Psalm
133:1-3; John 13:34-35; 17:1-6, 17-23; Rom.15:5-7; 1Cor.1:10
“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious ointment upon the head, That ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard: That went down to the skirts of his garments; As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: For there the Lord commanded the blessing, Even life for evermore.” (Psalm 133:1–3)
“A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” (John 13:34–35)
“These things I command you, that ye love one another.” (John 15:17)
“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. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.” (John 17:21–23)
“Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus: That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God.” (Romans 15:5–7)
Unity is the distinguishing characteristic of God’s people.
It derives from our common relationship with God. Unity is powerful. You must
have heard about the saying that “United we stand but divided we fall”. The
book of Ecclesiastes says that a threefold cord is not easily broken
(Eccl.4:12). How true! Jesus emphasised it as a requirement of true discipleship. He made it an object lesson in the night of the Last Supper. The early apostles preached and practised it in the early Church. We are expected to practise it in the contemporary Church. Unity will make us invincible and unconquerable as a Church.
However we must not unite to do evil (Gen.11:4-6; Acts 23:12-13);
neither should we unite to disobey God (Acts 5:1-3, 7-9).
A. The Essence
(Basis) Of Unity among Believers (Eph.4:1-6; 1Cor.12:12-27)
“I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” (Ephesians 4:1–6)
1. We have a
common relationship with God the Father
a. As God’s
Children (Rom.8:15-17)
b. As God’s
People (1Pet.2:9-10)
2. We have a
common union with Jesus Christ the Son (Col.3:11)3. We have a common fellowship with the Holy Spirit (1Cor.12:13)
4. We have a common faith (Eph.4:4-6, 13)
5. We are One body of Christ (Eph.4:4-6)
The church is one in essence – (i) founded on one gospel, (ii) united to one Lord, (iii) indwelt by one Spirit, (iv) constantly under internal and external threats. It needs to be in constant and continual fellowship. As a Church We are one! Our unity is woven around the Trinity - The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit. But we have different functions, different gifts. All are not apostles. all are not pastors. But all can serve God and their service is acceptable to God when offered with love and a pure heart!
B. The Expressions
Of Unity Among Believers:
1. Commitment
to one another (1Sam.18:1-4; Ruth.1:16-17; 1Thes. 2:8)2. Commonage (Commonality/ Sharing) of possessions (Luke 3:11; Acts 2:44-47; Rom.12:13; Gal.6:6; 2Tim.2:6)
3. Comforting in troubles (Sharing burdens) (2Cor 2:7; Phil.4:14; Gal.6:2)
4. Caring for and Supporting one another (Heb.10:24-25)
“And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the Lord do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me.” (Ruth 1:16–17)
“And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. And all that believed were together, and had all things common; And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.” (Acts 2:42–47)
The early church started practising sharing out of necessity, and we still have necessities today. Share what you have with one another in brotherly kindness.We are one family of God. We belong to God's family. All Selfishness is gone!
“And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.” (Romans 5:5)
“Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.” (John 13:13–17)
“A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” (John 13:34–35)
C. Engaging In
(or Practice of) Christian Unity
“Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” (Ephesians 4:3)
“Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous:” (1 Peter 3:8)
“Let no man seek his own, but every man another’s wealth.” (1 Corinthians 10:24)
“But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.” (1 John 3:17–18)
2. We Practice unity in Purpose as a community (Phil.1:27; Judges 20:11; Neh.4:6; Mat.22:37-40; 28:18-20).
What is our purpose as a Church? We want to fulfil the Great Commandment (Mat.22:37-40) and carry out the Great Commission (Mat.28:18-20). This is our common purpose. We want more people to join our Church community. When new people join us we show them the exceptional love of God.
“Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” (Matthew 22:35–40); see also Deut.6:4-5; lev.19:18. You can tell that this is the summary of the entire Ten Commandments.
“And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” (Matthew 28:18–20).
This is our primary purpose as a Church, and we will accomplish it as one people.
“So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work.” (Nehemiah 4:6). It took only 52 days to finish the walls of Jerusalem!
4. We Practice Unity in being of One mind together (1Cor.1:10; 2Chronicles 30:12; Phil.2:2).
“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.” (1 Corinthians 1:10)
“Also in Judah the hand of God was to give them one heart to do the commandment of the king and of the princes, by the word of the Lord.” (2 Chronicles 30:12)
This is arguably the most important aspect of our oneness. Singleness of purpose is essential to our success as a community of believers. We must be of one mind. But how? We must be knit together as one man. We believe the same thing – non-negotiable doctrines. We speak with one voice – agreement. We mind the same thing – one purpose. As we do this we love and care for each other – one community. In this state nothing can be withheld from us!
Unity among believers is non-negotiable. It was commanded by
our Lord Jesus. It was the centre point of His final High Priestly prayer. The
benefits of holy unity among believers are yet untapped. We intend to tap those
benefits by signing up to unity in this congregation – unity of purpose, unity
of doctrine, unity of faith, Unity in service, unity in love.
Let us conclude by going back to (Psalm 133:1-3) to see why unity among believers is such a wonderful thing:
(i) It is good and pleasant(ii) It is like precious ointment - the anointing oil that was used to anoint the high priest of Israel was precious. it could not be used for anything else. It was both good and pleasant. Certain pleasant things are not good and certain good things are not pleasant. But unity of believers is bot good and pleasant.
(iii) It is like the dew of Harmon - it is refreshing and revitalizing.
(iv) There God commands His blessings - God blesses our unity, but if we walk in disunity, there will be no blessing.
(v) It is life-giving!
As this one body of Christ becomes of one mind and one
voice, the Holy Spirit freely moves to accomplish His work in us.
We become true witnesses to the world that Jesus is Lord and Saviour! Miracles, signs and wonders
are awaiting us. Great things are waiting to happen in this Church and it is
going to be glorious! The best part of it is that you will be a part of it. Let us all pray for unity as Christ prayed for it, let us seek for unity, let us pursue unity. Great power is waiting to be released to us
“Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” (Matthew 18:18–20)
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