There are certain matters that we tend to overlook, but they are very important to our Heavenly Father. His Word makes them very clear. One of those matters is our rescue and salvation. Genesis 1:26-27 tells us that God created us in His very own image, after His likeness. He loves us more than we could ever know, and He didn’t want us to be lost in death and darkness, so He saved us through His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Another matter that is very important to our Heavenly Father is our commitment to follow the example of Jesus Christ so that we can love, give, and live like Him. He has united us with Jesus Christ, and His Word makes it clear that it’s extremely important to Him that we are united with one another in love.
The greatest problem in the body of Christ today is division. Our precious Lord and Savior commissioned us to be his ambassadors, to carry forth the work he began so that everyone will know about his love. He foresaw these divisions among us and knew what a detriment it would be to our responsibility to carry out his mission. Think of the many religions within Christianity today, most believing they are singular in getting it right. Some consider themselves superior to all the rest and pitying, even chastising, those who do not believe as they do. This is not the love of Christ. Often, it is the love of culture and traditions, which have led many far away from the truth of God’s Word.
Before his sacrifice on the cross, in John 17, Jesus Christ prayed to God specifically for those our Heavenly Father had given him, the 12 disciples. In John 17:9-11(NLT), he prayed, “9 My prayer is not for the world, but for those you have given me, because they belong to you. 10 All who are mine belong to you, and you have given them to me, so they bring me glory. 11 Now I am departing from the world; they are staying in this world, but I am coming to you. Holy Father, you have given me your name; now protect them by the power of your name so that they will be united just as we are.”
Jesus Christ prayed that the disciples would be united in his love because there is power and strength in the unity of Christ. In his prayer to our Heavenly Father, he also said in John 17:21(NLT), “I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.” As believers and followers of Christ, unity is one of our defining characteristics. The verse tells us that it’s a witness and testimony of the finished work of Christ, that he was sent by the Father to save the world.
As God’s anointed and called-out-ones, we are to stand in faith with one another. Talk about moving mountains, imagine what could be accomplished through the power of God when millions come together for His purpose with singular heart and mind. Powerful! But we’re not quite there. We are, however, striving towards this goal.
Titus 1:1-2(NLT) says, “1 This letter is from Paul, a slave of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ. I have been sent to proclaim faith to those God has chosen and to teach them to know the truth that shows them how to live godly lives. 2 This truth gives them confidence that they have eternal life, which God—who does not lie—promised them before the world began.” God promised us eternal life even before He laid the foundation of the world. He knew that we would accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, and that we would therefore receive the gift of eternal life. We can have confidence that our labor to live up to the standard of Godliness is not in vain but is working for us an extraordinary reward.
God commands us to have love for one another as the body of Christ. This has nothing to do with religion. It is the commandment of God to all who love Christ and are called according to God’s purpose. 1John 2:7-11(NLT) tells us, “Dear friends, I am not writing a new commandment for you; rather it is an old one you have had from the very beginning. This old commandment–to love one another–is the same message you heard before. 8 Yet it is also new. Jesus lived the truth of this commandment, and you also are living it. For the darkness is disappearing, and the true light is already shining. 9 If anyone claims, “I am living in the light,” but hates a Christian brother or sister, that person is still living in darkness. 10 Anyone who loves another brother or sister is living in the light and does not cause others to stumble. 11 But anyone who hates another brother or sister is still living and walking in darkness. Such a person does not know the way to go, having been blinded by the darkness.” We are to be one with one another just as we are one with God.
The unity we have in Christ is given to us freely by God, and we must clothe ourselves with it in every way. Religion is for some a way to deepen their relationship with God, but religion cannot replace obedience. Jesus Christ tells us in Luke 6:36-37(NLT), “36 You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate. 37 “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn others, or it will all come back against you. Forgive others, and you will be forgiven.” Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, will return for a church that is without the blemishes of arrogance, division, and condemnation. He wants us to continually grow in his love so that his light will shine from the inside out, and bear witness of God’s goodness and truth. If we do this, we will have fellowship with each other and walk together in the unity of Christ. ■
English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright © 2001, 2007, 2011, 2016 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“The Power of Unity”, written for 4theChristianMan.com© 2024. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.