Unity within our Body
In John chapter 17 we read Yeshua’ s high priestly prayer as He prays for us who have come to faith through the word of the apostles and those who faithfully carried this word to us today. Yeshua earnestly prayed that we may all be one, just as the Father is in Him, and He in the Father, that we may also be in them, so that the world may believe that the Father sent Yeshua.
This message of unity is a strong theme that is emphasized throughout the B’rit Hadashah, or New Testament. In 1Cor 1:10, Paul is quoted as saying, “I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.”
Messiah’s followers started strong as we read in Acts, 2:46-47 “And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.”
Further in Acts 4:32-33 we read, “now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.”
Thus, they humbled themselves and honored their fellow sojourners more than themselves, bearing one another's burdens, and so fulfilling the law of Messiah. (Phil 2:3 & Gal 6:2)
We have lost this attitude and loving commitment in today’s society. Still, while we are all products of the culture in which we’ve been raised, how do we attain the counter cultural approach so often spoken of in scripture, particularly as it pertains to our body here at Lev Y’shua?
For starters, we need take the scriptural admonitions to heart and begin to walk in them. Consider Eph 4:2-3, “with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” Rom 12:16 “Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight.” Rom 15:5-6, “May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you (us!) to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you (we) may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” We must stand firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, (Phil 1:27). When the world sees this kind of fellowship, we will have favor with people and the Lord will be able to add to our numbers!
While these are all good admonitions with which we need to give ourselves a heart check, what are some practical steps we can implement as a body to nurture unity here?
To help propel us in the right direction, we have established a set of Unifying Values. These values include:
We Value the congregation, 2 Thessalonians 1:3, 3:13-15 ~ Disciples of Y’shua in mutual and loving accountability in the Lord.
We Value Ministry by the Fellowship and believe in a Whole-Body Ministry, Ephesians 4:12 ~ The Congregation Leader’s ministry is to prepare the Believers for service.
We Value unity of faith, Amos 3:3 ~ The Bible is the final authority; our statement of faith articulates our unity of beliefs.
We Value diversity of service, 1 Peter 4:10-11; Luke 10:38-42 ~ The congregation gives opportunity to each member for service. Counsel and encouragement for ministry is provided (priesthood of every Believer).
We Value leadership for effective ministry, Proverbs 29:18, 1 Timothy 3:5 ~ A congregational ministry is established when a leader is raised up. We only engage in and establish ministries when we have the personnel to properly accomplish the service.
We Value fellowship, Psalm 55:12-14, & 133:1, We build in time for fellowship during our weekly meetings, enjoying an evening meal as a conclusion to each service.
We Value clarity and orderliness, 1 Corinthians 14:40 ~ Life and love are not well expressed in chaos. Communication and maintaining an orderly service is a priority. We expect attendees to fully participate in our gatherings and not subgroup or talk to one another privately while services or worship is being conducted.
We Value the testimony of Messiah, Romans 1:16 ~ We exalt His Name above all others. Evangelism and outreach are taught, conducted, and encouraged.
We Value discipleship, Matthew 28:19-20 ~ We have personal discipleship for all. Members are disciples.
We Value a Messianic form of worship, Romans 11:1-2, 11-15, 17-24, & 31 ~ As Messianic Believers of Jewish extraction as well as from the nations, we express our faith in a Hebraic Cultural context (terminology, feast day observances, eating Biblically clean, etc.).
We Value and love one another, John 13:34-35, 2 Thessalonians 1:3, Matthew 18:15 ~ We show our love by refraining from gossip or criticism of each other and if need be, lovingly approach one another if a wrong has been committed.
We Value our children, Psalm 127:3 ~ The congregation provides support and instruction in the faith from a Hebraic frame of reference.
We Value Hospitality, Romans 12:13 ~ We are affectionate toward each other and welcome one another into our lives and homes.
We Value prayer, Galatians 6:2 ~ We pray for each other. It is an effective way to bear one another’s’ burdens.
By committing to these unifying values, we complete the Apostles joy as well as our own joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind as spoken of in Phil 2:2.
It is important to realize that a unity walk requires unity talk. We will be blessed at the impact unity talk will have on our attitudes and relationships. We’ll find ourselves being less critical of each other as we make such “team talk” a habit.” That does not mean we’ll always see eye to eye on every issue. It just means the cause and the vision we share are greater and more important than our differences of thought and opinion. Eph 4:3 says, “Make every effort [we’ve got to work at it] to keep yourselves united in the Spirit [not necessarily in opinion], binding yourselves together with peace” (NLT).
Unity is the state of being united or joined as a whole: the state of forming a complete and pleasing whole. Uniformity on the other hand is the quality or state of being uniform, always remaining the same in all cases and times, unchanging in form or character. We strive for unity, not uniformity! We must never mistake the two.
Peter exhorts us in 1 Pet 3:8-11 “Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. For "Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit; let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it.
Unity can be shattered by the tongue! There are three types of speech transgressions that we must be aware of and from which we must refrain. Loshon hora, literally “evil tongue”, making derogatory or damaging statements about someone even though you are speaking the truth. Motzie shem ra, slander, where what is spoken is negative and false. Rechilus, tale bearing, telling someone the negative things another person said about him or did against him.
We must always stive for proper speech, known in Hebrew as Shmirat HaLashon, in our lives and as well as in our congregation. Therefore, we conclude every sabbath gathering reciting the following: “We pray as you did, Y’shua, for Unity of Spirit among us, producing a oneness of hearts and a unity of values. As evidence of this oneness, Abba we ask that You keep us from gossip or criticism of one another. Instead, we ask that Your love, Your understanding, and Your shalom grow in us in order that the intensity of our passions reflect Your heart in greater measure with each passing day.”
Let us be emboldened by the Spirit this day as we go forth in unity. Shalom.