The Power of Unity

Scripture

"20 My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— 23 I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me."John 17:20-23

Additional Scripture References

• Philippians 2:1-4
• Ephesians 4:1-3
• Colossians 3:12-14
• John 13:34-35
• Matthew 18:15-17
• 1 Corinthians 12:12-27
• Psalm 133:1

Main Idea

Unity is not a bonus for a healthy church. It's a responsibility.

^{The greatest threat to unity isn't our differences. It's our hearts.} What splits us is pride, offense, and preference. And Jesus tied our unity to the world's belief. He prayed we'd be one so that the world would believe the Father sent Him.

Our togetherness is part of the evidence.

Unity Begins with Humility

Scripture

"3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others." Philippians 2:3-4

Overview

Paul doesn't open with unity. He opens with humility. That order matters. Humility is the soil where unity grows.

^{The greatest enemy of unity is not diversity. It is pride.} Pride makes us insist on being right instead of being reconciled. Diversity was God's idea. The trouble starts when ^{our preferences become more important than God's purpose.}

Ephesians 4 says to make every effort. Unity is a garden, not a statue. Leave a statue alone and it stays put. Leave a garden alone and it goes wild.

YOU CAN'T PRAY FOR UNITY WHILE PROTECTING YOUR PRIDE.

Deeper Dive

Philippi was a Roman colony that ran on status. Public honor was the currency. In that world, the Greek word Paul uses for humility was not a compliment. It meant low, servile, beneath notice. So telling this city to value others above yourselves wasn't a soft devotional thought. It flipped their whole scoreboard.

Then Paul shows them why it's possible. Jesus had every right to hold His position and emptied Himself instead. He lived it in the room too. On the last night, the King of kings wrapped a towel around His waist and washed feet, a job that went to the lowest servant in the house. He did it for men who would betray Him, deny Him, and run.

Question

• Do you want to be right more than you want to be reconciled? Be honest.
• Where is pride hiding right now? A conversation you're dodging? An apology you keep rewording?

Unity Requires Protecting Relationships

Scripture

"13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity." Colossians 3:13-14 (NIV)

Overview

If humility is where unity begins, relationships are where it shows. ^{Unity isn't measured by how loudly we worship together on Sunday. It's measured by how faithfully we love one another Monday through Saturday.}

Paul wrote this because ^{the Church is made up of imperfect people.} Put imperfect people in a room and you get misunderstandings and offense. Every time. The question was never will someone hurt you. It's what you do when they do.

The enemy doesn't need you to abandon your faith. He just needs you to turn on your brothers and sisters. That's why so many churches have been damaged, not by false doctrine, but by unresolved offense, gossip, bitterness, and pride.

One careless conversation can undo years of trust.

• Love holds God's people together when circumstances pull them apart.
• Love chooses to believe the best.
• Love gives the benefit of the doubt.
• Love seeks restoration instead of retaliation.

SATAN DIVIDES PEOPLE BEFORE HE DESTROYS PURPOSE

Deeper Dive

Colossians 3 is built on a wardrobe picture. Take some things off, like anger and slander. Put other things on, like compassion and patience. Then love goes on last, over all of it. The phrase bear with each other means to put up with someone. Not pretending they're perfect. Just choosing to stay in the room.

Get clear on forgiveness too, because that's where people stall. ^{Forgiveness simply refuses to allow yesterday's offense to dictate tomorrow's relationship}. It's a decision, not a mood. Trust is different. Trust rebuilds over time through changed behavior. You can forgive fully today and still be careful tomorrow. That's not hypocrisy. That's wisdom.

Question

• Are you talking about someone instead of to them?
• Where's your line between venting and gossip? Is it the same line Scripture draws?
• Have you confused forgiveness with pretending? What would honest forgiveness look like?

Choose Unity

Scripture

"34 A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."John 13:34-35

Overview

Knowing the truth about unity isn't enough. At some point you have to choose it.

Our greatest witness is not simply our preaching. It is the way we treat one another.

What was heavy about this year's World Cup wasn't that people cheered for different teams. It was watching believers let something temporary divide an eternal family. ^{We allowed a game to become greater than the Gospel.}

Unity always requires someone to take the first step. Somebody sends the text. Somebody says the awkward thing first.

Why shouldn't it be you?

• Maybe it's pride.
• Maybe it's offense.
• Maybe it's bitterness.
• Maybe it's unforgiveness.
• Maybe it's our own interests.
• Maybe it's our own agenda.

THE MISSION IS TOO BIG FOR SMALL OFFENSES.

Deeper Dive

Love wasn't a new command. What's new is the measuring stick. As I have loved you. Jesus said it right after washing feet and hours before the cross, so the standard He handed us was a towel and then a cross.

And He made it public evidence. Not "you'll feel closer," but "everyone will know." The early church proved it. Slaves and free, Jews and Gentiles, rich and poor, all at the same table. That was socially strange in the Roman world, and outsiders noticed and remarked on how these people loved each other. The love was the argument. It still is.

Question

• Is there anything in your heart dividing you from another believer? Name it.
• If someone watched how you talk about other Christians all week, what would they conclude about Jesus?
• What's one relationship where you could take the first step this week? What's stopping you?

Summary

Unity starts on the inside. Not with agreement. With humility.

Unity is protected in relationships. Healthy churches aren't the ones where nobody gets hurt. They're the ones where people know how to heal biblically.

Unity is a choice before it becomes a culture. Somebody has to move first.

The Church was never called to reflect the division of the world. We were called to demonstrate the unity of the Kingdom.

Call to Action

Don't just agree with this. Respond to it.

Take a few quiet minutes and actually ask the Holy Spirit:

• Is there anyone I need to forgive?
• Is there anyone I need to call?
• Is there a conversation I need to have?
• Is there pride that I need to lay down?
• Is there anything I have been doing that has taken away from the vision?

Then pick one and do it this week.

Don't leave today carrying an offense that Jesus is asking you to release.

Let's be the kind of church that refuses to gossip, refuses to divide, refuses to let preferences become greater than the Gospel, and chooses to fight for one another instead of against one another.

Let's become one, so that the world may believe.

Prayer Prompts

Humility. Father, show me where pride is hiding. Give me courage to lay it down.

The people I've avoided. Lord, bring to mind anyone I've been talking about instead of talking to. Give me the words and the timing.

Forgiveness. Jesus, help me release what I've been holding. Not because they deserve it. Because You did it for me first.

Our church. God, make Encounter Church a place where people heal instead of hide. Let our love be loud.

Our witness. Father, let our unity be part of the reason people believe You sent Your Son.

The first step. Holy Spirit, if I'm the one who needs to move first, make it clear.