I Am Ready To Have You Unite With Me

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In 1 Chronicles 12:17, the Word of God tells us, David went out to meet them and said to them, "If you have come to me in peace, to help me, I am ready to have you unite with me. But if you have come to betray me to my enemies when my hands are free from violence, may the God of our fathers see it and judge you. (NIV)

This scripture is one of the most important in the entire Bible regarding the subject of dealing with people without bitterness in your heart. And this is a very important topic in God’s Word. Bitterness is dangerous.

In Hebrews 12:14-16, God’s Word says that we are to:
Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:
Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;
Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.

In other words, bitterness is the first step on a dangerous road. We are to “look diligently”, the verse says. Too often, the flesh desires to “look diligently” at other believer’s flaws and then judge them, instead of “looking diligently” to see that no bitterness against anyone would ever come against us.

The problem we face is that there are some challenging people out there who are believers, right? Or so our flesh would like us to believe. It’s not really so complicated as that.
Ultimately, we tend to identify only 2 types of people - saved and unsaved - as we walk in this life. As one walks in the Spirit, it is easy to identify over time those who are seeking to walk with Christ, and those who don’t know Him at all. These 2 types of people are light-years apart.

But the question remains - why do we struggle with “people problems” amongst the believers? The problem is that we tend to assume that, because there is one group of “believers”, they will behave toward us in one way. This is not true.

It is not quite as simple as “Hey, everybody’s different, ya know, so no big deal”. The Word of God clearly declares that which “is written in stone” as far as living a righteousness life is concerned.

But the Word of God also identifies five separate ways in which believers will behave toward us while pursuing that righteous life, not one. This is what first “trips up” believers in interacting with one another.

To see these five separate ways of behaving, we only need go to 2 Timothy 4:9-12, in which Paul tells Timothy:

Do thy diligence to come shortly unto me:
For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia.
Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry.
And Tychicus have I sent to Ephesus.

First of all, we must understand that this passage is a request for help. Paul is informing Timothy that he is “short-handed” and is explaining why.

In Verse 10, Paul says that “Demas has forsaken me”. He did not say that Demas had forsaken Christ, though Paul says that he had departed because of his love for this present world. Paul says that Demas had forsaken Paul.

But also in Verse 10, Paul notes that two others had abandoned him.......not for the love of the world, but for the cause of “ministry”. Paul says that Crescens went to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia. Clearly they left of their own accord, because he later notes in Verse 12 that he had specifically sent Tychicus to Ephesus, but makes no such reference toward Crescens and Titus.

In Verse 11, Paul says that “only Luke is with me”, and then asks Timothy to bring Mark because he could help Paul in the ministry.

When we consider this passage then, we see people in five distinct ways of behavior toward us, not one:

~ Those who are leaving us because of their love of the world (Demas)
~ Those who are leaving us because of self-made plans for ministry (Crescens, Titus)
~ Those who are ministering with us at this time (Luke)
~ Those who are on their way to minister with us (Mark)
~ Those who are leaving us because they have been sent elsewhere by God (Tychicus)

This paints a much more easily understood picture of things, doesn’t it? This understanding is a much more accurate description of the lives of all believers than a spiritually immature and overly-simplistic “you’re saved and you like me” or “you don’t like me so you left me so you must be a bad person, be walking unrighteously, or be unsaved” view of things.

And this understanding of 2 Timothy 4:9-12 provides the foundation for understanding 1 Chronicles 12:17. If we did not have this understanding, the way we applied 1 Chronicles 12:17 would be angry and vindictive. With the understanding, we will apply it with wisdom, peace, power and true Love.

So again, in 1 Chronicles 12:17, the Word of God tells us, David went out to meet them and said to them, "If you have come to me in peace, to help me, I am ready to have you unite with me. But if you have come to betray me to my enemies when my hands are free from violence, may the God of our fathers see it and judge you. (NIV)

This scripture tells us how David dealt with people in general.

1. Peace, Help and Unity

“If you have come to me in peace, to help me, I am ready to have you unite with me”.

First, this scripture shows us that one aspect of operating in peace toward other believers is helping them. Maybe not in person, because believers are the world over. Maybe not every day, because has He has many to whom He desires to minister. Perhaps even on some days at His instruction, “helping” by not doing anything and allowing God to do His perfect will. But - all in all - helping.

Second......“I am ready to have you unite with me”. Now we know that God’s Word tells us in 1 Corinthians 12:12 that For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.

Therefore, the Body of Christ IS one. He made us that way. So, as it relates to the New Testament Body of Christ in this scripture, “to be united” is referring to being united in ministry, not in the Holy Spirit. This is a helpful understanding. We are already one with others believers......but God “unites us” with others for the purpose of ministry.

2. Wisdom, Purity, and Liberty

“But if you have come to betray me to my enemies when my hands are free from violence, may the God of our fathers see it and judge you”.

The prior sentence in this scripture equates “coming in peace” with “helping” another believer. Conversely in the sentence above, the concept of “betrayal” is equated “fighting against” another believer.

The key phrase in this scripture is “free from violence”. The King James version of the same verse reads.....“but if ye be come to betray me to mine enemies, seeing there is no wrong in mine hands.....”. Some versions even read “no sin”. The original meanings of the Hebrew words here bear out the NIV translation, however.....

“But if you have come to betray me to my enemies when my hands are free from violence [toward you]......”.

This is an extremely important understanding! If we bear any grudge toward another believer, we simply cannot righteously apply this verse in our lives. If we bear any grudge toward another believer, we simply cannot say “I have no violence in my hand toward you”.

God’s Word is clear about the matters of forgiveness, and we will not address those here. But know that if unforgiveness exists, we are the problem. :-)

We know then that if we do not have “violence in our hands toward another”, then we are free to operate in this scripture’s Truth.

“But if you have come to betray me to my enemies when my hands are free from violence, may the God of our fathers see it and judge you”.

This verse goes on to indicate that if someone else has come to us to betray us to our enemies when there is no violence in our hands toward them, then God will take care of it.

Not in a “God’s gonna get you for this” way, either. In a peace-filled way that only comes from earnestly seeking to walk in 1 Peter 1:22, which tells us that “Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently”.

What peace the Lord brings to us through this scripture!

When we have this understanding, we are free from anger, judgment, and defensiveness toward others. We are free to declare the Gospel with God’s love and in His protection as Jesus instructed us in Matthew 10:7-8, 16.

And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.

Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.

Be blessed, my dear brethren, as you live, love and minister with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.....