Unity of the Spirit

There is one God over all. God is a spirit, not a man, who is to be worshipped in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). There is one mediator between God and man, the man Jesus Christ.  Jesus Christ is Lord, appointed by God for that very purpose. The spirit is what God gives us through Jesus Christ when we choose to believe. This is the church! It is what the New Testament is all about!

The only way to keep unity in the church is through the spirit which has its ultimate source in God:

Ephesians 4:3-4 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body (not 24,000, God recognizes one body), and one spirit (it is genitive so it is the unity that proceeds from the spirit {spirit of God in Christ in a person}) 

Unity doesn't come from a particular denomination or non-denomination, unity comes from the spirit.There is so much disagreement in the world today. It is everywhere. In the religious culture, it is rampant. I run across blogs and podcasts and even though I may disagree on one point or another, I enjoy reading or listening to someone who discusses God's word. I know that there is no one that gets it all right.

In the Word of God, it is true there is a lot of doctrine, but there also is so much in its pages about practice of the doctrine.  The book of Acts is an example (The book of 'Praxis'). The first half of Romans is certainly doctrine, the second half is practice.  The first three chapters of Ephesians is about doctrine, chapters 4-6 is about practice. Practice is important without which life is nothing but lifelessness and error. God's word is exciting and vibrant. The word in conjunction with the holy spirit's in-working lights up the word and its energy motivates the practical walk.

God wants us all to know his heart. Listening to others often stimulates my interest spiritually in areas of the Word that I may have questions about. With God's assistance I enjoy digging into the Bible and over and over my expectations are rewarded with great treasure.

The Word of God is more than just words on a page. It is not a dust-covered lifeless book.   The Word of God can lift the heavy veil of darkness off of a person's heart. It is access to comfort, inspiration, excitement, joy, genuine peace and undeniable heart and life healing.

Unity Defined By God

Ephesians 4: 4-6
1. one body - I Corinthians 1:12-13
2. one spirit - Romans 8:11

3. one hope - I Thessalonians 4:13-17

4. one Lord - Romans 10: 9-10

5. one faith - Romans 2:25-26

6. one baptism - Acts 1:5

7. one God and Father         

Ephesians 1:6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. 

Unity of the Spirit

When Jesus was alive he said  “I and my Father are one” and then later prayed in John 17: 20-21; 

Neither pray I for these [apostles] alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.

 Paul later taught in regards to the unity of the spirit of God:

Ephesians 3:4-6There 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.

In the first century, life was physically very different from the life we know today. Yet the major happening on the day of Pentecost right after the ascension of Jesus Christ brought the unity of the spirit of God into the lives of willing people. Peter was the first to speak about what had happened. He did not have the whole picture yet but what God showed him he shared. The people had gathered from all across the known world at that time to celebrate one of three yearly feasts.  Jerusalem had a huge population at this time of the year. Many of the people who responded to Peter’s magnificent sermon drastically changed their lives.

Acts 2:41-47 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. And fear [respect] came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. And all that believed were together, and had all things common; And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.

 Our culture is different today, but the unity of the spirit is the same. We don’t travel to the temple in Jerusalem to the feasts. We now have a written record of the apostle’s doctrine. We have the seven church epistles by Paul explaining the gift of holy spirit and what we are to think and do about it. We too can praise God and share in God’s grace in one  with the thinking of the first century church!