What is the importance of Christian unity?

Answer

Shortly before He went to the cross, Jesus prayed for unity among His followers: “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” «And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are. », (John 17:11).

Later in the same prayer, Jesus asked “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. . . . I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one—I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity” (John 17:21-23). Obviously, Christian unity is important to our Lord.

Jesus not only prayed for unity, but He gave the reasons that Christian unity is important: He asked that all believers may be in the Father and the Son, “so that the world may believe that you have sent me” «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. », (John 17:21). And then Jesus prayed for “complete unity” so that “the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me” (verse 23). When Christians are united in Christ, the world sees two things clearly: Jesus was sent by the Father, and Jesus loves His church.

In Romans 15:5–6, we see another, more general reason that Christian unity is important: “May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that to

Together, you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (ESV). The main focus is God’s glory. God’s people should speak with one voice in glorifying God.

Christian unity accompanies Christian maturity, and it is always a goal we aim to achieve. Paul instructs us to “make every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” «endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. », (Ephesians 4:3). Assisting us in that unity are the gifts of the Spirit. God has given each Christian different gifts, and their use in building up the church leads to increasing unity. One purpose of the gifts is that “we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ” «till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ: », (Ephesians 4:13).

To encourage Christian unity, God presents the church in 1 Corinthians 12:12–27 as a living body. The body has many members, each with specialized work to do, but all the parts are united in the Head of the Body, which is Christ see Ephesians 4:15.

Christians naturally form local communities in which no one needs to rejoice or suffer alone (Romans 12:15;1 Corinthians 12:26). Christians from various backgrounds working in unity demonstrate the power of the gospel and the universality of its saving message (Galatians 3:26-28). Christians bring honor to God’s name by pursuing unity in the power of the Holy Spirit who brings.

Us together as one through faith in Christ.

Christian unity is a virtue, but there are some things that can and should limit unity. We don’t pursue unity simply for the sake of unity; it is Christ and His truth that unite us. Scripturally, we are to separate from professed brothers and sisters in Christ who live in persistent, unrepentant sin (Matthew 18:15-17; 1 Corinthians 5:1-2) and from those who teach false doctrine (Revelation 2:14-15). “Watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them” «Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. », (Romans 16:17).

As Ephesians 4:13 intimates, we won’t reach full Christian unity until we attain “to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” So we probably won’t fully realize Christian unity in this world. But we strive for it. The unity that faith in Christ brings extends God’s love on earth and demonstrates the truth of who Jesus is. Unity in the church also foreshadows the worship in heaven, where a great multitude “from every nation, tribe, people, and language” stands before God and cries out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb” (Revelation 7:9-10).