Good morning and welcome in today. Today we’re going to take a look at the following passage of scripture….
Eph 4:13
13 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 fulness of Christ:
What does it mean to be united in our faith? Unity is being together or at one with someone or something. It’s the complete opposite of being divided.
The apostles wanted the churches to be united in the teachings of Jesus and the scriptures. It’s the scriptures that teaches us the true faith. They didn’t want division but rather true unity in the faith. Our faith is found in the things that are taught by Christ and the Apostles. Christian unity is about being like minded.
Philippians 2:2 – Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, [being] of one accord, of one mind.
1 Peter 3:8 – Finally, [be ye] all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, [be] pitiful, [be] courteous:
When you are united, you will all be focused on the same thing together, like sailboats that are all going with the same wind and in the same direction. It’s like being at a horse track watching all the horses running together towards the same goal.
The thing that ultimately keeps us all together is our faith in the teachings of Jesus. Without accepting the truth it will only result in division. The apostles didn’t want that.
1 Corinthians 1:10 – 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.
Families and churches stay together because they all believe the same things in God’s Word.
At a construction job somewhere you might find many different people who are all working towards that same goal. One is a carpenter, another is a plumber, and someone lays the foundation. They are unified together in finishing the blueprint for the building. To possess true unity we all have to follow the same blueprint for our faith. It’s found in God’s Truth.
I’ve told my family for 20 years that you might make a mistake along the way and get forgiven for it but one thing that you can never do is to completely go the opposite way of what the scripture says. When somebody does that they start to believe a lie as though it’s true. This is because they are turning away from the truth in Christ which leads to heresy.
Scripture is never wrong, we are. It is there to correct us when we take the wrong path. When someone doesn’t accept scriptural truth, a person remains in a state of error. It’s a perpetual state of sin until the person accepts the truth in their own heart and mind and accept scriptural truth. Without it there can be no peace and unity with other members of the church.
John 17:17 – Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
It is the doctrines of Christ that joins us together like a marriage.
2 Timothy 3:16 – All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
Unity is the quality of being one in spirit, sentiment, purpose, etc.; harmony; agreement; concord; uniformity.
Think about a baseball team which has many different players but they are all trying to achieve the same thing. They are all focused on something greater than each of themselves,…. winning the World Series. To do this they must become one together.
It’s the same kind of unity that we have to have in the church. We have to be one with each other focusing together on the final destination and something greater than ourselves…the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ. We can only achieve true unity in the church when we are all believing the same things together, keeping our eyes focused as one on Christ and his word.
Ephesians 4:3 – Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Philippians 1:27 – Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;
Notice he says striving together for the faith of the Gospel. This is being united in the teachings of Christ as a group. The Bible says it and we believe it Amen.
Romans 15:5 – Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus:
There are numerous groups in the world who claim to be unified together, but it’s not a true unity based in the faith of the teachings of scripture. It’s better off to have 10 people gathered together who believe in God’s Word, then joining with a hundred and fifty thousand people who are caught up in heresy and believing false teachings. Look at what Jesus did with a small group of Apostles.
Unity is oneness of mind, feeling, etc., as among a number of persons; concord, harmony, or agreement.
Here is one warning in the scriptures about joining up in unity with those who don’t believe the teachings of Christ.
2 Cor 6:14-18
14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.
18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
If we are capable of separating from false Christian beliefs, God promises to be a father unto us. There is no true Christian unity in a group of people without scripture. Through God’s word we are all learning what His will and purpose for each of us is. It corrects us leads us and instructs us on the right path in life.
God’s word is a blueprint of what He wants each of us to become. The truth is that if people are going to alter and try to change the blueprint, they need to be on a different construction project.
That’s where I’m stopping for right now but Lord willing I’ll talk to you some more tomorrow. till then bye-bye everybody.♥️
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