New Wine family and friends of New Wine,
Over the last while, I sense the Lord has been speaking strongly to me about ‘unity’, and especially unity within a specific church community, and indeed unity within the Body of Christ as a whole.
Unity, in the Bible, carries the idea of ‘oneness’, or ‘being one’. It is much bigger than and goes much deeper than simply having ‘agreement’ or sharing a ‘likeness’. Jesus’ high priestly prayer in John 17 in effect is all about His desire for the church to be one: ‘Holy Father, protect them by the power of Your name, the name you gave Me, so that they may be one as we are one… I pray also for all for those who will believe in Me through their (disciples) message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me, and I am in You. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that You sent me… I have given them the glory that You gave me, that they may be one- I in them and You in Me- so may they be brought to complete unity’ (John 17:11, 20-23).
This ‘oneness’ or ‘unity’ clearly points to ‘oneness in Jesus’, which is to be the foundation for unity in the church. We are to be united in our faith in Jesus, in whom alone is salvation to be found; united in our pursuit of ‘Christlikeness’; united in our acceptance of the whole of Scripture as the divinely inspired Word of God; united in our love for the world for which Jesus died; united in our embracing Jesus kingdom priorities; united in our commitment to be led by the Holy Spirit; and united in our passion for Jesus and His name. There are much more than these, but it is a good starting place for unity as the Body of Christ.
In the local church community, in addition to what has been mentioned in the previous paragraph, we are to be united in our commitment to the specific vision and mission that the Lord Jesus, by His Holy Spirit, has put before us; united in embracing the Biblical values that underpin all we do in our pursuit of the vision that Jesus has put before us; united in our submitting to the prophetic words and revelations that the Holy Spirit gives to us, as discerned by the spiritual leadership, to be of the Holy Spirit; united in our commitment to embrace the priorities that our spiritual leadership has discerned through the Holy Spirit, to be the priorities for our local church community; and united behind the spiritual leadership that have been called and set apart to lead us.
We don’t need to agree on all the details of the ‘how’ and ‘where’, for us to keep our ‘unity in Jesus’. The reality is that ‘unity’ and ‘oneness’ are easy to achieve when we agree. It is in fact, our differences in opinions, our disagreements about the ‘how’ and ‘where’, which offer us the opportunity to pursue and protect our unity as the body of Christ in the local church community. Disagreements are great opportunities for us to test the depth of our unity. For the sake of this sacred ‘unity’ that Jesus prayed for, we are willing to lay aside our preferences, opinions, and personal conflicts, for the sake of uniting behind the vision, mission, values, priorities and goals that Jesus, by His Holy Spirit, has put before the leadership of our church community.
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died that we may live, and live for Him alone (2 Corinthians 5:15). In embracing His heart, we are called as believers, to die to self, that His life may be seen in us. Unity in the church community, rests on the willingness of believers to die to self- my way, my preferences, my opinions- for the sake of Jesus’ vision, mission and priorities for the local church.
Our Lord reserves His highest and greatest blessing for where believers stand together in unity: ‘how good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity! It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down Aaron’s beard, down on the collar of His robe…’ (Psalm 133:1-2)
Let’s pursue this unity that Jesus prayed for and gave His life for.
Bless you all,
David Stansbury