“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28, ESV)
A Pew Research Center report from January 18, 2011 indicated at 75% of Americans are active in one kind of group or another. Many are active in multiple groups (Purcell & Smith, 2011). The question is this. What characterizes membership in these groups.
In my life, I have belonged to many groups. Most everyone has been in a school classroom receiving an education. On top of this, students are often engaged in extracurricular groups and clubs. I was part of a hunting and fishing club, an intermural basketball team, and the Boy Scouts while a young man. In college, I was part of the Army Reserve Officers Training Corps, and their rifle team. Later I served in the United States Army as a commissioned officer. After serving in the military, I went to work for a fortune 500 company as a project engineer. These were all various groups, and there were many more. Of these secular groups, I would say that the closest bonds with other members occurred while in the military.
Yet in 1983 when the Lord saved me, I joined a very unique group, the church. It was quite different than any other group that I had joined in my life. What was the difference? Let me first discuss the ways member in these other groups were united. I’ll use the military for this.
In the Army, we had uniformity. For one, we all wore the same uniforms. Even our hair cuts were managed withing certain criteria spelled out in the Army regulations. Yes, we did have differing ranks, but we all were grouped together in the way we looked. The civilian population could pick a soldier out of the crowd in an instant. So, in the Army there was uniformity.
We also had unison, which refers to harmonious agreement or union in function. The best example of this is in marching and close order drill. We would march in step, count a cadence to keep everyone together. When marching with our rifles we would hold them exactly same way. Oh, we did not do it perfectly but we aimed to be in unison. This idea of unison also carried over into our combat operations in that we needed to work together in a harmonious fashion.
In the Army we also we to have unanimity, which means being unanimous or being of one mind. We were to be on the same page, with the same purpose and focus. This was essential in the mission. We were not to isolated individuals maneuvering on whatever objective we felt like. We spent much time when in planning, briefing, and training so that if a time came when we needed to engage in a field operation, we would be on the same page.
Now all of these characteristics should also characterize the church, both the universal church, which includes all believers who have been truly saved, and those in local churches. All believers are to seek uniformity with the Lord, to be in harmonious agreement in working together, and having the same purpose of glorifying God as we live and serve together.
However, there is one great distinction between the church and all other organizations. Every believer has been made to be one with every other believer in a supernatural and real way. Paul wore about it in this verse and very distinctly to the church in Corinth.
“For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 12:13, ESV)
Simultaneous with saving faith every believer is irrevocably immersed into the body of Christ, the church. In this case the Holy Spirit has made every believer to be one as each is joined by one Spirit into one body.
So, the big questions that believers need to ask themselves is not if we are one, but are we acting in accordance with the unity into which the Spirit has joined us. The problem that we have in our churches is that all believers are still plagued with an old fleshly nature that is in opposition to the Spirit. Later in the letter to the Galatians, Paul wrote of this truth.
“For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.” (Galatians 5:17, ESV)
I’ll touch on this again when we get to that section, but the point is this. There is a struggle that believers have and when we do not see the aspects of true unity maintained in our church and churches, it is totally the fault of believers who are not walking by the Spirit but the flesh. Paul wrote, “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” (Galatians 5:16, ESV)
So, we have no excuse for dissention in our churches. There should never be factions based upon race, gender, or economic status. The reason is that the Holy Spirit has made us one and we must seek to live as He has made us.
Renewing the Heart 