Do You REALLY Want Unity?

If so, this is what it would look like

It’s hard to find a believer in Christ who does not claim to desire unity with other believers. Every Lord’s day, there are people gathered together around the world worshiping God in various ways.

Where I preach, we could literally step outside the building and see three gathering places within walking distance where people are gathered because they believe in Jesus.

Most groups have decided that is okay. Most have decided that the Christian world has “unity in diversity.” But does the Bible teach that diversity in doctrine, worship, and practice is what unity actually looks like?

The words of Jesus Christ in John 17:20-21 are well known:

“I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; 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.”

Jesus wants believers to be one. As unified as He and the Father are. That’s pretty tight. That’s pretty unified.

Some would say, “Well, that doesn’t mean we have to believe, teach, and practice the same things, it just means that we have to confess that Jesus is the Son of God.”

Can you imagine someone saying God the Son and God the Father do not have to teach and practice the same things in order to be unified?

Nevertheless, let’s look at John 17 and put that idea to the test. Unity is possible, and John 17 gives us some powerful insight into what unity will actually look like.

First, unity looks like separation from the world (John 17:14-19).

Jesus said that the 12 were not of the world. We can’t play both sides and be unified (2 Cor. 6:14). Traditions are human in origin, and therefore of the world. As Jesus told the scribes and the Pharisees, “All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition” (Mark 7:9). The Christian world won’t find unity if we wallow in tradition! If the influence of the world and tradition contradicts doctrine, it must be thrown out for the sake of unity.

Second, unity looks like agreement on the Word (John 17:20-21).

To many it sounds impossible, but Paul wrote, “Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment” (1 Corinthians 1:10). If the Lord commanded it of the Corinthian church, it must be possible to achieve. And since Paul taught the same things in every church (1 Cor. 4:17), then it is binding on the church today.

Third, unity looks like loving as God Loves (John 17:26).

Another tall order, but no less binding. As Jesus said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35). If we don’t have love, we don’t have anything (1 Corinthians 13:2).

So what do we do about it?

If believers are to truly be unified, this is what it would actually look like: separation from the world, agreement on the Word, and loving like Christ. Knowing this, will we take any steps? Will we work to achieve this unity in the real world?

Many among churches of Christ in my area are beginning to turn to the idea that we can all just “go along to get along,” and cooperate even when we don’t agree on doctrine. That’s fine on matters of opinion, but when it comes to things the scriptures speak on, we can only say and do what the Bible says.

In the end, we are all going to be judged not by how “nice” we seemed to our neighbors, but whether we followed the words of Christ. It is by His word we will be judged (John 12:48), and this necessarily includes the entire New Testament (John 14:26; 15:26; 16:13; Heb. 1:1-2).

Do we really want unity? If we do, we will insist on adherence to the word of God, no matter what men around us think and say. We will remember that Col. 3:17 admonishes us to seek Jesus’ authority for all we do, and put in the work to know God’s word (2 Tim. 2:15).

Finally, to Christians who are abandoning the plain teachings of scripture in favor of being well-liked by their community, consider this thought from Jesus:

“Woe to you when all men speak well of you, For so did their fathers to the false prophets” (Luke 6:26).

When Jesus returns, it will be of supreme importance to know that we did everything we could to follow His will, not the will of man.