UNITY AND ONENESS AND SAMENESS
G. C. McKay
Philippians 2: 1–8, 19, 20; 3: 13–17;
1 Corinthians 4: 17; 16: 10–12; 2 Corinthians 12: 16–18
I would like to speak a little, dear brethren, about a feature that is essential to Christianity and that is, unity and oneness, and I might add, sameness. The scriptures that we have read, and what we read in the last reading contain that word same a number of times. Now, I believe that feature I speak about is not a non-essential feature, indeed, no feature of the truth is non-essential. But it is clear that if there is to be any power in the testimony of believers they must be united; and then as to the enjoyment of things, eternal life is enjoyed where brethren dwell together in unity; and the service of God proceeds rightly where the saints “with one accord, with one mouth, glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ”, Romans 15: 6. So you can see, for the testimony, for the service of God and for the enjoyment of divine things, that we should be at one is essential.
Now what lies behind that is this, that God is one. Not only do we know that that is so with the three divine Persons as They exist in Deity beyond our understanding, but in the economy in which They have come They are One in the way that They act. The Lord Jesus said, “I and the Father are one”, John 10: 30. He was not alluding exactly to what they were in essential Deity (although that would be true) but He was alluding to the operations of the Father and of the Son down here in testimony.
So you can understand that the truth that I am seeking to speak about is an essential one. If what is down here amongst the saints of God is to be worthy of God it must be marked by unity. The brethren will remember the Lord Jesus in John 17 three times mentions that matter of oneness among the brethren and we do know from the beginning of Acts that that unity did exist in the beginning. Thus there was wonderful power in the testimony; it says “the heart and soul of the multitude of those that had believed were one”, Acts 4: 32. We know, only too well, what has since occurred in the church. It is a shame that we carry as believers that the church has publicly broken up into segments; hence the testimony, the witness of the church, has been dreadfully impaired or damaged. We cannot reconstitute what was at
the beginning; we have simply to withdraw from the confusion and evil that is around and walk in the light of the assembly. Now one element of that light in which we must walk is oneness and unity; we must pursue it with those with whom we break bread. One might question how persons so different, can be the same. We have brethren here from different nations and languages, countries, races. You might say, ‘Things are therefore too difficult now’, but after all, at the beginning it was the same. Persons from different nations and various places came into Christianity and were marked by the sameness and oneness that the apostle Paul speaks of.
We read from the epistles to two localities which were very different. The assembly in Philippi was very advanced and Paul could speak of them as his joy and crown. The Corinthians as we know were in a very poor and divided state. But even in Philippi there was this one thing that disturbed the apostle and that was, that they were not totally unified. He was fully assured of their love and fellowship because of what they had sent to him in prison, but in chapter 2 he says, Add something to make me fully joyful—“think the same thing, having the same love”; and then, more deeply, “joined in soul, thinking one thing”. One would wonder how the apostle could skilfully bring this about in Philippi. He does it by bringing in this beautiful passage about the down-stooping of Jesus. He brings before them the “mind ... which was also in Christ Jesus” and sets before them, I think, a kind of pattern for how they were to behave. In God’s world there is only one pattern and that is Christ; everything that is to please God now and eternally bears the character or stamp of that blessed Man, Jesus Christ. So he brings in this beautiful description of the Lord Jesus coming into manhood, how He took a bondman’s form and how “having been found in figure as a man, humbled himself, becoming obedient even unto death”. That is a very wonderful thing to contemplate in Christ, but Paul says, “Let this mind be in you”. How remarkable that the mind that was in Christ Jesus should be among the saints—the mind to go down. By nature none of us have that mind. Sin introduced into the race the mind to go up, to aspire, and these elements of ambition and aspiration have helped to bring in all the divisions in the church of God. But as chapter 2 proceeds from this mention of Christ, the saints begin to be mentioned. In verse 19 it is Timotheus, and it is noticeable that he is sent because he is like-minded with Paul, and because he has genuine care for how the saints get on. It was clear that Paul valued Timothy, because he says, “I have no one like-minded”. So that Timothy had taken character from Paul, he was Paul’s child and what lies behind that is that Paul had taken character from Christ, so that Christ is the Model and Pattern. Paul says elsewhere, “Be my imitators, even as I also am of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11: 1), so that all that is to be pleasing to God in the assembly, takes character from that blessed Man.
In chapter 3 Paul shows how he was pursuing “for the prize of the calling on high of God in Christ Jesus”. The whole of his spiritual energy and desire was centred on the prize. He was looking to be called on high in Christ Jesus and that is what lies ahead for every believer. It is not an earthly outlook, it is a heavenly outlook; it is a most wonderful outlook, “the calling on high of God in Christ Jesus”. What a wonderful matter to have before us! But then he says,
“As many therefore as are perfect, let us be thus minded”, that is, the same mind as Paul, and then, “if ye are any otherwise minded, this also God shall reveal to you”. Why should any of us be otherwise minded? Why should we have a different objective? Or a different spirit? Or walk in different steps? Paul says, “let us walk in the same steps” and if we wish to see what these steps are, we can see them in those who are a model for us; “Be imitators all together of me, brethren, and fix your eyes on those walking thus as you have us for a model”. Now it is important that we have amongst us not only teachers (that is important) but models. In fact, the divine thought of a teacher is that what he
teaches, you can see in him, he is not different from what he teaches. So there are those who can give us a good lead in how to walk, not minding earthly things but looking up, “for the prize of the calling on high of God in Christ Jesus”.
Now in the Corinthian epistle we have Timothy mentioned again. I would remark that these things are very practical very blessed, but very practical. So that in chapter 4, verse 17, Paul says, “I have sent to you Timotheus, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, who shall put you in mind of my ways as they are in Christ”. He did not say, ‘he will teach you what my ways are’; but he would put them in mind of them; how would he do that? I think that the Corinthians would look at Timothy and say, ‘He is just like Paul in his ways’. Now that is an exercise for every brother here who is trying to help the saints. You will affect the saints more by what you are than by what you say. So Paul says, “who shall put you in mind of my ways as they are in Christ, according as I teach everywhere in every assembly”. Paul would look for the same things to mark the saints everywhere in every assembly. So that really there should be a sameness about our meetings, about our assemblies. Despite the outward differences of race and language and circumstances we should find everywhere a sameness, spiritually a sameness—the same mind and ways; the same outlook; the same love; the same, even the same customs, as we said in the reading. Paul does speak of that elsewhere—in chapter 11 he says, as to being contentious, “But if any one think to be contentious, we have no such custom, nor the assemblies of God” (1 Corinthians 11: 16). So there should not be customs that should not mark every assembly. Now, one might think that the matter of customs is not so important, but I think it is. The Lord Jesus had customs—
when He first spoke publicly in the synagogue, “he entered, according to his custom, into the synagogue ... and stood up to read”, Luke 4: 16. He was accustomed to going to the mount of Olives. When Paul journeyed, he went into the Jewish synagogue according to his custom (Acts 17: 2). Now
that matter of customs comes into 1 Corinthians 11 and what follows immediately is the Lord’s supper. He is setting matters in order as to man and woman, and the comeliness of sisters in their dress, and as he sets out order in preparation for speaking about the Lord instituting the Supper and giving them the Supper from the glory, he mentions the thought of customs.
In chapter 16 again we have Timothy mentioned and he is commended as labouring as Paul did—“he works the work of the Lord, even as I”. Now I would like to speak to every brother here who would wish to do something in the way of the work of the Lord. Surely every brother, and I am sure the sisters too, would desire to do something in the way of the work of the Lord. Timothy worked for the Lord in the same way as Paul did. Now into this section there comes another servant, Apollos. Paul begged him to go to Corinth and he said that he would not go. He said, ‘It is not my will to go now’. Paul could not order Apollos where to go; one servant cannot command another. The Lord’s word to Peter when he asked about John was “what is that to thee? Follow thou me”, John 21: 22. Now Apollos was an extraordinary servant: he was not a convert of Paul’s; he was an eloquent man, mighty in the Scriptures; he could speak very convincingly from the Scriptures and prove that Jesus was the Christ; and the Lord brought him in for service. But note this; before he was really useful for service he had to be adjusted. Perhaps most of us would say that really to serve the Lord, we have needed adjustment. He knew only the baptism of John; he did not know Paul’s ministry; and a brother and sister drew him apart—Aquila and Priscilla and taught him the way of God more exactly (Acts 18: 26); and so he became serviceable. Now, you might think that there was some discord between Paul and Apollos, but there was not. Some have thought (and I think that this is right) that Apollos did not want to go to Corinth at that time because he was afraid of what would happen—he was such an able and eloquent man he thought that the Corinthians
would make a lot of him, and he knew that the Corinthians were setting aside Paul. He was not going to go and be made much of in a meeting that was setting aside Paul. Of course, he did serve in Corinth, very acceptably too, I am sure. Now we find in Acts 19 these two great servants and they are in the position in which the Lord has placed them. We find that Apollos was labouring in Corinth while Paul went to Ephesus (Acts 19: 1). The Lord was disposing His servants, they were under His hand. Apollos is under the Lord’s hand; he was not under the command of Paul. In the third chapter of this epistle Paul says, “I have planted; Apollos watered; but God has given the increase” and then he adds very beautifully, “But the planter and the waterer are one” (1 Corinthians 3: 8), so that it is important that those who serve the brethren should be one. We should not interfere with one another’s service, but as each is under the Lord’s hand the best possible results for the saints will come.
The last passage I would refer to is in 2 Corinthians 12. The Corinthians were accusing Paul of trying to get money from them, make gain of them. That was a false accusation, it fell to the ground. So some of them said, ‘Well, but he sent other people, he sent Titus and another brother to get gain from us’. But Paul says, “Did I make gain of you by any of those whom I have sent to you?”. Paul says elsewhere, “I do not seek yours, but you”, 2 Corinthians 12: 14.
And so he says, “did Titus at all make gain of you? ...” (surely not!) “have we not walked in the same spirit? have we not in the same steps?” I thought to add that scripture because it mentions the same spirit. That surely must derive from the Spirit of Christ. And so I would commend to the dear brethren that they consider this matter of unity and oneness and sameness. May the Lord bless the word.
Address at Anand, India, 27 November 2009
Edited and Published by J. Strachan, 59 Frederick Street, Dundee, DD3 9DE, Scotland Printed by Crystal Stationery, 22 Western Road, Billericay, Essex CM12 9DZ, (T) (01277) 650661