How do we attain unity?

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marks

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Ephesians 4

11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

How are we to attain to this unity of faith and knowledge of Jesus? Reaching maturity, so we can stop being blown about by different doctrines, but instead build up the body in love?

What do the Scriptures say?

Much love!
Mark
 

Nancy

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Ephesians 4

11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

How are we to attain to this unity of faith and knowledge of Jesus? Reaching maturity, so we can stop being blown about by different doctrines, but instead build up the body in love?

What do the Scriptures say?

Much love!
Mark
Hi Mark,
Just now came across this post! Anyhow, I do not believe there ever was nor will ever be full unity within the Church until it is all said and done, and that is NOT to say we shouldn't still strive for it.
I also believe that a huge reason for such lack of unity in the Church is the widespread teachings of false prophets.
"And many false prophets will appear and will deceive many people." Matthew: 24:11
Matthew 24:24 "For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect." And all the other "like" verses.
(This is obviously ONLY opinion, lol so, take it for what it's worth :D )
In Him!
nancy
 

soul man

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Unity in mind comes as the mind is renewed in knowledge. Unity in spirit happened the moment you believed. Unity in the body of Christ happens as Believers see their unity in Christ. Regardless of belief systems, unity only happens in Christ.
 

farouk

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Unity in mind comes as the mind is renewed in knowledge. Unity in spirit happened the moment you believed. Unity in the body of Christ happens as Believers see their unity in Christ. Regardless of belief systems, unity only happens in Christ.
Unity is also something that can be supposedly created artificially by reorganization. Someone has said, Unity without truth is a conspiracy.
 

Pearl

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That wouldn't be unity then :)
I believe that in God's eyes we are not spiritually divided if we have the Holy Spirit of God in us and are in Christ. We are not divided but already have the unity of the Spirit. We may not agree on doctrine or the colour of the walls in the brew room, or even about whether to have a bag or a plate for collections. But if we are born again Jesus unites us; his blood unites us; his sacrifice unites us. We are already one family in Christ; albeit a quarrelsome one.

And whilst there are divisions within the Church over unimportant doctrinal matters which have been interpreted in different ways by different sectors of Christ's body, nonetheless the important thing is that all who are born again in Christ are united with Christ and therefore must surely be united with each other. If you do not agree with what I have said then that’s ok but maybe you might like to give it some deeper thought before you reply.

If we will stop looking at the differences between us and begin to see ourselves as united in the way I have described then maybe that will go a long way to closing the divisions and ending the quarrels.
 

tzcho2

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Some people are very naive & selective in their application of scriptures. These will join the Emergent church, agree or accept any false teaching that enters the church & support the Ecumenical movement, gathering with any heresies, being quite pleased in their example of unity & their misunderstanding of christian brotherhood.
 

Helen

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Ephesians 4

11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

How are we to attain to this unity of faith and knowledge of Jesus? Reaching maturity, so we can stop being blown about by different doctrines, but instead build up the body in love?

What do the Scriptures say?

Much love!
Mark


You started quoting at verse 11 ...go back to verse 3.
"
3 "Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."

Does that not imply that we HAVE it...we just need to KEEP what we have. ;)

Maybe we just don't nurture what God says that we already have?
Or is that too far of a reach there, maybe?
 
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Helen

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Some people are very naive & selective in their application of scriptures. These will join the Emergent church, agree or accept any false teaching that enters the church & support the Ecumenical movement, gathering with any heresies, being quite pleased in their example of unity & their misunderstanding of christian brotherhood.

I think I can see what you are saying.
Are you saying "Peace and unity at any price"

Which, as the young man said to Elijah is " death in the pot"...

Maybe we go back to the basics of what made us fall in love with God and then find out first what we DO have in common and what DOES unify us in Him...and not so much focus on what divides us all. Maybe focus point is our problem.

I don't have the answer.
Seeing the problems is easy...but knowing how to 'heal' it ...not so easy. :(
 
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tzcho2

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I think I can see what you are saying.
Are you saying "Peace and unity at any price"
Which, as the young man said to Elijah is " death in the pot"...
Maybe we go back to the basics of what made us fall in love with God and then find out first what we DO have in common and what DOES unify us in Him...and not so much focus on what divides us all. Maybe focus point is our problem.
I don't have the answer.
Seeing the problems is easy...but knowing how to 'heal' it ...not so easy. :(
I never "fell in love " with God in the first place, that is a romantic term, I hate it, it describes infatuation. People fall out of that kind of love-it is not real. When I was spiritually deceived, I heard the full Biblical Truth, I recognized the Bible as The Ultimate and only source of spiritual Truth being literally the Word of God. I was convicted of my sinfulness knowing it was an abomination to God and I was under God's judgment. I knelt down, apologized to GOD, repented of my sins and asked the one and only Lord & Savior Jesus Christ to forgive me all of my sins & be my Lord for ever more.
We need to recognize what are the spiritual deceptions invading the church that are leading some to hell because we might be the only thing that stands between a certain person and hell. I also believe there are many in the church who are not truly saved who don't get it and want it to be a social club rather then a spiritual rescue mission.
 

marks

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You started quoting at verse 11 ...go back to verse 3.
"
3 "Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."

Does that not imply that we HAVE it...we just need to KEEP what we have. ;)

Maybe we just don't nurture what God says that we already have?
Or is that too far of a reach there, maybe?

Or, go back to vs 2

4 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,
2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;
3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

We are one in the Spirit. In the same way that we are a new creation. It's accomplished. We simply need to live it.

So to have unity, we need to approach the whole idea with a certain frame of mind.

Much love!
Mark
 
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Pearl

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I also believe there are many in the church who are not truly saved who don't get it and want it to be a social club rather then a spiritual rescue mission.
True.
 

Enoch111

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And whilst there are divisions within the Church over unimportant doctrinal matters which have been interpreted in different ways by different sectors of Christ's body, nonetheless the important thing is that all who are born again in Christ are united with Christ and therefore must surely be united with each other.
No, it is important doctrinal matters over which there are divisions. While we are united to Christ as children of God, that is not exactly the end-point according to Scripture. What does God require?

Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: (Eph.4:13).

What is "the faith"? The whole body of Christian truth (Bible doctrines) as given in Scripture. And that unity does not exist, other than within some local churches. But we are to earnestly contend for "the faith".

Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. (Jude 1:3)

As you can see on this and other Christian forums, we do not even have unity on the primary fundamental doctrine -- the deity of Christ.
 
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Pearl

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No, it is important doctrinal matters over which there are divisions. While we are united to Christ as children of God, that is not exactly the end-point according to Scripture. What does God require?

Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: (Eph.4:13).

What is "the faith"? The whole body of Christian truth (Bible doctrines) as given in Scripture. And that unity does not exist, other than within some local churches. But we are to earnestly contend for "the faith".

Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. (Jude 1:3)

As you can see on this and other Christian forums, we do not even have unity on the primary fundamental doctrine -- the deity of Christ.
Do we have the same Spirit? If so how can we not be united through Him? In spite of all the differences of beliefs and doctrinal issues surely if we all have the same Spirit isn't that unity of the Spirit if not of the mind which is human.
 
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Not me

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Ephesians 4

11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

How are we to attain to this unity of faith and knowledge of Jesus? Reaching maturity, so we can stop being blown about by different doctrines, but instead build up the body in love?

What do the Scriptures say?

Much love!
Mark

Hi, (to throw in my brain cell and a half’s worth):)

Unity, much needed in the body of Christ.

I’m of the thought that this will never be achieved until what in scripture is called “having the fellowship of the Spirit” is achieved.

Which (I believe) is when one believer’s personal relationship with Christ is touching/tasting, having a exchange of life/Christ with another persons personal relationship with Christ. Till this is achieved, I fear the unity that scripture calls for and the believers heart craves after, will be unfulfilled.

Blessings,

Much love in Christ, Not me
 
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Enoch111

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Do we have the same Spirit? If so how can we not be united through Him? In spite of all the differences of beliefs and doctrinal issues surely if we all have the same Spirit isn't that unity of the Spirit if not of the mind which is human.
Even though Christians may have the same [Holy] Spirit, many do not necessarily have the same "spirit" as revealed in the Bible says:

James 4
1 From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence,even of your lusts that war in your members?
2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.
3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume
it upon your lusts.
4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
5 Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The Spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?*
6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.

*Verse 5 is made clearer in this translation -- Holman Christian Standard Bible: Or do you think it's without reason the Scripture says that the Spirit who lives in us yearns jealously?

Why does the Holy Spirit yearn jealously? Because those who walk after the flesh have yielded to the world and the flesh (the old nature with its lusts), rather than to the Spirit.

 
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marks

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Unity is also something that can be supposedly created artificially by reorganization. Someone has said, Unity without truth is a conspiracy.
Hi farouk,

I think unity is also pretended by many. An outward superficial unity, but not there when the fire gets hot!

Much love!
 
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marks

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We are already one family in Christ; albeit a quarrelsome one.

Hi Pearl,

I think this is is the dose of reality we need.

We quarrel, but we Are a family! And what a venue to discuss unity - the internet!

One of my all time favorites is the comic with the man typing at his computer, his wife in the doorway in her nightgown, "Honey, come to bed! It's 3 in the morning!" "Just a few minutes, dear, someone on the internet is wrong!"

I think the deeper the disagreements between us, the more we need to make the effort to identify the common ground. Otherwise it gets really easy to focus on the differences.

Much love!
 
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marks

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Maybe we go back to the basics of what made us fall in love with God and then find out first what we DO have in common and what DOES unify us in Him...and not so much focus on what divides us all. Maybe focus point is our problem.

I think so.

Much love!
 

marks

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I never "fell in love " with God in the first place, that is a romantic term, I hate it, it describes infatuation. People fall out of that kind of love-it is not real. When I was spiritually deceived, I heard the full Biblical Truth, I recognized the Bible as The Ultimate and only source of spiritual Truth being literally the Word of God. I was convicted of my sinfulness knowing it was an abomination to God and I was under God's judgment. I knelt down, apologized to GOD, repented of my sins and asked the one and only Lord & Savior Jesus Christ to forgive me all of my sins & be my Lord for ever more.
We need to recognize what are the spiritual deceptions invading the church that are leading some to hell because we might be the only thing that stands between a certain person and hell. I also believe there are many in the church who are not truly saved who don't get it and want it to be a social club rather then a spiritual rescue mission.

Hi tzcho2,

I didn't fall in love with God either. I am in the process, but that's a different story.

But I repented in believing God, not loving God.

I think we can all see the differences not only in interpretations of the Bible, but how we should see others, in their differences, and how we should go about dealing with these differences.

So how do we respond to people who profess Christ, who do the things a Christian does, but they seem off to us? Or disagree over something we feel strongly about?

Much love!
 
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