Wrestling with the Goal of Unity

So good to be back with y’all, and we had a splendid vacation time, and it was very enjoyable. We got to see some things that we’ve never seen before, and we had a good time with our family, and very thankful for the time that the congregation has given me and the elders have bestowed upon me to have these times with my family.

It’s important to us, and we do really appreciate it very much, and it is so special. And we’re thankful for you and for all the good that you do as you support us and as we continue to go forward here with the church.

Well, we are very grateful also for another school year that’s coming up, and we’ve got some kiddos that are going to be starting back, and I know some of our adults are going to be starting back, and we are very excited about the school year coming up, and we pray for you, and we hope that things go very well there also.

And as we begin this school year, I thought, you know, it might be good to reflect upon matters that concern unity. And in our Wrestling with God series, we’re going to be thinking about wrestling with the goal of unity.

Because unity is something that we each need to work toward, and it’s something that we can always do better at and work on more. As we seek to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. And remember, in our series on wrestling with God, we hark back to that story of God and Jacob wrestling there.

And remember, it was during that wrestling match that Jacob said, I’m not going to let you go until you give me a blessing. And God touched the thigh of Jacob and he had problems ever since. And, you know, that’s something that some of us have as well as problems with our hips and our thighs and our backs and all kinds of things. So we can kind of sympathize with him along that line.

But, you know, Jacob’s experience there teaches us that if we want God’s blessing, there’s some things that we need to wrestle with within our lives as well. Remember what the Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 9, verse 25. And everyone who competes, we could very well put the word wrestle in here, everyone who wrestles for the prize is temperate in all things.

Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Wrestling for the prize. It’s something, you know, that we’re going to be focusing on here in a few weeks as we begin to watch our respective football teams wrestle for the prize, right? And I know many of us are involved in that. I’m involved in that to a degree. But when we think about it spiritually, every day is a wrestling match.

That God has given us so that we can obtain not that perishable crown, but the imperishable crown that God wants us to have. He wants to give us a blessing. We need to wrestle for that blessing within our lives.

This morning, we’re going to be wrestling with this concept, the unity of God, the goal of unity. It’s something that we’re striving for. It’s something we need to have, but it’s something we can always work toward and do more in that respect.

Unity is a daily challenge for Christians and the unity that God wants us to have, not only with one another, but to bring others into the fold so that they may have unity with us and with the Lord as well.

And so this morning, let’s think about wrestling with the goal of unity. We’re going to start with Philippians chapter 2 and verses 1 and 2. Therefore, if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.

Now, there’s the goal. That’s what God wants for us, and that’s how we need to be thinking about our relationship with the church and with one another on a daily basis. You know, Paul’s joy was that the church in Philippi had unity.

And if the church is to have any, as he says, consolation and comfort and fellowship and mercy, there will be unity. This call for unity is something that we echo today. And we not only echo it here, but we want it to echo throughout the world.

God wants unity, and He is calling everyone to unity in the body of His Son, Jesus Christ. But a lot of times what we see in the world is not unity, but division. And that is unfortunate. Man is at war with man. Physically, spiritually, mentally, psychologically. But you know, that’s not what God wants.

We don’t want to be at war. We want to be united. And not only united, but truly united. Not just having a facade of unity, but rather true unity that the Lord gives. Now, as we think about the goal of unity and wrestling with the goal of unity, we’re going to think about three things. First of all, that we need to wrestle with the goal of unity because unity is the Lord’s Prayer.

Secondly, we need to wrestle with the goal of unity because unity is absolutely essential to accomplish the Lord’s Mission. And third, we need to wrestle with the goal of unity because unity is the desire of the Holy Spirit. So let’s think about that this morning as we wrestle with the goal of unity. First of all, we want to note this.

Jesus prayed for unity. And if there weren’t any other reason for us to wrestle with the goal of unity, that would be enough right there. Jesus, our Lord, our Savior, our model, our example, our friend, He prayed for us to have unity. And it’s what we should want as well.

He knelt down in that garden of Gethsemane before His death and He uttered that prayer that we read in John chapter 17 and verses 20 through 23. He said, “‘I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word, that they all may be one as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be one in us, that the world may believe that You sent Me, and the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one, I in them, and You in Me, that they may be perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have one in Me, and that the world may know that You have one in Me.

You have sent me and have loved them as you have loved me. This is, in these verses, one place where Jesus prays for you and for me. I want you to notice this. He prayed not only for those disciples who were with Him, but also for those who will believe in me through their word. Now that’s us.

Jesus prayed for us who are here today to have unity. And this unity is something that He expands upon here in these verses. He prays that all may be one. This is His desire for unity. And that desire should be our desire as well.

We need to have unity and we need to desire to have unity. You know, so many times problems in the church come about because people just don’t want to have unity. They don’t desire unity. That’s the first thing we need. If we don’t desire unity, then we’re certainly not going to have unity.

That must be undergirding all of our efforts, all of our actions, all of what makes us the Lord’s body, the desire for unity. But then secondly, we see here that Jesus gives us a standard for unity. It’s not just any unity. It’s not the unity of two cats whose tails are tied together and hung over a clothesline. Maybe you can imagine that. That’s not unity at all, is it? Thank you, Parker. I appreciate that. That’s not unity at all.

But what kind of unity does God want? Does Jesus want? As you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be one in us. Wow. What a standard. Is it a high standard? Absolutely, it’s a high standard.

But God wants us to elevate ourselves to His level. We need to reach for that standard and lay hold of it. Let’s recognize the standard of unity. But then Jesus also made it clear that there was a purpose for this unity. That the world may believe that you sent me.

There’s so much religious division, and when that religious division happens, it gives the devil and everyone who follows him the opportunity to say, Aha! They are not God’s people. If they were God’s people, they would be united. We can’t afford that. We can’t afford to have division. We can’t afford to let the devil have an excuse.

No, we need to have unity so that the world may know that we are truly the Lord’s body. Jesus prayed for unity, and He not only prayed for it once, He prayed for it twice. In this same verse, he reiterates the same things again. You know, it only takes one time for something to be written in the Bible for it to be important. But if it’s mentioned twice, you can bet that God wants you to know that.

God wants us to have unity. Yes, the standard is high, but we must reach for it. Do we desire unity like Jesus desired unity? Do we get down our knees and pray for the unity of the church like Jesus did?

Let’s wrestle with the goal of unity because Jesus Christ prayed for it. But secondly, we wrestle with the goal of unity because unity is essential. It’s essential. You know, God didn’t create a world in which man was divided against man. He created a world where mankind was united.

It wasn’t until sin entered the world that man began to divide. And so God wants us to go back to that place that He made. We think about Ephesians chapter 2, verses 14 through 18 in this regard, Jesus died on the cross so that we could have unity. It says, For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two.

Thus making peace. And that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. And He came and preached peace to you who are far off and to those who are near. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.

What is this talking about? It’s talking about the work that Jesus did. To reconcile mankind to one another and to reconcile mankind to God. There was division in the world before Jesus came. Division that Paul has under consideration here was between Jew and Gentile.

But it could have been any division. It could be all the divisions that we see in the world today, the political divisions that are so heralded and championed by many for their own purposes. God doesn’t want that. He doesn’t want us to be divided. He wants us to be united. And Jesus gave His life on the cross so that we could be, and so that we could be brought to God.

That’s the picture of Genesis chapter 2, where man is with God in the beautiful garden together in loving fellowship. That’s what God wants. That’s why Jesus came. That’s why the church was established. Unity is essential to mankind. And we need to have the unity that God wants us to have because Jesus hung on that cross for you and for me. He shed His blood there and He died so that we could fulfill the purposes of God in Him. Unity is essential.

Think about what the Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 1, verses 10 through 13. Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe’s household, that there are contentions among you.

Now I say this, that each of you says, I am of Paul, or I am of Apollos, or I am of Cephas, or I am of Christ. Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?

Now what the Apostle Paul is writing about here is the problem that the church in Corinth had. They had divided themselves and put themselves into different factions. And one said, I’m of Paul. Another said, I’m of Apollos. Another said, I’m of Cephas or Peter.

They were not united. You know, this is a problem even today in the religious world. There are so many out there who have separated themselves out. We need to echo the call of unity for people to stop engaging in those actions of separation, those actions of division that continue to keep believers apart from one another.

We need them to come back together in one body, which is the church. When we have division, others will know about it. You know, Paul talks about this here. He says he wants us to all speak the same thing. No divisions. Be perfectly joined together. Have the same mind. Have the same judgment. What does this mean? Does this mean that if I eat vanilla ice cream, You have to eat vanilla ice cream. No, that’s not what it means. But what does it mean? In matters of faith, we need to agree. And we need to agree in matters of judgment. Namely, that matters of faith are matters of faith. And that matters of judgment are matters of judgment.

Can we disagree in matters of judgment? You eat chocolate ice cream while I eat vanilla? Absolutely. Can we disagree in matters of faith? That is, if the Bible says, He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, we can’t disagree on that.

We’ve got to agree. That’s what Jesus said, and that’s what we’re going to believe. And that’s what Paul is talking about here. That in matters of faith, we must be united. We see that there must then be agreement on the doctrine that the apostles have left us. The church in Acts chapter 2 continued steadfastly, daily, in the apostles’ doctrine. And that’s what we need to do as well.

When we have division, other people are going to know about it, and they’re going to ask, well, why didn’t they just do what the Bible said to do? There are many religious bodies today about whom many people are asking that question as well. So many who have departed from the Bible’s teaching. Why can’t we just do what the Bible says to do? Divisions are sinful, and that’s why the apostle Paul writes this letter. When people divide religiously because some person or some human has elevated themselves above God, and said, no, you don’t need to listen to the Word of God. You don’t need to follow what Christ taught. Do what I say instead of what God says. Then guess what, folks? That’s sinful and that’s division. We don’t want that. Christ is the standard for unity and Christ is not divided. Our sins were not paid for by men.

Our baptism isn’t under the authority of some man or human. Paul was not crucified for us. We need to elevate Christ and make Him the standard for unity today. When Christ is the standard of unity, it doesn’t matter what background we’re from.

We can all come together in one body and have fellowship with one another when Christ is the standard for unity. But then finally, we need to wrestle with the goal of unity because unity is from the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit speaks to us today through the Word of God.

Think about the Bible being the product of the Holy Spirit. Every single word, every single letter that was originally penned by the prophets and apostles was inspired by the Holy Spirit. And that means these are God’s words. We need to listen to them.

In Ephesians chapter 4 and verses 1 through 3, again, we see the Holy Spirit’s desire for unity when Paul writes, I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with long-suffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace.

It is an endeavor. It is an effort. A wrestling match, if you will, to have unity. But it is worth the effort because when we have unity, we fulfill God’s purposes within our lives. Paul goes on to write, One body and one spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling. One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is above all and through all and in you all. And herein then is the foundation for unity. We must have these seven items, at the minimum, as our foundation for unity today.

We see then in Ephesians 4, verses 7-13, the work of unity. Christ did His work, and now we need to do our work. But to each one of us, grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers for the equipping of the saints, for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect or complete man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.

And so there is a work to do. And you are engaged in that work, and I am engaged in that work, and we need to work together for unity with one another. We’ve got to use the abilities and talents that God has given us to have unity and to fulfill His purposes within our lives. Why?

So that we can have the results of unity. That we should no longer be children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine. No, there are, and you probably know people like this, they just believe everything that they hear and some new fad comes along and they’re taken with it and then it goes away and then some other new fad comes along and they’re taken with it and it goes away and on and on and on.

Just every wind of doctrine. But we don’t want to be like that. We have the doctrine of Christ. That’s our foundation. And when we work together for unity, we won’t be taken away by every wind of doctrine, tossed to and fro by the trickery of men and the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting.

But instead, what? Speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head, Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

What does it take to have a child? To rear a child? To bring that child to adulthood? And then to have that child become successful as an adult? What does it take? Years, planning, work, patience, love, all of those things.

This is exactly what God is trying to do with us. For we are God’s children and we are still growing. One day we will grow up and we will be with Him in eternity. But until that day, we’ve got to continue to grow.

We need to wrestle with the goal of unity so that we can be God’s people. How are you wrestling with the goal of unity this morning? Has it been a focus? Has it been something constantly in your mind? Something that you are engaging with on a daily basis? I sure hope so.

But if it hasn’t been, then let’s use this opportunity to refocus. Let’s use this time to remember what’s truly important. Let’s think about the opportunities that we have coming up with this new school year beginning to talk to our friends and co-workers in the community, To engage with others and to point out that Christ prayed for unity, that God wants unity, and that the Holy Spirit has taught us to have unity.

Maybe that’s something that hasn’t been a focus in your life and you need to make that change. We implore you to do that this morning. Or maybe you realize at this time that you need to be united with the body of Christ by hearing God’s Word, believing it, repenting of sin, confessing Jesus as Lord, and being baptized in that one baptism for the forgiveness of sins, as Acts 2.38 teaches us, you can become part of that body of Christ.

That unity that God is striving for, that place where we can all be together as God originally intended when He created mankind, that wonderful, wonderful house of God for which Christ gave His life. Perhaps that is what you need to do this morning. If that’s the case, then we invite you to come right now while together we stand and sing.

End of transcript. Thank you for reading along!