Unity In The Body Of Christ

These are the notes to a Bible Study that I led at the Tuesday Night Bible Study at The Church of Divine Guidance November 14, 2017 on the unity necessary in the Body of Christ for it to be an effective witness to the world and to glorify God.

A couple of weeks ago on the Prayerline Minister Brenda talked about the importance of unity in the Body of Christ  and because I believe strongly in the importance of unity I want to talk about that tonight.  I’m not talking about everybody belonging to the same church or denomination, or agreeing on everything.  I’m talking about a unity of purpose and accomplishment.

Let’s start with a definition of the word unity.

1. the state of being one; oneness.
2. a whole or totality as combining all its parts into one.
3. the state or fact of being united or combined into one, as of the parts of a whole; unification.
4. absence of diversity; unvaried or uniform character.
5. oneness of mind, feeling, etc., as among a number of persons;in one accord, harmony, or agreement.

Psalms 133:1‭-‬3 NKJV Behold, how good and how pleasant it  is For brethren to dwell together in unity! It  is like the precious oil upon the head, Running down on the beard, The beard of Aaron, Running down on the edge of his garments. It  is like the dew of Hermon, Descending upon the mountains of Zion; For there the Lord commanded the blessing— Life forevermore.

The Jewish people sang Psalm 133 to express their joy in coming together for worship at the Temple, where God promised to meet them. The Psalm conveys blessing and life to God's people. And it proclaims a oneness or single mindedness faith.  A major theme in Psalm 133 is unity in God.

Psalms 133:1 NKJV Behold, how good and how pleasant it  is For brethren to dwell together in unity,

Brethren doesn’t mean does not mean blood relatives, it means people joined by God's grace.  It means men and women.  It means citizens of the US, Canadians, Mexicans,  Africans, Asians, short people,  tall people, fat people, skinny people.   In the book the adults are using on Sunday the author writes about a friend that has  listed all the categories of people God loves, beginning with the letter A. God loves artists, astronauts, and aerospace engineers. He loves accordion players, ankle biters, animal rights activists, airplane pilots. He also loves athletes, acrobats, and accountants—even during tax season. God loves people from Alabama, Alaska, Africa, and Albania. God loves absent-minded people; awkward people; assertive, authoritarian people; antisocial people; and aggravating people.
        
How about the B’s? God loves babies, babes, boys, bankers, and band leaders. He loves ballerinas, Bible readers, biology teachers, bird watchers, bus drivers—including the bad ones. God loves bookworms, bachelor's, botanists, bowlers, baby boomers, and boomerang throwers. He loves beekeepers, BBC watchers, blondes, brunettes, and even people with blue hair.

God also loves bores, the beat up, and the burned out. God loves bosses, braggarts,  bag ladies, bartenders, brats, people with braces, Bushmen, and Baptists.

He only went through the “B’s”.  Those are the brethren that are unified in the body of Christ.

 

To  convey the thought of unity David uses the example of two liquids oil and dew.

The first is oil.

Psalm 133:2 (NKJV)2  It is like the precious oil upon the head, Running down on the beard, The beard of Aaron, Running down on the edge of his garments.

This is the fragrant, refreshing oil used to consecrate a priest.  "Moses ordained Aaron to the priesthood by anointing his head with oil,"

Leviticus 8:10-12 (NKJV)10  Also Moses took the anointing oil, and anointed the tabernacle and all that was in it, and consecrated them.11  He sprinkled some of it on the altar seven times, anointed the altar and all its utensils, and the laver and its base, to consecrate them.12  And he poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron's head and anointed him, to consecrate him.

This wasn’t a small amount of oil on his fingers or poured into his hands this oil which was very precious and expensive was poured on Aaron's head so much so that it ran down his beard and onto the the collar of his robe. "The generous quantity of oil adds to the picture of the community gathering as 'a sweet pleasant time together.'"

When I was ordained Pastor poured the oil on my head so much so that I thought it was going to get on my new white suit.

For Christians, the oil signifies worship, and celebration in unity. Christians are unified in Christ.  God brings people together no matter who they are.  It’s as if the Holy Spirit anointing is poured out in abundance on the entire Church at the American time and baptizes us in it.

Galatians 3:26-28 (NKJV)26  For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.27  For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.28  There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

We'll talk about that a little later.

The second liquid in Psalm 133 is the "dew of Hermon"

Psalm 133:3 (NKJV)  It is like the dew of Hermon, Descending upon the mountains of Zion; For there the LORD commanded the blessing-- Life forevermore.

Mount Hermon is north of Jerusalem and rises above the upper Jordan Valley. It had its share of heavy rainfall and snow. The melting snow, or dew, flowed down into the valley.  In arid country, where the rain is scarce and the rivers dry up, the land and the people depend on water that comes from a distant source. It is the scarcity of water in the drylands, which makes Mount Hermon's dews so precious.

Like the oil that flows down the beard of Aaron, the dew of Mount Hermon reaches far beyond its point of origin and gives life to faraway lands. God's calls people to worship. And in worshiping this God of abundant life and love, we become one family no matter where or who we are.

What Makes Unity Christian?

That is from Psalms which is Old Testament and was really written for the Jews when they went to worship.  The Jews while all coming from one father, Jacob, were very different.  You can see that from Jacob’s final blessing before he died.  You can find that in Genesis chapter 49.  Although they were very different this Psalm says when they come together in worship it’s like the precious oil and dew that flows and gathers at one final place and that was in God’s presence at the temple.  

The Church, the Body of Christ has become spiritual Israel

Galatians 3:16 NKJV Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as of many, but as of one, “And to your Seed,” who is Christ.

Now go back to that Scripture we read before in

Galatians 3:26-28 (NKJV)26  For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.27  For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.28  There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

So the same concept of unity applies to us with all our differences.  

 So let’s go;

Ephesians 4:1-6 (NKJV)1  I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called,2  with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love,3  endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.4  There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling;5  one Lord, one faith, one baptism;6 God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

Christian unity in the New Testament gets its goodness from a combination of its source, beliefs, love for each other, and its ultimate goals.

The Source of Unity

The Holy Spirit

Ephesians 4:3 (NKJV)3  endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.  

The Holy Spirit is the one that causes unity to happen.  When we confess Jesus as Lord and receive the gift of salvation we are saved as an individual.  At that very instant the Holy Spirit  baptises us into the Body

1 Corinthians 12:12-13 (NKJV)12  For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ.13  For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body--whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free--and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.

Notice that we “all” have been baptized by the Spirit—all believers have received the baptism, synonymous with salvation, and it is not a special experience for only a few.  This makes it perfectly clear that all those who have been saved have been.  Nowhere in Scripture are believers told to be baptized with, in or by the Spirit, or in any sense to seek the baptism of the Holy Spirit. What Scripture says is that we are to seek the filling of the Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 5:18‭-‬21 NKJV And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God.

But that is another Bible Study.  Tonight we are talking about unity.  The bottom line is that the source of Christian unity is the Holy Spirit.

The Beliefs of Unity

The unity that the Body of Christ seeks is unity of the truth which is found in faith and knowledge of the truth which is the Word of God.  Jesus said that that truth not only make us unified but free.  

John 8:30-32 (NKJV)30  As He spoke these words, many believed in Him.31  Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.32  And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."

Since all believers believe that the Word of God is the source of all truth

Psalms 119:142 NKJV  Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, And Your law is  truth.

II Timothy 3:16‭-‬17 NKJV All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

When we all acknowledge and follow that truth it unifies us we will all be like minded.  

Philippians 2:1-4 (NKJV)1  Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy,2  fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.3  Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.4  Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.

Romans 15:1‭-‬6 NKJV  We then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification. For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me.” For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus, that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

When Paul talked about the spiritual gifts he said that the apostles, prophets,evangelists, and pastors and teachers were to equip the Body until we all  come into the unity that comes with faith and knowledge.

Ephesians 4:11-13 (NKJV)11  And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,12  for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,13  till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;

So that everything is unified in Christ.  

The Love of Unity

Unifying love in the body of Christ includes a rugged commitment to do good for the family of God whether you feel like it or not.

Galatians 6:10 NKJV Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.

Romans 12:10‭-‬13 NKJV Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.  

I Peter 1:22‭-‬25 NKJV Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, because “All flesh is as grass, And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, And its flower falls away, But the word of the Lord endures forever.” Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you.

I Peter 3:8‭-‬12 NKJV Finally, all of  you  be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing. For “He who would love life And see good days, Let him refrain his tongue from evil, And his lips from speaking deceit. Let him turn away from evil and do good; Let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord  are on the righteous, And His ears are  open to their prayers; But the face of the Lord  is against those who do evil.”

John 13:34‭-‬35 NKJV A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.  By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

We know that the Body of Christ is very diverse; it’s made up of all kind of people and cultures.We may not agree on a variety of subjects including the we we interpret certain Scriptures, practices, or traditions.  However we are called to have a brotherly affection for everybody period.

This unifying love is the agape kind of love we’ve talked about before.  Then kind of love that God has for mankind, unconditional love. As difficult as it is at times we are to still have it.   

The Goals  of Unity

Unity in the Body of Christ has at least two goals.

1. To witness to the world

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.  By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:34‭-‬35 NKJV

In a Bible Study that I did we talked about the 17th chapter of John being one of Jesus prayers.  In it he prayed for Himself, the disciples that were with Him at the time, and for those who would believe on Him after He was crucified, resurrected and ascended back to heaven.

In that prayer He prayed about the kind of unity that comes from the unity between Jesus and the Father and that flows down to those that He chose out of the world, the disciples that were with Jesus.

John 17:20‭-‬21 NKJV “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word;  that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.

The witness to the world is that the disciples are in the Father and the Son so that the world might believe.

While Unity Also Diversity

1 Corinthians 12:12‭-‬26 NIV Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.  Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body.  The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

Something that I found from a man by the name of Francis Schaeffer;.

It is in the midst of a difference that we have our golden opportunity. When everything is going well and we are all standing around in a nice little circle, there is not much to be seen by the world. But when we come to the place where there is a real difference, and we exhibit uncompromised principles but at the same time observable love, then there is something that the world can see, something they can use to judge that these really are Christians, and that Jesus has indeed been sent by the Father.

God’s purpose for this unity is for there to be only one Body.

When the Jewish leaders were trying to figure out what to do with Jesus the high priest at the time actually prophesied that this would happen.

John 11:49‭-‬52 NKJV And one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all, nor do you consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish.” Now this he did not say on his own authority; but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, and not for that nation only, but also that He would gather together in one the children of God who were scattered abroad.

Years later Paul in a letter to the church in Ephesus wrote;

Ephesians 4:1‭-‬6 NKJV  I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There  is one body and one Spirit, just as you were 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.

2.  Glory of God

The ultimate aim of Christian unity is the glory of God.

John 17:22‭-‬23 NKJV And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one:  I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.  

How do we do that?  Follow Christ’s example

Philippians 2:5‭-‬11 NKJV Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and  coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the  point  of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Romans 15:1‭-‬7 NKJV We then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification. For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me.” For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus, that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore receive one another, just as Christ also received us, to the glory of God.

We follow Jesus’ example so that we build each other up so that we are all united so that we can all glorify God in one mind.  That doesn’t mean that we just put up with each other.  But that we all have a single mindedness that goes beyond our differences resulting in the kind of love for each other that people will know that we are Jesus’ disciples and we can introduce new people to the faith bringing glory to God.  That is the ultimate goal of our unity.  

Here are some principles we must live by as a church:

We must try to understand and respect where others are coming from rather than trying to convince them why we are right and they are wrong.When we are not convinced in our own minds that something is right for us to do, we should not do it.

When we are confronted by other believers that have strict rules for themselves, we should modify the expression of our freedom according to the demands of love, remembering that while liberty is wonderful, love is even greater.

Lastly, we must always remember that the spiritual health of the Body is far more important than our personal rights or preferences.

If you find yourself complaining or arguing often with others in the Body, that’s a good sign that something is off within your heart. Our aim should be to contribute in a positive way to the Body of Christ, aiding in its unity, love, and impact on the world. We must constantly guard against the cancer of self-centeredness and pride