Jesus prays an amazing prayer in the Upper Room. We call it the High Priestly Prayer and our Lord is of course the greatest High Priest. The first high priest of Israel, Aaron, who was a type of Christ, wore a breastplate on which were inscribed the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. Daily he went in to the Holy Place in the tabernacle to offer incense on the golden altar and to plead for the church of his day with all its sins and need before the presence of God. Now the antitype has come and He prays for the church in all ages.

Our Lord Jesus Christ intercedes first for God to be glorified in Him and then for His apostles whom He will shortly leave behind as He makes His way to the cross. Finally He proceeds to pray for those who will be converted through the ministry of these disciples in days to come:

Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; 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.John 17:20-21

This passage has connotations of the earlier words of the Good Shepherd with reference to the flock: ‘And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd’ (John 10:16). Not only is He thinking of those who will be saved from amongst the Jews but also of Gentile believers. He pleads for the church in days to come to be united as one.

Threats to the Unity of the Church⤒🔗

There is to be only one church, not a Jewish church and a Gentile one. Jewish prejudice against the ‘unclean’ Gentiles would be a great temptation in the early days of the New Testament church. Peter and John ministered to the Jewish believers and Paul to the Gentile ones. At one point in Antioch, when Jewish Christians came down from Jerusalem to visit, Peter, who was already there and had been eating freely with the Gentiles, now separated himself from the Gentiles. Even Barnabas was affected. This was devastating to the unity of the church and Paul had to oppose Peter to the face and roundly condemn him (Gal. 2:11ff). I am sure Peter didn’t like being spoken to in that manner but it was vital to keep the one church of Jesus Christ united.

As time passed divisions did appear in the churches. The Corinthian church seemed to have been divided into four groups: some were for Paul, some for Apollos, some for Cephas and some for Christ (1 Cor. 1:10-12). It greatly troubled the Apostle and he wrote pleading with them to get rid of their party spirit. He also sent a letter to the Philippians beseeching Euodias and Syntyche, two prominent ladies, to be reconciled (Phil. 4:2).

In the Epistle to the church at Rome, Paul writes, ‘Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them’ (Rom. 16:17). I remember some years ago a zealous Christian writing to me, accusing me of being guilty of the terrible sin of causing a breach in the church, quoting this verse, but leaving part of it out: ‘Mark them which cause divisions and avoid them’. It is vital always to quote Scripture in its context and quote it fully. If the doctrine which we have learned from the Scripture and those who faithfully taught it causes divisions it is not the fault of those who hold to that doctrine. The guilty ones in the eyes of God are those who have departed from the faith once delivered to the saints. To remain united to heretics is sinful, but it is the heretics who cause the division. Toleration of wickedness in the church is not a mark of Christian charity but of ungodly compromise.

Amazing Unity←⤒🔗

Jesus prays for His church, ‘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’ (Jn. 17:21). The pattern for unity is the Trinity. The Father is in the Son and the Son is in the Father, the Spirit is in the Father and the Son, and the Father and the Son are in the Spirit. There is only one God. There is only one divine essence, divine ‘substance’, divine Spirit. It is not divided between the three persons but is totally in the three persons at the same time. We know of nothing which is as united as that, three and yet one, and one in the three, and the three in the one. This amazing unity is the pattern which Christ prays will be displayed in His church.

Elsewhere in the Bible other pictures are used. Our Lord said, ‘I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing’ (Jn. 15:5). Christians are branches in the vine which is Christ. We draw our nourishment and strength from Him. It is only as we abide in Him that we are able to bear fruit. Each branch being attached to the vine is also attached to the other branches in the tree.

In condemning the divisions in Corinth, the Apostle states: ‘Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular’ (1 Cor. 12:27). Christ is the head and every Christian has a part in the body and performs an important function. It used to be thought that some parts of the body served no useful role and, indeed, in the eyes of evolutionists were vestiges of a previous animal existence. Now we know that every organ has its own contribution to make, so that even the tonsils and appendix are useful.

Thus,

‘God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked: that there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another. And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.’ 1 Corinthians 12:24-26

We all need each other as Christians.

How does this Union come about?←⤒🔗

From before the creation of the world certain people were elected. God made with them His covenant of grace. He loves them and views them as being in Christ. When Jesus died on the cross He laid down His life for the sheep and not for the goats and the church of Christ is distinguished from the world by being purchased by His blood (Acts 20:28). And yet, until conversion, the elect are ‘children of wrath, even as others’ (Eph. 2:3); they are under condemnation and require to be justified. The work of God in the soul of man begins with the effectual calling and this is a calling into Christ. The general call of the Gospel becomes effectual when the Spirit accompanies it and enters into the individual, resurrecting him from being dead in trespasses and sins, regenerating him, causing him to be born again and become a new creation in Christ Jesus. These four terms: resurrection, regeneration, new birth and new creation all refer to the same act of God. Another term for what happens is union with Christ. The individual becomes a branch in the vine and a member of the body. He is planted in Christ and becomes a stone in the holy temple of the Lord. Only following regeneration can the sinner believe in Jesus and receive Christ who is freely offered in the gospel. Justification and adoption follow, as does progressive sanctification by which we more and more die unto sin and live unto righteousness.

Unity in the Church←⤒🔗

The practical implication of this essential unity of believers to God and to one another is that it must find expression in the local church. We are to bear one another’s burdens for in so doing we are actually bearing our own burdens. We are to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep, because we are one. The success of another is our success and the sorrow of another is our sorrow. It should be said of us, ‘See how they love one another’. In an individualistic world characterized by greed, jealousy, self-interest and loneliness this is an enormous witness and will draw sinners to the Saviour, just as Jesus said: ‘that the world may believe that thou hast sent me’. Huge effort is to be made to be at peace with one another. Great emphasis is laid on this in the Word. ‘A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another’ (Jn. 13:34-35).

We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death. Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.1 John 3:14-18

There must also, however, be a universal expression of Christian unity. Sometimes it is said that there are two churches, the visible and the invisible. The invisible consists of all born-again Christians and the visible is the various different denominations viewed collectively. But these are not two churches but only one, the true invisible church which only God knows and its visible expression in the world which we see. There can be only one church united to God, one vine and one body of Christ. This one church is displayed in society. If Christians were perfectly holy there would be only the one church in the world, and there will be only one church in heaven. Sadly because of heresy there are many churches. Many unregenerate people are to be found in churches. Christians often follow traditions rather than Scripture. The pride of man, desire for power and to have the preeminent position, and compromise with the world causes many denominations. It was vital for the Reformers to separate from the corrupt, medieval church of Rome. It was essential for our fathers in 1843 to separate from a church ruled by the State rather than Christ. The State was undermining the rule of Christ. Separations are necessary for the sake of truth and righteousness. But should there not also be unions for the sake of the body and the glory of Christ? Every effort should be made to ensure that nothing keeps us from uniting with our brethren but the truth of God’s Word.

The Ecumenical Movement is wrong because it strives for unity at all costs. It is unity which involves compromising the truth. It says, ‘Let’s come together and worship and forget about doctrine which only divides’. But God is truth and loves the truth and gave us the truth so that we would value it. He gave us a law so that we would show our love to Him by keeping His commandments. On the other hand we must beware of denominational pride which views our denomination something like the way supporters view a football club: ‘We’re going to be the greatest’. Our first concern should be for the good of the whole church of Christ. Our Lord prayed, ‘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’.

Let this also be our concern and passion. Let us beware of party spirit. While learning from history let us be careful that our history is not allowed to divide us from brethren who believe essentially what we believe. It is wrong to demand that others today acknowledge that the stand taken by our fathers 14 years ago, or 25 years ago, or 114 years ago, or 121 years ago, or 324 years ago was the right one. This approach will always keep us apart. The sinful pride of human nature in a fallen world will always seek to justify our own and our fathers’ stand. Rather we should face the situation as it is today. We hold to the inerrant Scriptures, we have the Westminster Confession of Faith as a great ecumenical confession originally devised to unite churches, we have the law of God as the rule for church discipline and we have the biblical Psalms as the great ecumenical hymnbook of the Holy Spirit. Around these we should seek to unite.