The Blessedness of Unity

1. Introduction

Psalm 133 NKJV

A Song of Ascents. Of David. 1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brethren to dwell together in unity! 2 It is like the precious oil upon the head, Running down on the beard, The beard of Aaron, Running down on the edge of his garments. 3 It is like the dew of Hermon, Descending upon the mountains of Zion; For there the Lord commanded the blessing— Life forevermore.

Unity is pleasant to the Lord. The Lord calls unity good.

Unity is what the church needs.

Let me tell you how society operates.

Society/the world loves to focus on what makes us different. It is a tactic straight from the Father of Deception, Satan. Unity demands solidarity.

As I was speaking at Three Oaks on the See You At the Pole Day, this thought popped in my head as I shared this same subject with them, and here it is.

“The things that separate us are not nearly as strong as WHO unifies us.”

I guess I should trademark it. Lol!

The world will always be divided, but dear friend, brothers and sisters that make up the body of Christ should not be divided.

In this Psalm of David, some interesting comparisons are made to paint the picture of unity.

David says that unity is like the precious oil upon the head running ll the way down the beard. Oil, typically, in the Bible represents the Holy Spirit. What is David saying? He is saying that unity in the brotherhood is like outpouring of the Holy Spirit. That outpouring comes from God and filters down to the entire body. You and I can never underestimate the importance of unity within the church.

Then David says that unity is like the dew of Hermon. Unity is the source of life for all Christians. To understand what David is saying, let me show you a picture of Mt. Hermon.

Mount Hermon, a high mountain in the region, is known for its abundant moisture and dew that flows down to the lower mountains of Zion, nourishing the land.

This literal process serves as a metaphor for how divine blessing and life-giving refreshment flow from God (like the dew from Mount Hermon) to sustain others (like the mountains of Zion), illustrating the benefits of spiritual unity.

God’s desire is for Christian unity. The church cannot complete its mission effectively without unity. Instead of unity, many churches have to deal with fear, doubt, and strife. All three of those things, and I could add anxiety and contention, are all sins for the Christian.

To avoid fear, doubt, strife, anxiety, and contention, Christians must be unified, so how is unity possible? Well, let’s look at what makes unity possible.

2. Unity is possible through a SHARED FOCUS on Christ.

Unity is possible because of the SACRIFICE of Jesus Christ.

The sacrifice of Jesus Christ will produce unity. In other words, a focus on the Gospel will produce unity. Now, I am amazed at how many people try to add to and take away from the Gospel. What they add and subtract does not produce unity. The Gospel is simple, and actually, you and I should never ever lose focus of it. Here is the Gospel.

1 Corinthians 15:3–4 NKJV

3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,

Dear friend, if you are focused on the Gospel of Jesus Christ, you will not have time for fear, doubt, anxiety, and strife. If we are focused on the Gospel, we will be committed to love, forgiveness, humility, gentleness, and patience.

Think of those behaviors. How many Christians within the body are not loving, forgiving, humble, gentle, and patient? It is an indication of discord and not unity. The Lord has really convicted me of arrogance in Christians lately. Arrogance leads to feelings getting “stirred” up. Humility leads to unity.

All of those unifying qualities are possible if we are focused on Jesus Christ, not if just tow or three of us are focused but if all of us who are truly saved have a shared focus on Jesus Christ.

If the body focuses on fear, doubt, self, anxiety, and whatever else, unity will not follow. It is that simple. It is hard to be unified in fear. It is hard to be unified when doubt is involved, but a shared focus on Jesus Christ will remove doubt and replace doubt with unity.

3. Unity is possible through the WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.

Ephesians 4:4–6 NKJV

4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

Just as he does in the world, Satan successfully gets churches to focus on what separates believers from other believers instead of focusing on the similarities.

Satan tries to get us to focus on difference. The Holy Spirit tries to get Christians see the similarities we share.

Through the Holy Spirit, here is what all saved people are unified by:

There is only one body of Christ. (All believers are the one body of Christ in this world)

There is one God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit)

There is one faith

There is one baptism (Baptism by the Holy Spirit into the body of Christ)

There is one Creator, God Almighty.

The Bible is God’s Holy Word

All who are truly saved share at least these few similarities. Can you imagine what the Holy Spirit could accomplish if those us who are truly saved would, through the Holy Spirit’s work, focus on our similarities instead of our differences?

Let me ask you a question to prove a point.

Is there more than one Holy Spirit?

Of course not! There is not a Church of Christ Holy Spirit. There is not a Baptist Holy Spirit. There is not a Methodist Holy Spirit. There is one Holy Spirit. If there is one Holy Spirit, there is only one truth. The one Holy Spirit, the one God, works in all believers in the one body. The Holy Spirit is not going to tell different denominations different things. It is man that distorts the work of the Holy Spirit as we try to add our opinions to what the Holy Spirit is trying to say or do.

Let me ask you another question.

Is there unity in the Godhead? ABSOLUTELY!!!!

The Holy Spirit’s work is to produce that same unity in the body of Christ.

Did you know that Jesus prayed for Christian unity?

John 17:21 NKJV

21 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.

Unity proves that Jesus Christ is the Son of God sent by God to redeem mankind.

Did you know the lack of unity is a stumbling block to the Gospel being shared effectively? Why? Because the body is splintered and not unified.

Now, let me just say this.

Unity and compromise are not the same thing. We should never compromise on Scriptural truth for the sake of unity. Unity does not come from compromise. Unity comes from the absolute fact that there is only one truth. It is that oneness that makes unity possible, and that is part of the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers.

4. Unity is possible through MEEKNESS.

If you think meekness is weakness, you are dead wrong. The Bible tells us the Moses was most meek person in the Bible other than Jesus Christ. How many of you would dare call Moses weak? That joker was almost 100 years old and still fighting the Amalekites.

Meekness in the Bible does not mean weakness.

Meekness means STRENGTH under CONTROL.

If you are hothead who consistently loses your temper, you are not meek because you are not under control.

I saw this comparison, and it really helped me see the difference.

Meekness is like controlled electricity versus a destructive lightning bolt.

Lighning bolts are random, unpredictable. Flipping on a swith is very predictable and very much controlled. Here is what Jesus said.

Matthew 5:5 NKJV

5 Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth.

A meek Christian is humble recognizing his or her dependence upon God by putting God’s desires above his or her desires.

A meek Christian shows restraint when mistreated. A meek Christian does not lash out because of hurt feelings. Dear friend, our entire Christian journey is predicated upon us becoming more and more Christlike. Did Christ lash out when He was on the Cross? NO! He said, “Father. forgive them.”

It is that meekness that produces unity. A meek Christian trusts God to defend him or her rather than taking matters into his or her hands. A meek Christian is obedient and submissive.

You can like that or not like it, but unity in the body of Christ is impossible without meekness.

I want you to think about this, especially those of you who have been Christians for a while.

In the arguments you have witnessed in churches, were those arguments by someone being out of or in control?

Dear friend, the body of Christ needs unity. We have a clear message that needs to be delivered in unity.

We do not have time for fear, doubt, strife, and contention.

Unity will come if we are focused on Jesus Christ, if we allow the work of the Holy Spirit, and if we are meek. Unity is essential. Unity is pleasing to the Lord. Unity makes the filling of the Holy Spirit possible. Unity is like the dew of Mt. Hermon providing a life-giving water supply.