THE UNITY OF THE SPIRIT
[p. 187] THE UNITY OF THE SPIRIT
In reading these verses, well known to most of us, I have in mind to speak about the unity of the Spirit, and I wish to remark at the outset that it stands connected, as I hope to show in the passage, with a fixed order of things. A fixed order of things has always stood connected with God’s testimony. The principle appears at the outset in the heavens and the earth; there was stability connected with them, which stability could not be affected by anything occurring on the earth’s surface or through man as placed upon it. Much is made of the foundations. Wisdom had to do with them, and as laid “the morning stars sang together, and all the Sons of God shouted for joy” Job 38:7. A stable order of things was in view, so that in the Old Testament, at least, the earth is referred to as established for ever; God “built his sanctuary like the heights, like the earth which he hath founded for ever” Psalm 78:69. And so in introducing man upon it, God had a stable order of things in which His testimony was set — not, indeed, that it was set in man, but nevertheless it was there, and there permanently, so as to be referred to. As man veered from his orbit there was always that which was stable and which God never failed to refer to as needed.
Now I wish that this may be laid hold of at the outset, for unless it is we shall be unduly uneasy, whereas God would have us to be assured. Hence in view of dark days we are told that the “foundation of God” stands sure, that is to say, there is stability, and stability in connection with which the testimony stands.
[p. 188] Now, having said so much in regard of what is stable and to which I hope presently to return, I wish for a moment to speak of the great vessel — Paul — through whom those words which I have read have come to us. You will remember that in chapter 3 of this epistle he speaks of himself as “prisoner of the Christ Jesus” He was a prisoner, but not of the emperor; he was a prisoner of Christ Jesus. We can understand how restful he was as such; the Christ needed him for other work than that which he had essayed to do in making his way to Jerusalem. He was moved somewhat obviously by undue affection for his nation, and such undue affection can never make for the unity of the Spirit. Anything bordering on national feeling must be inimical to the unity of the Spirit. The Spirit is above and beyond all such feelings; and so we find with this great vessel that the Holy Spirit witnessed to him in every city that bonds and afflictions awaited him.
It is important to note the words the Spirit of God uses, and the use made of the word ‘city’ in connection with Paul’s ministry is of immense importance in the testimony. Elders had been appointed in cities and this was not for nothing, for we find that freedom was found in them for the Spirit, that through them even this great vessel could be reminded of what was ahead of him. Cities are areas of population to which God intended primarily to pay special attention. In the book of Proverbs (chapter 1:21) we are told that wisdom lifts up her voice “in the chief [place] of concourse” God in His consideration for men sets His testimony there. It is not only that it is there, but it is superior in organisation and power to man’s organisation.
And so we find that the Spirit of God witnessed to Paul in every city that bonds and afflictions awaited him. You can see therefore the importance of maintaining the divine order in cities so that there should [p. 189] be room for the Spirit to bear witness, not only in any given city, but even in a general way, as in this case. His face was turned to Jerusalem, whereas Christ’s activities were in the West and He had used the apostle, as he himself tells us, from Jerusalem, and round about to Illyricum; Romans 15:19. In the power of Christ he had witnessed in that immense region bearing towards the West — the great Grecian system. But now his face was towards the East, towards Jerusalem, and so as he disregarded the testimony of the Spirit in the cities, he was taken prisoner in Jerusalem. The instrumentalities of the imprisonment and the fact that he appealed to Caesar are of small moment; he was the prisoner of the Christ for the Gentiles. In chapter 4 he tells us that he was the prisoner not of the Christ, but “in the Lord”; that is to say, he was not a felon, he was a prisoner in the Lord, as the better reading plainly states. Thus he is consciously, as you may say, able to appeal to these beloved Ephesians, and he appeals to them first in regard of their calling. He intended it to be a leverage in their souls; he intended that they should be touched by the wonderful place they had in the divine purpose; that they were to walk worthy of the vocation wherewith they were called, with all lowliness and meekness, with long suffering. And then he brings in another thought, “Using diligence to [p. 190] keep the unity of the Spirit in the uniting bond of peace” You see the word ‘unity’ here opens up for us an immense range, and, in referring to the Old Testament as to the fixed order of things, I wish for a moment to show from it how this fixed order of things, that is to say, a moral system of things in connection with men, took form and became established as marking the Israelitish economy. And for that reason I specially call your attention to Joseph, as one who may be regarded as supremely suggestive, typically, of this great principle of endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the uniting bond of peace.
I refer briefly to the introduction of the elements of unity. They sprang from Jacob. There were twelve sons born of several mothers, and in Genesis 37 the Spirit of God introduces the generations of Jacob. He had in mind to develop, in these generations, this great principle of unity; but only Joseph is given to us in that chapter, and many chapters intervene before we have the generations of Jacob, for the reason that the unity of the Spirit in the principle of it became sadly interfered with, so much so that the Holy Spirit drops the thought and fixes our attention on one of the sons of Jacob. Presently the murderous state of the others came to light; rivalry and envy culminating in hatred marked the ten. But in the presence of this, we have introduced in Joseph the sure means of the establishment of the unity of the Spirit, and so in relating his first dream he tells us that his sheaf stood up and the others did obeisance to it, that is to say, in the midst of this state of things you have power, a power to stand up — a great principle throughout Scripture; for, as the unity of the Spirit is outwardly interfered with, the only hope is in the ability of someone to stand up.
I need not remark how this applies to the Lord throughout the gospels, both morally and in the power of life, as He rose from the dead. And so as we proceed in the history of Joseph we find that he brings about unity with the most marvellous skill going through the most excruciating sorrows and trials, he emerges therefrom into lordship and brings about in his brethren the unity of the Spirit in a most marvellous way, so that now the testimony moves on out of Canaan, not a unity of agreement to differ, but a unity of affection brought about under the influence of Joseph — a unity, as we may say, in priesthood, so that Jacob is carried down into Egypt [p. 191] by his sons; and they were all there, and their sons.
Now I wish to say here, so as to make the matter clearer, that this is how matters began in Egypt. Lordship is established, and unity brought about under the influence of Joseph, and then the light of God covering their whole history, poured out into their ears from their father Jacob. What a picture! If it be a question only of the light of God coming to us, is that not an incentive to unity? For it is as the tribes are brought together in the unity of affection that the mind of God is opened up to them and they are blessed. Can we afford to forfeit these things by the intrusion of elements of discord and dislocation? Can we afford to trifle with these things? Think of what is in the heart of God for us! And so, as I said, you have a marvellous opening up in Jacob, the father of the twelve sons, of the mind of God, and then a blessing for each of them. “This is what their father spoke to them; and he blessed them: every one according to his blessing he blessed them” Genesis 49:28. So that they are in Egypt possessed of the mind of God in unity, and blessed.
Now all this, I may further add, makes room for ministry, and so the book of Exodus opens up the great subject of ministry. I am endeavouring to show you the great importance of unity, the unity of the Spirit. Think of the depths of the book of Exodus, of the wonderful provision made in the training of Moses and of Aaron for the ministry! In chapter 6 the Holy Spirit gives you the genealogy of the sons of Jacob until he arrives at Levi, for it is now a question of the ministry. The unity of the tribes has been secured. Can we afford to lose ministry from God? What should we do without it? And so the book of Exodus opens up to us the ministry, and from the ministry the sanctuary, and in connection with the sanctuary the establishment in type of a fixed order of things, for the tabernacle was a pattern,
[p. 192] we are told, of things in the heavens — things that are beyond the reach of dislocation by human or satanic effort. It is founded on the immutable basis of redemption.
I want to show further how this great moral system (corresponding with Ephesians 4:4 - 6) is pictured, vaguely it may be, in the typical books. First, we have one Lord. It is true that we have lordship in Joseph, but that was from the divine side “God” he says, “sent me before you to preserve you a remnant in the earth” Genesis 45:7 God acted from Himself apart from the people in setting up Joseph. But I want to speak of lordship in connection with Moses, for that is what we have to do with as entering into the mediatorial system which God has set up. Joseph was not lord in connection with a fixed order of things, Moses was, and he acquired that place on moral grounds; and so I would appeal to young people here for a moment as to how you regard Christ. What is He to you? You may refer me to Acts 2 and say, God has made Him Lord and Christ; but what have you made Him? You cannot make Him Lord and Christ in heaven, and you cannot make Him Lord and Christ over all things, but it is for you to do that in your own soul in regard of yourself. Hence in the epistles of Paul we have, “To us ... one Lord, Jesus Christ” 1 Corinthians 8:6 “Jesus Christ our Lord” 1 Corinthians 1:9 etc. It is said of Moses that he was “king in Jeshurun, When the heads of the people And the tribes of Israel were gathered together” Deuteronomy 33:5 that is to say, he acquired kingship in their affection, hence it came out, as we are told in Exodus 14, “the people feared Jehovah, and believed in Jehovah, and in Moses his bondman” Exodus 14:31 The Holy Spirit enlarges on that for us in saying that they “all were baptised unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea” (1 Corinthians 10:2); they came under him there was one Lord, and the one act of faith attributed to them is that “by faith they passed through the Red Sea” Hebrews 11:29. There was “one Lord, one faith, one baptism” The unity was developed in connection with that. In the altar set up by Moses and in the breastplate of the high priest you see unity in affection; and then finally, in the ordering of the tribes in relation to the new system, what came out was a change in the relative position of the tribes, that is to say, there was a test for them and they stood the test, for Judah had the first place.
Now you see how God forecast, as worked out morally in the souls of the people of God, the establishment of a moral system that was to stand — a stable thing. There was one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and in relation to that the unity of the tribes. And then as we might expect, there is the assertion in the book of Deuteronomy, “Hear, Israel: the Lord our God is one Lord” Mark 12:29; the unity of God is seen.
Now I come back to my scripture (Ephesians 4), so that you may see how simply the matter stands, and I would refer for a moment to the body. He says, “[There is] one body” Bearing in mind what I have said, you will see how this stands in the Acts in connection with the second concentric circle spoken of — “one Lord, one faith, one baptism” I want to show you how that concentric circle does not refer to Acts 2 directly, but to Acts 9; that this fixed order of things that is before us here refers to what has come about under Paul, not what was at Pentecost, great as that was. And so you find in Acts 9 that Saul sets out breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord. The Holy Spirit wishes to bring into evidence what the Lord can do. It was a question of the disciples of the Lord, and so the chapter develops for us what the Lord was to His people, and in the exercising of that power in regard of His people, in defence of His people and in providing for them, the great truth of the body comes to light, “Why dost thou persecute me?” Acts 9:4 There [p. 194] it is! But then before we have the thing formally named we see it working out among the saints. It is a principle generally in Scripture that a thing is present before it is named, and so in the chapters that follow we have the working out of the principle of the body in circumstances that were opposed to it, and that militated against it, that is to say, Jewish feelings versus Gentile feelings.
Now I want you to take notice of this, because, as I have already remarked, national feelings and sympathies, and local feelings and sympathies are inimical to the working out of this great principle of the body and of the unity of the Spirit. Hence in this chapter you find how the barriers are broken down, as I said before, in a moral way in a man like Barnabas — a man for the moment, a man who had been surnamed by the apostles, “son of consolation” a man who although himself a Jew, a Levite by birth, could take account of what God was doing elsewhere, and who can appreciate it, and who can link things on in a living way; he was a good man and full of the Holy Spirit, we read. He was identified in a practical way with what God was doing elsewhere, and he links all together.
And now you find that at Antioch such conditions of unity existed that the truth of the one Spirit stood out. I have been speaking of the Holy Spirit witnessing in cities, but I wish to dwell for a moment on the exercise of His function in Antioch, so that we may see what we may miss by disregarding the unity of the Spirit. We find there men like Barnabas mentioned first, and Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius the Cyrenian, and Manaen, foster-brother of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. They were men from different parts of the world and from different stations of life, but they are all together ministering to the Lord. They were in Antioch, in the assembly there and the Holy Spirit speaks. I refer to it briefly so [p. 195] that you may see how the one Spirit operates in relation to unity, practical unity, amongst the saints. “Separate me” He says, “Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them” Acts 13:2 So that the one body is the first thing mentioned; it is a question, when I come to it practically, of myself. “[There is] one body, and one Spirit, as ye have been also called in one hope of your calling” The body is composed of believers who have the Spirit. How do I stand in relation to them? That is how it works. How do I regard them? Am I prepared to lose any of them? Can I afford to lose any of them? These are questions that I have to ask myself in the presence of God. At Antioch were they prepared to do without Barnabas and Saul? No! they did not wish to let them go, but the Holy Spirit demanded them, and they released them; they let them go. Need I say that Barnabas and Saul were loved? They were, but they let them go, laying their hands upon them. There was on the one hand the evidence of loving confidence among these brethren, and on the other, entire submission to the Holy Spirit. There is thus presented a beautiful picture of practical unity among saints, and the presence of the one Spirit operating in relation to it.
I need not go further. I would particularly emphasise the body; “There is one body” It is worked out in Corinthians from the Lord’s supper. Before it is introduced in its local bearing, we have it in its general bearing and that is, “we, [being] many, are one loaf, one body; for we all partake of that one loaf” 1 Corinthians 10:17 Now that is worked out as from the body of Christ, for the passage (1 Corinthians 10:16) says, “The bread which we break, is it not [the] communion of the body of the Christ?” 1 Corinthians 10:16 The body of Christ is given to us for food, as the Lord Himself said, “Take eat: this is my body” Matthew 26:26 If I feed on that I shall not give place to the natural propensities of my own will, for I [p. 196] shall see that He took that body to carry out the will of God. I can never be in the one body practically, according to God, save as eating His body, and so it goes on, “We, [being] many, are one loaf, and one body; for we all partake of that one loaf” 1 Corinthians 10:17 Let us be consistent with what we are doing! Much has been made of the Lord’s supper; we may well thank God for every bit of light and instruction accorded to us, but let us think of Christ’s body to be eaten. “Take eat” He says, “this is my body” Matthew 26:26 As I do that, I cannot reserve anything; all has to go to make room for that, and in making room for the great features of Christ as doing the will of God, and witnessing to the love of God down here, I fit into the one body. We get that truth consolidated in chapter 12. The apostle says, “For also in [the power of] one Spirit we have all been baptised into one body” 1 Corinthians 12:13 So that in the mentioning of the body first in this great system — a fixed order of things — I begin with myself; how am I in that?
Then I go to the Spirit, then on to the calling, and then I find myself surrounded by the kingdom, “one Lord, one faith, one baptism” as it is developed in Acts 9 and 10. Then I find, “one God and Father” It is not now, “Hear, Israel: the Lord our God is one Lord” Mark 12:29 but it is, “To us [there is] one God, the Father” 1 Corinthians 8:6 You see what a fixed and blessed state of things we are connected with, and it is immovable; it is as fixed as the ordinances of the heavens and the earth; it cannot be moved. God has done it, but I am in it. I begin with myself in regard of it — my relation to the body. It is a question of my relation to my brethren, and apart from attention to this there is no possibility of keeping the unity of the Spirit in the uniting bond of peace.
May God bless the word, dear brethren, to us at this time.