Unity!

Unity!

1 Corinthians 1:10 KJV

[10] 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.

At the top of this letter written by Paul and Sosthenes, the audience is defined: to the church of God at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. This was not a letter addressed to the general populace, or to an indeterminate audience. The audience always defines the impact of the message. It is also interesting to note that, after thanking God for their faith in Christ, the first thing Paul spoke on was the division in the church at Corinth. Here were people already saved, as confirned by the early part of this letter, yet they were struggling to work out a united front on what was critical and important. Before I point the finger at another person, how have I been performing? In the place where God has seen it fit to plant me, and considering the gifts He has endowed me with, how am I faring? Am I all about my views only, or is there room for other people's views, as long as they do not contradict the word of God, or His work? 

Paul charges his audience to all speak the same thing. It would appear that Paul was charging the people to be united. What is unity? This is 'harmony with and among the individuals in a group'. Picture an average musical keyboard, or even a computer keyboard, and you find different keys that do specific jobs, or perform specific tasks. If each key on that board stands alone, what you get is a unique sound, but nothing can be achieved. If what you need is for all the keys to work together to produce harmony,  the unique strength of each key is harnessed into one production or the achievement of one assignment. It does not mean that the keys must all do the same work to be united; it just means that each key has found purpose and value behind the shared goal or vision. There has to be something that is bigger than the individual parts that work together, to keep them focused. It is not biblical to expect everyone in a group to see things from the same perspective at all times. 

Even the early church, filled the Holy Spirit, had some major disagreements from time to time, but the leaders never forgot what the bigger purpose was. As the verse above makes clear, there can be no divisions among people who are on a journey of impact and eternity. The prayer and desire has to be that we all be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. I note it does not say that we would always agree on every fine point, but joined together in the same mind means our hearts are focused on what God wants. We come to the same conclusion that God is to be glorified in our lives. Even the devil knows the power of unity, and that is why he fights to emphasize our differences. We must not give the devil a chance to pollute that which God wants to do in our lives. May the Lord help His church to focus on the eternal, while it also impacts the earthly. God's time of favour is here.