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“Endeavoring to Keep the Unity of the Spirit (Part 3)”
Endeavoring to Keep the Unity of the Spirit (Part 3)
Wade Webster
In the first part of our study, we laid the foundation for unity. In the second part, we made the first of three connections that exist between Jesus and unity – The Prayer That Jesus Prayed. In this third installment, we will notice a second connection.
The Price That Jesus Paid
A tremendous price was paid for the church, the one body (Eph. 1:22-23; 4:4). Jesus “gave Himself for it” (Eph. 5:25). He “purchased it with His own blood” (Acts 20:28). It should be noted that the church, the one body, is made up of many members. To the saints at Corinth, Paul wrote, “For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many” (1 Cor. 12:12-14). Within the context, Paul went on to explain the importance of every member of the body. Although every member doesn’t have the same function, they all have the same worth. After all, each member is purchased at the same high price (1 Cor. 6:20).
I believe that one of the ugliest things about division is the fact that it ignores the price that was paid for each individual member of the body. A least a couple of times within the epistles that he penned, Paul encouraged the brethren to consider how their actions could affect a brother or a sister in Christ. Please note that as Paul did so, he reminded them of the price that Jesus had paid. To the Christians at Corinth, Paul wrote, “And through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died? (1 Cor. 8:11). In like manner, to the redeemed at Rome, Paul wrote, “But if thy brother be grieved with thy meat, now walkest thou not charitably. Destroy not him with thy meat, for whom Christ died” (Rom. 14:15). Please note that Christ died even for the weak brother. Although the strong brother is not to let the weak brother control the church, he is to consider the tremendous price that was paid for the weak brother and act accordingly.
We must never forget that Jesus died to reconcile men to God and to one another in the one body. To the elect at Ephesus, Paul wrote, “But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby” (Eph. 2:13-16).
Division ignores the price the Jesus paid for unity. It separates that which Christ died to bring together.
