how important is unity?
John 17 seems to be the last thing to be restored. It was the first thing that the early church was filled with. How can we ignore unity?
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Permalink Reply by Dena Brehm on -
Could it be that it was restored, even as it was prayed (for how could God not answer God's prayer...?), but that each of us needs to have our minds renewed, so that we can personally experience the One who's in our heart..?
For, as a man thinks in his heart, so is he... and if we believe oursleves separated from God, or separated from each other, wouldn't that falsehood become our experienced reality...?
The stuff that's in the way of unity (or anything else God has fulfilled), seems to be between our ears.
AISI, anyway.
Shalom, Dena
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Permalink Reply by andrew zoppelt on -
Dena,
That is not the unity Jesus was talking about. That is a unity in theory and not a unity in practice. A house divided cannot stand. we have taken Jesus’ body, divided it, named it and fight, in subtle ways, to get the sheep to come to "our:" church.
When Paul rebuked the Corinthians for on being of Paul, another being of Apollos and another being of Peter, he didn't call for a unity in a kind of mental assenting believing, he called for a unity as Jesus commanded.
I have been a Pastor for 35 years, division is so normal, one cannot conceive of the world seeing our unity and love and speaking of it, something the world saw in the early believers. I can’t say how many times I have the world say, “who is right, they all fight with one another.” I had a atheist tell me, “Andy we don’t have to do anything, you are killing one another.” In many of the foreign countries where there is unity, there is power.
Jesus prayed for unity on the level between He and the Father, that is something we have drifted further and further away in the 2000 years of men’s added traditions.
Andy
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Permalink Reply by Connie on -
http://scriptures.lds.org/en/john/17
Unity in doctrine prevents dog fight. Not until Jesus comes again will the people unite, and it will be interesting to watch it all play out.
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Permalink Reply by Ryan Huling on -
unity is a prerequisite for salvation according to the passage in John. Jesus prays for unity of all those who will believe in him. so the world will believe in him. when believers in are truly unified those outside the church will take notice and come to belief. The many calls to fulfill the great commission by many pastors seem to leave this important point out. Unity in the body of Christ brings about salvation. seems to me that the church needs to be focused on unity. unity of relationships with God and with one another. to learn how to truly love God and each other. put in another way: people will know disciples of Christ by their love for one another. So, in reality unity is everything.
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Permalink Reply by Dena Brehm on
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Oh, I know ... we were part of the clergy-system, too. Having been excommunicated and shunned (because we were pointing out abuses against the "sheep"), I know how division feels. Been on both sides of that ugliness.
It also troubles me that Christians set themselves up as exclusionists as well ... much like the Judaizers did, we say, "if you want a piece of Jesus, you have to do it our way - you have to join our club."
Perhaps our exclusionist mindset sets us up to not experience unity, much less to be able to promote it.
I've experienced unity when two or more put aside the things they *believe* divide them from another (usually some form of pride), and then find true peace and unity that Jesus has made available (it's there; our stuff's in the way). It's the living-out of the symbolic prophecy that the wolf will lie down with the lamb. Former "enemies" put aside their "stuff" and discover that they can be at peace, and in unity.
It's a beautiful thing...
Shalom, Dena
andrew zoppelt said:Dena,
That is not the unity Jesus was talking about. That is a unity in theory and not a unity in practice. A house divided cannot stand. we have taken Jesus’ body, divided it, named it and fight, in subtle ways, to get the sheep to come to "our:" church.
When Paul rebuked the Corinthians for on being of Paul, another being of Apollos and another being of Peter, he didn't call for a unity in a kind of mental assenting believing, he called for a unity as Jesus commanded.
I have been a Pastor for 35 years, division is so normal, one cannot conceive of the world seeing our unity and love and speaking of it, something the world saw in the early believers. I can’t say how many times I have the world say, “who is right, they all fight with one another.” I had a atheist tell me, “Andy we don’t have to do anything, you are killing one another.” In many of the foreign countries where there is unity, there is power.
Jesus prayed for unity on the level between He and the Father, that is something we have drifted further and further away in the 2000 years of men’s added traditions.
Andy
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Permalink Reply by andrew zoppelt on
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“If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” Ps 11:3, NKJV
Too often the new saint meets the Lord (like I did 45 years ago) and finds himself or herself in a group that is building on a limited foundation; a foundation minus: sacrificial love, a unity that flows from the heart of Jesus, power of God, the supernatural manifestation of true body ministry, the seeing God’s eternal purpose and a building on the foundation of Jesus and His apostles.... simple church or called out one in devotion to one another
There were several unique things we find with those early saints in the book of Acts: We find an unsectarian love, fellowship, and unity of all the saints within a given city. No group saw themselves functioning or being separated from the local and translocal body of Christ. Their leaders were committed to a complete unity and dependence on others within the body. Their love and faith was demonstrated and manifested to the world around them. Most saints were converted because of the power present in their midst, they had a dependence on the supernatural. They didn’t resort to teachings, convention or information as the primary means of relating, but the power of God. They were the manifestation of the Kingdom of God and built their lives solely on the commands of Jesus and His apostles. They were truly followers committed to Jesus. They gave unilaterally to the poor, shared their possessions and met in both small and large gatherings. The only name they met under was the name of Jesus; no one ran off with a piece of Christ’s body and then further establishing divisions by giving it a name that separated them from others. They were clearly identified by love, unity and power. It was evident that God was with them confirming His word by signs and blessing that followed.
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Permalink Reply by Tom LeCompte on -
I love the 17th chapter of John and Jesus' prayer for all of us. In this prayer, unity is not the only thing he prayed for.
Before he prayed for all of us to be one, he also prayed, "Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth." (17) God's people are to be set apart and holy before God. Our holiness is rooted in the truth of God's Word. There is no holiness apart from the truth of God's word. There is no other truth but God's truth.
Jesus also prayed, "As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world." (18) As believers in Christ, we are messengers. We are ambassadors on behalf of God. We all have a mission and that is to proclaim Him and His Kingdom to a dying world.
Finally, Jesus prayed, "...that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me." (21) I agree with you Andrew that the early church was unified in their beliefs and purpose and they were able to turn the world upside down in their own time. They were united in knowing and declaring the truth of God's Word.
I see this as a perfect triangle: Unity, Holiness, and Mission. Our challenge as the Church and as individual believers is to maintain a perfect tension between these three concepts and stay centered in that triangle. If we lean towards any one of these three corners, we neglect the other two and throw off our balance.
For example: We can be excited about mission and go to the ends of the earth with zeal. But if we neglect the truth of God's word, we have an unholy message. If we don't practice unity with the Church (the whole church), then our message is confused and unattractive to those who need to hear it.
If we lean toward Holiness and neglect the other two, we become legalistic and inward looking. In our legalism, we will tend to exclude those who disagree with us. We may be holy, but not very salty. Because we want to maintain our holiness, we won't want to get our hands dirty by taking our message to an unholy world.
If all we care about is unity, then the danger is that we will include everyone and everything into our fellowship, regardless of what they believe. Mission then, becomes unimportant because it may divide us between those who know God and those who don't.
The easiest thing for most of us is to lean towards one of these corners. The challenge for all of us is to hold all three in healthy and biblical tension.
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Permalink Reply by Ryan Huling on
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It seems to me that the only way to stay centered is to maintain a vibrant relationship with Jesus. If we truly love Jesus we will love others in the body and outside of the body. I don't think it needs to be much more complex than that. Learning to love God with all we have is a life long endeavor to be sure as well as loving others as ourself is. To the level that we stay close to Christ in our lives is the level of effectiveness our life will have. What others need is Christ and we must endeavor to really have him in order to have anything to offer others. Tom LeCompte said:I love the 17th chapter of John and Jesus' prayer for all of us. In this prayer, unity is not the only thing he prayed for.
Before he prayed for all of us to be one, he also prayed, "Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth." (17) God's people are to be set apart and holy before God. Our holiness is rooted in the truth of God's Word. There is no holiness apart from the truth of God's word. There is no other truth but God's truth.
Jesus also prayed, "As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world." (18) As believers in Christ, we are messengers. We are ambassadors on behalf of God. We all have a mission and that is to proclaim Him and His Kingdom to a dying world.
Finally, Jesus prayed, "...that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me." (21) I agree with you Andrew that the early church was unified in their beliefs and purpose and they were able to turn the world upside down in their own time. They were united in knowing and declaring the truth of God's Word.
I see this as a perfect triangle: Unity, Holiness, and Mission. Our challenge as the Church and as individual believers is to maintain a perfect tension between these three concepts and stay centered in that triangle. If we lean towards any one of these three corners, we neglect the other two and throw off our balance.
For example: We can be excited about mission and go to the ends of the earth with zeal. But if we neglect the truth of God's word, we have an unholy message. If we don't practice unity with the Church (the whole church), then our message is confused and unattractive to those who need to hear it.
If we lean toward Holiness and neglect the other two, we become legalistic and inward looking. In our legalism, we will tend to exclude those who disagree with us. We may be holy, but not very salty. Because we want to maintain our holiness, we won't want to get our hands dirty by taking our message to an unholy world.
If all we care about is unity, then the danger is that we will include everyone and everything into our fellowship, regardless of what they believe. Mission then, becomes unimportant because it may divide us between those who know God and those who don't.
The easiest thing for most of us is to lean towards one of these corners. The challenge for all of us is to hold all three in healthy and biblical tension.
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Permalink Reply by Steve Queen on -
The following scriptures shed some valuable light on the subject of unity:
John 17:23
23 I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
Rom 12:16
16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.
Rom 15:5-6
5 May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, 6 so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Rom 16:17-19
17 I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. 18 For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people. 19 Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I am full of joy over you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil.
Phil 2:1-4
2:1 If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
James 3:16
16 For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.
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1Cor. 1.10 I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. TNIV
1Cor. 1.10 I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought. NIV
1Cor. 1.10 Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree, and there be no divisions among you, but you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment. NASB
• Unity Of Purpose Overcomes Petty Differences:
Matt 28:19-20
19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
John 17:22-23
22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: 23 I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
These scriptures make plain that Jesus want us to make disciples – that is THE purpose for the Church, the Body of Christ for all time. Further, God’s glory among us enables us to be one. Our unity (of heart, of purpose, of action) will tell the world clearly that Jesus was sent by God and loves the people around us. How will the lost people around us see that? As they see the reality of Christ living in us and through us toward each other AND AND AND as we share that reality with people in our sphere of influence (this is reaching the lost, expanding the Kingdom).
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Permalink Reply by Tim Mather on -
It has been my experience that, since our perspectives are so diverse, our idea of unity is skewed by our understanding. I was pastoring when the whole reconciliation and unity movement was introduced. My takeaway from those years is this:
Unity is an aberration.
For the most part, people who purport unity are damaged from abuses within the family, the church, and/or society in general. Their damage demands absolute peace and harmony, which is their interpretation of unity. They can’t take controversy or disagreement, since it does not fit in their safe little world.
Therefore, the prerequisite for unity becomes uniformity – uniformity in doctrine, in relationship, and in worldview. I found (and still find) this view detestable.
That’s why all these discussions about doctrine are (in my own view, of course) worthless. In the kingdom of darkness thinking, the only thing that will overcome a good idea is a better one. However, we live in the upside down Kingdom, and here the only thing that will change one’s good idea is love. So, debates about words and phrases and tenses and historical contexts are NOT the way to settle disputes.
This is why the whole idea of living in the upside down Kingdom is so exasperatingly difficult: It’s too simple. We love to complicate stuff because it feeds the ego. Watching my pastoral colleagues fighting about unity during those years was laughable. They were all committed to unity, as long as it looked like THEIR tradition. HA!
Unity is as simple as the picture Paul gave us in I Corinthians 12:12 – The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. It seems to me that diversity is the key to unity. Without diverse doctrines, concepts of relationship, and worldviews we are enslaved by the demand for uniformity. So, we pride ourselves by forming little clusters of clones (we call them denominations) – all the ears meeting together, the feet band, the hand denomination gathered to repel the other “heretics.”
Watch the simplicity: The perspective of a foot will NEVER, EVER match that of an ear! Did I remember to say NEVER? What about the appendix as opposed to a finger? Do you think they could ever settle a debate by making the other “see it from my perspective?”
(WARNING: Mixed metaphors ahead) It’s like being married. Anyone who has been married for than fifteen minutes knows that Father’s view of unity and intimacy is to make two completely opposing species hot for each other. In fact, we can’t seem to live without them – and they will never see anything from our side.
Here’s one to upset the stabilizers: Jesus is the Prince of Peace and He brought a sword!
"Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn" `a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law--a man's enemies will be the members of his own household.' Matthew 10:34-36.
Being ONE simply means not being fearful of opposing views, loving one another anyway, kinda like loving my wife even though she is an alien.
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Permalink Reply by Cindy Skillman on -
There are plenty of picky little doctrinal things that, although they do matter, we can't truly say that we know for certain. The nature and timing of the catching up of the church (popularly called the rapture) is a biggie, and then there is the argument over whether people who die in their sin are separated from God because of all their sins, or only because of the sin of not believing in Jesus. And of course, there's the perennial argument over the quality and color of carpet for the new fellowship hall and who gets to decide where the Christmas tree will sit this year. None of these things should divide us, but there are some things that are important.
So, which opposing views are we supposed to ascribe to? How about "all roads lead to God" or "truth is relative" or "the bible is 100% true, and some of it actually happened"? What about the virgin birth, the deity of Christ, the blessed hope of His returning? Are these essential doctrines, or are they all nothing in the face of the all loving God?
I'd have to agree with Tom, as I think his analysis of the situation is one of the best I've heard. Paul was big on unity--Big. But Paul was pretty intolerant of any gospel besides or in addition to the one he preached, and he had a hard time reconciling himself to sin in the body as well. Could it be that purity of doctrine, or at least being pointed in somewhat the right direction, as well as holy living, is important to unity? You know what you get when you mix anything and everything together in a watercolor painting? Mud. Just ugly, muddy mud that communicates nothing to the viewer and inspires no one. It does matter what we mix in. If we want our lives to paint a clear picture of our Messiah, then our lives must look like Jesus--that would be the Jesus in the bible, not some impostor Jesus or some "other manifestation or messenger of God" such as Mohammed or Buddha or Krishna, etc.
God bless,
Cindy
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Permalink Reply by andrew zoppelt on
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For some 30 plus years as a pastor (we meet in a house for some 10 years), I have challenged numerous pastors, house church leaders on the question of unity… the excuses are amazing. Things like, “do we unite with the Jehovah witness, Catholics????” “What doctrine do we accept and do we compromise truth for unity?” “Where do we start?”
I am convinced the first thing we need to do is what we do with all sin and that is first to confess division as a sin. The second thing would be to repent and cry out to God for help! But then, if we did that we would be admitting that we have polluted His body with our names and divided groups. According to scriptures, I think scriptures are important; division is heresy… in fact the word heresy is a Greek word meaning a party spirit or division.
Romans 16:17 Now I URGE YOU, brethren, NOTE those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine (being one body, maintaining the unity is the true doctrine of Jesus and the apostles) which you learned (from Jesus and the apostles), and AVOID THEM.” Is unity important?… it was so with the apostles.
II Th 3:5, 14-15, “Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw yourselves from every brother that walks disorderly, and not after the tradition which they received of us [was unity a tradition?]… If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of him. Do not associate with him, in order that he may feel ashamed. Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.”
We are command in the name of Jesus to do these things: Withdraw ourselves…Take special not of him… Do not associate with him… Do not regard him as an enemy…Warn him as a brother.
We have traded power for programs. We have seen every movement under the sun to restore the church, but we have not see the unity of the body of Christ… that will take tears, humbling and every man giving up that which is built around him. But to us we are not concerned and do not have any fear whatsoever.
1 Corinthians 1:10-13 “Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be NO divisions among you [we have thousands and new ones each day], but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. For it has been reported to me concerning you, my brothers, by those who are from Chloe's household, that there are contentions among you. Now I mean this, that each one of you says, "I follow Paul," "I follow Apollos," "I follow Cephas," and, "I follow Christ." Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized into the name of Paul?”
This is the strongest exhortation one can give: ‘‘in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” In that way if you reject the admonition given here you are rejecting Christ’s and His authority and His word through the Apostle Paul..
Acts 20:29-31 For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the [one] flock [belong to Jesus, with no name but His name… His bride]. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves [this is what every leader in America does…he has his own disciples captivated under his name]. Therefore watch [anybody watching?], and remember, that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears.
“Purchased with His own blood” The church comes with a high price tag and those that oversee it should not take it lightly. “Salvage wolves,” sounds strong, but a salvage wolf tears the carcass of its pray with its mouth, When a leader tears and divides the blood bought body of Christ he leaves the carcass for Satan to finish. Such leaders are a disgrace and an anathema to the love of God and His Body. You say, “Andy, that is strong words.” Buy how do you account for the devastation of division, millions going to hell, the sick not being healed because we are planting our own churches under some corporate name.
1 Cor 11:27-31, “27 Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. 30 For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep”
Every time we take communion, we are guilty of the body and blood of Jesus, because we have not discerned “the Lord’s body.”
Jesus put it another way, “He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters (divides) abroad.” Matt 12:30
Titus 3:9-11--Paul said, "Avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law [our list of inferior doctrine compared to love and unity]; for they are unprofitable and vain. A man that is a heretic [false teacher], after the first and second admonition, reject, knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sins, being condemned of himself."
Heresy according to Strong Greek Dictionary means “properly, a choice, i.e. (specially) a party or (abstractly) disunion”
Heresy is “an opinion, especially a self-willed opinion, which is substituted for submission to the power of truth, and leads to division and the formation of sects.” (from Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words)
1 Cor 3:17, “If anyone defiles (division is defiling) the temple of God (Jesus’ body), God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you [plural] are.”
Repentance will only come from a true fear of God, lukewarmness has need of nothing!
Andy
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