As juvenile as this statement may sound to some, it is the very thing Jesus prayed for in the Garden. It is the very thing that was present before, during, and after Pentecost. It is the very thing that Paul spoke of in
1Cr 1:10 Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and [that] there be no divisions among you; but [that] ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
True, he wrote this at a time when the church at Corinth was divided, but, because of divisions among God's People we should be echoing Frank Bratlemans words louder that ever. Isn't it our jobs as Christians to preserve the Unity of the Spirit? Isn't it Gods desire for brethren to dwell together in Unity? Jesus said in
Jhn 17:21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, [art] in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. What Bartleman wrote mirrors the very prayer that Jesus prayed in the Garden. That, through our unity the world would believe the Gospel.
Isn't it true Jesus will have a church without spot, wrinkle and blemish? Then I have to ask, does the present day church fit that description with all of our divisions and, as Paul clearly said, our carnal strife?
In the Garden of Eden, everything was perfect. That is until Satan entered the picture. But, Revelations paints a picture of a restored paradise. Pentecost was a day of unity. There were in One Accord. If we intend on being God's Church, that harmony, that cohesiveness, that unity must be restored.
And it will be. Not through human endeavor because our efforts always fail. But the restoration of God's true church will be through and by the Holy Ghost.
No those aren't the words of a Jr High Schooler or a hippy. Those are words that only echo the prayer of the Lord Jesus in the garden on the night of His betrayal.