By: Tyler Montgomery
In the New Testament, Christ established the Church, and after his death and resurrection his disciples were constantly reminding the church of one thing; unity. We can see it begin right there in Acts 2! Starting in verse 40, the Bible reads, “And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, ‘Be saved from this perverse generation.’ Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added TO THEM. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and prayers” (Acts 2:40-42, emphasis TM). The church was unified and established as a unit, not in sections or cliques. They did not all just go off on their own and forget about their newborn brethren. They stayed and fellowshipped as a family, once more showing us our bond! Not only how we should be unified amongst ourselves as the Church, but also be unified with God as His children. Now, what is the point of being unified? Why is it emphasized often in the Scriptures by the writers of the New Testament to be unified? Unity is not only spoken of in the passages quoted, but it is also found at Ephesians 4:11-13, where it speaks of how the different gifts given by Christ were to be used in and for unity. The passage reads, “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 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.” That is why! The Reason for our unity is to measure to the stature of Christ or in other words, to GROW in Christ! But that is not the only use for being unified. Ecclesiastes 4 is one of the best passages to use for unity. It speaks not only of friendship and unity, but of selfishness and loneliness. It shows us the necessity and power of unity! Beginning at verse 5, “The fool folds his hands and consumes his own flesh. Better a handful with quietness than both hands full, together with toil and grasping for the wind” (Ecclesiastes 4:5-6). In verse 4 we are told that these words are speaking of those that are envious of others. In the context it gives us the thought of this man who is envious and letting it build up within himself. Now let us look at it with other notes in play; let us put it in the thought that this man who is envious, and the one who he is envious of, were friends. If they were true friends they would speak to each other. They would not let these envious things get to them. Let us keep reading verse 7 and onward, “Then I returned, and saw vanity under the sun: There is one alone, without companion: He has neither son nor brother. Yet there is no end to all his labors, nor is his eye satisfied with riches. But he never asks, ‘For whom do I toil and deprive myself of good?’ This also is vanity and a grave misfortune” (Ecclesiastes 4:7-8). This passage is just showing us more and more how vain it is to be envious and selfish. It will push those that are close to us away, and we will be lonely. Not only does the author tell us that it is vain, but also a “grave misfortune,” showing us more how hard it is to be without that unity through the text. Continuing on from verse 9, “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up. Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; but how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken” (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12). Look at what good friendship brings! The pure necessity in the words, for who does not need to keep warm? Who does not want to feel safe? Who does not wish for someone to catch them when they stumble or fall? We all need friendship. We all need unity with one another. We, today as the church, have the honor to be able to have a family to be with, not only care to for them but for them to care for us as well. Paul urges us to keep the unity, as he says, “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” (Ephesians 4:1-6, emphasis TM). Through these things we are unified! We as the church were given these things as one. We were all unified by the ONE son, through our ONE, LIKE baptism. We all share ONE faith, and all have our ONE God and Father who is in us all. 1st Corinthians 1:10-17 gives us an amazing example of how we, as the Church, are unified, stating, “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, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgement. For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe’s household, that there are contentions among you. Now I say this, that each of you says, ‘I am of Paul,’ or ‘I am of Apollos,’ or ‘I am of Cephas,’ or ‘I am of Christ.’ Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, lest anyone should say that I baptized in my own name. Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas. Besides, I do not know whether I baptized any other. For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the Gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made no effect.” When you are reading this passage, keep in mind that this was directed to the congregation in the city of Corinth at that time, but it still applies to us today. Let us ask ourselves this question: Is Christ divided? Once again in Ephesians 4:12 it says that spiritual gifts were “…for the edifying of the body of Christ.” Who is the body? Ephesians 4:13 answers, “till WE ALL come to the UNITY of Christ and the knowledge of the son of God, to a perfect man, to the MEASURE OF THE STATURE OF BODY OF CHRIST” (Ephesians 4:13, emphasis TM). We are the body of Christ!! We are the ones who are to measure to His stature! Own up to the name that we bear! We are Christian! We were baptized in His name, we became part of His body, and now it is our mission to be unified and all, as one Church, do as Christ has taught us.