Christian Unity

CHRISTIAN UNITY

 

Recently I read something written by an early Father in the faith, to the Roman Emperor in the second-century. He was describing the believers of that day. He wrote, "They love one another. They never fail to help widows; they save orphans from those who would hurt them. If they have something, they give freely to the man who has nothing; if they see a stranger they take him home, and are happy, as though he were a real brother. They don't consider themselves brothers in the usual sense, but brothers instead through the Spirit, in God." In (Eph 4:6) where Paul is finishing up one of his "long sentences" about keeping the "unity of the Spirit", which he began in verse 4. He states "one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all". This is the key to Christian unity, to realize that we all are children of the same Father. That makes us all brothers in the Spirit, as that early church father stated in the above quotation. Even though we may be divided by all sorts of barriers and differences, deep down we are really all members of the one human family.

 

Paul exhorts us in verse 3 to "keep or (preserve) the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace". We can only keep, or "preserve", something that we already have in our possession. For example we preserve fruit and vegetables from our gardens in the fall, for use later in the winter months. It would seem that the "unity of the Spirit" must be something that becomes ours at salvation, while the "unity of the faith" mentioned in verse 13, is something we come into later. The first must be a gift, while the second is like fruit that comes only with maturity. This corresponds with the "gifts of the Spirit", and the "fruit of the Spirit", which we spoke about in previous articles. We often confuse these two types of unity, although they are clearly not the same. The unity of the faith, in verse 13, is linked with "the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ". This speaks of maturity, which only comes from submission to God appointed, and anointed, servants as mentioned in verses 11-12. The 2 key words here are "equipping" and "edifying", which both have to do with our following faithfully the teaching of these men Jesus gives to the body. Unity among Christians comes from our union with Christ. Unity in spite of our diversity is the most effective witness in this sin-fractured world! Let's start living like those believers in the early church!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer