True Unity
My dear brethren, not only are we in the last days, but we
are in the last hour and even in the last minutes of God's clock before the
coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the founder and maker of the
beautiful
I heard that someone said “the church is in a mess” due to so many divisions and the issues that keep us from unity, but by the grace of God I must say these things as God has revealed them to me in His Word.
Jesus never intended for His church to operate under
different cells, meaning that there are several “
True Unity—why say “true unity” and not just unity? Because in order to practice true unity it MUST be the Bible way, the same way
that the early church practiced unity.
The apostle Paul knew who the
That’s why Paul, having this true understanding, writes in Ephesians 4:3 Endeavouring. That is a very strong word. The dictionary says,
It is going to take effort on our part, and that’s more than just saying “we tried.” The definition says, “toward an end,” and that end is not division, but our endeavouring end must be unity.
The start to true unity is found in verse 2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love. I could break down each of the words lowliness and meekness, but I know that love is the strongest of them all.
We know that there were issues that tried to divide the early church, but let's allow the spirit of God to show us how it was handled, because, like Paul, I know that it is God's church, not our congregation. Look at the example that was left for us.
1 John 4:1 Beloved, believe
not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many
false prophets are gone out into the world. When I read this, I see the first word he
writes, and it shows the spirit in John's heart, “beloved.” You can see the love, a love that does not
give up—in fact, it won’t let you
give up. He gives a warning but with a
spirit of love. Verse 7, Beloved,
let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth
God. Verse 11, Beloved,
if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. Romans 13:10: Love worketh
no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the
fulfilling of the law.
1 Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and
brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved
in Jesus Christ, and called:
2 Mercy
unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied.
3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to
write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto
you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was
once delivered unto the saints.
17 But, beloved, remember ye the words
which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ;
18 How that they told you there should be
mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts.
19 These be they who
separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit.
20 But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy
Ghost,
21 Keep yourselves in the
love of God, looking for the mercy of our
Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
22 And of some have compassion, making a difference:
23 And others save with fear, pulling them out
of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.
24 Now unto him that is able to keep you from
falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with
exceeding joy,
25 To the only wise God our Saviour,
be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.
In the first epistle of Corinthians, Paul, after salutation and thanksgiving, exhorts to unity, and reproves their dissensions. But look at how he addresses them.
1 Paul called to be an apostle of
Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes
our brother,
2 Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are
sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place
call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both their's
and our's:
3 Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our
Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
4 I thank my God always on your behalf, for
the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ;
5 That in every thing ye are enriched by him,
in all utterance, and in all knowledge;
6 Even as the testimony of Christ was
confirmed in you.
This is where you can see that Paul understands that because the church is not founded on him or his way of thinking and beliefs, that their cannot be isolated “church of God groups”.
9 God is faithful, by whom ye were
called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
10 Now I beseech you (this is Paul
endeavoring , he is pleading in love), 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.
Now here he speaks truth with authority, but after he had addressed them with great love.
11 For it hath been declared unto me of you, my
brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions
among you.
12 Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos;
and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.
13 Is Christ divided? was
Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the
name of Paul?
In verse 12 what each group was
trying to prove is that the name they were associated with made them the true “
Listen to what James writes. This is very deep and rich.
James
3:13-18
13 Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge
among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his
works with meekness of wisdom.
14 But if ye have bitter envying
and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth.
15 This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.
16 For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil
work.
17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated,
full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.
18 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.
Once envying, strife, and lies
against that which is truth begins, I have to come to the conclusion that there
is no love. It doesn’t matter who or
what may be said—there is no love. And
if there is no love we would have to question their stand for the whole truth,
because you may fulfill all the true doctrines of the
Further, if you were to study what
made the father and the son one, you would see that the father always treated
the son with love and respect. See what
happened in the
And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying,
O my Father, (in Mark 14: 36 he uses the term of endearment “Abba
father”) if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I
will, but as thou wilt. 40 And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith
unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour?
41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is
willing, but the flesh is weak. 42 He went away again the second time, and
prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I
drink it, thy will be done. 43 And
he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy
44 And
he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same
words.
Three times Jesus asked with love and respect to the Father if there was another way to redeem humanity. God knew that the human side of Christ did not want to go through the suffering, and you might even think that he was thinking of changing the plan of redemption through the blood, yet this did not break unity with the Father. What we see is the Father endeavoring to keep unity with the Son in his time of trial.
Jesus prays in Luke 22:42
Saying, Father, if thou be willing,
remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine,
be done. 43 And there appeared an angel unto
him from heaven, strengthening him.
My opinion is that the angel spoke truth from the Father but
with love reminded him of the need of the shedding of blood, and the victory
that would be won not just at that moment but for all those who believed in the
God of the universe, and that His blood would reach back through the ages and
stretch forth until His return. If we
are to practice unity, it must mimic the fellowship that the Father and the Son
had. After all, according to John 17:21,
Jesus prayed to the father: 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.
22 And
the glory which thou gavest me I have given them;
that they may be one, even as we are one.
We share the same glory that God gave Jesus, and He in return gave it to us as his church. Because we are to mimic the unity that the Father and Son had, there should never be division among God’s people.
The Only
Exception for Division
There was only one time that division was demonstrated between the Father and Son, and that was when He was on the cross carrying our sins. Matthew 27:46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? God, who doesn’t make exceptions, not even for His son when it comes to doctrines, could not be in fellowship with Him because God does not have fellowship with darkness.
II Corintians 6:14
Be ye not unequally yoked together
with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? We cannot compromise the truths of God’s
word or the doctrines of the
Now look at how beautiful unity is, that God and Jesus did not remain separated, but look at how unity was restored. Luke 23:46 And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost. Full fellowship was restored when Jesus gave himself into the hands of the Father, meaning that we would be willing to restore unity if they that are doctrinally wrong would be willing to embrace full doctrine and “in the hands of God commend themselves,” and those that are separated because of traditions and misunderstandings need to be honest and ask themselves if they are willing to endeavor to bring God's people together.
I know that the devil does not want the
James
3:13-18
13 Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation
his works with meekness of wisdom.
Carlos Gonzalez
Pastor of the