The New Testament is brimming with calls and commands for unity. In fact, it is difficult to find a value more highly prized. The unity that Jesus and the apostles call for is deeply rooted in the relationship between Jesus and his Father. The following verses illustrate the kind of unity modeled by the Lord and expected of his Church.
Jesus’ most straightforward assertion comes in John chapter ten, “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30). Later, Jesus says his miracles are evidence of his unity with his Father, “Believe the miracles, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I am in the Father” (John 10:38). Elsewhere, he says, “Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? It is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves” (John 14:10-11).
In what is called Jesus’ “high priestly prayer” in John 17, the entire prayer is laced with our Lord’s desire for unity,
“Father, just as you are in me and I am in you, may they be in us also. May they be one just as you and I are one; I in them and you in me. Father, I ask that those you have given me to be with me where I am, so they can see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world” (John 17:21-24).
Over the last decade, many leaders in the Church have placed a renewed emphasis on community; that is, Christians living as a community of faith bound by a common purpose, vision, and passion. This is a welcomed development, of course. Yet, as I read material related to community within the Church, I am struck once again by the absence of covenantal concepts. When we consider Bible history, covenant did not simply provide the framework for the vertical relationship between God and humanity, it also provided the horizontal bond between those within the covenant.
The people of Israel, by choosing to enter the covenantal relationship offered by God through Moses and later Joshua, agreed to a corporate lifestyle that was based on and regulated by the stipulations (laws and decrees) of the covenant,
Joshua said to the people, “If serving the LORD is what you want, then choose for yourselves who you will serve…as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” All the people said to Joshua, “We will serve the LORD our God and obey him.” That very day Joshua made a covenant for the people, and there at Shechem he drew up for them decrees and laws (Joshua 24:15, 24-25).
It was this covenant that would become their national identity and would define every element of their lives: what they would eat, what they would wear, how they would worship, how they would use their resources, even their calendar was designed around the stipulations of the covenant (see Exodus 20; Deuteronomy 5). The covenant created a community, a people with “common unity.” The covenant laid out behavior that was expected of all, as well as consequences for neglecting or rejecting these covenantal obligations (see Leviticus 5:1-13; 24:10-17 for example).
Because this covenant between God and Israel was a corporate covenant, that is, a covenant with the entire nation, virtually all of God’s dealings with Israel were on the national level rather than the individual level. There were exceptions, of course, but by and large, when the nation as a whole dishonored the covenant, the entire nation suffered the consequences, even the righteous. Conversely, when the nation as a whole honored the covenant, everyone shared in the blessing, even the wicked. Therefore, it was entirely appropriate for the Jewish people to hold one another accountable, to encourage covenant honoring behavior, and to chastise behavior that dishonored the covenant. This is the necessary infrastructure of a functional community.
Images of Unity
Christians in our culture make the mistake of identifying their relationship with God as a primarily individual experience disconnected from the behavior and choices of other Christians. Though it is true that each of us make the independent choice to follow Christ and each of us will give an account before him for our own life (see Romans 14:12), nevertheless, like Israel in the old covenant, every individual is an essential part of the whole, and therefore can have an impact on the whole (as will be addressed further below). The language for the Church most often used in the New Testament is clearly that of a mutual interdependence on one another and total dependence on God; we are living stones making up the new “temple” of God with Christ as the cornerstone, and we are the various parts of a body with Christ as the head.
In Ephesians and Corinthians, Paul uses the imagery of the temple to express our interdependence. Unfortunately, in English we have no convenient way of translating the Greek’s second person plural pronoun, so we often interpret these passages to be individualistic rather than corporate, as intended. In other words, in English, when we say “you,” we could be referring to an individual, such as, “I love you, my friend,” or to a group, “I love you, my friends.” If we were in a group, without the qualifier “my friend” or “my friends,” we would not know which was intended by the speaker. In the Greek of the New Testament, the two “yous” in these sentences are different words—similar to the way a southerner might say, “I love you,” or “I love y’all.”
With this in mind, we will replace the plural “yous” with the phrase “the Church” to better understand what it is Paul intends,
“Don’t you know that the Church is God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in the Church? If anyone destroys God’s temple, that is, the Church, God will destroy him; God’s temple is sacred, and the Church is that temple” (1 Corinthians 3:16-17).
In this passage, Paul is warning that teachers who come into the Church and do it harm will be judged by God, just as anyone who desecrated Solomon’s temple in Jerusalem (see 1 Corinthians 3:1-23). Unfortunately, because of the lack of a second person plural “you,” this passage is often assumed to be discussing our need to take care of our own body—a worthy endeavor, but not the point of this passage. Elsewhere, as Paul is encouraging his Gentile followers to have confidence in their place in the Church, he writes,
“…all of you Gentile members of the Church are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him, all of you are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit” (Ephesians 2:19-22).
Peter uses this same imagery, “As you* come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him—you* also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:4-5; * = “you” plural pronouns).
In the new covenant, the Church is the temple of the living God. The temple of the old covenant was destroyed by the Romans almost two thousand years ago, but the temple stones Peter refers to, living stones, will remain forever. Elsewhere, Peter refers to the Church as a “chosen people,” a “royal priesthood,” and a “holy nation,” all corporate terms (see 1 Peter 2:9).
The corporate nature of the Church is especially clear when Paul employs his favorite analogy for the Church: the body of Christ,
“The body is one whole entity, though it is made up of many different parts. So it is with Christ; his body, so to speak, is not made up of one part but of many parts—God has arranged the parts in the body, every single one of them, just as he wanted them to be. Therefore, there should be no division in the body, but all of its parts should have equal concern for one another other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it” (1 Corinthians 12:12, 14, 18, 25-27).
Earlier, Paul writes to the Corinthians that the communion elements themselves are a visual reminder of the unity of the body of Christ, “Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf” (1 Corinthians 10:16-17).
All of this imagery is intended to affirm the notion of community. The Church is a living organism with every microbe innately connected to another, and forever mutually dependent. Unfortunately, we are more often than not like the “Push me-Pull me” llama of Dr. Doolittle, absolutely inseparable and entirely dependent on one another, but always trying to go in different directions. This is a consequence of failing to understand the covenant that binds us together and establishes our corporate purpose. We fail to live under the universal obligations our Lord places on us, because we do not live within the context of the new covenant he established.
Unity as Our Priority
The opposite of community is disunity. Disunity generates “hatred, discord, jealousy, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, envy,” and so on (see Galatians 5:20). Consequently, the work of the Church often moves in millimeters rather than miles. Unity, on the other hand, generates purpose and success, whether in a marriage, a sports team, or a church. Our unity is a testimony to the reality of Jesus Christ, and the Father’s love for his people (see John 17:23). This is why such emphasis is placed on unity in the New Testament. When believers are intentional about being of one mind and heart, the potential for division is greatly minimized and the work of God in the world is expedited. Consider these passages:
Jesus prayed, “May they be completely unified so the world will know that you, Father, sent me and that you have loved them just as you have loved me” (John 17:23).
“May God, who enables perseverance and gives encouragement, bring to you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with your love and your words you will glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 15:5-6).
“I beg to you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, my friends, that all of you be in agreement with one another so that will not be divisions among you and that you may be perfectly unified in mind and thought” (1 Corinthians 1:10).
“Try desperately to keep the unity of the Spirit, committed to peace with one another. There is one body, one Spirit, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father, who is over all, through all, and in all. To each one of us Christ has given grace to prepare us all for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and knowledge of the Son of God” (Ephesians 4:3-7, 12-13).
“Put on love over every other virtue, because it binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, because you were called to be at peace with one another, members of one body” (Colossians 3:14-15).
“Finally, my friends…strive for perfection, I am begging you, be of one mind and live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you” (2 Corinthians 13:11).
Just as Jesus commanded his disciples to love one another because all people would know they were his disciples by doing so (see John 13:34-35), his final prayer for them prior to his arrest was steeped with the desire for unity, not just for his immediate disciples, but for all who would eventually come to be his disciples as well,
“My prayer is not only for these men, but for all of those who will believe in me through their message. I pray, Father, that all of them will be one, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so the world will believe that you were the one who sent me. I have given them the glory you gave me, so they will be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to total unity so the world will know that you sent me and that you have love them, just as you love me” (John 17:20-23).
Paul also recognizes the fact that unity is a testimony to the unbelieving community, “Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life” (Philippians 2:14-16).
A community that is characterized by mutual care and service is a powerful witness in a narcissistic world. Consider Luke’s testimony regarding the early Church and its witness through unity,
“All the believers met together and shared everything, even selling their possessions and goods, so they could give to anyone what he needed. They did this every day, right in the temple courts. They shared meals in their homes and ate together with sincere hearts and full of joy, praising God and enjoying the favor of everyone” (Acts 2:22-47).
We live in a very divisive world, gender divisions, racial divisions, ethnic divisions, national divisions, political divisions, religious divisions, socio-economic divisions, and a myriad of other divisive issues, including people who will launch into fights over something as innocuous as sports. How powerful our witness would be if the Church could overcome these worldly divisions and choose unity despite the fact that we are made up of different genders, races, ethnicities, nationalities, political persuasions, denominations, and social statuses. Many of you may have serious doubts about this possibility, I confess I do as well, nevertheless, unity is a command to be obeyed; therefore, each of us who understand this must do our part in being Christians of peace and unity. Jesus will be honored by our efforts and we will kneel before him in confidence one day.
Protecting Unity
In the New Testament, unity is something to be relentlessly pursued and carefully protected. Division is to be addressed immediately and effectively. Church discipline, for the protection of the whole, is regularly discussed and practiced. As Paul warns the Corinthians—a little yeast remaining in their church will eventually affect the whole. The following passages discuss the protection of unity. The first comes from Jesus who outlines the process of addressing division among believers; the remaining passages come from the apostles as they seek to keep unity in the churches they are caring for:
“If another believer sins against you, go and explain what he did, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have restored your relationship, but if he will not listen, take one or two others along with you, people who know the actual story. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as unbeliever” (Matthew 18:15-17).
“I’m urging you, friends, to watch out for people who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way, things that are contrary to the teaching you’ve learned. Stay away from them; people like this are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own ambitions. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people” (Romans 16:17-18).
“I am actually hearing reports that you are allowing sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that does not occur even among unbelievers: A man is having an affair with his stepmother…and you are proud of how open-mined you are! You should have removed this man from your church and be grieving! When you gather in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, hand this man over to Satan, so that his sinful nature might be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord. Your boasting is not good! Don’t you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough?” (1 Corinthians 5:1-2, 4-6).
“I am writing you to tell you not associate with anyone who calls himself a Christian, but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, an alcoholic of a swindler…don’t even eat with these people” (1 Corinthians 5:11).
“Listen, if any of us or even an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! I’ve already told you this, but I’m going to say it again, if anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!” (Galatians 1:8-9).
“In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, friends, to keep away from every Christian who is a lazy slacker and does not live according to the teaching you received from us” (2 Thessalonians 3:6).
“If anyone refuses to obey what we’ve written here, take special note of him; do not associate with him, in order that he may feel ashamed. Don’t consider him an enemy but warn him as a brother” (2 Thessalonians 3:14-15).
“Timothy, stay in Ephesus so you can command certain people to stop teaching false doctrines and quit devoting themselves to myths and endless genealogies. These things encourage controversies rather than the work of God—which is by faith. The goal of your command must be a love that comes from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith. Some have drifted from these and turned to meaningless talk. They want to be teachers of the law, but they don’t know what they’re talking about or what they so confidently affirm” (1 Timothy 1:3-7).
“People like this appear to be godly, but they deny its power. Have nothing to do with them. They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over oppressed women; they are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth” (2 Timothy 3:5-7).
“Warn a divisive person no more than twice, then have nothing to do with him. You can be sure that people like this are warped and sinful, and self-condemned” (Titus 3:10-11).
The issue of Church discipline is beyond the scope of this article, nonetheless, these passages clearly illustrate how intentional the Church was about maintaining unity in order to protect the believing community.
Unity Through Mutual Obedience
Community results when followers of Christ are mutually obedient to the commands and instructions recorded on virtually every page of the New Testament. Though we as modern American Christians do not like to think in the context of laws and commands (with consequences attached), laws and commands are the very fiber of any successful business, nation, and yes, religion. We have come to believe that the passing of the old covenant meant the passing of divine obligations and consequences, but this is certainly not so.
In the new covenant (the New Testament), the words command and obedience are plentiful and the imperative statements made by Jesus, the apostles, and other New Testament authors run into the hundreds. For example, “love your enemies” may not sound like a command to us, but in the Greek, Jesus is making an imperative statement, that is, a command, placed on all believers everywhere at all times. To justify not loving one’s enemy is a simple act of disobedience to Jesus Christ (who, by the way, loved his enemies).
A unified community of believers can only result from each Christian deciding to know and obey what is taught in the New Testament, and treat other believers with the love, honor, and respect that Jesus and the apostles demand. In the New Testament, it is impossible to conceive of a Church that is not characterized by mutual love expressed in service. Consider the following “one another” passages:
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:34-35).
“Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves” (Romans 12:10).
“Live in harmony with one another” (Romans 12:16).
“Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law” (Romans 13:8).
“Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way” (Romans 14:13).
“Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God” (Romans 15:7).
“Greet one another with a holy kiss, that is, Greet one another with a show of affectionate respect” (Romans 16:16).
“I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought” (1 Corinthians 1:10).
“Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love” (Ephesians 4:2).
“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32).
“Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ” (Ephesians 5:19-21).
“Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you” (Colossians 3:13).
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God” (Colossians 3:16).
“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing” (1 Thessalonians 5:11).
“But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness” (Hebrews 3:13).
“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:24-25).
“Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it” (James 4:11).
“Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart” (1 Peter 1:22).
“Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble” (1 Peter 3:8).
“Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling” (1 Peter 4:9).
All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble’” (1 Peter 5:5).
“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin” (1 John 4:7).
“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God” (1 John 4:7).
Imagine what the Church might look like if we simply obeyed even these twenty-three passages. Imagine the fellowship, mutual care, and service that would result. Imagine the testimony that would develop in our communities as people outside of the Church began to see Christians truly putting others first. As Luke records in Acts, we may begin “enjoying the favor of all the people” (Acts 2:47). Wouldn’t that be something?
A Final Thought
“The world will know you are my disciples by the way you love one another” (John 13:35). Is there any statement of the Lord Jesus that could be clearer than this? Can you imagine saying to Jesus, “Lord, I love you, I just don’t like your people”? This is akin to saying to a friend or family member, “I like you, I just don’t like your kids.” Most of us would be very uncomfortable with a “friend” who felt that way. We who love Jesus must be intentional about loving one another, because every, single person he has rescued is as valuable to him as we are ourselves. We are one of billions, and we must learn to accept every person who calls on the name of Christ as a brother or sister…otherwise, we are failing to obey the new commandment Jesus gave us, “Love one another as I have loved you” (John 13:34).
It is very important that we nurture humility in our own souls; this is what will enable us to love others well. When we consistently remember that we, like them, are nothing more than fortunate recipients of grace, our perspective will open and our demeanor will become more inviting. All of us are slaves purchased by God, called to be to disciples, blessed with a covenantal relationship with God, and placed in a community to serve him. This is true for every single person who calls on the Lord, regardless of race, gender, nationality, age, or political party. Every Christian may not be our “cup of tea,” but we must choose sincere kindness and courtesy in every interaction if we are going to honor the Lord’s command.
Because of his kindness, we have now become a part of an eternal family, made up of people from every tribe, language, nation, and race, each redeemed the very same way…grace, mercy, kindness, compassion. In all the world, there is no one like us, the children of the true and living God, heirs to his kingdom. Blood is thicker than biology, the blood of Jesus, that is. We have brothers and sisters all around this world, struggling like you and me, to live for and love daily the one who loves us most.
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(C) 2024 D. Edwin Cohea/Coheasive Christianity.
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