A Call For Unity In The Body of Christ (Part 2) Guest Post by Mickey Estes
There is a common phrase which is often used to rally troops to a project. “United we stand; divided we fall.” This is true in natural war, and it’s true in spiritual war.
The Word is full of this truth.
In Matthew 12:25 Jesus said, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand.”
He also prayed in John 17:21 “That they all may be one; as Thou, Father, art in me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that Thou hast sent me.”
John 17:22, “That they may be one, even as we are one.”
John17:23 “That they may be perfect in one.”
Ephesians 2:14 Paul wrote, “For He (Jesus) is our peace, who hath made both one, hath broken down the middle wall between us.”
In Ephesians 4:3 “Endeavoring to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace.”
Ephesians 4:13 “Til we all come into the unity of the faith.”
The resounding theme is united we stand and divided we fall.
Sometimes people feel that if they seek too much unity, they will have to compromise, but that’s not the case. A perfect example of the church in unity would be the 12 tribes of Israel. The tribes had different land, different leaders, different banners, and different customs. Some were more spiritual than others. But when it was time to go to war, no longer did they just go as their tribe. They went as children of Israel to defeat the common enemy. They went as one man.
Today we have many different tribes in the church. When we are wanting to be on the cutting edge of God’s plan, it’s easy to see ourselves as the “latest and greatest,” and not to appreciate the attributes of others. But God is calling for us to humble ourselves and seek for the common ground with others. Only then will we be able to destroy the enemy in our territories.
Unity doesn’t mean we deny any of our doctrines. It means that if someone believes that Jesus Christ is Lord and that He was crucified and rose again from the dead, then they are our brother and we will honor their contribution. They may be honoring God in a different way, but we still honor them and stand with them.
The Lord spoke to me and said, “The stones that you use to build the bridges which unite will come from the walls which divide.” So who will go first? Who is willing to remove the first stone from the wall that divides and cross denominational lines to develop relationships that unite?
The way you add fractions is to find a common denominator. That denominator is Jesus Christ. It’s His church and His body. I encourage spiritual leaders to form prayer groups with other leaders from different churches. We as leaders must set the example. If we will do this we will change our communities and usher in the great awakening we all have been talking about.
