Lately I’ve talked to hundreds of people all over the world about unity within the church and it is downright amazing to me at the paradox of divisiveness that it generates just to mention unity to some believers. I have no doubt that division is satan’s most destructive tactic and does more harm to the church than any other device he has unleashed upon us since our exit from the Garden.
Did you know for example that there are some 63,000 different denominations today? We started with one church, and 2000 years later everyone seems to have their own flavor and many claim that theirs is the ONLY stairway to heaven.
Poppycock!
I’ve prayed that believers might be as one and honestly I would be greatly discouraged at the lack of progress that I see in some folks, were it not for knowing that someone far greater than I has prayed that same prayer with similar results. Jesus Christ Himself prayed in John 17:21 – “I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one – as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me”.
Jesus who knew He would soon endure agonizing pain on the cross was praying over and over for the same thing, unity in His church.
So what does that tell us about how concerned we should be over the issue?
I Googled “I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one” and got 927 million hits in .35 seconds. That is a lot of reading material. Obviously I didn’t read it all, but what I did read seems to boil down to the importance that God puts on our loving Him and each other.
It is a convincing argument to a lost world when believers come together in love for Jesus Christ and each other. Over 2000 years ago as Christ prepared to visit the cross He saw the coming division in the church and it obviously bothered Him. Today it bothers those of us who endeavor to emulate Him and obey His commands, but the good news is that more and more people seem to moving in this direction as we rapidly approach these Last Days.
I’m attending the National Prayer Assembly Meeting in Washington D.C. There are people here who are charismatic and speak in tongues; there are people here who do not speak in tongues, but we are all united and praying for this country and the upcoming elections and that good leaders will emerge and lead this nation into a new and better era. It is an interesting combination of folks to be sure, but no one I’ve met seems to notice or care how someone is called to pray.
South African Anglican Bishop Tony Palmer said, “Being diverse is divine, but being divisive is diabolical”. A friend in the UK told me, “We do not have to worship in uniformity in order to have unity”. This makes it clear that we can celebrate traditions and our heritage with God’s blessing. Personally I don’t care if a leader wears a pointy hat, white robe, and walks around with sensors of incense in a lavish Cathedral, or if they dress in a flowered shirt, preach in a stadium in Southern California and play an electric guitar. What I care about is that they preach that justification (redemption) is the result of faith and grace through the blood sacrifice and broken body of Jesus Christ and not by works, (though once justified we are called to do good works and should do them).
Regardless of tradition or style we should preach that the Holy Bible is the inspired inerrant word of God and the closer we can come to obeying its tenants the more peace, love, and joy we will know in this life.
Matthew Henry summed up his analysis of this verse as follows:
“The more they dispute about lesser things, the more they throw doubts upon Christianity. Let us endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, praying that all believers may be more and more united in one mind and one judgment. Thus shall we convince the world of the truth and excellence of our religion, and find sweeter communion with God and his saints.”
I was asked just yesterday, “Okay, say you could get all or most believers to come together and unite, then what?”
Hmmm . . . Fair question indeed, “Then What?”
I would first advise that we look at God’s word in depth. What does the entire verse say? It answers the question of “Why” in this manner: “ . . . so that the world will believe you sent me”. God wants us to go and preach the Gospel and make disciples of every nation; in fact those were the very last words He uttered before ascending into heaven. It is not by chance or choice my friends. We need to unite as brothers and sisters and love each other through the communion of blood and broken body of Christ. Amen!
Romans 12:4
For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.
October 30, 2014 – Click here to listen