Fall 2001
A New Song
Nancy Corlett

“Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare:
before they spring forth I tell you of them. Sing unto the Lord a new song,
and his praise from the end of the earth” Isaiah 42:9-10a.

There is, indeed, a new song in the earth today. Many have experienced this new song in their personal lives, but today we are hearing a corporate new song. It is the song of unity. This is not the artificial unity of the ecumenical movement, which too often compromised God’s truth in order to not offend. This is not the “tolerance” of the inclusive movements, where anything goes.

This is a sovereign movement by the Spirit of the Living God, bringing forth His Body, with each part functioning as it was created to function, and all its parts working in a coordinated way, because all are obedient to The Head.

Ephesians 2 speaks of the partition between Jew and Gentile being torn down and “One New Man” coming forth. This New Man is neither Jew nor Gentile, but a whole New Creation. Here again, we have experienced being a new creation as individuals, but now we are coming into a New Creation, corporately!

We have seen this literally fulfilled in various places, along with the pulling down of racial and ethnic barriers. But the Lord did not stop there. He has carried this principle over into other divisions, or denominations. People who would not speak to each other five years ago are now worshipping together as one. Reports from Yugoslavia indicate that the only way the warring factions of that war-torn country can come together is in the churches that the Lord is raising up.

Our Lord Himself prayed in John 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…” For years we have read this, and we have preached that it should be so; many have prayed it, believing, with no evidence other than this Word. The unity that the first Christians knew (the former things) has come to pass, and the unity that Paul promised in Ephesians 4 (the new thing) is beginning to come forth.

We are hearing and seeing diverse groups coming together in many cities, especially to pray together for their city. Books are being written about the impact that this kind of unity creates. Those in the Pinecrest Ministerial Fellowship office can hardly speak to a member without hearing a good report of regular meetings with other pastors, some including repentance for past misunderstandings.

We have too often thought as the blind men defining an elephant - one feeling the trunk, one the leg, one the tail, one the body, each thinking our limited experience was the whole story.

Let us thank our Lord that He is leading us into appreciating the whole “Body”, as by God’s grace we truly walk in Ephesians 4:3,13.

“Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the
bond of peace ... till we all come in the unity of the
faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God unto
a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of
the fullness of Christ.”