Unity in Christ

"Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity." (Psalms 133:1)

I haven't always feel led to speak what God has laid on my heart, especially from the pulpit. However I want to be more responsive to the leading of the Spirit and as I've matured I've begun feeling a longing in my heart to be ready for when the Spirit does lead me. Continually I pray for God to impress on me what He wants me to say, fully expecting an answer. I wasn't surprised then when Psalms 133:1 was laid on my heart recently or not long after that when the verses Phil 2:3-4 and Psalms 127:1 were also impressed on me.

Perhaps I'm the only one that sees a particular theme in these scriptures, but I'm drawn to one concept, unity. I am left with a question though, what kind of unity are we expected to achieve?

The first thing that comes to my mind is doctrinal unity. We all believe that the Bible is God's infallible Word, but in each of our own local churches a wide range of beliefs and doctrinal stances abound. In just my own church, scriptural interpretation varies so much that the thought of complete doctrinal unity seems almost absurd. Furthermore, if a church can't achieve this unity, how could an entire fellowship of churches be expected to? I know that Paul told the Corinthians that one day we shall know even as we are known and that is wonderful(I Cor. 13:12). The only problem with this verse is that it has not been fulfilled yet, and right now we don't .

So if the scripture isn't talking about a unity of understanding, what is it referring to? Certainly not to something as mundane as personal preferences, our own likes and dislikes. Whether this applies to styles of worship, what types of music blesses you, whether or not you relate to a certain speaker, how long the services are, when they start, their frequency or any of a non-ending list of the aspects of our shared church experience, to think that we could ever be 100% in one accord and one mind when it comes to them makes the previous thought of doctrinal unity look like a breeze.

Does it seem to you to be a failure or weakness that our very diversity creates an inability for us to be unified in this way? Consider that there do seem to be some churches that manage a semblance of this type of unity, at least it appears that way to a casual observer. I submit that it is actually a blessing from God for our church that we have been kept from achieving this. I've seen churches that have attained this, but only because they focus so much on their doctrine, or their service structure, or their music, or their special programs, or guest speakers or whatever that they have lost their focus on Christ, some it seems permanently. As a result these groups have grown into stoic organizations and have ceased being New Testament churches. "Except the LORD build the house, they labor in vain that build it."

The fatal flaw with trying to base a unity on any of these things is that they all contain a human element which we refer to as carnality. What is doctrine except man's understanding of the scriptures? Aren't music and speaking styles really just an artifice created by men? Aren't things as arbitrary as service length, frequency and structure not set for the convenience of men? Even the modern structures that we call churches are constructed to service men not God. It's not because of what we can bring to the table that God blesses these things, He blesses us based on His love. How can we expect a church that is founded on carnal structures to be anything other than a carnal church?

So if by design we can't bring about unity on our own, where does it come from? Phrased that way the answer is apparent, but occasionally I like to be indulged, so I will continue. Since unity doesn't come from us, it must come from somewhere else. This unity that it is so blessed for us to dwell in of course comes from God.

These verses are extolling us to live in a unity of the Spirit. The thing about this type of unity is that I've experienced it before, we all have. I don't know if I could put it any better than the writer of this old spiritual did:

Let us walk in the Spirit,
And talk in the Spirit,
Let's be filled with the Spirit of God,
If we live in the Spirit,
And are led by the Spirit,
We'll be the children of God.

Walk, talk, live and be led; that's a high calling indeed.

Let the children of God be filled with His Spirit. Truly that's my prayer today, and the burden that's been laid on my heart. I can't adequately describe how heavy this is weighing on me right now, even as I'm writing this. I keep stopping every few sentences and pray for my church family for a greater outpouring of His Spirit. I sit here holding back the tears as I plead for God to send more and more and more of His Spirit. Maybe I'm failing in etiquette and decorum for not asking for just enough to sustain us, but I won't be dissuaded. I'm pleading for more of the Spirit than we've ever had before. I want to be overflowing, bursting at the seams, overjoyed, and to have so much of the Spirit that we can't hardly stand it any more, and then after that I want just a bit more. I want us to be out in over our heads, with no end in sight and to be going home from services tired and refreshed all at the same time. I'm praying for this kind of outpouring for our group now.

Two songs say so eloquently what I'm hoping for in our group. First in Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus, we're told that "the things of Earth will grow strangely dim", and in Until Then we hear that "these things of Earth are going to dim and lose their value." I'm looking for a little dimming to happen soon among God's people. Whether they are valuable things or just concerns, may we lose our focus on them, and get a renewed desire to set our affections on things above, not on things below (Col 3:2). You see, it's just not possible to keep our eyes on Jesus and on ourselves at the same time. Vision has always been fundamental to our movement and it occurs to me that having a Vision might have something to do with what we choose to focus our vision on.

Finally, its my hope that I'm not carrying this burden alone. I wouldn't want to think that I'm the only person that sees a need for more of the Spirit in our lives. Assuming I'm not, I'm asking you to join me in praying for our churches.