moves of God – key to revival #4 – unity
A true move of God will always transcend man-made barriers in the body of Christ such as denominations, ethnicity, gender, social status, language. God is no respecter of persons, and when He looks at a city or region, He sees one Church. Paul wrote, “I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought . . . One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.”“ (1 Corinthians 1:10 – 12) He then asks the rhetorical question, “Is Christ divided?” Jesus’ last prayer for us before He went to the cross was that we would be one; that we would be brought to complete unity. The reason He gave? So that the world would believe in Jesus and receive the Father’s love (John 17:20 – 23).
The Lord has given each part of His Church special gifts, which we are to share with one another. We belong to one another, and need one another to be the complete body of Christ. Different parts of the body of Christ need one another. I am so encouraged whenever Christians get together to pray and serve and work together, focusing more on the Kingdom of God than on any individual local congregation or ministry. The word “Kingdom” appears in the New Testament over 130 times; the word “congregation” appears only 3 times. Even when the word “church” is used, it refers to the body of Christ as a whole, or to believers in a city or region. When Paul and I first moved from Australia, a primarily secular nation, to Atlanta, located in an area of the U.S. known as “the Bible belt”, we were shocked by what we saw in the phone book under the word “church”. Being a large city with over 5 million people, Atlanta comes close to having a church on every corner – it is a very religious city! The phone book listed thousands of churches in hundreds of denominations, many of which we had never heard of before. There are reportedly 38,000 Christian denominations in the world. Surely God’s heart breaks when He sees so much fracturing and splitting all across His precious body! Certainly there have been occasions where separation was the appropriate response, but there is no doubt that the body of Christ is in great need of healing!
Our love is inadequate – we need to ask God to give us His love for one another and to see other members of His family with His eyes. We can personally bring unity to the body of Christ by serving one another in love, and praying with and for our brothers and sisters – all who call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. “The Message” version of 1 Corinthians 1:10 says that we “must learn to be considerate of one another, cultivating a life in common.” To cultivate is “to promote or improve the growth of something by labor and attention.” Cultivating speaks of intentional care being given over a period of time, while anticipating a future harvest. May we labor towards unity in the body of Christ and give attention to each part, so that many would believe in Jesus and receive the Father’s love.
Father God, we join in with the prayer of Jesus, to ask You to make us one, that the world may believe in Jesus and receive Your love. Give us hearts of love for each member of the body of Christ, especially those who are hurting. May our words and actions reflect Your heart. Keep us from being judgmental or unforgiving. Help us to build up, encourage, and bless one another, that Your name would be glorified and made famous in the earth. Thank You for every part of Your beautiful family. In Jesus’ name.
