The Unity of Believers

TEXT:  EPHESIANS 4:13

“Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ”.

Unity is a state of being one; with accord; in agreement; in harmony.  The synonyms for “unity” are: oneness; individuality; indivisibility; inseparability; solitude; identity; sameness; uniformity; consistency; coherence; unification; fusion; peace; unit; compact!

The Apostle Paul saw only one Church, not a Jewish Church and a Gentile Church.

“Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace" (Ephesians 2:15).

 Even now, there shouldn’t be what we call “Black Churches” and “White Churches”.  Neither should there be different denominations, but there are.  Yet, there are those that think as Paul did - there is still ONE CHURCH, the Body of Christ!

“For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body:  so also is CHRIST.  For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit" (1 Corinthians 12:12-13)!

I’m so glad God is SPIRIT!  Because He is SPIRIT, He can’t be labeled a “certain color”   unless someone can tell me what color “Spirit” is.  Isn’t He AWESOME!  In case someone wants to give Him a color, they’ve got to admit that He’s in all men who have received Him, and that covers all races of people.  “And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation” (Acts 17:26).

“For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones” (Ephesians 5:30).

Paul was encouraging the Saints at Ephesus, and the same Word of God is still speaking to us today to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.  He spoke very clearly and strongly about oneness!  In Ephesians 4:4-6, he wrote, “There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are 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”.

How are we to become united in oneness?  As we look at Ephesians 4 verses 11-12, it is written, “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ”.

We need more than just the “pastor” functioning in the Church.  We also need the apostle (the establisher); the evangelist (extends the long arm of the Gospel); the prophet (speaking with the voice of God saying what was, what is, and what is to come); the teacher (instructor not only in elementary and high school level teaching but college level as well) so to speak.  God wants us to be able to operate in each of these offices when it’s needed. 

We have to be as David was in 1 Samuel 17 when he went to fight Goliath.  He took his “staff” (the rod of authority) in his hand and chose 5 smooth stones out of the brook.  He put them in a shepherd’s bag, even in a scrip, and his sling was in his hand. Those 5 stones denote the five-fold ministry, which is the capacity the Shepherd needs to function in. The sling was an awesome weapon in the hand of a skilled person.  The Benjamites were left-handed and could sling a stone at a hairs breath and not miss (Judges 20:16).  Stones have been thrown that could pierce a helmet and a shield (1 Samuel 17:49-50).  He only had to use ONE of the stones to bring the giant down!  Any of them would have worked - the apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor or teacher.  I would say David did an awesome job standing in the office of the “pastor and teacher!  He was defending the flock of God and at the same time taught that giant not to defy the God of Israel!!

All “five” - the apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher - are needed for the perfecting of the saints for the work of the ministry and for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come (arrive; reach) in the unity of the faith.  “The” is an adjective used before “unity” and “faith” to make them definitive (conclusive; fixed; final; certain)!  We must come into oneness of what we “believe”!

Faith is pis’tis (persuasion; belief; conviction of truth) or reliance upon Christ for salvation; constancy in one’s profession; assurance of; fidelity to God.  We must believe the same thing in relation to truth.  Jesus is truth!  Jesus said unto him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (St.John.14:6).   Do we believe every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4) or are we just making it on “part” of the Word that has been handed down through traditions of men?  Let’s take a look at a few scriptures:

• Be of the same mind one towards another (Romans 12:16).
• That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 15:6).
• Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment (1 Corinthians 1:10).
• For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him?  But we have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16).
• Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus (Philippians 2:5).

Those that “have the mind of Christ” believe the same thing that God’s Word says and have grasped the revelation by spiritual insight as Peter did in Matthew 16.  But if the revelation hasn’t taken you over yet, the carnal mind is in control.  "These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast" (Revelation 17:13).  These are they that are bound by Religious order or traditions of men.

But when we are operating in the “Peter class”, having the ability to see “THE CHRIST”, we can then move into the next phase of “uniting” in the KNOWLEDGE of the Son of God!  KNOWLEDGE - epig’nosis - means recognition or full discernment and acknowledgement of the Son of God.  The hui’os, meaning Son of Man; His Son; Son of David; My Beloved Son; The Only Begotten Son!  This word denotes the quality which is the attribute, excellence, characteristic, nobility, status of being like another!  It is also the essence or the very entity, reality, nature, life, core, heart of being so much like someone else until it’s hard to tell the difference between the two.  The Father and the Son were ONE!  The Father in flesh form was Spirit and flesh all in one!  Now we are ONE with them!

“I pray for them:  I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.  And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them. And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be ONE, as we are” (St. John 17:9-11).

Paul stated, “That I may know [gno’sis] him, and the power of his resurrection” (Philippians 3:10).

This “knowing” is a seeking to know; inquiring about; to investigate so to be made aware of something or someone.  But knowledge in Ephesians 4:13, which is epig’nosis, is to have full discernment, further investigating or a progressive knowing of whom the Son of God is!  It is a knowing that will cause you to see more than the man Jesus, but you will see the Christ as Peter did in Matthew 16!!

When we see each other, we are seeing “the Christ”!  “For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body; so also is Christ” (1 Corinthians 12:12).  “For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Galatians 3:27).

This “baptism” is not being dipped in water, but it is a baptism in the Spirit of God!  “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body” (1Corinthians 12:13).

“As he is, so are we in this world” (1 John 4:17)!   

When we all come into this understanding, we move “into” the place of a “perfect man” as one body in CHRIST!!  This word unto (in Ephesians 4:13) is the Greek word eis, which indicates the point reached or entered of place, time, or purpose.  The place (the heavenlies); the time (right now); the purpose (to manifest the total of Christ in the earth)!

“Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be:  but we know [eido or have full discernment; complete awareness] that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2).  The people of God that have Christ’s mind already see hora’o, or clearly discern Him as He is right now in His body, the Church!  He is appearing, or phanero’o, meaning He is being manifested or showing Himself now, in His body (the Church) of which He is the Head!  “And he is the head of the body, the church” (Colossians 1:18).  The Head and the Body have been perfectly joined together as ONE!!

“For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily” (Colossians 2:9)!

This word bodily is from the Greek word somatikos’ meaning PHYSICALLY!  He is here in a physical form in the Church! 

“So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another” (Romans 12:5). 

“What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?  For ye are bought with a price:  therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

“Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands” (Acts 7:48). 

Temple is na’os, or the dwelling place, the sanctuary of the Living God, which we are!!

“Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God” (Revelation 21:3). 

This word tabernacle is skene’, which is a tent, cloth hut, or habitation of God!  This word is a take off of our English word “SKIN”!  We are the habitation, dwelling place, cloth hut of the LIVING GOD!!   “And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols?  For ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people” (2 Corinthians 6:16)!!!  HALLELUJAH!!!

• “For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:8).
• “Now, brethren, if I come unto you speaking with tongues, what shall I profit you, except I shall speak to you either by revelation, or by knowledge, or by prophesying, or by doctrine? (1 Corinthians 14:6).
• “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6)!  [Did you get that revelation right there???]  MERCY!!!
• “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death” (Philippians 3:10).

[Paul didn’t say here “that he might know, but that he may know, connoting that he shall know Him, Jesus the CHRIST!! ]

This “knowing” causes us the Church to become the perfect or tel’ios, which is Christ’s body in its completeness (in labor - bringing forth other sons of God; in growth - mentally and morally in character)!  We come into full age in Christ saying what He said and doing what He did on the earth! “He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do” (St. John 14:12).  “And hast made us unto our God kings and priests:  and we shall reign on the earth” (Revelation 5:10; Revelation 1:6)!

This “knowing” brings us unto (eis) the measure (same degree of anointing) of the stature (heliki’a) or the maturity or fullness or completeness in CHRIST!  CHRIST is the christos’, the anointed one (s) and His chri’o, His anointing, which removes every burden and destroys every yoke!  I don’t pray for a “double portion” anointing.  I pray for the “Spirit of God without measure”!  That’s what Jesus the Christ our Lord and Saviour had!!  “For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God:  for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him” (St. John 3:34)!!  What the Father gave to the Son, He has given to us!  “Behold, I give unto you power [exousi’a or ability] to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power [dunamis or works] of the enemy; and nothing shall by any means hurt you” (Luke 10:19).  “Ye shall receive power [dunamis; miracle working], after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you:  and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8)!

 We as one body are overdue for being about our Father’s business!  It is time to come from behind the walls of racism, denominations, and any other "isms" that there might be! It is time to GO AND DO as ONE!!!  For where there is UNITY, there is STRENGTH!!!  

“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:13)!  

WE CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST WHO STRENGTHENS US!!!

~ Apostle Gracie Perry