Unity is the greatest weapon

Matthew 7:16

16. You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?

One of the simplest ways to know if someone loves God is to see how they act, and what they produce from those actions. In the close of Christ’s message on the mount in Matthew 7 we hear simple instructions about living a life for Christ. The overwhelming message is of unity in God and one another, unity in actions, speech and thought.

Christianity isn’t about pulling other people down, judging them based on our own measure of what a Christian should or shouldn’t be. We should be building people up, working together using the things which unite us, to do God’s will. After all only those who do the will of God will see God. Matthew 7:21

21. Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.

Do our actions and words unite or divide, do we produce Godly fruit or do we produce thorns?

God is the great unifier, Satan the divider.

God brings us together, in praise and worship, in love and marriage and into one body under Christ. Togetherness is an expression of love, and therefore an expression of God.

Satan tries to divide us, he splits churches through praise and worship, he drives wedges into marriages and corrupts true love, and he tries to divide the body of Christ. He recognises division as a weapon against love and, therefore, against God.

Working together in faith

It is important to understand as Christians that we should work together; we are all supposed to be part of the body of Christ. Invariably what does happen is that we work together with like-minded people, hence the thousands of Christian denominations around today. While I would agree that there are some fundamental beliefs that we must all adhere to and we shouldn’t compromise on, there are also some marginal beliefs that shouldn’t stop us working as one, for the one true God.

A. In essential beliefs we have unity – Ephesians 4:4-6

4. There is one body and one Spirit, just as also 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 over all and through all and in all.

B. In non-essential beliefs we have liberty – Romans 14:1, 4, 12, 22

1. Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters.
4. Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.
12. So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.
22. So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves.

C. Without love, no matter what our belief, we are nothing - 1 Corinthians 13:2

2. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.

Working together for Him.

God wants us all to work together for Him, how can the church function if it is divided? Matthew 12:25 to 32 gives a clear and stark warning for those who seek to divide the body of Christ;

25. Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.
26. If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand?
27. And if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges.
28. But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
29. “Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man’s house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can plunder his house.
30. “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.
31. And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.
32. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.

Sometimes we unconsciously separate people because of what they believe or don’t believe based on our own understanding. It is not up to us to judge, we don’t know how God works or how He is dealing with someone’s faith. Rather than being judgemental or argumentative, we should support and nurture everyone’s faith in God and not presume we have all the answers, but support and give scriptural advice to anyone who wants to learn more.

It is important for any new Christian, and for that matter any Christian, to have a good foundation and a good support group around them. If we are to grow in our faith then we need to be open to God, not man; we need to follow the will of God and not that of man. Psalm 119:105

105. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

Working towards Unity.

People make decisions in their walk with God; sometimes those decisions show who they are listening to, the unifier or the divider. Sometimes it is deliberate, other times it’s in a moment of weakness, but, like Judas, they will have to answer to God for those decisions and the fruit that they produce.

If we allow the love of God into our lives the decision-making become easier because we’re listening to the right voice. That’s not to say life becomes easier; on the contrary temptations will increase as will spiritual attacks, but through unity with God and the body of Christ we will find a strength which is not our your own to help us overcome those difficult situations.

The love of God isn’t self-serving or politically motivated, neither is it always politically correct. It isn’t image conscious or concerned with gender of colour of skin, it is all-encompassing, all-accepting, never judgemental. What God’s love does is give us a new perspective on life, as it teaches us to always put the other person before us.

Colossians 3:14

14. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Only with love can unity exist, the Bible is quite clear about this. In fact love is the basis for just about everything and the Bible as well as Jesus puts love before anything, after all God is love. 1 John 4:8 and 1 Corinthians 13:2

8. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

2. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God's secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn't love others, I would be nothing.

Unity is love

Unity is dependent on love. If we can’t love, if we don’t have the ability to love in us, then how can we work together and how can God work in us?

Many people today pretend to be good and put on a public persona for their own ends. Just ‘doing’ good isn’t what it’s all about because at the root is generally a selfish desire. God wants us to experience true unity based on a real and unconditional love. Jesus didn’t go to the cross based on a selfish love or because he wanted to be seen to be good, He went as a sacrifice for the world who hated Him and in obedience to His father.

It is hard to put others first sometimes especially when they seem to be doing better than us, but if God asks us to do something then who are we to question it? God doesn’t ask us to do something which will hurt us, yes it may go against our human nature but God is love, His actions are always for others and if we can be a part of that then how blessed can we be. If God can use me to fulfil His will in someone else’s life then how honoured I should feel.

If I were to give a starting point to the path towards true unity and God’s love it would be in John 3:30 which simply says;

30. He must become greater; I must become less

If you can become humble enough to allow this to happen then you can receive God’s love and use it in conjunction with God’s will to work towards unity in Him, Christ and one another.