Unity Part 1: Unity of the Spirit

A Spiritual House & Holy Temple

1 Peter 2:4–5 NKJV

Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Living Stones - alive active with the Spirit of God

Chosen by God - No stone is here by accident; You are chosen

A Spiritual House - Each stone is being fitted together into a structure

A Holy Priesthood - every individual is a “priest” and priestly functions

Spiritual Sacrifices - every individual has sacrifices to offer that God accepts

The Holy Spirit gave a the Apostle Paul a similar revelation......

Ephesians 2:19–22 NKJV

19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

Foundation of the Apostles and Prophets - Apostles & Prophets are offices or ‘gifts’ to the body that the Holy Spirit uses to lay the foundation for the Spiritual House God is building (Eph 4:11-16). They lay the foundation for the other 5-fold ministry gifts of the Evangelist, the Pastor, and the Teacher to build upon. The Apostle identifies the places of each stone (person) in the structure where they belong. The Prophet speaks into their prophetic destinies in God and serves as “the Watchman on the wall” protecting the destiny of each stone. The evangelist (in the context of the local body) calls in the stones that have yet to come in to the structure (the church). The Pastor and Teacher masterfully shape the stones, equipping them to fulfill their destinies and purposes. What a beautiful order that God has intentioned.

The Chief Corner Stone is Jesus Christ. - The Corner stone has to be laid first. This stone determines the position and function of every other stone. Everything and everyone finds their identity and value in the Chief Cornerstone and does derive it from the structure itself. A secure identity in Christ is what determines the strength (density) and durability of each living stone. Finding your identity in the structure (the church) and not in the Chief Cornerstone (Christ) produces a brittle stone that susceptible to cracks and fissures because of Offense.

Grows into a Holy Temple in the Lord & a Dwelling Place of God in the Spirit. - In Acts 7:48 it says: “... the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands”. God has ordained that He would live in and work through his people. His Image, His Glory and His Purposes seen and accomplished through the Body of Christ. We are the ‘embodiment of the anointed One’; God desires for the same anointing of the Spirit that dwelt in Jesus (Col 1:15, 19) and the manifest glory that filled in the tabernacle (Exodus 40:34–35) to dwell in His Holy Temple, His Church.

What a powerful image of the church and a vivid picture of Unity. Every single stone or person has a place and purpose in the structure that God is building.

There are a lot of ‘houses made by human hands’ trying to be a ‘dwelling place of God in the Spirit’

There are a lot of churches and ministries that have been built by human effort and intentions and calling themselves a ‘Holy Temple in the Lord’.

Unity is what marks a True Work of God and can not be imitated, even by man’s best efforts and noblest intentions.

Unity is at the heart of the Gospel and the true born again, Spirit-filled experience.

Unity is what is supposed to mark us as His Body - The Ecclesia of God

Look at Jesus’ prayer for believers.......

John 17:20–26 TPT

20 “And I ask not only for these disciples, but also for all those who will one day believe in me through their message. 21 I pray for them all to be joined together as one even as you and I, Father, are joined together as one. I pray for them to become one with us so that the world will recognize that you sent me. 22 For the very glory you have given to me I have given them so that they will be joined together as one and experience the same unity that we enjoy. 23 You live fully in me and now I live fully in them so that they will experience perfect unity, and the world will be convinced that you have sent me, for they will see that you love each one of them with the same passionate love that you have for me. 24 “Father, I ask that you allow everyone that you have given to me to be with me where I am! Then they will see my full glory— the very splendor you have placed upon me because you have loved me even before the beginning of time. 25 “You are my righteous Father, but the unbelieving world has never known you in the perfect way that I know you! And all those who believe in me also know that you have sent me! 26 I have revealed to them who you are and I will continue to make you even more real to them, so that they may experience the same endless love that you have for me, for your love will now live in them, even as I live in them!”

Our unity is supposed to be one our primary witnesses to the world that the Father sent Jesus

John 13:34–35 NKJV

34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

There are 2 specific types of Unity mentioned in the New Testament the Unity of the Spirit and the Unity of the Faith.

Unity of the Spirit

Ephesians 4:1–6 NKJV

1 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, 2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, 3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 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.

Unity of the Faith

Ephesians 4:11–13 NKJV

11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;

The Unity of the Spirit

The Unity of the Spirit is something we are commanded to “endeavor to keep the Unity of the Spirit”. We’re not told to develop it, or told to ‘get it’, we are commanded to keep it or guard it. In other words, the Unity of the Spirit is God’s gift to us as sons and daugter’s and we as a body and individuals are responsible for stewarding it. This unity is a deep spiritual union on the level of the spirit, not the soul. We are all born of One Spirit.

Acts 2:1–4 NKJV

1 When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

The Baptism of the Holy Spirit, or being “filled with the Holy Spirit” is what united them on the day of Pentecost. Although all the 120 disciples all followed Jesus, they were a different levels of understanding of “The Faith”. You have doubting Thomas, denying Peter, Jesus’ brothers and others

Unity of the Faith

Ephesians 4:11–13 NKJV

11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;