Protecting the Unity of the Church

Jesus prayed for his present and future disciples on the day before his crucifixion “that they may all be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us that the world may believe that you have sent me.” – John 17:21

The unity of the Body of Christ is a precious thing, something Jesus prayed for, and we are called to protect it. But how do we do that? Let me suggest a few things that you and I can do to protect and even enhance our unity as a body, and keep the body of Christ strong.

First, we need to be particularly aware of the power of our words, and use our words to build one another up, instead of tearing each other down. Encouragement is an essential vitamin in the health of the body of Christ, and each of us is responsible for making sure that we all get our recommended daily allowance. It says in the New Testament book of Hebrews, “But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.”

I believe in the 10 to 1 rule in the body of Christ. For every critical thing we need to lovingly say to one another, we need to say 10 affirming things. That’s a good rule for home, work and church. Who can you encourage this week? Who can you thank? Who can you praise? Who can you write a note to that says, “I think you’re the best.”

Second, practice the art of forgiveness. We must exercise radical grace with one another in the body of Christ. The goal of community is not a lack of conflict. We can’t live in community and not have conflict. Where two or more are gathered, toes will be stepped on, that’s a reality of life together. The question is not whether there will be conflict in the body. The question is how we will live with one another in the midst of conflict.

If you’ve offended someone, confess your sin and ask for their forgiveness. If you’ve been offended by someone and are holding a grudge, go and make it right today. Make the first move. Die to your pride. Put away your fear. Go with the grace and love of God in your heart and on your lips and seek to make that relationship right.

Finally, to protect the unity we share in Christ we need to regularly get into the Word of God, so that the truth of God’s Word might get into us. In our own personal devotional life and in small group community, we need to allow the truth of God’s Word to transform our minds and conform our wills to his.

During the Last Supper, when Jesus prayed for the unity of his followers, he asked the Father, “Sanctify them in the truth, your word is truth.” You see, Satan would love nothing more than to undermine our unity and render us powerless to accomplish God’s mission. Satan would love to have us argue over things that don’t really matter, engage in power struggles and turf wars, squabble over issues of style and not substance. Satan would delight in having us so focused on our own issues that we lose sight of the world around us that continues to die without knowing Jesus Christ
as Lord and Savior.

And so, brothers and sisters in Christ, we need to arm ourselves against the enemy, and render him powerless against the unified Body of Christ.

Bringing It Home:
1. What threats to the unity of the Body of Christ can you identify in your own local church? What can you do to protect the unity?
2. If you have a broken relationship with someone in your local church (be honest with yourself and God!!) seek to make it right today. Make the first move.

Prayer:
Heavenly Father, forgive me for my part in undermining the unity of your Church by my thoughts, words, and deeds. Help me to do all that I can to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. Teach me to use my words to build others up and encourage them, and stay grounded in your Word so that enemy might not find a foothold in my soul. This I ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Jeff Marian
Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, Burnsville, MN
www.princeofpeaceonline.org

Maintaining Unity in Christ

“Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others”. – Romans 12:4-5

The Bible calls us to protect the unity of the Church, but what exactly is Christian unity?

Let’s start with what unity is not. Unity is not the same as conformity. Conformity implies that our unity is based on some outside pressure or our own effort, but the bible says that it is the Holy Spirit who creates our unity. We don’t create it. It’s a gift. So, unity is not conformity. Neither is unity the same as uniformity. Uniformity happens when we all look or act the same. That’s not unity either. Real Christian unity is much deeper and richer and stronger than that.

When the Bible talks about unity it is referring to something living, dynamic. When St. Paul wanted to talk about the unity of the Church he used the image of the human body. We are one body, Paul says, with many parts. Those parts don’t all have the same function, nor do they look alike. The human body lacks uniformity. In fact, it thrives on diversity! And so does the body of Christ. It’s the diversity of our God-given gifts that makes us strong.

Christian unity is a living thing, and it thrives on diversity. But that’s not all. The real key to our unity is that it is grounded in Jesus. There’s unity in the body of Christ because we all belong to Jesus through our baptism. We are one in Christ. And because we’re one in Christ, we share a common mission, a common purpose, a common sense of direction.

When one of our boys was little he joined a soccer team. Have you ever seen little kids play soccer? It’s this little blob of bodies, all dressed in the same shirts, gathered around the same soccer ball, and all their little legs are kicking. Mostly they just kick each other, but occasionally they kick the ball too, but the ball rarely goes far because it can’t get out of the blob of bodies. That’s not unity!

By the end of the soccer season, however, the coach had helped these aspiring soccer players to work as a team. They learned that they had different positions to play, different parts of the field to cover, different tasks to perform. But they all had a single purpose, a single mission – to get the ball into the net. And not just any net, mind you! We learned the hard way that we needed to be clear about which net we were trying to get the ball into! But when all of that came together, unity happened. They became a team, and it was wonderful to watch.

It is also wonderful to watch the Body of Christ work when we choose to live out and protect the unity that we have in Christ. Without unity we cannot effectively accomplish God’s mission. Without unity, we feed the doubts of unbelievers about the reality and power of the Gospel.

Bringing It Home:
1. How can you help to affirm and celebrate the diversity of your local church?
2. How would you articulate the mission or purpose of the Body of Christ? Do you think the majority of your local church would affirm that common direction? I challenge you to poll some of the members to find out, and don’t just ask the people you know!

Prayer:
Heavenly Father, you paid a great price to form us into one body, the Body of Christ. We thank you for the incredible diversity in the Body and for the strength that our diversity brings. Keep us grounded in the truth of your word, and keep our eyes focused on our common mission. Together we can do so much more for your Kingdom than we ever could alone. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Jeff Marian
Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, Burnsville, MN
www.princeofpeaceonline.org

Unity in the Body of Christ

“Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit– just as you were called to one hope when you were called– one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” – Ephesians 4:3-6

Have you ever heard a great symphony orchestra play? What a wonderful experience…and what a great metaphor for the unity of the Body of Christ.

A great orchestra is lead by a great conductor. The conductor gives every musician a part to follow and leads them to a common destination. Every musician is highly motivated and committed to playing their part. No single part is any more important than another. It takes every part to make the music complete.

The musicians in a great orchestra are often very diverse. They might be from all over the world and have had very different experiences. Some may be male, others female, some young, others old. They play different instruments. Their musical parts differ from one another…the music that the trumpets are playing is quite different from the music that the violins are playing. Each part fits together to create the whole. There is tremendous diversity in an orchestra, but it is that very diversity that makes the music so wonderful.

Unity is achieved when a group of people are headed in a common purpose and common direction. Unity is not the same as uniformity; it does not require that everyone be the same. In fact that usually hinders real unity. Another word for unity is sometimes harmony, and by definition you need at least two different musical notes to make harmony!

The Church is very much like a symphony orchestra. It is incredibly diverse, but has an essential unity because we have a Great Conductor, a common score to follow, and a clear destination. And when the Church plays the symphony of God’s music with passion and grace it is a delight to the heart of a broken world.

The Apostle Paul calls us to, “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3). How are you doing at protecting the unity of your church? Are you playing your “part”, exercising your spiritual gifts to build up the body? Are you refusing to gossip, living clean with your brothers and sisters in Christ? Are you extending forgiveness rather than allowing bitterness to take root in your heart?

The unity of the body of Christ is precious. It was purchased at the price of our Lord’s life. Make every effort to protect it.

Bringing It Home
1. What are your spiritual gifts? How are you using them to build up your local church?
2. Are there attitudes in your heart or ways of behavior in your daily life that threaten or undermine the unity of your church? Confess them and repent of them today!

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, thank you for making me a part of your Body, a gift that was purchased on my behalf at a great price. Show me how I can make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit in my local church. Shape my heart for obedience to you and for an extraordinary love for my brothers and sisters in the faith so that together we might serve you with our very lives. Amen.

Jeff Marian
Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, Burnsville, MN
www.princeofpeaceonline.org