Christ prayed for unity among His followers (John 17:20-21); however, as with many other requests made to the Father, there is a part each Christian must play in order to make this unity a reality. Paul wrote in Ephesians 4:3 that all Christians are to be “endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” Disunity has always been a problem to mankind since the very beginning. Discord exists among individuals, couples, families, organizations, nations, and even churches. This is because each man has his own opinions. In the church we must be willing to sacrifice opinions and stick with matters of faith taught in God’s word to have unity.
The unity Paul told the Ephesians to endeavor to maintain is the unity of the Spirit. Christians are led by teachings of the Holy Spirit, captured for us in the writings that comprise the New Testament, which serve as a basis for unity. Consider how the seven ones of Ephesians 4:4-6 illustrate this singularity. Christians would be just as willing to accept more than one God as to accept more than one faith or more than one baptism. The charge to give effort to have and maintain unity among the called in Christ in the letter of Ephesians comes after Paul had mentioned the wall of partition that had existed between Jews and Gentiles, a barrier that had been broken down by the blood of Christ (Eph. 2:11-19). This uniting of Jews and Gentiles into one body was part of God’s plan from the foundation of the world (Eph. 2:16; 3:6, 11). It is hard for us today to comprehend how different Jews and Gentiles were in the first century and the enmity that had festered among them for centuries. Isaiah prophesied that bringing these two groups together to have peace in the church would be like getting wolves and sheep, leopards and goats, or lions and cows to dwell peacefully together (Isa. 11:6). While this seemed impossible, God did this in the first-century church. Jews and Gentiles were reconciled together to Him in the body of Christ (Eph. 2:16).
But this partnership did not just happen easily. The endeavor for unity in Ephesians 4:3 follows the instruction of Ephesians 4:2; that Christians are to be characterized, “with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love.” Pride is an enemy of unity. Contrariwise, patience is so essential to peace. When I recognize that others have to put up with me, then I can more easily put up with others. The bottom line is that Christians must love each other. This is not always easy, but the results are worth it.
Partiality based on how much money a person possesses is a temptation that must be avoided in the church (James 2:1-8). The church, instead of being divided into different cliques, ought to be one harmonious community (Acts 2:46). Even good men like Peter and Barnabas had trouble with showing partiality because of social pressures (Gal. 2:11-13). Paul loved them enough to speak up before everyone, and they loved their brethren enough to repent and not hold a grudge against Paul (Gal. 2:14). Individuals in the church cannot remain at odds if unity is to exist. Even in private cases, unlike that of Peter’s partiality, confrontation is necessary to deal with a sin between two brothers or it will affect the entire church (Mt. 18:15-20; cf. Phil. 4:2).
Based on God’s word, the more unity exists in the Flatwoods church, the more blessings will follow. Are you willing to work and pray to make it a reality?
-Mark Day
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