It’s Jesus’ will that we be in “complete unity” Let’s look again at this
vital subject.
To meditate/pray upon
John 17:23 “…I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought
to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved
them even as you have loved me.”
Philippians
1:27 'Whatever happens,
conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I
come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you
stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the
gospel.'
Being a Christian is to be indwelt by God – “I in them and you in me”.
We have undergone a supernatural transformation in which we become united to
God and one another by the Spirit.
Our unity is not based upon age, class, nationality etc. We are united
in that we share the same Spirit, same Saviour and same heavenly father. We
love one another because each of us is loved in the same way that the Father
loves Christ.
Relational unity is not easy. We are constantly experiencing relational
friction. In reaction to this, some don’t bother being part of a local church
or they move on from church to church with regularity, after the ‘honeymoon’
period!
‘Complete unity’ requires a number of things (as we saw in Philippians
1:27):
•
Unity in salvation -
baptised into Christ
by faith alone
•
Unity of
understanding
- Agreeing on the essentials of faith and practice
•
Unity of purpose -
shared vision as a church
•
Unity of love for one
another
How are you doing at this?
- Do you see your church like a team that you are on, being fully involved and seeking to ‘win’ together?
- Do you argue, unhelpfully, about non-essential issues of the faith?
- Have you put ‘lines in the sand’ about the essentials of faith and practice? Here are a few examples:
o
The Trinity – God is
three and one
o
The bible is God’s
word without error
o
Sexual immorality
(all sex outside of heterosexual marriage) requires church discipline
o
Salvation is by faith
in Christ alone
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