Unity as presented in the New Testament

 The New Testament presents the Church as one because its source, life, and unity come from God Himself. Though there are many visible communities, traditions, and names, the Church is fundamentally one because it is gathered by one Lord through one Spirit into one shared life. The unity Jesus spoke of is not primarily institutional or cultural but spiritual, modeled on the unity between the Son and the Father. Those who come to believe through the apostolic testimony are drawn into this unity, not by external conformity, but by participation in the same divine life. In this way, all who are gathered by the Lord of the harvest become one people, forming one Church at the level of spirit.

Jesus’ teaching consistently directs attention away from outward markers of religious identity toward inward transformation. His declaration that God is Spirit and that true worship must be in spirit and in truth establishes the foundation for unity that transcends place, tradition, and ethnicity. This teaching is vividly demonstrated in His encounter with the Samaritans, a people separated from the Jews by deep historical, religious, and cultural divisions. Jesus crossed those barriers by speaking prophetically through the Spirit to a Samaritan woman, leading an entire village to faith. Their belief arose independently of the Jewish disciples and could not easily be integrated into existing religious structures, yet Jesus affirmed their faith as genuine. By doing so, He showed that unity would not be achieved by absorbing one group into another, but by each person learning to worship the Father in spirit and truth.

The surprise of the disciples at the Samaritan response highlights how radically Jesus reframed belonging. Faith generated by the Spirit does not depend on shared heritage or proximity to established centers of worship. Where the Spirit reveals truth and hearts respond in faith, genuine unity already exists, even if outward forms remain divided. Jesus addressed inevitable divisions not by eliminating difference but by calling each believer into a deeper, shared spiritual reality. When individuals live by the Spirit and respond to the same truth, they find themselves united at a level that precedes and transcends all visible distinctions.

This vision of unity is carried forward in the gospel proclaimed by the apostles. The apostolic testimony to Jesus Christ, crucified and raised by the Father, calls all people into the same way of life that Jesus Himself lived: a life of submission to the Father and dependence on the Spirit. The gospel does not merely convey information; it imparts life. Jesus’ words are spirit and life, and the Holy Spirit continues to teach, guide, and form believers according to those words. Through this Spirit, believers are shaped into individuals who are no longer driven by the flesh, by cultural instincts, or by mere intellectual effort, but by the spirit within them.

The sending of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost reveals how unity and diversity coexist in God’s design. One Holy Spirit was given, yet manifested in many tongues of fire, resting on each individual. The image is of a single divine fire shared without division, personal yet unifying. Each believer receives the Spirit personally, and yet all are joined into one. This pattern preserves genuine difference while establishing profound unity, showing that unity does not require uniformity. The Holy Spirit, and life lived according to true spirit animates many lives, drawing them together without erasing their distinct histories or identities.

The apostolic mission, particularly as articulated through Paul, makes clear that this unity encompasses both Jews and Gentiles without distinction. There is one gospel, one Lord, one Spirit, and one Father of all. As believers yield to the Spirit’s work, they are drawn into harmony with God and with one another. At this level of shared spirit-oriented life, barriers of denomination, culture, ethnicity, and history are transcended. Though external differences remain, they no longer define identity or fellowship.

When believers worship God in spirit and in truth, they are participating in the worship that pleases Him. Their unity is not manufactured but experienced, not imposed but lived. In this shared life, the Church becomes what it was always meant to be: a living temple composed of people in whom the Spirit  dwells. The Father, who is one and uniquely God, makes His dwelling among a people made one in Christ, gathered from many fields by the one Lord of the harvest, and bound together by the life of the Spirit and the testimony of Jesus. 

(Wording by AI together with Stephen D Green) 

One in spirit

 The word of the apostles is a testimony all should know, and those who believe because of this testimony should become one, just as the Lord Jesus and the Father are one. This unity makes all the harvested souls one church. It is unity at the level of spirit. When we minister in spirit to one another we experience that unity of spirit. When we are harvested by the one Lord of the Harvest, we become one people, in spirit. God is a spirit, and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth. This transcends church names like Orthodox, and Catholic, and Methodist, but it also transcends cultural and ethnic barriers. Indeed, Jesus was addressing such barriers when he preached the way of spirit and truth. He was there preaching to a whole Samaritan village which had come out to hear him and believed what they heard, and believed in him. His disciples came and saw it, saw how it all started by Jesus preaching prophetically by spirit to a Samaritan woman: So surprising this was to his disciples. The Samaritans who believed could not integrate at all easily with the disciples and Jews to whom Jesus had previously preached. A divided following was inevitable. Jesus addressed it from a spirit point of view. Each one learning to worship by spirit in truth, as God desired, would experience unity with each other. Spirit transcends. Truth transcends. So still today, there are various groups divided culturally, yet if we look at each group, even at each individual, when they each worship in spirit, experiencing by spirit the same truth, and expressing it in worship towards the God who is spirit and true, they are being made one, under authority in their spirit of the same one Lord Jesus Christ, drawn in their spirit to the same one Father. We have a gospel of Jesus as the Christ raised from the dead by this Father, having died in submission to this Father’s will, and leading us to each of us live by the same way of spirit by which Jesus also lived. We have a gospel of the Holy Spirit being sent to each one, like a single fire which separates into many tongues of fire, each one settling on the head of an individual in their prayers, as these believing followers of Jesus gathered together. We have a gospel teaching each one and all gathered together to live by the spirit. The one gospel of Jesus, as revealed also to Paul for Gentiles and Jews as one, that teaches us that the teachings of Jesus are spirit and life. We must live by such spirit, and the teachings given since then by the Holy Spirit, as driving the apostles such as Paul, so that we become spirit-driven individuals instead of flesh-driven, instead of mere mentally-driven individuals, and at this level we find unity transcending all the barriers. Then we will be worshipping God together as pleases Him. We will be a Temple for the living Father, who is one and uniquely God. 

One church?

 One church? Why then so many denominational churches? These are the many who are the fields ripe for harvest. Lift up your eyes, says Jesus. Look at the fields, they are ripe for harvest. The Father too points to all the many names signed up for being participants in the spirit life He provides. See these names: Look at them. These are the harvest field. But the word says to pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest. The word of the apostles is a testimony all should know, and those who believe because of this testimony should become one, just as the Lord Jesus and the Father are one. This unity makes all the harvested souls one church. It is unity at the level of spirit. When we minister in spirit to one another we experience that unity of spirit. This transcends church names like Orthodox, and Catholic, and Methodist, and the like. When we are harvested by the one Lord of the Harvest, we become one people, in spirit. God is a spirit, and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.

Spirit life and the Holy Spirit

 The Holy Spirit teaches that it is by a life of spirit orientation, not merely driven by thought or physical drivers, that Jesus overcame and rose above the ignoble to please God and be raised by God from the dead, and now to have the glory that all Natural processes are driven by his name, such that he is Lord and the Anointed of God. This is the way he teaches his followers to live: By spirit in accordance with truth. His teachings are teachings from spirit, imparting spirit, elevating those who follow them to rise above the physical and mental life to a life led by spirit into what is done, by the persuasion that spirit brings.

The writing is on the wall

 There is a saying: “The writing is on the wall.” The saying comes from the last days of Babylon when a mighty general of Babylon held a banquet, not knowing Babylon was about to fall. A spirit hand appeared and wrote words on the wall. Clearly the hand was divine, so the words were vital to understand, but were foreign to the people watching. The prophet Daniel alone could understand them by God’s interpretation. He warned that destruction was imminent. The general rejoiced to know the meaning, but it was too late to avert what was coming. So too today. The Holy Spirit can give the gift of speaking in tongues, as a sign the message is divine, then give the interpretation to only one or two. By this the Holy Spirit creates awareness of impending destruction, but thankfully this warning is given in time to do something. We might even have a lifetime ahead of us. We should use this time, maybe forty years, to learn to follow Jesus Christ the Lord. After a certain time of opportunity will come a time of great darkness for all. Use this time. The writing is on the wall. 

Make hay while the sun shines

 There is a saying: “Make hay while the sun shines.” The next forty years might be the last chance to repent and learn to live by spirit and the teachings of Jesus Christ. The darkness will come very fast after that, and it will be too dark to do much. “We must do the works of Him who sent me while it is day, for the darkness comes when no man can work.” Do not waste this daytime. Wake up and learn to follow the Lord.

How can we be better people - short summary

 How can we be better people? Most people seek their own improvement through indulgence or intelligence, or both. Indulgence promises satisfaction but leads to dependence and moral weakness. Intelligence promises mastery but increases power without guaranteeing goodness. History shows that both paths can fail to produce integrity, restraint, or love, and can even amplify harm when left without moral direction.

There is a third way: the life of the spirit. This is the human capacity to rise above appetite and cleverness and to live by what is worthy and true. It requires more than willpower; it requires right direction. Jesus taught this way not as a system of rules, but as a call to inward transformation—a kind of rebirth that shifts what drives a person’s life.

When life is led by the spirit, love becomes sincere rather than self-serving, integrity replaces impulse, and stability replaces chaos. This way of life prepares a person to stand honestly when judgment comes—not perfect, but aligned with what is truly good. It is not escape from life, but the deepest way to live it. In short, it saves. 

How to Become Better - presentation with slide designs

 How To Become Better

— presentation with slides

— by Stephen D Green with AI wording

Slide 1

Slide Title: The Question That Matters
Slide Content:

• How do people actually become better?
• Not richer. Not smarter. Better.
• If life has consequences, improvement matters.
  Visual Suggestion:
  A quiet road or path stretching forward; neutral tones, no symbols.

One of the most important questions any human being can face is how people actually become better. Not richer, not more successful, not more informed—but better in character, direction, and integrity. If our lives carry real weight, if our actions have consequences, and if we will one day be judged—by God, by truth, or by the lasting effects of what we have done—then improvement is not optional. A life that does not aim upward will inevitably drift downward. The question is not whether we are being shaped, but by what.

Slide 2

Slide Title: Two Common Paths
Slide Content:

• Indulgence: pleasure as improvement
• Intelligence: knowledge as improvement
• Both promise growth
  Visual Suggestion:
  A forked path or two diverging arrows.

Most people attempt improvement in one of two ways. The first is indulgence: believing that greater satisfaction, comfort, or pleasure will lead to a better life. The second is intelligence: believing that more knowledge, sharper thinking, or superior reasoning will make us better people. Both paths promise growth, and both can achieve results. Yet neither reliably produces moral strength, integrity, or lasting goodness, which is what truly matters when life is weighed.

Slide 3

Slide Title: The Problem With Indulgence
Slide Content:

• Appetite does not create freedom
• Excess weakens responsibility

No life is improved by being ruled by desire
Visual Suggestion:
Soft-focus image of excess fading into emptiness (abstract, not graphic). 

Indulgence does not create freedom; it creates dependence. When life becomes ruled by appetite—whether for food, pleasure, substances, gambling, or ease—it weakens responsibility, damages relationships, and narrows the soul. Satisfaction may feel like progress in the moment, but over time it erodes self-command. No one looks back on a life diminished by excess and calls it improvement when truth and accountability are taken seriously. It can even result in criminality.

Slide 4

Slide Title: The Problem With Intelligence Alone
Slide Content:

• Knowledge increases power
• Power without direction multiplies harm
• Being clever is not the same as being good
  Visual Suggestion:
  A bright light casting a long shadow, or a tool beside a warning sign.

The second path is intelligence. We assume that if we know more, think more clearly, or reason more accurately, we will become better people. Intelligence certainly has value, but it does not guarantee goodness. Knowledge increases power, not character. A highly intelligent person may solve complex problems, invent powerful tools, or master difficult ideas—and still act selfishly, cruelly, or destructively. History shows that brilliance without moral direction can magnify harm rather than prevent it. Being clever is not the same as being good.

Most people mix both of these paths, while some focus on one or the other.

Slide 5

Slide Title: A Third Way
Slide Content:

• Not indulgence
• Not intellect alone
• A life led by spirit
  Visual Suggestion:
  A single upward path or a subtle light breaking through clouds.

If indulgence fails to improve us, and intelligence alone fails to improve us, then we must look for a third way. That way is the life of the spirit. This does not reject the body or the mind, but it rises above them. Spirit is the part of us capable of governing desire, correcting thought, and choosing what is right even when it is costly. It is the inner capacity to live from the inside out rather than reacting to every impulse or opinion.

Slide 6

Slide Title: What We Mean by “Spirit”
Slide Content:

• The ability to rise above impulse
• The strength to choose what is right
• Living from the inside out
  Visual Suggestion:
  A calm human silhouette with light at the center (abstract, non-religious).

By spirit, we do not mean emotion, enthusiasm, or religious excitement. Spirit is moral strength. It is the ability to say no when saying no is hard, and yes when yes requires sacrifice. It is what allows a person to act with integrity instead of convenience, with courage instead of fear. A life led by spirit is a life shaped by truth rather than appetite or pride.

Slide 7

Slide Title: Why Willpower Isn’t Enough
Slide Content:

• Determination without direction fails
• We must know what is worthy
• Direction must be higher than appetite or cleverness
  Visual Suggestion:
  A compass or navigation map with a clear heading.

Yet even this requires more than sheer willpower. 

Determination without direction does not produce goodness; it produces stubbornness. To truly improve, we must know what is worthy of our effort—what is true, what is good, what deserves our loyalty. That direction cannot come from appetite, and it cannot come from clever reasoning alone. It must come from something higher than both, something that gives clarity, steadiness, and moral weight to our choices.

Slide 8

Slide Title: The Way Jesus Taught
Slide Content:

• Not rules, but transformation
• A call to become a different kind of person
• Truth lived, not just known
  Visual Suggestion:
  Simple image of people walking together; no overt religious iconography.

This is the way Jesus taught. He did not primarily offer rules to follow or theories to master, but a call to transformation. He pointed people away from lives driven by impulse or ego and toward lives shaped by truth, mercy, integrity, and self-giving love. His focus was not outward performance, but inward renewal—becoming a different kind of person.

Slide 9

Slide Title: Beginning Again
Slide Content:

• Leaving lives driven by impulse
• Moving beyond intellect alone
• Choosing rebirth from the inside out
  Visual Suggestion:
  Sunrise or fresh morning light over a horizon.

To live this way requires a real beginning again. It means turning away from lives driven only by physical desire or mental cleverness and choosing a life led by the spirit. Jesus called this being born again—not a surface change, but a fundamental reorientation of what drives us. True improvement begins when the center of life shifts inward and upward.

Slide 10

Slide Title: When Life Is Led by Spirit
Slide Content:

• Love becomes steady and sincere
• Integrity replaces impulse
• Stability replaces chaos
  Visual Suggestion:
  Hands holding something fragile with care, or a steady flame.

When a life is led by spirit, love itself changes. Love becomes steady instead of impulsive, sincere instead of self-serving. Integrity replaces reaction. Stability replaces chaos. A person becomes less controlled by urges or opinions and more aligned with what is genuinely good. This kind of life does not promise ease, but it does offer wholeness.

Slide 11

Slide Title: What This Saves Us From
Slide Content:

• Living small and reactive
• Being ruled by desire or pride
• Standing unprepared when judgment comes
  Visual Suggestion:
  A shadow receding or weight being set down.

A spirit-led life saves us from being ruled by desire, pride, or fear. It saves us from living small, reactive lives that collapse under pressure or temptation. And it prepares us to stand honestly when judgment comes—having lived according to something greater than appetite or intellect alone. It is not escape from accountability, but readiness for it.

Slide 12

Slide Title: The Invitation
Slide Content:

• Live from the inside out
• Align with what is truly good
• Become the kind of person who can stand
  Visual Suggestion:
  An open door or open landscape, calm and hopeful.

The invitation, then, is simple but demanding: live from the inside out. Choose alignment with what is truly good. Become the kind of person who can stand upright in truth, love sincerely, and live with integrity. This is not about perfection, but about direction. Not merely being saved from failure, but becoming whole—at one with what is right, and with the life Jesus taught.

Spirit-driven life (AI-generated wording)

 The Way We Become Better People

One of the most important questions we ever face is this:
How do people actually become better?

Not richer. Not more successful. Not more informed.
Better.

If our lives matter—if our actions have consequences—then improvement isn’t optional. And if we will be judged someday, whether by God, by history, or by the truth itself, then how we live now matters deeply.

Most people try one of two paths.

The first is indulgence.
We tell ourselves that satisfaction is improvement. But we know better. Becoming ruled by appetite—by food, alcohol, drugs, gambling, greed, or pleasure—does not make a person stronger or freer. It weakens us. It damages families. It erodes responsibility. No one looks back on a ruined life and says, “At least I enjoyed myself.”

The second path is intelligence.
We assume that if we just think better, know more, or reason more clearly, we will become better people. But intelligence does not guarantee goodness. History is full of brilliant minds who caused immense harm. Knowledge increases power—but power without moral direction can multiply evil.

So if indulgence fails, and intelligence fails, what’s left?

There is a third way.
It is the way of the spirit.

By spirit, this doesn’t mean emotion or religious excitement. It means that part of us that can rise above impulse and error. The part that can say no when saying no is hard, and yes when saying yes costs us something. The part of us that can choose what is right even when it isn’t convenient.

This is what separates a life that merely reacts from a life that stands for something.

But willpower alone is not enough. Determination without direction just creates stubbornness. We need to know what is worthy—what is true, what is good, what deserves our loyalty. That direction cannot come from appetite, and it cannot come from cleverness alone. It must come from something higher than both.

Jesus taught this way of life. Not as a system of rules, but as a way of becoming. He pointed people away from lives driven only by the body or the mind, and toward a life led from the inside out. A life shaped by truth, integrity, mercy, and self-giving love.

He called it being born again.
Not starting over with better habits—but becoming a different kind of person.

When a life is led by the spirit, love changes.
It is no longer just desire or preference. It becomes something steady, sincere, and trustworthy. Love becomes something you choose, not something that controls you.

This kind of life gives stability.
It gives hope that is not easily shaken.
It gives a conscience that can stand upright.

This is what saves a person—not escape from life, but transformation within it. Not perfection, but alignment. Not control, but unity with what is truly good.

This is the invitation Jesus offers:
to begin again,
to live from the inside out,
and to become the kind of people who can stand honestly when judgment comes—having lived by something greater than impulse or intellect alone.

(Stephen D Green, with AI-generated wording)