Church Unity - A Divine Mandate!

Thank you for reading the post today. We are praying you will hear the Spirit speak and receive His revelation on this vital subject. In Jesus’ name. Eric

One of the greatest hinderances and causes of an ineffective church, in the work of God’s kingdom, is disunity.

Unity in the church is a divine mandate! As we look at John 17:20 and 21, we see the truth of this statement, “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” Jesus prayed “for the same oneness for His disciples that He has with the Father. He and the Father share the same purpose, plan and power. Christ often reminded us that He came not to do His own will, but to do the will of the Father. Our unity is dependent on our sharing the same priority of seeking the Lord’s will in all that we do. Jesus’ desire for us is to reach those who do not know Him so that they will accept Him as Lord and Savior. Then, they also will be in unity with us and others who are a part of God’s family. Our unity among believers is necessary, so that the world will know that Jesus was sent into the world by the Father.

I think it is important to note that this prayer for unity of all believers was Jesus’ final petition before His betrayal and arrest in Gethsemane. “The oneness He requests is not an organizational but a spiritual unity which will be visibly manifested in the life of the church and will bear witness to the divine mission of Christ.” (Textual notes, NSFLB).

The purpose of unity for the church is to serve as a testimony to the world. The unity the world sees in the church will be a reflection of the truth of both Jesus’ divine mission and the reality of God’s love!

John 13:35, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." ‘Love’ agape in the Greek is a selfless unconditional love that mirrors the love of Christ. “The servant-like selfless love that Christians display toward one another witness to the world that they are true disciples.” (Textual notes NSFLB). These words of Christ were also spoken at the Last Supper prior to His betrayal.

In Matthew 22:37,39, Jesus tells the disciples what the first and second commandments are, “Jesus replied: “'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' ... 39 And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ‘Heart’ in verse 37 means the center of one’s being (emotions, will and intellect). With ‘all of your heart’ indicates we are to prioritize Him above all else. ‘Soul’ is our life force or the essence of a person. Then we see that ‘mind’ means our understanding, reasoning and thought processes. Wow! That very clearly lets us know that we are to love, not only God, but also our neighbor with our whole being and with everything in us. Often times when we read these verses we tend to interpret our ‘neighbor’ as someone who is not a member of the body of Christ. However, ‘neighbor’ means: any other person or any other man irrespective of race or religion. (Strong’s). So, I submit to you that another member of the body of Christ is also your neighbor. How are we to love them? With our whole being and with everything in us.

The words ‘like it’ in verse 39 concerning the second commandment means: of similar importance and nature as the first. Thus our ‘love for our neighbor’ has a similar importance to our loving God!

Why was it important for us to review these verses about God’s command to love? It will become very clear as we examine what we find in the Scripture concerning the division that exists in the church.

James 4:1 and 2a,b (ESV), (written to the church) reveals, “What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? 2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel.” ‘Passions’ hedonon from the root word hedonism indicates a pursuit of pleasure. Did you notice these passions are at war within you? We are involved in an internal battle against the law of sin which causes a fierce internal conflict and our flesh, for which we need spiritual discipline and reliance on the Holy Spirit to overcome.

The source of our war, fights and quarrels among us are our passions which include: selfish desires, coveting, pride, wrong motives, impure hearts, being double minded, being critical, judging and defaming a fellow believer, boasting, being arrogant or seeking our own will and not the will of God!

Division also comes from doctrinal disputes, cultural differences and an unwillingness to compromise personal preferences for the sake of unity and the spread of the gospel.

It is so sad to think that churches encounter a lack of effectiveness, the breaking down of the spreading of the gospel and divisiveness over unimportant issues. Before we were married, my wife attended a wonderful church with many beautifully spirited members. However, when an issue of removing windows in the front of the sanctuary arose - individuals became so adamant and hardened in their opinion of what should be done, it split the church! Tragically, that church no longer exists. This is one example of why the Lord has adamantly mandated unity. So that, the work of the Lord will not be destroyed.

Who are we to be united with? We must always remember, Christ has only one body and as believers, we have become a part of that one body.

Charles Spurgeon stated, “The ‘church’ is not composed of all members of all denominations but it is composed of those from each of those denominations who are believers, those who are a part of the body of Christ, those who have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus.” Then he also stated, “Those who have become a ‘new creation in Christ’ is part of the church which God desires to be unified.”

The Apostle Paul instructs us concerning how to preserve the unity of the Spirit in Ephesians 4:1-4 (CSB), “ Therefore I, the prisoner in the Lord, urge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit ​-- ​just as you were called to one hope at your calling” When we ‘walk worthy’ we will demonstrate integrity, humility and love. With ‘humility,’ we put others before ourselves . ‘Gentleness’ is strength under control which indicates we would respond to others with kindness and compassion. When we diligently preserve the ‘unity of the Spirit,’ we make an intentional effort and commitment to the oneness we share as members of the body of Christ. How do we fulfill that charge of keeping the unity of the Spirit? The means by which the unity of the Spirit is maintained is through the bond of peace. “The unity of the Spirit refers to the oneness that believers share through the Holy Spirit. The ‘bond of peace’ is more than the absence of conflict; it is the presence of harmony and wholeness. We must actively pursue reconciliation and harmony with one another,” (Bible Hub Study Bible).

Galatians 3:28 reveals there should be no ethnic and cultural barriers, no social status that divides and that there should be equal value and dignity of men and women in the body of Christ.

I was shocked to find there are approximately 45,000 Christian denominations worldwide. (christianwebsite.com 2024). I dare say that most of the divisions came about because of doctrinal differences that have taken place over the course of many years.

I believe doctrinal differences have caused the creation of a ‘new’ denomination over and over again - which affects the unity of the one body of Christ.

There must be agreement in the church on the basic tenets of faith or basic beliefs all the believers must have. These tenets of faith are:

The Bible is the Inerrant Word of God. (2 Timothy 3:16,17).

The Trinity: We believe there is One God eternally existent in three persons or entities, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 3:16,17; John 15:26; Galatians 4:4-6; and Colossians 2:9).

All men and women are sinners. (Romans 3:10 and 3:23).

Jesus is the Only Hope for Salvation. (John 14:6; Acts 4:12).

The Deity of Christ. (John 1:1; John 1:14).

The Sacrificial Death of Jesus. (John 3:16).

The Bodily Resurrection of Jesus. (1 Corinthians 15:1-4; John 5:26).

The Return of Jesus and the Hope of Eternal Life. (John 14:3; Acts 1:11).

Division in the church is not of God. The Scripture reveals that even if a man has no unity with himself (is double minded, James 1:8), he is unstable in all his ways. How much more would division affect the church? To be unstable equals inconsistency and incongruity and just as instability exists in one man’s life - in the Church, the results would be the same, i.e. instability - like waves being driven by wind and tossed about daily (James 1:6-8).

If the issues we are divided over are ‘worldly issues,’ i.e. internal conflicts, jealousy, quarrels, rivalries, gossip, disputes, pride or strife - unity must be chosen over division! Some Christians have been taking such a tight-fisted and widely divergent viewpoint that they are no longer willing to fellowship with those who disagree with them. Be aware! Factions are formed and distrust replaces trust. But, listen, many issues should be a matter of conviction (by the Holy Spirit) and grace. Always - our eyes should be on Jesus.

With that being said, realize that if the viewpoints taken are no longer in alignment with the Word of God and the individual has walked away from the tenets of faith and refused counsel or correction from their pastor, the Lord expects you will no longer have fellowship with those with whom you disagree.

When a person first comes into right relationship with God, they will not be walking in a mature holiness, however they have begun their journey and their heart desires to glorify God. We need to gently encourage and love them into a more mature relationship with God.

“We can love those who are the complete opposites of ourselves because we love those who love Him.” (Charles Spurgeon).

Again, in His High Priestly prayer, Jesus prayed for the unity of all believers. (John 17:20,21). Through unity, believers reflect the nature of God, fulfill their calling, and effectively proclaim the gospel to the world. (Bible Hub, Topical Encyclopedia).

Strive whole-heartedly to be that believer!

Unless noted otherwise, all Scriptures were taken from the New International Version.

NSFLB New Spirit Filled Life Bible

ESV English Standard Version

CSB Christian Standard Bible