What Does the Bible Say About Unity in the Church?
Jesus and the New Testament writers all make their stance on unity very clear: It’s something to be fought for (Ephesians 4:3), something to be believed in (Ephesians 3:20), and the main thing that the World should look for to know whether or not you are actually a Jesus’ disciple:
“I pray not only for these [disciples],
but also for those who believe in Me
through their message.
May they all be one,
as You, Father, are in Me and I am in You.
May they also be one in Us,
so the world may believe You sent Me.
I have given them the glory You have given Me.
May they be one as We are one.
I am in them and You are in Me.
May they be made completely one,
so the world may know You have sent Me
and have loved them as You have loved Me (John 17:20-23).”
So, why do we see virtually no unity at all in the Church? The Church is broken into countless divisions of theology, and even those within the same denominations are splintered further by bitterness and indifference. Not many Christians show any desire to be united with one another.
Yes, God uses division in the Church to accomplish His purposes. He did it with Paul and Mark (Acts 15:39), and He is doing it in the Church today.
But isn’t every Bible teacher that you have sure to mention how Paul and Mark reconciled before they died (2 Timothy 4:11)? Is that point important to your teachers despite it not applying to our lives? No! It’s important because it does apply:
“These things happened to them as examples, and they were written as a warning to us, on whom the ends of the ages have come (1 Corinthians 10:11).”
Why then, do we teach that God reconciled Paul and Mark on Earth (after the work of their divided ministries was complete in God’s eyes) and then, out of the other side of our mouths, teach that we will all be reconciled in Heaven?
Could you imagine a Bible where Paul and Mark did not reconcile? It would feel incomplete. It is not fitting for saints to be divided –but we are saints (1 Corinthians 1:2)!
“Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said: ‘In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, “Grant me justice against my adversary.”’
“‘For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, “Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!”’”
“And the Lord said, ‘Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?(Luke 18:1-8)’”
So will you keep asking, seeking, and knocking for your brother’s heart? Or is that a dream that you choose to give up on –Jesus’ one dream, and His one unanswered prayer?
This is all explored more deeply in this article: How Do I Forgive Someone Who Hurt Me? (And What Forgiveness Is Really For), and in our book, “Jesus’ Crazy Dream.” Learn how you can be the answer to Jesus’ prayer in John 17.
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