“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. ²² The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, ²³ I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. ²⁴ Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. ²⁵ O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. ²⁶ I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

Our subject is Christian unity: Jesus hits it three times in these four verses (John 17:21, 22, 23), so we can’t miss it.

Division plagues the church. In the brotherhood there are groups which have nothing to do with one another, brothers and sisters divided over Bible classes, one cup, orphans homes, church cooperation, etc.

Even more obvious are divisions within local congregations. Almost every congregation which has been in existence for any length of time has experienced at least one church split. Perhaps even more tragic: even when churches do not divide, frequently factions occur in the congregation…one family which will not speak to another, one group which will have nothing to do with another.

Some brethren sit on one side of the building and some on the other side, members of the same congregation, brothers in Christ, no more than twenty or thirty feet apart. But they might as well be a hundred miles apart and members of different churches, for all the fellowship they have.

There is even one group that divided over whether there should be lights in the parking lot!

Division is both tragic and sinful. It is contrary to the spirit of Christ (John 17:21) and to the will of God (1 Corinthians 1:10). But how can division be avoided? How can the church be united?

We all talk about unity while practicing division. Most do not know what unity is. If you do not know what it is, you cannot practice it. The restoration plea is a unity plea! Division is wrong outside the church or in the church. The sectarian spirit is blasphemous. Splintered churches and alienated brethren are not the answer to The Lord’s Prayer.

Unity is a gift from God. It is to keep. Men cannot find unity from a human creed. It has always been easier for men to divide than unite. It is easier to fly apart than to come together.

Even the apostles had a unity problem. Jesus was denied, betrayed, yea forsaken. Yet He never lost trust in God or hope for man.

Unity is in a person. That person is Christ. This is our primary loyalty. Our loyalty belongs to Him and Him alone.

A church split that involved one of my family members: Don’t let someone outside of God’s will keep me from doing God’s will.

Unity is a personal, growing, and living relationship with Jesus. We love each other because we both love Him. Our love for Christ allows us to transcend our differences.

Many talk about unity but have no idea at all as to what it is. Unity is not diagramming doctrines upon a blackboard! Unity is total commitment to Christ. The centrality of unity is Christ. He is mine and I am His. When we love Jesus more than anything else, we will stay united.

Christian love is big enough, strong enough, and pure enough, to transcend all petty differences. The power of Christianity is unity. Keep it.

THE CHURCH WAS UNITED IN THE FIRST CENTURY

Christ prayed that all His disciples would be one in His prayer before His death in John 17:20, 21. He knew such unity would lead the world to believe in Him.

With unity, the first church preached the gospel to the known world in one generation (Colossians 1:6, 23).

Unity characterized the message that they all preached (1 Corinthians 2:2).

The crucified Christ who brought salvation from sin to the world was the sum and substance of their preaching. He was the founder and foundation of the church (Matthew 16:18; 1 Corinthians 3:11).

He was the head of the church (Colossians 1:18).

Unity characterized their faith and practice. Faith in Christ was required (John 8:24).

Repentance was preached in His name (Luke 24:46, 47). Confession of faith in Him as the Son of God was practiced (Acts 8:37; Matthew 10:32).

Baptism into Him was commanded (see Acts 10:48; Romans 6:3, 4).

Christ was prominent in their lives (Philippians 1:20, 21). All Christians had the same standard of life to regulate their conduct.

Everything they did was in the name of Christ (Colossians 3:17).

Every disciple was identified by His name (Acts 11:26; 1 Peter 4:16).

To alter their message in any way was strictly forbidden (Galatians 1:8, 9).

The unity of their message made unity of faith and practice inevitable. Division among the followers of Christ was condemned and exposed immediately (1 Corinthians 1:10; Titus 3:10).

The church had unity of organization under Christ, the head (Philippians 1:1; Colossians 1:18). The same offices existed in all congregations. Unity characterized their worship. The same acts were to be performed by all the churches, for the same purpose (see 1 Corinthians 7:17b).

The church in the first century had one bond of union: faith in Christ and obedience to His will (James 4:12). Members had one tie of affiliation: love for God and one another. Their one mission was the conversion of the world to Christ; and their one destiny, the everlasting city of God!

UNITY WAS LOST IN APOSTASY

Heretical teachers were silenced by the truth in the first century. However, they began to flourish in the second century. Their manmade doctrines led to the dark ages of the church, when the truth of God was ignored.

Disagreement arose during this time; but after the church received government recognition in A.D. 325 (during the time of Constantine’s reign as emperor of Rome), it exercised enough power to silence opposition with the sword.

Then there was conformity by coercion—a thing Jesus would never have approved. Protesters were slain until Martin Luther gained the protection of the Elector of Saxony in 1521 and afterward began the first successful revolt.

Several other significant breaks from the Catholic Church were made about that time in Switzerland by Huldreich (or Ulrich) Zwingli (1484–1531) and John Calvin (1509–1564).

In England, in 1534, Henry VIII declared his own authority to be greater than that of the Church. Most of those who sought change only desired to reform the existing religious body.

Luther wanted to reform certain Catholic teachings and practices which he did not believe conformed to biblical teaching. John Wesley (1703–1791) later sought to reform the Church of England for the same reason. This proved to be impossible, and the reformers soon realized the only way they could express their convictions was to withdraw from the Catholic Church and form new groups.

Their followers soon grew into congregations, then into denominations. To achieve conformity among their people, the reformers wrote creeds, confessions of faith, and catechisms.

After this, various leaders attempted to make converts to their own theologies. Since Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, and others disagreed, their followers argued, split, and became warring camps that could not share fellowship. That is how denominational division arose.

The different denominations also suffered internal division. The end result was that multiple denominational groups were formed, with people giving their allegiance to their certain groups. Any efforts at unity were, for the part, unsuccessful.

Often, to state a problem clearly is to solve it. The problem of unity, when viewed in sharp focus, revealed an answer.

The Bible, our only creed. It was obvious that a creed written by one man was as good as any creed written by another, so why should one person relinquish his creed for someone else’s? All agreed to accept the statements of the Bible regarding the essentials of faith. If anyone disagreed with the Bible, the Bible prevailed.

The Bible does not disagree with itself. It teaches unified truth on all subjects that are pertinent to salvation and godly living. All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16, 17).

They agreed that, on incidental details where the Bible does not legislate, everyone could have his own opinions and all could still be united. No one would force his private opinion on another. This policy caused their differences to disappear and unity to prevail.

2. “Christian,” our only name. The biblical name “Christian” was the common denominator on which they all could agree: “. . . the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch” (Acts 11:26).
3. Worshiping as in biblical examples. There was much contention over mechanical music in the various denominations 200 years ago. Arguments were heated, and congregations often split over the question. However, since all agreed that singing is authorized by the Scriptures, singing without instrumental accompaniments provided a basis for unity. Christians’ worship of God involves “speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:19).
4. Observing the Lord’s Supper as in biblical examples. Various denominations were participating in the Lord’s Supper at different intervals. All agreed that the first-century church observed it each first day of the week, so that was the practice that would bring unity. Acts 20:7 says that “on the first day of the week,” the early Christians “gathered together to break bread.”
5. Baptism based on biblical teaching. The truth about baptism was startling to many as they truly studied the Bible. It became apparent that here, too, was uniformity. Instead of several “modes” of baptism, immersion was the only form of baptism practiced in the first century. It was the form on which all could agree, though most of them had practiced sprinkling. Immersion in water became a basis of unity.

Colossians 2:12 speaks of being “buried with [Christ] in baptism” and “raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.”

Unity is achieved by consenting to the truth (John 17:17), by being one in mind (1 Corinthians 1:10), and by altering any former belief so that it will be in harmony with the statements in the Scriptures.

“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity!” (Psalm 133:1).