "Is Christ divided?"   It's the very same way today when someone says "I am of the Baptist" or "I am of the Methodists.  Paul's response would also be, "Is Christ divided?"  Listen, we  must identify ourselves with Christ and His name alone.

But, why was Paul's response, "Is Christ divided?"  Well, because of their division.  When Paul heard from Chloe what they were saying, Paul was very upset over their division.  For example, the statement, "I am of Paul," and so on, means I "belong" to Paul.  "I belong to Apollos."  "I belong to Peter."  Several commentaries translate it this way.  But, aren't they supposed to belong to Christ?  How can they belong to Peter and Christ?  Or to Apollos and Christ?  Well, the answer is that Christ is being divided up.  So, Paul says, "Is Christ divided?

You see, they are divided up in two ways, 1) each individual was divided personally from Christ because he was adding another person he belonged to, you know, maybe it was 50/50 split.   A second way they were divided was they were each divided as a group from the other groups.

Now, this is indeed what happens when someone calls themselves a Baptist for example.  A man might say, "I am a Baptist,"  meaning that he is not just a Christian, but also a Baptist, which speaks of his personal division from Christ.     But, when he says, "I am of the Baptist," then he is speaking of his division of his group from other denominational groups.  So, the division is two-fold.  Personal division from Christ, and group division from other believers in other groups. 

Now, if these Corinthians had not repented of this division and gotten rid of it, I believe it would result in at least four different churches in Corinth.  After splitting, there would be a Pauline Church, an Apollos Church, and a Cephite Church.  The fourth church of course would be those who stayed in the original church where they would continue to identify with Christ and His name alone.  Now, you might believe that is good, four churches now instead of just one church.  A little variety would be good for growth, you know, more to choose from.  Paul's response to you would be, "Is Christ divided?"

Furthermore, we need to realize that Paul called these Corinthians carnal because they were identifying themselves with these other men's names.  Paul said to them, "For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?" (1 Cor 3:4).  Hey, I notice two things here.  1) as you read through the letter you will see they were doing quite a few things wrong, but it was with this matter of division, that Paul asks, "are ye not carnal?"  and 2) even though they had no doubt done  some good deeds as Christians, those good deeds didn't really count, because Paul still says they are carnal.

Paul rebuked the Corinthian church for identifying with other names in addition to the name of Christ.  Paul, Apollos, and Cephas (Peter) were great men serving the Lord, but God wanted the church at Corinth to identify with only  one name, the name of Jesus Christ.  Period!  There was to be one united group of believers and they were to be gathered unto Jesus' Name as a group.  No other name. However, they were dividing up into clicks, SUBGROUPS with each group identifying with their favorite man's name , Paul, Apollos, Cephas.  If left uncorrected, they would have eventually had their own separate churches and the first denominations would have started here.   This was wrong and Paul rebuked them sharply over it in the first 3 chapters and  guess what?  The Corinthians repented over it according to Paul's second letter to them (2 Cor 2:9).

You know, denominations are sort of like on your computer screen where you have a folder, and when you open it, there are some more folders within.  Open each of these folders and you find all the individual files, or in some cases more folders.  But, the files are separated from the other files in other folders.  Well, it doesn't work that way with the Lord.  Christ is the only folder that God sees and when you open that folder, you see all the individual files, or individual Christians.  Every file, or Christian is directly linked to Christ.  There are no sub folders in Christ.  There is only one folder in Christ.  Interesting that the Bible says, "And there shall be one FOLD, and one shepherd" (John 10:16b).  Only one shepherd and one fold of sheep under Him.  This one fold of Christ is of course positional truth, but, practically, in the local church, we are to give expression to that great truth.  Denominations are sub folders  and there are subgroups within each denomination.  Oh, how it must grieve the Lord's heart to see all this division.  Sects!  Division!  Heresy! ("choice").   Identifying and dividing unto men rather than Christ alone.  "I'm of Paul.  I'm of Peter.  I'm of Apollos."  "Is Christ divided?" 

Again, heresy means choice, and that's what denominations are, choose one.  Take your pick.  Make your choice.  Those in Corinth were making a choice of the men they liked and were identifying with those men's names, Apollo, Peter, or Paul in addition to the name of Christ.  But, Paul rebukes them, "Is Christ divided?  Lisen, God gives us no choice here.  It is to be Jesus name and His name alone for the gathering of the church.   

JESUS IS GOD'S EXCLUSIVE OFFER
One day, Jesus took Peter, James, and John up to a mountain to pray.  As Jesus prayed, he was transfigured before them in bright glory, and there appeared with him, Moses and Elijah who spoke to the Lord about His decease.  The Bible says, "And it came to pass, as they departed from him, Peter said unto Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; ONE FOR THEE, AND ONE FOR MOSES, AND ONE FOR ELIAS, not knowing what he said.   While he thus spake, there came a cloud, and overshadowed them: and they feared as they entered into the cloud.   And there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him.  And when the voice was past, JESUS WAS FOUND ALONE" (Luke 9:33-36).

Notice that Peter not only wanted to build a tabernacle  for Jesus, but also one for Moses and one for Elijah, giving glory, praise, and honor to them also.  Notice, he wasn't excluding Jesus.  He was including Him.  He was just adding others to Him.   It wasn't just Jesus alone, but Jesus plus these other two men.  Also, notice that it says "not knowing what he said."  Peter was way out of line and didn't know what he was talking about.  Open mouth and insert foot!  Peter was good at doing that. So, bad was this suggestion, that God spoke out saying "This is my beloved Son.  Hear him!"  As if God were saying, "Peter, I know that  Moses and Elijah were great men,  but Peter, this is my Son!   Don't put Him down on the level of men and don't elevate men to His level.  You, Peter, need to open your ears and listen to my Son!  Get your attention off of men and listen to my Son!"  ...... This is my beloved Son: hear him" (Luke 9:33-35).  And, when God was finished, "Jesus was found ALONE."

Do you get this?  God is exclusive when it comes to His Son.  God is a jealous God and He will not share His Son's glory with others (Ex 20:5, Deut. 5:9).   When it comes to glory, Christ must stand alone!   "Jesus must be found ALONE."  It is not Jesus plus, but Jesus period.  He must be the center of attention.  Well, He is the center with God, but the question is, is He with you?  Or, do you just mix Christ up with everything else?  For salvation, is it Jesus plus your good works?  For church, is it Jesus name plus your  denominational name?

These early churches in the Bible only met in Jesus' name.  I don't see any other denominational man made names, except the Corinthians tried and were soundly rebuked by Paul and they got right.   I don't know all the conditions in the church at Corinth, or at Ephesus, or at Thessalonica, but I do know they all met in Jesus' Name alone.  The only exception was that the Corinthians began to identify with other names in addition to Jesus Name, but Paul strongly rebuked them for it.  Notice in 1 Corinthians, that even though they had all kinds of serious problems in the church, Paul as soon as he gets finished with his salutations in the beginning of the letter, he immediately addresses this issue of adding other names to the name of Christ, beginning with verse 10 and hammering on it through the first 3 chapters.  Well, you say that it isn't that big of a deal adding other names to identify with in the church, but convince Paul of that.  By his tone in the first 3 chapters, Paul is very disturbed over this.  He would address false doctrine concerning the resurrection and their moral sins later in the letter, but He takes care of this fundamental problem first, who's name are you meeting under?  So, it was a big deal with Paul.  It was the KEY, meeting in Jesus' name.

When it comes to meeting as a church, we must meet in Jesus' Name, and His name must stand alone, giving glory to His name alone, thus excluding any other competing names, such as denominational names.  Now, listen, this is not hard to understand.  It may be hard because you have been programmed or brainwashed, but you need to see it from God's perspective, rather than from this world's perspective.

JESUS NAME MUST BE EXCLUSIVE
Now for the shocker.  If you go to a church that is not meeting in Jesus' name alone, then you are not meeting in Jesus' name at all.  God only sees you meeting in the name of your church.  You see, it has to be one of three ways:

1) You're meeting in the name of Jesus alone.
2)  You are meeting in the name of Jesus plus your church name.
3) You are meeting only in the name of your church.

So, it has to be one of these three.  Well, that's from your perspective.  From God's perspective there is no number 2, because it is impossible to meet in Jesus' name plus your church name.  With God it is either number 1 or number 3.  You are either meeting in Jesus' name alone, or you are meeting in your church name alone.

I hope you are getting this.  It is not hard to understand.  It is only hard to accept.  But this is true with anyone who has been brainwashed.  You have been so programmed by this religious world that you cannot see the truth concerning the church from God's Word.  And, the truth of the matter is from God's perspective, that if you go to a denominational church, then you are not meeting in Jesus' name.  You are only meeting in your denominational name.

However, the problem is that all people in denominational churches will say they meet in Jesus name.  If you pin them down with the Scriptures, they might say they at least meet in both names, Jesus name and their church name, but they won't see anything wrong with that.  That's just the way it is today, and God understands and overlooks it.

But, does God understand and overlook it?  No, He does not overlook the  way things are today and go along with it, so He can get what He can out of it because that's the best that can be done today?  No, He doesn't.  Things may be different today, but God is not different.  He is the same way today as He has always been.  If God hasn't changed in all the examples I have given you, then what makes you think He would change today concerning the church?  God was exclusive back then, and He is just as exclusive today.  It's either exclusively His way or it's exclusively your way.  No in between.  No mixtures.  No partial credit.  No degrees or gray areas.  It is either right or wrong.

SUMMARY
Look briefly again at the few examples given where God does not accept mixtures.
1) Grace and Works of the Law do not mix.  If you try to mix Law with Grace for salvation, then you are not under Grace at all, but a "debtor to do the whole Law, so all you have are your good works to offer God for salvation.  Paul said that by adding one work such as circumcision to salvation, then Christ shall profit you nothing.  He shall be of no affect unto you.

2) God did not accept mixtures in the OT.  He said not to mix divers animals to a plow, divers seeds together, or divers cloth together.   If you tried to get around it by doing it by degrees or levels, then it was also rejected.

3)  God did not accept a mixture of good deeds mixed with bad deeds.  God did not accept any of Sauls good deeds.  He rejected them all due to Saul mixing in a just few bad deeds in sparing some of the best animals for a sacrifice.    Furthermore, God did not accept any of Lucifer's good deeds.  He rejected them all due to the Devil committing that one sin of rebellion and he was cast out of heaven.  God did not accept any of the many good deeds Adam did in the garden.  They were all rejected when Adam disobeyed God by eating of the forbidden tree and they were booted out of the garden.

5) God did not accept a mixture of someone loving God and loving money.  He said you cannot serve God and money.  It has to be one or the other.  It cannot be both ways.  He said you will love one and despise the other.  No levels or degrees mentioned.

6) God did not accept any mixture of good service and pride from the Pharisee  praying in the temple.  God reject all the good he had done because of his pride.  God clearly says the repentant publican sinner went away justified "rather" than the Pharisee.
Not more justified, but rather.  The Pharisee wasn't justified at all.  All he left the Temple with was his good works.

7)  God did not accept Peter's praise of Jesus mixed with his praise for Moses and Elijah.  God says to Peter, hear my Son, and then Peter saw only Jesus standing alone.

So, if we are honest, we can see that God is absolute.  It's either His way or your way.  No mixture.  His way is exclusive and He rejects  all other ways.  He clearly says that we are to do all things for Him in Jesus' name.  That means that God only accepts what you offer Him if it is done in Jesus' name.  Otherwise, God will reject it.  It cannot be by mixture.  It cannot be by degrees.  It must be the way He says.  When Jesus says that where two or three are gathered together in His name, then that means it must be His name alone, or it is not in his name at all.

It is clear to me that denominations do not meet in Jesus' name.  I don't care what they say, they are not meeting in His name.  We have to look at how God sees it and we only know how God sees things by what He says in His Book.  God says it is either His way or it's your way, but it cannot be both ways or different degrees or levels of being both ways.

You may be thinking that I am making a big deal out of nothing, making a mountain out of a mole hill, but no, I'm not making a big deal out of it, you are.  If it isn't all that important, then why don't you just get rid of your church name?  Get rid of your denominational name.  Just meet in Jesus' name alone.  But, you won't do that.   And, the fact that you won't get rid of these divisive denominational names proves it is a bigger deal to you than what you will  admit.  I guess that you have too much invested, too much to lose by going the narrow way.  Too much risk of persecution.   I might have to suffer.  It's easier to go the broad way.

 Joh 15:20 Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you.

Php 1:29 For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake;

 2Ti 3:12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

 1Pe 4:16 Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.


 "And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, DO ALL IN THE NAME OF THE LORD JESUS, giving thanks to God and the Father by him" (Col 3:17).   AMEN!

In Jesus Name,
James B. Sparks
jb5sparks@aol.com