Unity Message
I’ve been working on this lesson for about 3 weeks. It all started the weekend my mother-in-law stayed with us. After Dave left for Joe’s hockey game, she asked me questions about heaven.
“You’re a minister”, she said, “you tell me, can Dad hear me when I talk to him?” Tough question. She is Catholic, and in her theology, the living pray to and for the dead. And the dead, who have made it into heaven, pray for those still on earth. So she prays to her dead husband and believes she is receiving direction from him.
I was quiet and didn’t answer right away. She asked me the question again and I responded that I was thinking. I was trying to think of an instance in the Bible when someone prayed and a dead person gave them an answer. The only time I could only think of was when Samuel appeared to Saul, after being brought forth by the witch of Endor – and I knew that wasn’t the same thing. Then too, I didn’t want to cause her pain. But I had to be honest. So I told her that I couldn’t think of a time where anyone heard from the dead in the Bible.
She got a little angry and told me to go ask someone who actually knew. After all, her sister pointed out that there was the Ghost Whisperer, and Touched by an Angel.
So I turned the conversation to heaven. I quoted, “to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.” I told her that Eddie was with his parents and his brothers and sisters. She asked if her parents and her brothers and sisters with him and knew him. I told her certainly. Now that was enough to calm her spirit and give her comfort.
But the whole thing was very unsettling for me. I got to thinking about wasted prayer. About all those prayers offered to false gods in other religions, about prayers offered to the Virgin Mary and the Saints, about repetitious prayer… So I did what I always do when I need to know something, I studied it out. I discovered that heaven was a perfect place. The people who live there, have no concern for what's going on on earth because of heaven were a place where they could worry, it wouldn't be perfect. I don't know if that would bring my mother-in-law comfort, but it gave me some.
An evangelist who I respect, said that only prayers offered without faith were wasted. I understand his thinking and intention. He was trying to teach his people to pray faith filled prayers. However, my mother-in-law has great faith that when she prays to her dead husband, or the Virgin Mary, or the Saints, that they will intercede for her. And there are millions of people who would agree with her. We know that's not true, for we only have one intercessor and advocate with the Father – Jesus Christ. (Rom 8:34, Heb 7:25).
I understand why that happens. If the enemy can get our focus off of God than he has succeeded in making God smaller then he is.
This revelation led me to Ephesians chapter 1:17-23
17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.
That’s my prayer for my mother-in-law, and her sister, and everyone else, including me – that we all know God better.
Why do we need to pray this? Because when you receive the Holy Spirit’s wisdom and revelation,
18 I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe.
We call that ‘faith filled prayer”.
That power is like the working of his mighty strength,
Notice that it says like a working. Meaning that he already has the power within him, he just needs to exert power. When did believers receive this power? At the time of their salvation believers are equipped with everything they need.
That power is like the working of his mighty strength,
20 which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.
Short rabbit trail: 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion is Jewish phrasing and refers to the ranks of heavenly beings including angels. I mentioned earlier that I was studying the Scriptures relating to heaven, so that if I were ever asked questions again, like those my mother-in-law posed, I would have an answer. In Hebrews 2:7 and Psalms 8:5 we read
7 You made him a little lower than the angels; you crowned him with glory and honor 8 and put everything under his feet.”
The passage refers to the birth of Jesus, when Jesus became man -- we know that Jesus is both fully God and fully human -- when Jesus became man, he became like us, created lower than the angels. When Jesus was raised from the dead and was seated at the right hand of the father, he retook his place above the angels.
We need to remember, that we too are created lower than angels. And one day, when we are in heaven, Scripture tells us, that we will judge the angels (1 Cor 6:3).
Back to Ephesians 1:22
22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
Okay, that's plain, God placed everything under Jesus feet and appointed him head over the church. The church's duty is to follow the authority of Jesus and complete the work that he began when he was here on earth. What work are we talking about? Back up to verse 17, to tell the world, who he God is so that they may know him better.
So how do we do that?
Eph 4:4 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit— just as you were called to one hope when you were called— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
So in order to fulfill our mission of letting the world know who God is so that they can know him better, we need to make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit.
This revelation led me to do some research on unity.
I discovered that there were three types of unity:
#1 Spiritual Unity is unity with God — holiness. We studied this a lot. Both Peter and I have taught on holiness, pastor taught on the seven deadly sins and abominations before God a few weeks ago, so I'm not going to go into detail about spiritual unity. I just want to confirm the concept of spiritual unity by reminding you that Leviticus 11:45 says.
I am the Lord who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy.
#2. Comes from a sense of common mission. We call this Functional Unity because it's involves organizational tools.
Genesis 11 Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. 2 As men moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.
3 They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. 4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”
This is Functional Unity. They had an idea, they had a plan of how it could be accomplished, and they were united in purpose.
5 But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower that the men were building. 6 The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.”
8 So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. 9 That is why it was called Babel—because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.
In the church we have Functional Unity: Scripture clearly defines the church structure, a fivefold Ministry, the responsibilities of church leadership, the ordinances of baptism and communion, and the mission of carrying the gospel around the world, baptizing people, and discipling them.
But as we've seen from the story of the Tower of Babel, you don't have to have Christ to have functional unity.
Which brings us to,
#3. Doctrinal unity. Paul tells Timothy, in 1 Tim 4:16
16 Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.
Most people don't want to talk about doctrine. They either consider it boring or repetitious -- stuff they already know. Or they confuse doctrine with theology. I have had people tell me that doctrine varies from individual to individual. It doesn't. Theology is what you as an individual believe about God. Doctrine is a body of beliefs accepted by all members of the community of faith.
My mother-in-law's Catholic doctrine leads her to pray to the saints. My evangelical doctrine leads me to pray to God and God alone.
Jesus condemned the doctrine of the Pharisees, because it was human in origin. They had taken the law God gave them and perverted it by making their own rules to salvation.
The New Testament is full of warnings against false doctrine. After the in filling of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, Christian doctrine was systematized by the apostles. The apostles gave instructions to special teachers, who had responded to the gospel.
The earliest doctrines of the Christian Church said that Jesus was Messiah, the Christ that God had raised him from the dead, and to do that salvation came by faith in his name. These truths were presented as a clear fulfillment of the promises of the Old Testament. Paul taught that doctrine is essential for Christian growth, and that false doctrine destroys the church.
So I got to thinking about false doctrine, and wasted prayer, and unity in the body, and I ended up in John 17. It's important to recognize that Jesus is talking here. Actually he's praying.
17 After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you.
The Greek word for glorify is dokcazo which means honor, praise and exalt. It also means “speak the truth.” Glorify also means, "speak the truth".
What truth would Jesus want his Father to reveal about him?
2 For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him.
Why did Jesus come?
Why did he have to die on the cross?
To save mankind from the curse of sin and death
3 Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.
So what is the truth Jesus wanted God to reveal?
That there is only one God – the Father and the son, Jesus Christ.
4 I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.
Are the Father and the son 2 separate beings? Not only are they one now, but they were one before the world began.
6 “I have revealed you [or your name] to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word.
7 Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. 8 For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me.
In other words, they accepted the revelation that Jesus is Messiah.
9 I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. 10 All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them.
What truth did the disciples reveal? What did Peter say? “you are the Christ, the son of the living God.” (Matt 16:16).
Jump down to verse 20
20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message,
Who is Jesus praying for? Us. Those believers who would come to know Jesus on account of the testimony of the Apostles.
21 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 so that the world may believe that you have sent me.
That is a very profound statement. Jesus is saying that the basis of unity is the knowledge about who he is.
DOCTRINE!!!
Jesus and God the father are one – just as you are in me and I am in you
Then Jesus says May they also be in us – in other words, give them that revelation. What revelation? The revelation of who God is.
Why? so that the world may believe that you have sent me.
Or so that the world can receive that revelation through them.
Let’s finish the passage
22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one:
Now it is important here that we do not change the meaning of the word “glory”. If the meaning of “glory” in the first 21 verses of this passage means “spoken or revealed truth”, then the meaning of “glory” in the last two verses is the same thing.
22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one:
Jesus revealed the truth about who the Father is.
The Father revealed the truth about who Jesus is.
The disciples received that truth and revealed it to us.
And when we accepted that truth we became one.
WE COME INTO UNITY!
23 I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
We cannot come into unity until we accept the revealed truth about who Jesus is.
It is what we as a church body believe. It's doctrine. It’s what unifies us.
So that was my three-week journey. When I sat down to put all this on paper. I didn't have a conclusion. I had answers, but I didn't know how to wrap up this message. What did Ecclesia need to take away from the teaching this morning? What were we missing?
In order for us to grow as a church, we need all three components of unity.
As individuals, we need spiritual unity. We each need personal relationship with God.
As a church, we need functional unity. We need every member of the church participating.
And finally, as a body, we need doctrinal unity. We need to be on the same page. We need to be serving the same God. That’s why we have Sunday School to insure that we are on the same page. Sunday school gives us the opportunity to say “I don't understand”, and "show me where it says that in Scripture".
Go back to Ephesians 4.
When we are one,
14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.