Unity of Believers

 Eph 4:3

Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Unity. The state of being united or joined as a whole. I have no illusions that it is possible to be united in every facet of life. We were not created to be robots, programmed to all think alike. God created us with unique personalities and with a will to think for ourselves and make decisions that we believe to be right. Having unity among believers is made possible when there is a common goal to live our lives to please the Lord, but it may not come without effort. Because we are uniquely made by God, we will no doubt not view every situation and problem in the same way. We may be unified in our goal, but not unified in how it is achieved. Maintaining unity is always a work in progress. It is an endeavor that requires intentionality. Unity does not just happen because we all love Jesus. Chances are, there will be many times that we will not see things eye to eye. What is important is to maintain the spirit of Christ in our hearts.  We may not all think alike, but our hearts can be united to keep our spirits in the likeness of Christ. Love and peace can still abide when Christ dwells among us. The Spirit of Christ that lives within each believer compels us to live with an attitude to preferring one another, not allowing strife and contention to arise. There will be times when things are said and done that can lead to division, but Paul says to work hard, make every effort to keep peace and be kind in our spirits. Keeping the unity of the Spirit is essential if we are going to see the Kingdom of God accomplished. 

Baptism of Believers

 Matt 28:19
Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.

After Jesus was risen from the grave, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were told by the angels to go tell the other disciples that He was risen. As they ran to tell them, Jesus appeared to them. The excitement and wonder was overwhelming. First, they saw an angel, then they were the first to see Jesus face to face. Sorrow was turned to joy as they were told to go tell the disciples that He would meet them in Galilee. It was on a mountain in Galilee that Jesus gave His disciples the mission to tell the world that He died on the cross for sinners, and that He was the resurrection of life. That all power was His and the Holy Spirit would come to give them the power to turn the world upside down. 

The account given to us by Matthew is one of the many scriptures given to us that teach baptism and the doctrine of the Trinity. Being baptized does not bring salvation, salvation is only accomplished by confessing and believing in Jesus. But one cannot ignore the commandment given to us by Jesus that baptism is an important sacrament after one comes to believe. It proclaims to the world that we have made our choice. We are followers of Jesus, and He is the Lord of our lives. A systematic study of scripture will show that baptism is plainly taught in scripture. As believers, we should encourage those who come to Christ to proclaim their faith by being baptized. To argue that one cannot get to heaven without it is to be ignorant of the plan of salvation and the reason Jesus died on the cross. But as followers of Jesus, one should desire to proclaim Christ by being baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, just as Jesus commanded.

Pleasing God and Others

Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

We all seek to please those we love. We desire to bring pleasure and happiness to those that are close to us. We don’t speak unkindly about people we desire to please. To truly please someone requires some action on the pleaser. Being a people pleaser to get what you want is surface pleasing and fake. Pleasing God should be the centrality of those who have come to Christ. Coming to Christ in faith is the first step to pleasing the Father. Believing that Jesus is the Son of God and that He came to earth to die for our sins pleases Him. He rewards them that seek His face and have faith to trust Him. Such is the life of a true believer in Christ.  

Community of Believers

Eph. 2:19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;

Working together as a community of believers will require compromise of preference. Even tho there is a common goal, how we get there can be viewed and achieved differently. We are no longer strangers without common interest. But fellow citizens (a community) of the household of faith. We all having different community that we are apart of. There is the neighborhood community, the work community, the church community, and even a family community. All made up of individuals with different life’s experiences. For a community to work together in harmony, one must be willing to extend grace and understanding to each other. When people insist on having their own way, it no longer become a community, but a kingdom built to oneself. We no longer are servants one to each other, but we become master and tyrants that live life for self. May we learn that for a church to be effective we must fitly work together with the common desire to do the will of God and glorify the Father.