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CloseYou are all one in Christ Jesus – Galatians 3:28 – What is the bond that keeps these united ones together? Among other things, there is the bond of having the same origin. Every person who is a partaker of the life of God has sprung from the same divine Father. The Spirit of God has enlivened all the faithful alike. We discover the same...
That they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and You loved them, just as You loved Me. – John 17:22-23 – We have nearly arrived at the great merry-making season of the year. On Christmas day we shall find all...
The apostle Paul says something to the Romans that distinguishes our unity as Christians from the various kinds of unity being sought after and achieved throughout the world: “If, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:17 ESV). The entire human...
Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? … Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? – 2 Corinthians 6:14–15 – The unity of the church depends upon the purity of the church. It cannot be a mix of believers and unbelievers. The true church is composed of those...
Sinners sin against each other, even in the body of Christ. Sometimes we wrong others. Other times, we are wronged. What we do next is critical to the unity of the church. Unity does not depend on the absence of sin but on the presence of reconciling grace. The preservation of unity depends on humble repentance and joyful forgiveness. Don’t be surprised when people hurt...