Jesus: The Architect of Unity

John 17:20-23 ““I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. “The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.”

The Importance of Unity

My topic today centers around a concept that is becoming increasingly foreign to our society, as other concepts have dominated the public square: Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Intersectionality, Systemic Racism and Gender Identity are among the most commonly discussed today. Ironically, when you hear buzz words such as “diversity, equity & inclusion” in practice that mean quite the opposite. Diversity means diverse appearances, not diversity of thought; equity is confused with equality, and inclusion no longer includes traditional or Judeo-Christian values. As Christians, we will find ourselves at odds with things that are happening in our society- we will see ourselves labeled more often as religious zealots or extremists- not because we are these things, but because so many have slowly drifted away from the values upon which western civilization was built, and the same views are now labeled extreme to explain the drift.

My purpose today is not delve into these issues directly; although I would love to express my thoughts, there are 2 reasons why I will not do so. Firstly, this is a sacred time & space that is set aside for worship to God, for the preaching of His Gospel & the edification of His people. Secondly, it is more efficacious for me to spend time addressing the issue at the core of all of these issues- sin, the fallen nature of men- and equipping God’s people with the spiritual antidote to a spiritual illness. Politics, policies & laws are woefully inadequate in addressing issues which stem from man’s fallen nature. You cannot legistate morailty.

C.S. Lewis once said,

“I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.”-C.S. Lewis

The Church is called to be the light of the world (Jn 8:12). We are to not only help men to see, but to paraphrase Lewis, through the lens of our Gospel we are to help them see- to grasp, to comprehend- everythnig else. I remind you once again of the startling claim that Jesus makes in Jn 14:6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” Truth is revealed not just as a concept, but as a Person in Christ Jesus. We have THE Truth, and we must defend it for the sake of men’s souls.

So my subject today is the antithesis of the issues which the enemy of men’s souls attempt to use to divide us; it is the unity in Christ which restores all that was broken.

UNITY is defined as, “the state of being undivided; having oneness; a condition of harmony.”

Untiy in the Godhead

Central to the faith of Israel is the confession of the unity of God: “Listen, Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is One” (Deut. 6:4). Gal 3:20 “Now a mediator is not for one party only; whereas God is only one.”

Scripture attests to God’s utter uniqueness and oneness throughout. He is the Lord alone, and there are no other gods besides him. (Deut 32:39; Ps 18:31)

As such, He is the sole object of worship (Exod 20:3–6; Deut 5:7–10; 1 Cor 8:4).

Furthermore, God is the one and only creator and sustainer of the world (Gen 1–2; Acts 17:24)

All things come from him and are sustained by him (Acts 17:28; Col 1:15–17)

God is the only savior of his people (Isa 43:11).

All other beings exist from him, through him, and to him.

Unity in the Body of Christ

Because God is one, one set of laws was to apply to both Israelites and foreigners (Num. 15:16). Human history is a story of sin’s disruption of God’s ordained unity. God’s ideal for marriage is for husband and wife to experience unity of life, “one flesh” (Gen 2:24). Sin in the garden bred mistrust and accusation (3:12). Stubbornness of will (“hardness” of heart, Mark 10:5) continues to disrupt God’s desired unity in marriage. God’s ideal for the larger human family is again unity.

Not all unity is equal. I mentioned this example in prior teaching. The primeval unity of humanity (“same language” Gen. 11:1) was likewise disrupted as a result of sinful pride (11:4–8). In the New Testament Church, we see the cumination of God’s plan to restore the oneness of His image bearers. Acts 2:1“When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.”

Unity in the Local Church

The followers of Christ have always confessed the existence of only one universal church. In the New Testament, the church is often described as a unified body, joined together through the person and work of Jesus Christ. Just as there is only one Lord, there is also only one faith, one baptism, and one Spirit unifying the faithful (Eph 4:4–6). In the Gospel of John, the Lord describes the church as “one flock” and prays to the Father that the church “may be one even as we are one” (John 10:16; 17:22–23). Likewise, the apostle Paul often uses the image of the unity of the human body to characterize the cohesive nature of the church (1 Cor 12:12–31), and he urges them to maintain “the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph 4:3). He also lifts up the quality of “love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony” (Col 3:14). The book of Acts illustrates this loving unity with a stirring picture of the early church united in worship, in service, and even in holding goods in common (Acts 4:32).

Being Grafted In

Romans 11:22-25 “Behold then the kindness and severity of God; to those who fell, severity, but to you, God’s kindness, if you continue in His kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off. And they also, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. For if you were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these who are the natural branches be grafted into their own olive tree? For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery—so that you will not be wise in your own estimation—that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in;”

Jn 15:1 ““I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.”

2 Cor 5:17 “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”