True Unity

The United States’ new President included the following line in his inaugural address: “For without unity, there is no peace.” Who could argue with that? Regardless of your political affiliation or philosophical stance, level-headed people must agree that peace necessitates unity. It’s not unlike the overused chant in most protest marches since the ’60s: “No justice, no peace.” Of course, that’s true too. But there’s a big problem with these cries for unity and justice. They leave vital questions unanswered: How do you define “justice?” And: “Unity” around what?

Calling for unity will make a winning speech, but it’s an empty plea without a truly transcendent unifying focus. The focus has to be something outside of mere human philosophies, political preferences, opinions, and pious sounding platitudes.

The appeal for unity is not new. The importance of unity is not something only recently recognized. Jesus held unity as such a high priority that it was the subject of his High Priestly Prayer to the Father as He faced the cross:

The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, 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 loved them, even as You have loved Me. (John 17:22-23)

Notice that in Jesus’ prayer, unity is not an end in and of itself. He prays for unity around love. It’s about the kind of love demonstrated by Christ. He doesn’t call for unity of practice in everything, or unity of thought concerning all issues of theology, or unity of political opinions, or favorite sports teams. No, it is unity around a higher theme of agape love. It is the kind of love only available through Christ. In the same way, although we need not agree on the finer points of faith and practice, there is a kind of truth, an objective, divine truth, that should unify us.

The great preacher of the 19th Century, Charles Spurgeon, wrote:

To remain divided is sinful! Did not our Lord pray, that they may be one, even as we are one” (John 17:22)? A chorus of ecumenical voices keep harping the unity tune. What they are saying is, “Christians of all doctrinal shades and beliefs must come together in one visible organization, regardless... Unite, unite!”  Such teaching is false, reckless and dangerous. Truth alone must determine our alignments. Truth comes before unity. Unity without truth is hazardous. Our Lord’s prayer in John 17 must be read in its full context. Look at verse 17: “Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth.” Only those sanctified through the Word can be one in Christ. To teach otherwise is to betray the Gospel.  

(Charles H. Spurgeon, The Essence of Separation, quoted in The Berean Call, July 1992, p. 4.)

Unity, for unity’s sake, accomplishes little. Unity must be based on God’s truth, not man’s ideas. Even the concept of liberty as it has come to be seen in our nation, as noble as it is, cannot offer an enduring basis for unity. Liberty and freedom are appealing themes, but without a basis in truth, they are meaningless. Jesus said, “you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free (John 8:32).

We can observe this principle in the marriage bond. Unity in marriage is essential. The basis of marriage is that “they shall become one flesh” (Genesis 2:24). However, this process is supernatural, and practicing it is impossible apart from the power of Christ and the truth of His Word in one’s life.

Peter describes this supernatural expression of marital unity as he writes: “Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind (1 Peter 3:8 ESV). We know from the general state of marriage that this kind of unity is impossible apart from the Lord.

Ultimately, all the speeches about and calls for unity will never unify unless the people discover and embrace the unifying power of the Gospel and the true unity offered through Jesus Christ.           

“…being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.”  —Ephesians 4:3-6