Unity – Part III
“I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavouring 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 you all. But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ”
When we gave our lives to Jesus Christ, we made a choice to restrict our lifestyles to obeying His commands and his teachings. The Apostle Paul says in Romans 6 that our old sinful life ended when we became one with Jesus. When we were baptized, our old life was buried with Jesus as we took part in his death. We were unified with him. As God raised Jesus Christ from death, we also rose with Him and now live a new life. In the old life we were slaves to sin but in our new life we now want to live as servants to our Lord by depriving ourselves of the liberty to live the way we want to live. We now try to live the way God commands us to live because we have chosen to be wholly subjected to His righteousness. We want to live like Jesus! We want to serve like Jesus! We want to be like Jesus! When Jesus died on the cross, He legally purchased our freedom from sin and we now are in God’s custody; “…no one can take them out of my hand. My Father is the one who gave them to me, and he is greater than all. No one can steal my sheep out of his hand” (John 10:28-29 ERV). As a result of being servants to the Lord, we want to live the way God’s people are supposed to live. We live with an attitude of lowliness in status and importance. We avoid arrogance and pride. We live a lifestyle of gentleness, patient and accept each other with love. God unified us together as His children in peace through the Holy Spirit. When Jesus Christ told us how to pray, His first two words were, ‘Our Father’, (Matthew 6:9 KJV).
We are one body of people living in ‘UNITY’ with Jesus. God chose us so we honor Him as His children. God told David that he did things that made the Lord’s enemies lose their respect for God. When we disobey God’s commands and do wicked and sinful things people not only condemn us as being God’s children but they also disparage God’s name. We need to do all we can to continue to, live Holy lives, letting peace hold us together in ‘UNITY’. We carry the name of Jesus on our lives and as a result we are one body, one Spirit, and God chose us to have one hope. There is only one Lord, one faith, and one baptism. There is only one God and one Father who rules over us all. God works through all His children and in all His children. God told the Prophet Ezekiel that Israel didn’t have respect for His name; “The people of Israel ruined my holy name wherever they went, and I felt sorry for my name…you ruined my holy name…I am going to do something to stop this. I will not do it for your sake…I will do it for my holy name” (Ezekiel 36:21-22 ERV). When we disobey God’s Word, we dishonor Him and we suffer consequences for it. If we know the Lord, then the love of God should be manifested in us by how we obey His Word. Jesus said if we love Him then we must demonstrate that by how we live our lives (John 14:15). Our lifestyle is what draws unbelievers to our Christian family. God’s love in us brings about ‘UNITY’ and oneness among God’s people and activates the fruits of the Holy Spirit which are love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). If we love our Father, then we will demonstrate that love for Him by obeying His Word, Jesus Christ. Love brings ‘UNITY’ to our family.
Submitted By Trustee Stanley Ridley