What is unity according to the Bible?

It is the privilege of all those who love the Lord Jesus Christ, and not only their privilege but their responsibility, to "endeavour to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." (Eph. 4:3.) The unity of the Spirit is not unanimity of sentiments or opinions, although the more spirituality there is, the more will this be found. It is the unity of the one body of Christ by the Holy Ghost. The Apostle had explained, in chapter 2, the work of Christ on the cross laying the foundation of this unity, in making peace, breaking down the wall of partition between Jew and Gentile, to reconcile both to God in one body by the cross: giving access to both by one Spirit, through Himself, to the Father.

Secondly, we are taught that being members of the body of Christ, we are also members one of another; and it is essential for us to apprehend this truth, if we would understand the character of our relationships with all the children of God. The same bond, then, that unites us to Christ, unites us also to all believers; for the same Spirit that unites us to Christ has united us also one to another. This is what is meant by "the unity of the Spirit" (Eph. 4:3); i.e., the unity of all the members of Christ which has been formed on the earth by the Spirit of God.

Just look at Ephesians 2:11-18. First we have the past condition of the Gentiles described, then their present relationship and place of blessing. It is not the Jew brought down to the level of the Gentile, nor is it the Gentile exalted to a level with the Jew, but both are brought into a place of favour where there is neither the one nor the other. Out of both peoples has been brought to pass ONE NEW MAN IN CHRIST, and both reconciled to God and to one another in ONE BODY by the cross, and in that way slaying the natural enmity that was between them. The Jew and the Gentile remain in the world, but here is a “new man,” “one Body,” in which there is neither. And this is a unity formed by the Spirit, for by Him have we been all baptised into one Body (1 Cor. 12:13), and we are to endeavour to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Therefore I maintain that the only ground or principle upon which we can be found together in this dispensation is that of the Body of Christ. To be together on any other ground would be to despise the distinction made by God between Jew and Gentile (Num. 3:9).

How are they characterized? 'And the heart and soul of the multitude of those that believed were one.' Never before Pentecost had such a time appeared on earth. What is described is, if possible, more vividly spiritual now that opposition came out distinctly against them. All savours of His presence Who deigned to come down from heaven and make the saints the dwelling-place of God. The Holy Spirit it is Whose energy works all that is acceptable to God, all that is edifying for man. Without Him there had been only so many individuals. The Spirit unites to Christ, He also and thereby gives practical unity as here. The heart and soul of those that believed, though a multitude, was one. Undoubtedly such unity could not have been without one supreme and absorbing object, even Christ, but there was also needed the power of the Spirit to exclude the activity of each several will. For flesh loves to differ, and seeks its own things. Next, they all sought the things of Jesus Christ, though without intelligence of union with Christ or heavenly relationships. Yet never before nor since has there been in any communion on earth an equal testimony to deliverance through His name from the selfishness of nature and the pride of the world, never more sustained joy in God or more mutual love through our Lord Jesus. It was the accomplishment of the prayer in John 17:20-21, 'that they all may be one, as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me.' Their heart and soul were one. The expression of the inspired historian is more energetic, as the practical unity in grace was realized with singular brightness before the world. No sign of greater weakness in the church than division of way, feeling, or thought; no more evident mark of the Spirit's power than unity of which Christ is the spring and character.

The first great principle is that it is a unity, the body of Christ. This, no doubt, is a figure, but it is one which the Holy Ghost constantly employs, and that to show the union of members with one another as well as with Christ, their dependence upon one another as well as upon Christ. If the Church is the body of Christ, believers are "one body in Christ, and every one members one of another" (Rom. 12:5). Therefore, "the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee; nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you" (1 Cor. 12:21). Nay, more, if "one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it" (v. 26). The body, therefore, though a figure, is not a mere fugitive metaphor, true to a certain point, and then failing in its application. It is a figure constantly recurring, and used to show the closest possible union among believers. Since, however, the Church is one body, the body of Christ, part of the testimony which it is called upon to bear is the manifestation of this oneness on earth. This much we may safely infer, for the Church down here, as instituted by God, was the reflection to the world of what it was in His own thoughts, and man's responsibility was to keep it such. The Holy Ghost, however, has not left us to inferences. Knowing the immense importance of the point, and the effort which Satan would make to divert man from God's thoughts, He has given us the clearest instructions on the matter.

Immediately after the exhortation to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the uniting bond of peace, the unity of the body is brought to our notice, along with the truth that there is "One Spirit," and that we have also been called in one hope of our calling. This evidently teaches that we need to know the truth of the unity of the body and the truth of the hope that belongs to the Christian calling before we could really keep the unity of the Spirit. We have all, as true believers, been brought into a living unity by the Spirit of God, and this unity is the body of Christ; the one Spirit has not only formed the unity, but He is the power to maintain it in a practical way. Each believer is not indwelt or actuated by a different spirit, but by the one Holy Spirit, so that if we allow the Spirit of God to direct us, in all that belongs to God, we shall indeed be endeavouring to maintain the unity of the Spirit. But this could not be apart from the practical recognition of the unity of the body of Christ. If we live in the light of the truth of the one body, it will not only affect us in relation to every other member of the body of Christ individually; it will cause us to be exercised about the church as a whole, as forming one body, and not many bodies, as some think and say. No one at all instructed in the truth of God would say: "To which body of Christians do you belong?" The believer taught in the word of God knows and recognises practically that there is one body. This unity of the body cannot be affected by the failure of men, for it is not dependent on human efforts to maintain it; it exists as a divine formation outside the region of man's responsibility. Still, we are called upon to walk in the light of this unity, and in this we may fail grievously. The oneness that exists in the Spirit of God too remains inviolable, and yet, because of the failures of the saints, it has not been kept in a practical way. This in no way relieves us from our responsibility or takes from us the privilege of answering to the mind of the Lord in relation to the "one body, and one Spirit." If two or three are desirous of doing the Lord's will, they can go on together in the practical recognition of these great truths, and of every other truth set before us in Scripture.

But how is this to be accomplished? Most Protestants say that the unity here spoken of is an invisible unity in Christ, and that it is quite consistent with sectarian divisions; though believers thus outwardly separated, being really one, should cultivate peace towards each other. This interpretation, however, makes peace the object, and leaves oneness, as a thing which we are to strive after, entirely out of account. Now we are not told to endeavour to keep the bond of peace, but to endeavour to keep "the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." The unity of the Spirit is what we are to endeavour to keep, and the bond of peace is the means to be employed. The Holy Ghost does not press that peace should be kept amidst divisions, but that oneness should be kept by peace. How, then, can this oneness be the invisible oneness which exists in Christ? How could believers be told to endeavour to keep that which is solely in God's keeping? They might as well be told to endeavour to keep the earth revolving on its axis. If they are exhorted to do something, it is because there is something for them to do. And what there is for them to do here is quite plain. Being called into the unity of the Spirit, they are to watch and guard it, to endeavour to keep it in the bond of peace. It is not an invisible unity which they can neither keep nor lose, but something which can be kept or lost according to their watchfulness or negligence. The preservation of this outward unity is to be the object of striving and effort.

If this be so, it is clear that the present divided condition of the Church is not according to the mind of the Spirit. It may be well, however, to look at some other scriptures bearing on this subject. In John 17 we find that, whether our Lord was praying for the disciples then with Him, or whether He enlarges the sphere to the whole of those who should believe on Him through their word, in both cases the first petition that He presents concerning them is — for their oneness. In verse 21 He prays, "That they all," that is all believers, "may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me." Here, then, the special object for which the Lord desires this oneness is that it may be a testimony to the world. No invisible unity can be this. The world can receive no evidence but that presented to it, and unless the oneness of believers is a thing discernible by the world, the testimony here spoken of is not given. The Church indeed was not formed when these words were uttered, but they were uttered in full view of the fact that the Church was soon to be formed; and the formation of the Church could not dissolve, but rather cement and define the oneness here spoken of.

The third statement about the Church which I make is, THAT THE CHURCH WAS THEN, AS IT IS NOW, ONE BODY. This you will get in Eph. 4. Paul, writing there, says, "Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, there is one body." And please note in connection with this, that the Holy Ghost is not exhorting to keep the unity of the Church, but the unity of the Spirit: "for there is one body" (or one Assembly). There are here two distinct things — the unity of the Spirit, which we are to endeavour to keep, and the oneness of the body, which faith must own. This is a truth which, when laid hold of, gives immense freedom to souls. To-day what do we find? ROMAN CATHOLICISM — full of the most deadly errors conceivable — attempting to bring about the oneness of the Church. Hence letters have been issued to different parts of Christendom seeking to unite the so-called churches together, and thus endeavour to secure and maintain oneness of the Church. (Of course its idea of the Church is not God's.) But it is another thing that is spoken of in Eph. 4. We are to endeavour to keep the unity of the SPIRIT. To keep the unity of the Spirit means walking in the Spirit's mind. Suppose I endeavour to get the Church together — suppose I drew up certain regulations and endeavoured to get Christians to conform to them, with a view of securing the oneness of the Church; in such case, I would be disowning that it is one already; and I would be adopting a human expediency instead of having faith in God's oneness; it would be refusing to be led by the Holy Ghost according to the WORD of God. Now the very first step in the way of the Spirit towards maintaining His unity, is to "Cease to do evil;" secondly, "Learn to do well." If I do this, I am in the Spirit's unity.

Firstly, the Apostle says, “There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling.” Here all is real and vital; it is the circle of life. The one body is formed by one Spirit and moves on to the one end — the glory. This unity is in God's keeping. It cannot be kept by our endeavour, or broken by our failure, but we may miss the one mind of the Spirit by a denial of these great truths in practice. This, alas, has been done in the Christian profession, for in the light of the great truth that “there is one body” — not many — all the different bodies of believers formed in Christendom stand condemned, while the “one Spirit” condemns all human arrangements by which the Spirit is set aside. Moreover, the professing church has settled down in the world and become the world, and thus is a denial of the heavenly hope of our calling.

The believer is bid to endeavour “to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:3). This is a unity the Spirit makes, a unity we cannot make or break, though as individuals we may fail to answer to the practice of it. That is to say it is explained that “there is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling” (Eph. 4:4). If I am a Christian I am linked up with every other Christian as a member of the body of Christ. This is a unity I cannot make, nor can I by any action of mine cease to be a member of that body, cease to be linked up in life with Christ, the Head, and the members of His body, of which I am a necessary and integral part.