Biblical Unity

[00:00:00] This audio sermon is provided by AnabaptistSermons.com and may be freely copied and distributed. You may not sell or edit this sermon. Our prayer is that you would be blessed by this ministry. Greet each one of you in Christ's name. If you would, turn with me to 1 Corinthians. I'll be reading there. I saw this sign up here, and about line 5 it says something like this. I am guided by the word of God. When we are guided by the holy scriptures and God enlightens our minds, our thinking, I think we can be free of worry. [00:00:42] And that was a blessing to me this morning, as well as the rest of the list there. We shouldn't be worrying. God doesn't work that way, I don't think. The title of this message, I've titled it Biblical Unity. And I'm not sure, like I said, I'm not sure if I have much to say, but I think the Word of God has something to say about unity. And my Bible program at home, I looked up unity. And as far as I can tell, there are only three places in all of God's Word that, in the King James Version anyway, that the word unity actually comes up. [00:01:23] And we'll look at some of these. First, let's read 1 Corinthians chapter 1. Begin reading at verse 10 and read maybe to about verse 16. Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you. [00:01:58] Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul, and I of Apollos, and I of Cephas, and I of Christ. Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were ye baptized in the name of Paul? Well, I thank God that I baptized none of you but Crispus and Gaius, lest any should say that I had baptized in my own name. And I baptized also the house of Stephanas. Besides, I know not whether I baptized any other. [00:02:35] It's obvious here that the church at Corinth had become divided on certain issues And the message, I'm not going to be looking at necessarily the issues, but as I studied this, I noticed that in many of Paul's writings, and you can look at it if you would like to, he calls the believers to unity. There was even in the new in the early church. There were problems. There were struggles. There was a lack of unity. But notice in verse 10. Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same things, that there be no divisions among you, that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. [00:03:25] But he's not asking to be, he's not asking to be unified under Paul, and thus the title. Now, maybe I should just sit down and leave it there. But that impressed me. United, who are we united under? We are united under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. It's not me, or Glenn, or Daniel, or Wendell, or any of us, but the Lord Jesus. [00:03:57] And then, when we follow this, we're united. That was very impressive. And I guess the thrust, or the idea for this is that we develop a conviction for unity. That we see it as sin to be a person, or a brother or sister that is sowing discord. Now, let's look a little bit at biblical unity. For every command in the Bible, I shouldn't say maybe for every, but for many commands or for many things in Scripture that we're commanded to do or we're supposed to carry out, [00:04:45] We're asked to. The devil has counterfeit. There's something that appears very similar to that, to the real thing. But when you get up close and you really inspect it, you look at it closely, there's something not quite right with it. I think unity sometimes works the same way, and you may think, well, we'll just leave it, but I think unity goes in a congregation, in the local congregation, unity is beyond just my children are the same age as your children, or we both like to go hunting, or fishing, or we're the same age. [00:05:31] Unity under the Lordship of Jesus Christ is far beyond our interest, far beyond. It should go much deeper. And there has been much effort made in the past and still is today in trying to figure out how we can bring unity. And it's not wrong, I encourage that. That's what I'm here for this morning, to encourage us to try to bring unity. But what I'm going to say here is things that have been done, activities have been planned, people have been divided in different age groups, and the list could go on and on. [00:06:12] But I believe that biblical unity has much more, has little to do with commonalities and much to do with our heart condition. If we are, well let me just say this, if we are all anchored in the same vine, all under the lordship of Jesus Christ, then we have something in common. And there was another, okay, one of the places where you read about unity, and I'll be reading this here a little bit later, is in Ephesians 4, verse 13 has this phrase, [00:06:51] Unity of the faith, again just an expression that we're joined together because of our faith It's not because of what we do Unity, we should be joined in our love for the Lord, in our love for Jesus We should be joined because we have the common interest of serving God with all of our heart and soul and strength. [00:07:28] And you know, this type of unity jumps across all age barriers. It doesn't matter. We don't have to be the same age anymore. We don't have to have a common interest, but we have a common interest in serving the Lord. This type of unity will lay down personal preference for a brother or sister. Where this type of unity is promoted, there is a safe haven for the children of God. [00:08:00] There's a safe haven. But at the same time, biblical unity doesn't compromise truth. In fact, I believe that biblical unity promotes truth. People sharing the word, people getting in the word and their common interest in serving the Lord, it promotes truth. You know, there have been, and I think many of us would realize this, there have been groups that have, well, maybe winked at sin a little bit. [00:08:34] But we just allow this so we can be unified and we can just proceed. But you know what? Almost always it doesn't work. And in the end it doesn't work. And we can be sure that God isn't pleased with that. Unity doesn't necessarily just wink at sin. But our vision for true biblical unity or the emphasis that each one of us as individuals puts on that [00:09:07] will determine the success or the failure of the congregation that we attend. I don't think, I believe it's very personal. It comes right here for each one of us. Our own vision, when we, each one of us, puts places of high value on not only having it, but maintaining it, we can be sure of it. The road may be rough at times, and there may be times when I have to give up, I have to concede, or I may have a personal preference, but we can be sure that God's blessing is resting on that congregation, if there is a high value placed on biblical unity. [00:09:56] Now, I don't care to necessarily look at the negative side of not having unity, but I think we do well to notice some things and it's nothing new what happens if there is no unity. I think many of us have experienced it or have seen it, and Psalms 133 I believe is a verse that many of us know. Verse 1, Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell in unity. [00:10:31] And you know what? I think that God intended for us to have unity, and He wants us to have unity in our brotherhood. I expect him to want that. That's what he planned for us. And it's a blessing for me. I consider myself a young man and I have observed people that have for all of their adult or most of their adult life gone, joined or were with the same congregation, went in and out with the same brothers and sisters and were at peace with each other [00:11:10] and had true biblical unity, that's a blessing. It's not only a blessing for me to observe that, it's a blessing to the congregation, to their children, to the community around them. But when there is no unity, it is the opposite of pleasant. And I think probably in a group this size, there are probably some of us that have experienced Or maybe been part of or observed a setting where there was a lack of unity [00:11:43] And it's unpleasant I think we could say that Now, let me tell you a story And I don't know how this fits in with this message But for some reason I thought about this This came to mind And I'm sure that when I tell you this story You've heard similar things I grew up with driving horses and we had these big draft horses and we could pull as much as a tractor almost. [00:12:19] We could pull a big load. I remembered one instance and I'm not much of an animal lover or a horseman. I never was but nevertheless I was there and I did it. But I remembered one instance where we had a dry creek bed when I was at home and we would go through this dry creek bed and no problem. We'd go through it with the horses and the wagon and no problem. But we had one day, I had a load of wood on the wagon and I was going through this dry creek bed and we got down to the bottom of this thing [00:12:58] and one of the horses decided that he couldn't go anymore. He just, he just, he, and it just didn't work. And I mean, we were at the bottom, there was no backing up and there was no going forward. When one horse went forward, the other one went back and we kept going like this. And if I would have walked on the scene, I probably would have laughed, but it wasn't very funny. I didn't think it was humorous at all. But you know what? Isn't that the way it works when there's no unity? [00:13:32] When you have one person going this way and the other person pulling apart and going back and forth and this person pulls just as hard this way as the other one does this way and it keeps going like that? It's not humorous. And I believe it's serious. Now, that's just one illustration. And illustrations don't go very far sometimes. But, you know, we have to be very careful that we are trying to, attempting to, striving to pull together. [00:14:06] And we can have a tremendous, we're a tremendous force for the kingdom of God when we're trying to pull together. Now, there's many things that happen and there's this thing in a congregation and you'll know the verse that I'm referring to here in Judges back in Judges when every man just did what seemed right in his own eyes [00:14:39] that's just part of a verse Somehow that philosophy just kind of struck me when I was thinking about these horses. One of them thought he could do it. The other one didn't want to do it. And it was their own thinking. I have observed, I think I have, and probably many of you have observed, where that type of thing kept going and kept going and stirring back and forth [00:15:11] until finally there were people that said, that became discouraged in the faith and maybe left the church or there were children caught up in the vacuum. And often there is chaos when there is no unity and there's strong feelings that come to the surface and drive people apart that were once very close. It's a very unfortunate situation, and I'm not speaking as one that has experienced a lot of that, but I think, brothers and sisters, it's very important. [00:15:44] I think it's very important that we try to maintain unity. Now, Jesus prayed in his high priestly prayer for the church in John 17, verse 21 to 23. I think he speaks to this just a little bit. He says this, That they shall be one, as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us, [00:16:14] that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them, that they may be one, even as we are one, I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one, and the world may know that thou hast sent me and hast loved me. There are several things that I noticed when I read that. I always knew it was there, but I didn't read it like this before in light of looking at unity. [00:16:46] That they may be one. I think he is speaking about spiritual, biblical unity. unity there is such a thing as organizational unity and I'm not opposed to organizing I think that's very good it's good that we organize but this is talking about a higher level of unity than just organizational unity we need a higher level of unity when it comes to the things of God [00:17:17] The second thing is that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. Now, sitting in this room, I don't know how many people are in here, but just think about yourself as a missionary. And each one of you has a message and you want, you need to, you're asked to, I think, by the word of God and by the grace of God to carry that message out to the world around you and wherever you rub shoulders. [00:17:53] But you know what? We all have a message, but it's very difficult to present a good message when there is a lack of unity in the church, in the congregation. I'm not saying that it can't be done, but if there is not harmony in the congregation, When there is a lack of unity, we are putting our energy into trying to solve this thing rather than spreading out the way that we should. [00:18:30] And the third thing, verse 22, I believe he speaks to this. He wants his glory to rest on his church. And when we are bickering, when there's murmurings and disputings, the glory of God leaves our congregation. Now those are just some of the things that, random things that came to mind here. And I was going to look at some more things about unity scripture. [00:19:03] Maybe I'll just make mention, there's a lot of things that have been said, and again, things that have been tried, and one of the things that, one saying that I've heard over and over is that we're striving for unity, not uniformity. But somehow, when we have unity, there is at least a measure of uniformity. [00:19:36] And I'm not trying to be argumentative about that. I think there is some truth to that. But let's be very careful how far we take that. You know, there's something distinctly, there's something distinct or distinctly uniform about people of like precious faith. There's a certain quality that just goes with those people. And I think we need to be careful how we handle that. [00:20:08] Now, there are some other scriptures that we could look at as we look at this subject. Maybe I'll just make mention of Acts. And, you know, again, as I looked at this subject and thinking about biblical unity, the early church was, in my mind, I hold the early church up. I think they had, they were filled with the spirit, it was something new, but there were also issues. And I think we can learn much. And I was thinking about Acts, the fourth chapter, when they were so unified, says, and the multitude of them believed were of one heart and one soul. [00:20:58] and it got to the point where they were so together that they were sharing their possessions. And I don't believe that scripture says that we have to do that and yet I think that's part of unity. If I have something and my brother needs something, I have an open hand, we should be watching for those things. It's part of unity. And of course, with unity come accountability and integrity. I believe. You would see that I think if you would study Acts chapter 4. I think I'm going to leave that. I would like to simply look at some ways or consider some ideas that we might entertain in trying to maintain unity. [00:21:47] I believe, and I don't think it's wrong to believe, that if there is a lack of harmony and unity in a congregation or in a family or in a school or wherever you go, it can be restored. It is possible to come back, to come back together and to mend relationships. But, by the same token, and I'm not preaching this message this morning because I see a dire need of this [00:22:18] But I think it's always good for us to consider that it's much easier to maintain or to keep the unity Than it is to try to go after it and bring it back And thus that's, I guess, the inspiration for the message The first one that I thought of in maintaining unity, and it's just a simple little thing. I think all of us have, it's a simple truth that all of us know or have heard from little up, and that's the Golan Rule. [00:22:54] Treating our brothers and sisters the way we would like to be treated. And we could speak for a long time about that. You know what? I think when people from the outside see that type of relationship, the golden rule being followed, it becomes very attractive to them. It becomes a powerful statement to the world around us. And that's not saying that, I don't think the golden rule is saying that you just leave me alone. [00:23:34] because I would rather not have you talk to me about an issue. But the golden rule is a loving way of treating everybody the same. I don't know if that's a good explanation of what I'm trying to say here, but simply this, I think I would want someone, if I was walking the wrong direction, If I was headed for eternal damnation and there was a brother here that had a concern but wouldn't share it, somehow I would feel that he's failing me. [00:24:11] Maybe I wouldn't feel that way at the time, but I think it's important that we are careful with that. The same rule that keeps us from speaking or saying things that are less desirable about others Helps us approach a brother in love, I think I'll just leave that Praying together as a brotherhood Again, if you go back to Acts 4, 31 It says this And when they had prayed, the place was shaken [00:24:42] Where they were assembled together And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and they spake the word of God with boldness they had they were of one mind and praying together as a brotherhood is a blessing you know I've said this and I'll keep saying it probably some more I could not believe when I came here that there were actually places that people gathered on a Wednesday evening for the specific purpose of praying together. [00:25:16] That just blew me away. I hadn't grown up in something like that. And I'm not being critical of where I come from, I think, by saying that. But do we understand, do we recognize, do we cherish the value of praying together? Sometimes it becomes rather routine. But I think it's a blessing that we should promote, should try to be here for, or try to contribute. Wasn't it Brother Melvin Lehman that said this about the Moravian Brethren? [00:25:47] I'm not sure if it was the Moravians or not, but he said they were feuding, they were scrapping, and they weren't getting along. And finally one of them said that, I think we should start a prayer meeting. Didn't that prayer meeting last for a hundred years? I think so. I think there's tremendous power. And I think that if I understand right, I didn't do any research, but if I understand right, the Moravian Brethren had a tremendous impact on the world about them. So I think we should pray as a brotherhood. [00:26:21] I would like to end by reading Ephesians chapter 4. You may turn to that if you like. And I'm going to be reading. This is not all about unity. This has a lot of different things mixed in with this, but I'll just read from verse 1 to 16. It talks about the gifts as well. You may follow along. Maybe I'll have you stand, if you would, for a change of position. As I read Ephesians chapter 4, 1 to 16. [00:26:55] I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that you walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, even as ye are 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 all, in you all. [00:27:26] But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ Wherefore he said when he ascended up on high he led captivity captive and gave gifts unto men Now that he ascended what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens that he might fill all things and he gave some apostles and some prophets and some evangelists and some pastors and teachers [00:28:00] for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body till we all come in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ that we henceforth be no more children tossed to and fro, carried about by every wind of doctrine by the slate of men and cunning craftiness whereby they lie in wait to deceive. But speaking the truth in love may grow up into him in all things which is the head, even Christ, [00:28:34] from whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth according to the effectual working in the measure of every part maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. You may be seated if you like. Paul, I think, had a heart for the church at Ephesus. And if we go back, like I said, not all of this is about unity. [00:29:05] And may I just say about the gifts that he is talking about here. Maybe he was talking about ministers and pastors, and I don't know, I didn't take note of what all he mentioned here. But let me say this. I think there's one thing that all of us should have. There's one gift that all of us have and that's being a peacemaker. That's I think God gave. I think a child of God should be inclined to that. That should just come forth. [00:29:37] Now let's go back for just a little bit. He uses some descriptive words or phrases in verse 2 when he talks about how we should walk. He says with lowliness, and he talks about meekness. How do we walk when we walk with lowliness? I think we have humility, a lack of self-assertiveness, or it has to be my way. And I believe that the meekness he's talking about doesn't mean that we're cowards or too timid to speak the truth, [00:30:15] But rather maybe a spirit that isn't easily offended by a brother or sister I'm not sure if I'm making sense with this But what about long-suffering? You know, some of these words are rather obscure I don't use them in my everyday language anyway But what's the opposite of long-suffering? How do I respond when I am not long-suffering? [00:30:47] You know, my old nature is just right there. When someone says something and all of a sudden it just hits me and I guess we need a longer fuse if that's the way it is. Somehow it's not long-suffering. When we are long-suffering, I think there's times when we turn the other cheek and it doesn't have to be my way and we're at peace with that. Or maybe I'm accused of doing something that I didn't do. [00:31:22] We have to be long-suffering. I think it's essential in promoting unity, forbearing one another. Again, I don't think that if we are forbearing one another, I don't think that we just look the other way when there's sin here, but we do have patience. We need patience. I need patience, first of all. Now, verse 3. Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit. Endeavoring. What does endeavoring mean? Endeavoring. It means, and this is the definition that I found for it, to give diligent or persistent effort. Diligent or persistent effort. [00:32:17] and I think he's giving them the exhortation give persistent effort and he says to keep they had the unity but to keep it and that's the burden on my heart this morning that we would give persistent effort we would do, each one would find it within their heart to diligently seek that unity, peace in the brotherhood. [00:32:49] You know, when we are endeavoring to keep unity, what does that look like? I think we are very careful not to say anything, to wear anything, to do anything that would cause offense in the brotherhood or cause relationships to go bad. It's just beautiful when brothers and sisters have a spirit that when the spirit of God is within [00:33:25] and allows them to work together, the bond of peace. When we have peace in our hearts and with one another, it unifies us. Let me just, I like the verse, the very last verse, I think it was the last one that I read. And I want to end up with this verse here. And I, we're all familiar with verse 16. [00:33:58] I've heard it many times, but I'm going to read it in the New Century version. It's kind of a more everyday language for me. The whole body depends on Christ, and all the parts of the body are joined and held together, and each part does its own work to make the whole body grow and be strong with love. Let me read it again. The whole body depends on Christ and all the parts of the body are joined and held together. [00:34:29] Each part does its own work to make the whole body grow and be strong with love. If each one of us in here this morning utilizes the gift that God has given us and are in harmony with God and the brotherhood, We are promoting growth.