UNITY

8 17 12 UNITY                 

Don’t forget to pray. 

Scripture: Ephesians 4:3-6 (NIV) ³ Make 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 when you were called-- ⁵ one Lord, one faith, one baptism; ⁶ one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

Note: One of the greatest weapons Satan uses against the church is the weapon of disunity. It’s an effective weapon because it is the natural tendency of most people. We all like to have it “our way” but this tendency promotes self and will always lead to disunity. When you are really into promoting self you have little interest in the views or opinions of others and selfishness unchecked leads to self-centeredness; self-centeredness lends itself to a desire to be self-sufficient and self-sufficiency will keep you from acknowledging your deepest need for a Savior. Selfishness is a prideful position and is the opposite of humility which is a characteristic of God. So to act selfishly is to act ungodly. In fact self-centeredness is an attempt by the ungodly to make Christ less than who he really is, the one and only Savior of the world. People act selfishly in order to justify self. 

Whenever you get a group of selfish, self-centered people together you will always have disunity. Our text implies that we as believers are to make every effort to keep the unity of the spirit. There is only one way to do this, we are to submit our will to the way the Holy Spirit and the way of the Holy Spirit will always point to Christ. True unity will never be found in any religion, movement, government, group of individuals or family; it is only found in the body of faith, the Church (the body of believers). 

True unity is seen in the lives of those who have answered the call of Christ and been born again. One of the more obvious ways Spiritual unity is seen in the lives of believers is in the way they respond to the call of God. God’s call is always to obedience, which will lead to peace with others in the body of Christ and as much as possible with those outside the faith. Believers see the source of their unity as Christ and see it as a work of the Spirit. Any success they enjoy is not seen as individual accomplishments but as a result of their oneness “in Christ” with other believers.

In John 17:21 Jesus prayed that his followers would become one as he and the Father were one. This is an essential truth of the Christian faith. The unity of the Spirit is possible only through our willingness to first make peace with God through his Son. Jesus is the unifier of all creation through his death on the cross for the sins of mankind. Our text reveals the importance of unity in the family of God. Notice how often the word “one” is used: one body, one spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all. The body of Christ cannot be divided and continue to be the body of Christ. Any attempt to add to any of these things mentioned above is apostasy. Apostasy will always lead to worldliness and worldliness will always lead to disunity. Disunity will always lead to death, not only now but for all eternity.

I think all of us would agree that we live in a world and in a nation that is more fragmented than at any time in its history. I cannot remember a time in my life when as a nation we have shown such vile racial hatred and disdain for one another, as we do today. The sad part about this statement is it seems there are few among us who are doing what needs to be done for healing to take place in our land. Instead, it seems most are fanning the flames of discord and hatred which is motivated by their selfishness, self-centeredness and a love of self.

Word from the Lord: Beloved, whenever you give yourself over to an attitude of disunity you are giving yourself over to an authority that is not of me. The authority may be secular or religious but if it does not agree with my Word it is an authority that will ultimately be judged and will go down in flames. My unity is seen in the example given to you in Christ, he is one in me and I am one in him. To submit to any other authority is to cut yourself off from the source of life that is available only in Jesus Christ. To experience the unity of the Spirit you must submit yourselves to Jesus Christ as the Lord of Lords and follow him, submitting yourselves to the Word that became flesh, Jesus Christ my Son. Outside of him, outside of me there is no unity and we love you and desire to be one with you.  

Did the Lord speak to you today?  Why not write it down and claim it for His Glory. 

Prayer:  What do you need to pray to the Lord today? Listen to your heart. He loves you!