The Daily Reading from Eph 4:7-16, includes this passage. Once again, St. Paul warns about schisms. We have but to read with an open mind:
“And He gave some as Apostles, others as prophets, others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers, to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry, for building up the Body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of faith and knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood to the extent of the full stature of Christ. . .”
Note: St. Paul says the work of ministry is “building up the Body of Christ”. The word “Body” is singular. It is One Body, not 40,000 separate schisms, all with differing doctrines, each begun by some vain man for reasons of his own.
Why is there One Body? St. Paul explains:
“so that we may no longer be infants,tossed by waves and swept along by every wind of teaching arising from human trickery, from their cunning in the interests of deceitful scheming.”
This perfectly describes the conceits of those who want to build their own body of Christ; their own ladder to Heaven. Part of the brief passage perfectly describes the motives of those who revel in their schism: “. . every wind of teaching arising from human trickery, from their cunning in the interests of deceitful scheming.”
Wow! Who can argue with St. Paul?
Who would want to?
Instead, we should follow his admonition: “Rather, living the truth in love, we should grow in every way into him who is the head, Christ, from whom the whole Body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, with the proper functioning of each part, brings about the Body’s growth and builds itself up in love.”
We cannot help but note St. Paul’s repeated use of the word “Body”, and understand that he did not say “Bodies”. St Paul did not even say “Two Bodies”, let alone the ridiculous 40,000 of them that currently confuses Christendom so that vain men can establish their own cash flows, valuing disobedience more than obeying St. Paul’s clear instructions.
Schisms make The Body more helpless to resist attacks from within and without. Those who complain about abortion, rampant divorce, invasion, and governmental corruption may consider: 40,000 schisms make such evils more likely.
Those who disagree cannot deny: When all were Catholic, and the few schisms there were embraced pro-life Catholic doctrine, there was hardly any abortion.
