A Family that Functions in Unity Part 2

The Oil of Unity

I was reviewing a draft of Cathy Coppock’s Bible College paper and read a comment she made about the family. To this culture we live in today, the family is obsolete, unnecessary, and a hindrance to the advancement of humanism, relativism, socialism and a long list of other agendas in opposition to the Kingdom of God.

But the truth is that we need to return true family now more than ever. We need to return true Biblical family to our homes and the church.

In order to separate people from the Father, the enemy has to destroy the family. And so far, he has been quite effective in and outside the church. But the Kingdom of God is at hand and while the world sacrifices their families at the altars of humanism, the Lord Almighty is calling us to build our families on the foundation of Christ.

Psalm 133:1 ESV

Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!

The word “behold” means to take notice; take it all in; make it your focus. The word “good” (tov טוֹב) means it reflects the glory of God. The word pleasant (na’em נָעֵם) meaning beautiful in the sight of God.

Now it helps to understand the context of this verse. This comes from one of the later Psalms attributed to David around the time he has been made king and seeking to reunite the tribes of Israel as one kingdom again.

This is the same cause of Christ. Christ came to reunite God’s family in His Kingdom. And what a wondrous thing it is for God’s people to take notice of Father’s heart and make it their focus to live with their fellow brothers and sisters in Christ and raise their families in the way of the Lord. It reflects the glory and the nature of God. It is beautiful and pleasing to the Lord our God.

Speaking of life discipline and intimate relationship with God, Jesus says in Matthew 18:20:

Matthew 18:20 ESV

For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”

We often interpret this in the context of a prayer meeting. But Jesus did not come to just start a two or three man prayer group. Jesus came to restore a family, Father’s family. Listen to what the Apostle Paul says in Philemon 1-2:

Philemon 1–2 ESV

Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our beloved fellow worker and Apphia our sister and Archippus our fellow soldier, and the church in your house:

Where two are three are gathered and Christ is present, you have church. And that church should start in your home with your family. The nucleus of the church corporate is your family. David continues in verse 2:

Psalm 133:2 ESV

It is like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes!

The unity among the sons and daughters of God is precious and priceless to the Father. David says it is like valuable oil poured on the head and running down the beard of Aaron and dripping from his robes.

So, this is not just any oil. This is a reference to Exodus 30:30:

Exodus 30:30 ESV

You shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may serve me as priests.

Here God commands Moses to anoint and consecrate for the purposes of God, a father and his sons. That means the entire family was consecrated before the Lord. And when a Prophet anointed a priest or a king, such as the Prophet Samuel anointed David, they would pour a consecrated oil of great value over the head until it saturated them. In other words, they were drenched with it as one’s entire life would be immersed in the presence and purpose of God. This was an image of the church. This is what our families and our homes should look like.

Let us repent of where we have been duped by this world and culture into a false family norm. I’m not talking about a wish to go back to the days of “Leave it to Beaver” or “Little House on the Prairie.” I am talking about going back to the days like that day when Aaron and his family were consecrated to God; when Joshua consecrated his family to God; or when Jesus consecrated His disciples to the Lord. I am talking about consecrating our hearts and our homes as holy places.

Let us remove from our homes and our hearts all that contradict the Father’s heart and leave us with counterfeit conversions. Let us consecrate our hearts and homes with the convictions of the Holy Spirit that the “Oil of Unity” might flow all over our sons and daughters, our marriages, our loved ones and in our church. Let the “Oil of Unity” in the consecration of Christ bring revival to the family of God.