Unity – Part II
“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”
God says that we should love each other in a way that makes us feel close like brothers and sisters while also giving each other more honor than we give ourselves; “Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another” (Romans 12:10 KJV). How we treat one another manifests what is inside us. We should always treat people the way that we want people to treat us (Matthew 7:12). If we know the Lord, then the love of God should be manifested in us by how we treat one another. Love is the most important attribute in God’s Kingdom. Love for one another is the evidence of godliness among God’s people. God’s love is what draws unbelievers to our Christian family. God’s love in us brings about ‘UNITY’ and oneness among God’s people and this love that we have for one another activates the fruits of the Holy Spirit which are defined in Galatians 5:22-23. The fruits of the Holy Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and self-control. If we love the Lord then we will demonstrate that love for our Lord by obeying His Word; “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15). If we obey God’s commands then there will be Spiritual fruit in our lives. Only obedience to God’s Word can result in the experience of these glorious fruits. Disobedience is what keeps us from activating the potential of doing all the things that our Lord Jesus Christ did when He lived and walked on earth. We have the potential of being just like Jesus Christ and doing all the things that he did (Johns 14:12). God wants replicas of His Son Jesus walking on the earth. God made us in His image and the image that He had in mind for mankind was Jesus Christ (Genesis 1:7). Human beings were made to be like Jesus. ‘UNITY’ begins with Jesus. We are to live like Him. We are to give like Him. We are to serve like Him. We are to be like Jesus. When we all are striving to be like Jesus, then we will all come together as one body of believers with different responsibilities in the body but still one body; “Oh, how wonderful, how pleasing it is when God’s people all come together as one!” (Psalm 133:1 ERV). We do not all look, speak and act the same and God gave each of us our own gift. His gifts were given to us so that we might be properly equipped for His service that the whole body might be built in the ‘UNITY’ of the common faith and common knowledge of Jesus Christ. The Father expects us to work within Christ’s body, the church, until we are all moving rhythmically and easily with each other, efficient and graceful, fully mature, fully developed within and without, fully alive like Jesus Christ.
Submitted By Trustee Stanley Ridley