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Unity: Command or Announcement?, by Underhill, Robin


Jesus prays for the unity of his followers, but he doesn’t command it, he commands love. That unity is first observed at Pentecost. Decades later, Paul announces that unity exists. In Ephesians 4 we are told of a two-fold unity: “keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace”; and that we are to “build up the body of Christ until we all reach unity in the faith and knowledge of the Son of God.”

The unity of the Spirit exists. Keep it! But sometimes we just behave badly. Unity in the faith requires the hard work of growing up. This Ephesians passage lists seven “ones”. At the head of the list is “one body”. W. Carl Ketcherside, who also prayed and worked for the recognition of the church’s oneness, said, “There is only one church on earth; there never was but one; there will never be another.”

Keeping the unity of the Spirit requires a commitment. Newly-weds soon understand that they are gaining more than a life-partner in marriage. They also get in-laws and a new way of celebrating holidays. They get new ideas about how to eat soup, how to decorate the apartment and how to take vacations.

In the church we get cultural differences, different expectations regarding how to do church, and different approaches to biblical interpretation based on reactions to and influences from our different religious upbringing or lack thereof. On top of all these understandable differences, we face the clash of different personalities and conflict in leadership styles.

We have trouble with ourselves. Even the most conscientious of us sometimes say things we wish we hadn’t; we fail to listen well and miss the point; we overreact emotionally, take things out of context and repeat things we shouldn’t. No wonder we have been commanded to love one another with God’s love! His love enables us to love people we can’t like!

We repeat the announcement of the first century church: We are one in the body of Christ!

Father, help us to be kind and tenderhearted to one another, forgiving one another. Help us to live out the announcement so clearly that we are one body so the watching world may believe and know Jesus . In His name we pray, Amen.


For as we have many members in one body, and all the members have not the same office: So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. Be kindly affectioned to one another with brotherly love; in honor preferring one another. Romans 12:4,5,10


He drew a circle that left me out,
Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout;
But love and I had the wit to win,
We drew a circle that took him in!

- Edwin A. Markham (1852-1940)


Is my circle of love and fellowship as wide as the One Body?


Pray for… The Unemployed/ The Unborn/ Utility workers Believers in Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales, N. Ireland), United States, Uruguay, Uzbekistan

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Tom (Jn.17:21) M.,