Unity, being together as one. Some synonyms for unity are agreement and harmony. In Ephesians chapter 4 Paul is writing to teach the church at Ephesus that they are to be united for one purpose and because of one man. In verse 1 he begs them to walk worthy of their calling by Jesus Christ. They are to come together to represent Him to a lost world. In verse 2 he tells them to do this in lowliness of mind, or rather humility. They are to be meek, to keep themselves under control, and not to be selfish and domineering. They are to love one another with genuine love not finding faults and using those as an occasion to cause strife or act in an unloving way.
In Ephesians 4:3 Paul says to endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit. To endeavor is to give it everything we must keep the unity. It is living in a selfless way with those God has brought into the family. We are not all going to like the same things or think the same way, but unless our likes and thinking are contrary to the word of God, we need to be willing to yield our desires to keep the peace in the church. One of the worst testimonies for Christ is for a church to be disgruntled with one another. If these attitudes are not handled with love in the church soon all around will know of members being against members. I have heard many unsaved people use this as an excuse to not go to church. How awful will it be to stand before God with others’ blood on our hands because we refused to yield in things that were a matter of preference rather than right and wrong?
Ephesians 4:1-3 “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; Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
We need to understand that we are one body in Christ. We have one purpose and that is to glorify our God. We are to win others to Him and disciple them. We have one Lord over all of us. He is the Lord of everything, even those who don’t know Him. We have one faith. There is only one way to Heaven and that is through Jesus, God’s only Son. One of the ways that a new believer is to proclaim his faith to others and to identify himself with Jesus as Lord of his life is through baptism. Our baptism is in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We are unified in the body.
Ephesians 4:4-7 “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. But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.”
Paul tells the church at Corinth and the church at Rome the same biblical truth. We are all to be unified into one body. While we each serve different roles because God designed each of us with different abilities, different strengths, and weaknesses, we come together to make one complete body. Just as the hand cannot perform the duties of the eye and the eye can’t be the hand so is it with the members of the body of Christ. It takes all of us, each doing our part.
I Corinthians 12:12 “For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many.”
God never intended for there to be different denominations or separation of believers. That comes because of the pride and selfishness of man. When he talks about one body, He is speaking of all believers that are truly followers of Jesus Christ. We need to function universally as one body, and locally as one body. It is vital to the health of the church, and to your own well-being that we each are involved in a local body of Christ.
Romans 12:4-5 “For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and everyone members one of another.”
So which member of the body are you? Are you doing all you can to promote the church in your town or neighborhood? Are you a poor testimony to those around you, grumbling and complaining about things you don’t like in the church? Think about it, if everyone sought to be as unified as you do, would the church be healthy or sick and anemic in its influence?
