UNITY: HOW IT IS PROMOTED
[p. 27] UNITY: HOW IT IS PROMOTED
Scripture attaches great importance to unity. This cannot be disputed; almost the very first idea presented in Scripture is union, and that leads to unity. It is the very first witness to unity in Scripture, that God took the woman from man, and they became one.
In the Old Testament you get the unity of the Godhead. In the New Testament you get the revelation of divine Persons, but then they are one. Then, again, you get a witness to unity in Israel — there were twelve tribes, but they were all one. The twelve loaves on the table of shewbread proved that; when they divided, God did not approve of the division. You get plenty of prophecies of the unity of Israel — we get it alluded to in Psalm 133: 1: “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity”. Then when you get that, you get the blessing of eternal life (verse 3). In the New Testament all the writers attach great importance to unity. Paul, Peter, and John, all do. So, too, does the Lord Himself. He prays “that they may be all one”. Here in Ephesians 4 the apostle is exhorting to unity. So long as will exists, you cannot get unity. When all are governed by one will, then you get unity; it will be so with Israel. When they are united under one Head, they will be really united. “Ephraim will not envy Judah, and Judah will not trouble Ephraim”, Isaiah 11: 13. So, too, in regard of christians — you get it brought about when all are governed by one will. It is in the house of God that unity is to exist; we are exhorted to “keep the unity of the Spirit”, and that unity will exist when individual will is set aside and all are governed by the will of God. We find [p. 28] great practical difficulty in walking together in unity, and the difficulty is, people are not all governed by one will. The only possible assurance or way of unity is by all being subject to the will of God. The unity of the saints was to be the witness that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world. In early days there was a witness to unity, and there was thus a witness to the truth that the Father sent the Son, etc. Now the unity of the Spirit is broken, and it cannot be put right again. If I were asked why I am not connected with any section of christendom, I should say I could not be identified with what is a denial of the unity of the Spirit. The unity of the Spirit is not practicable in christendom — that is justification for standing apart from all the organizations around. We cannot expect unity to be re-established, but we are under the obligation to endeavour to keep the unity of the Spirit, and it is a great thing to seek individually to be controlled by the will of God. There are three Persons in the Godhead, but only one will. Unity is what tests us; it tested Israel — ten tribes split off from two. The great practical test for us is, Can we go on together? And the answer is, Can we go on, being governed by the will of God and not by our own? Now God has but one mind in regard to men. Christ is the mercy-seat — that is one point of view, but we are entitled to meditate upon what Christ is to the saints. That is another point of view, and the justification for looking at both is that Christ bought the field; but then He bought the field for the sake of the treasure. In the passage I read, we get what the saints are to Christ — the treasure — and what Christ is to them. What marks the present time is that all men belong to Christ. He bought the field, but then He bought the field for the sake of the treasure. These two [p. 29] things have to be held together: Christ as God’s testimony to men, yet what the saints are as Christ’s treasure. I want to bring before you what the treasure is in regard of Christ. Now look at the passage (verses 11, 12): “He has given some apostles, and some prophets, and some evangelists, and some shepherds and teachers, for the perfecting of the saints; with a view to the work of the ministry, with a view to the edifying of the body of Christ”; and again (verses 14 - 16), “That we may be no longer babes ... may grow up to him in all things ... works for itself the increase of the body to its self-building up in love”. Certain things act and react. It is true in chemical things, and so it is in moral things. Two things should mark all of us, and these are intelligence and affection; they are agents, acting and reacting. Intelligence will lead to enlarged affection, and affection tends to intelligence. In Mary of Bethany, her affection became the means of intelligence. It was so with John. Did you ever think that John was a Galilean fisherman? And yet his writings are very profound and abstract. The key to his intelligence was affection — nothing can be more important than affection, and it is equally important that christians should gain intelligence, “the measure of the stature of the fulness of the Christ” (Ephesians 4: 13), that is intelligence. Then the “self-building up in love”. These are the two.
The gifts are given for enlightening and intelligence, and these tend to expansion of affection, and in that way they work together — we must not despise intelligence. Gifts are given for that end; they will not bring about affection, but intelligence leads to exercise, and that tends to the expansion of affection. Now I want to speak of gifts. Gifts are the expression of the care of Christ for the saints; they are given for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body. Gifts were never given [p. 30] to create a clergy, nor to distinguish those who have them. I admit they do distinguish them, but they were never given to that end. They were given for the work of the ministry. The apostles had no idea of being distinguished by their gifts, nor yet to keep what they had to themselves. John communicated all he knew, that the saints should have fellowship with them, and that the saints should be enlightened. We have the benefit of it at the present day. That is very important in the face of all that exists in christendom. I touch on the end in view: “Until we all arrive at the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, at the full-grown man, at the measure of the stature of the fulness of the Christ” (verse 13). That is the object for which they were given. Here we get the unity again — the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God. Unity is inherent in the knowledge of the faith and of the Son of God, and it is the only unity worth anything morally. What I understand by the faith is the revelation of God. We only know God by faith, because God has not come out yet publicly — we only know God by testimony and revelation. We are in the light of the revelation of God. Grace and truth are in the thought of God for man — law never was. Grace and truth are by Jesus Christ. No one can walk in the light as God is in the light, save by faith. It is the unity, too, of the knowledge of the Son of God. That point is of very great moment. When we speak of the Son of God, it is interesting to see the different connections in which the different apostles had to say to the Son of God. Peter confessed Him as the Son of God. John witnessed to Him — all his writings are in connection with the Son of God; and Paul preached Him. The Son of God is the last Adam, the Centre and Head of God’s universe, and the divine Source of all blessing [p. 31] for man. Eternal life is given to us in God’s Son. That is what I understand by the Son of God. How important that we should have a clear knowledge of the Son of God. Now the gifts are all given to that end: “Until we all arrive at the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, at the full-grown man” (Ephesians 4: 13). A perfect man is where there is no defect, “the measure of the stature of the fulness of the Christ”. The fulness of Christ is the church. How far have we all arrived in these things? The unity of the faith — the full light of revelation — walking in the light as He is in the light; then, too, the clear knowledge of the Son of God, in the light of what the Son of God is, according to divine counsel, Head and Centre of divine counsel. These are things which are to occupy the attention of the saints, and not the frivolous things of this world. Unity becomes a very great test. If people go on and increase in the faith, and in the knowledge of the Son of God, people will be found together in unity, for unity is inherent in these two things. That, then, is the great object of gifts. Do not wait for, or anticipate, any great revolution down here. The church has ceased to be what God intended it to be (Revelation proves that); but as an individual I seek to walk in the light of divine revelation, and to increase in the knowledge of the Son of God; and the effect would be to promote unity. The circle might be limited. I would scout the unity of ‘brethren’. I want no unity save what is inherent in the faith, and the knowledge of the Son of God. I repudiate every other kind of unity. The result is, going on in that way you come to the measure of the stature of the fulness of the Christ. Now pass on to the next point (verse 16), “Works for itself the increase of the body to its self-building up in love”. Take a company — an association [p. 32] of any kind on earth — take the House of Commons for instance. The head should be the perfect expression of what every member of the company ought to be. In human things that cannot be realised. The Speaker of the House of Commons may be a very clever man, he has the intelligence — but he is not perfect. Now in divine things we have a perfect Head, “may grow up to him in all things”, Ephesians 4: 15. When He exhorted them to love one another, He added, “as I have loved you”, John 13: 34. He was the Head, the intelligence, and He never exhorts us to anything that He is not towards us. All has been expressed in Himself. He is the intelligence. We are to grow up to Him in all things, not only in point of intelligence, but in point of nature. Our love to Christ is proved in that we love one another. The world took account of the disciples as having been with Jesus. The Lord loves us perfectly, and He exhorts us to love one another. He is the Guide of our circle, and has the ordering of things in every possible way. We are to grow up in the divine nature. I suggest to you the importance of cultivating our relations one toward another. The way in which we cultivate our relation towards Christ, is to cultivate our relations one towards another down here. “United together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding”, Colossians 2: 2.
One word more, (Ephesians 4: 16). It is but to look to find. Some people say they never find affection for the saints, but the point is every part supplies. But where do you get supplies? It is by coming under the influence of Christ. There is no one to whom He is not Husband. Christ is law to us. He would make us conscious of His love in many a way. No member in the House of Commons can speak until he catches the eye of the Speaker. Now [p. 33] we have the eye of Christ. The way to supply (which is an obligation) is to come under the influence of Christ, who is the perfect expression of what we should be. Then we shall be bent upon supplying, and when we supply, then we find. Then there is effectual working in every part — it is the supply of affection. The truth is when people come under the affection (or influence) of Christ they get a surplus and excess, so that you are able to supply and convey affection to the body. So you get “works for itself the increase” in every part. Do you get so little of Christ, that you have nothing to spare? There is enough for every part, and then you can supply to the body, and thus every member has enough for itself, and then has something to spare. In that way there is self-building up in love; that is the way the thing works. The treasure belongs to Christ, and is very important in the eye of Christ. He has given gifts for the expansion of the intelligence, and He is, too, the Head and intelligence of the body, so that every member may be content and happy, and have a surplus for the self-edifying of itself in love.
May the Lord give us to be exercised in the light of the truth, and to go on in the energy of the Spirit of God, and that notwithstanding the fact that the body will not be together again in unity in an outward way.