Christian Unity -- God's Way to Become One

How should we seek to have Christian unity? Should Christians stop making a fuss about what this preacher or that preacher teaches? Should we overlook what the Bible says about controversial issues? Should we simply agree to disagree?  Is that the way we should become one?

Let's look at part of a prayer that Jesus made regarding being one.

John 17:17-21  Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. (18)  As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. (19)  And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth. (20)  I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, (21)  that they may all be one, just 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 have sent me. ESV

This prayer that Jesus made to His Father lets us know how important the Word of God is. Jesus prays that His apostles would be sanctified, set apart, in truth, and that it was His Word, God's Word, that was truth. He also prayed this for those who would believe in Christ through the word that they received from those apostles.

In the Bible we have the truth God used to set apart those He chose as His apostles to send out, and what He continues to use to set apart those He has called to be His. He didn't just pray this for those who would lead and teach the Church after He returned to Heaven. Jesus wants all who believe in Him to be sanctified by the truth that is in God's Word.

Let's not be content with snip-its of Scripture knowledge. Let's not tolerate a mixture of Bible truth and teachings that sound good but are merely the clever concoctions of men. God uses truth, His truth, to sanctify us. He uses the truth that is in His Word. Indeed, His Word is truth.

That is why expository preaching can be so effective at helping believers become more set apart for God. Expository preaching when done by those who believe God's word is truth can explain and expound upon Scripture by using Scripture to understand Scripture, along with information about the meaning of words, phrases, and the history of the people and places of the Bible.

Do you believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior?  Then God has called you to be sanctified by the truth that is His Word. Read Scripture. Study it. Listen to teachers and preachers who believe all of Scripture is true and seek to grow in understanding it and living it out obediently. Also pray for me that I can do the same. This is the way God wants for us to be one. There are teachings that tell of other ways we can become one but those are inventions of men. If God has called us to be His, then He wants us to do things His way, not any other way, no matter how appealing any of them may sound.

When we become one God's way, that is when the world will know Jesus was indeed sent by the Father, and therefore what Jesus taught is true.  Whatever is contrary to what Jesus and His apostles taught is false, and those who teach them are false teachers whether they know it or not. True Christian unity can only come one way. Let's seek to have that unity, become one, God's way.

Can We Do All Things Through Him Who Strengthens Us?

In Paul's letter to the Philippians he wrote

Philippians 4:13  I can do all things through him who strengthens me. ESV

What a wonderful statement. Does that mean that all Christians can apply that statement to ourselves and expect to accomplish just about anything we can imagine? Does it mean there are no limits to how much success, wealth, and health we can achieve?

Of course to get God's perspective on any particular verse of Scripture it can help a great deal if we look at it in the context of where it is written. Before we quote any Bible passage we ought to check to see what leads up to it. Here is a bit more of Philippians chapter 4:

Philippians 4:12-13  I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.  (13)  I can do all things through him who strengthens me.  ESV

Paul made it clear that he was not proclaiming health and wealth for himself or other Christians. In serving God he said there were times when he had abounded, yet other times when he's been brought to very humble lows. There were times when his physical and other needs had been met abundantly, and other times when he'd gone hungry and done without.

Paul was fully convinced that God worked all things together for good for those who were called according to God's purpose (Romans 8:28). Therefore if Paul found himself in prison chained to guards 24 hours a day, then he accepted it as an opportunity to share the gospel with those guards. If Paul found himself free to roam and visit new towns, he thanked God for the opportunity to tell others of Jesus and see God raise up new churches.

It seems clear that when Paul wrote that he could do all things through Him who strengthened him, he was saying that with the help of God he could and would serve him during times of pain as well as times of comfort.

Let us always seek to understand every Scripture verse in its proper context. No one has the right to change what God meant when He inspired it to be written down for believers to read and heed.