United In Unity

Psalm 86 verse 11 , ‘Teach me Your way, O Lord; I will walk in Your truth; unite my heart to fear Your Name.’

To talk about unity must always begin with our unity with the Father, the Son, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. As they are united as one so we must enter into that unity and that togetherness with the them first and foremost.

Key to  this is found in Ephesians 4 verses 1 to 6, ‘I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, 2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, 3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.’

The unity of the Spirit takes precedence over all! But what exactly is spiritual biblical unity? Unity is harmony, in tune, in sync, in time much like a choir or an orchestra. It is to be as one, of one heart and one mind: one spirit and one accord. Some 133 says this, ‘Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brethren to dwell together in unity! 2 It is like the precious oil upon the head, Running down on the beard, The beard of Aaron, Running down on the edge of his garments. 3 It is like the dew of Hermon, Descending upon the mountains of Zion; For there the Lord commanded the blessing—Life forevermore.’

The early Acts church were known for their unity in Acts 2 verses 40 to 47 it says this, ‘40 And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation.” 41 Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. 42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. 43 Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. 44 Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, 45 and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need.

46 So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.’

And Acts 4 verses 32 to 37 supports this, ‘Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common. 33 And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all. 34 Nor was there anyone among them who lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold, 35 and laid them at the apostles’ feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had need.36 And Joses, who was also named Barnabas by the apostles (which is translated Son of Encouragement), a Levite of the country of Cyprus, 37 having land, sold it, and brought the money and laid  it at the apostles’ feet.’

The apostles teaching on unity was based on the teaching of Jesus in John 17 verses 20 to 23, ‘20 “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who [j]will believe in Me through their word; 21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. 22 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: 23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.’

The acts church at the beginning realised that true togetherness produces spiritual power and we see this in action in acts 12 verses 5 to 19, ‘5 Peter was therefore kept in prison, but [b]constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church. 6 And when Herod was about to bring him out, that night Peter was sleeping, bound with two chains between two soldiers; and the guards before the door were keeping the prison. 7 Now behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the prison; and he struck Peter on the side and raised him up, saying, “Arise quickly!” And his chains fell off his hands. 8 Then the angel said to him, “Gird yourself and tie on your sandals”; and so he did. And he said to him, “Put on your garment and follow me.” 9 So he went out and followed him, and did not know that what was done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. 10 When they were past the first and the second guard posts, they came to the iron gate that leads to the city, which opened to them of its own accord; and they went out and went down one street, and immediately the angel departed from him.11 And when Peter had come to himself, he said, “Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent His angel, and has delivered me from the hand of Herod and from all the expectation of the Jewish people.” 12 So, when he had considered this, he came to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose surname was Mark, where many were gathered together praying. 13 And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a girl named Rhoda came to answer. 14 When she recognized Peter’s voice, because of her gladness she did not open the gate, but ran in and announced that Peter stood before the gate. 15 But they said to her, “You are beside yourself!” Yet she kept insisting that it was so. So they said, “It is his angel.” 16 Now Peter continued knocking; and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. 17 But motioning to them with his hand to keep silent, he declared to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, “Go, tell these things to James and to the brethren.” And he departed and went to another place. 18 Then, as soon as it was day, there was no small stir among the soldiers about what had become of Peter. 19 But when Herod had searched for him and not found him, he examined the guards and commanded that they should be put to death. And he went down from Judea to Caesarea, and stayed there.

While the church prays together for Peter, imprisoned by Herod. This unity at the beginning of the church was not only spiritual but practical as well they had ‘all things in common’ as well as praying together with ‘one accord’. As Christians today we rebel against his doctrine of helping one another: this type of Christianity is too radical! The book of Acts is just that, the actions of the Saints and an acronym for acts is

1 all called to serve

2 or called to save

3 or called to share.

There is a saying in the world today ‘divide and conquer’ or ‘divide and rule’ and Satan has decimated the end times church by splitting it into factions and in denominations. In the world of 2025 there are over 25,000 different Christian denominations all claiming that their doctrines and teachings are the way and no other way is right! And yet Jesus says in John 14 verse 6 ‘I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the father except through me!’ Jesus is the only way and His way is the way of one. This, togetherness, harmony and unity. Satan seeks that what divides for spiritual division brings disunity! Christ seeks that what unites for unity produces strength, power and ultimately victory. Unity is the body of Christ breathing spiritually together with Christ as its head and the Holy Spirit as its teacher.

In Philippians 2 verses 1 to 4 it says this, ‘Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, 2 fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. 3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.

And in 1 Peter 3 verses 8 to 12 it says this, ‘Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; 9 not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing. 10 For “He who would love life And see good days, Let him refrain his tongue from evil, And his lips from speaking deceit. 11 Let him turn away from evil and do good; Let him seek peace and pursue it. 12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their prayers; But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

Unity as stated earlier begins with the United heart towards God: it ends with the church united as one with Christ and one another.

Amen