The Unity of the Faith

The Unity of the FaithPastor Andre Butler
The phrase "unity of the faith" implies that the faith is defined by its unity. Christianity is supposed to bring about unity. Before you were saved, you lived in a world that was splintered, a world that was fighting against itself. When you became a Christian, you were born into a family that is supposed to be unified.
The word "unity" means oneness, and in this scripture we see that God wills that the church, indeed, the Body of Christ, becomes unified. How are all of us--from different backgrounds and with different ideas and different walks of life--supposed to be unified?
This happens when we grow up spiritually, when our love walk has developed to a place where we are able to be in unity with our brothers and sisters in the Lord. Now they may do things we do not like--they may get on our nerves or stab us in the back--but when we have grown spiritually to the point of loving our neighbor as Christ loved us, we will be able to stay in the oneness of the faith, which is unity.
Every person has a human body. If you do not have a human body, you do not have a legal right to operate on this planet. When one part of your natural body fights against another part of your body--and that actually what happens when people have certain diseases--the body can no longer be effective. In fact, the body may no longer operate. Likewise, the body of Christ cannot survive when its members are fighting one against another. It is supposed to operate as one. There should be no schism, no division, in the body.
It is not the will of God that there be so many denominations in the body of Christ that you can't remember all the names. It is not the will of God that this denomination fights against that denomination. It is not the will of God that people within the local church fight one another. No, God's plan is that the body be one. And since that is true, it is important that we do what is necessary to keep ourselves unified, to operate as one.
The Body of Christ is a big Holy Ghost gang. We are to be unified when we go before the world. If Satan wants to pick off one of us, he has to deal with all of us. First Corinthians 12 says that if one us suffers, we all are suffering; if one of us is rejoicing, we all are rejoicing. When the world sees believers, God's desire is that they see us all walking in unity, prospering in every area of life, and producing for Him.
Jesus intends for our unity to be not only a spiritual reality but a literal reality--something people can see. When this is the case, it will cause them to not only believe in God, but in His son Jesus Christ. Our unity is a sign and a wonder to the world.