One.
‘Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me have I given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.’ (John 17:20-23)
The unity of God is not something otherwise known by this world. Two people on this earth can never agree entirely, or even if they seem to agree about everything, can never know each other entirely. The three persons of God – the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit – not only agree entirely, but are infinite and all-knowing. They not only agree – they know that they agree about everything. But unity is more than just agreeing.
A measure of oneness is known by a man and a woman in marriage, concerning whom God said, ‘they shall be one flesh’ (Matthew 19:5-6). In reality, a man and his wife can disagree about many things; the institution of marriage is more a tribute to what can be (and shall be) than a living example in practice among fallen men. Nonetheless, to be ‘in love’ is an experience of union which gives a hint about what Jesus means when he speaks of ‘being one’. It is more than agreeing; it is both knowing, and loving another.
I have begun this article with a glimpse of the idea of godly oneness, because discussions of unity among men and in the Church would be shallow without an acknowledgement that we are talking about something deep and fundamental to the nature of God. As said, it is something we can scarcely comprehend, but it is as well to know it exists, and at least to name that which we know little of.
‘And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.’ (Acts 2:1-4)
‘Revival’ is a popular word among ‘western’ Christians today (and perhaps others about which I would not know) and so it has been, as long as I have been numbered among them. The account above from Acts could be taken as depicting the first ‘revival’ – a new movement and manifestation of the Holy Spirit, which soon led to many others coming to faith in Jesus. The scripture is marked by the words ‘one’ and ‘all’: ‘one accord’, ‘one place’, ‘filled all the house’, ‘they were all filled’.
Unity of the people involved is often mentioned in accounts of revivals of modern times (i.e. recent centuries) and so it appears to have been in this first instance described above. Though personally I think there is an account of an earlier ‘revival’ in the Bible from which we can learn much, though it could be argued that was a different type of event, being prior to the coming of the Holy Spirit in the way he is given to the Church by Jesus, as seen in Acts 2. And it could be argued, prior to the Church.
‘In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. And the same John had his raiment of camel’s hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey. Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan, And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.
But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.’ (Matthew 3:1-9)
In Luke we read also concerning John:
‘Then came also publicans to be baptized, and said unto him, Master, what shall we do? And he said unto them, Exact no more that that which is appointed you. And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages.’ (Luke 3:12-14)
This is John, who was later imprisoned and ultimately beheaded for his honest admonition of King Herod. John, fearless and upright, who according to the above accounts and other scriptures was essentially an ascetic – celibate, living on wild food in the wilderness, and having never touched a drop of alcohol (Luke 1:15). I make these observations because, seen in this light, John’s counsel to the likes of soldiers and publicans (tax collectors) was incredibly moderate. (Take a moment to consider what the life of a soldier in Roman-occupied Israel might have been like in the time Christ; a complete list of ‘fruits meet for repentance’ could have been quite long. But more than that, by serving the Roman occupiers, these people were evil by definition in the eyes of most religious folk I would expect.)
And even though John gave the Pharisees and Sadducees a tongue-lashing as no doubt they deserved, yet he did not send away even those, should they choose to be baptized.
John, who could rightly have considered himself closer to God than any other except the Lord Jesus himself, who is God, was not exclusive – he was the great unifier. He received even those he knew were his enemies at heart, and who were enemies of the Lord also. And Jerusalem and all Judaea went out to him. In true revival fashion, this was a call to come as one, no one above any other, and none turned away in repentance before the throne of God.
And so we read in accounts of more recent revivals. A recurring theme is the universal effects and reception of the work. ‘The people were of one accord’.
Why is it that unity is such a mark of these great works of the Holy Spirit, and perhaps, something we should attend to if we desire to see such works again?
There are both practical and I believe, deeper reasons why unity appears an essential trait of ‘revivals’. Firstly, it can be seen in the Biblical accounts that there are both winners and losers from revival.
Following the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost as described above in Acts, a great move of God was evident in the newborn Church. But not all its members were able to adjust to this profound change in the values and realities of life for the believers. We read that Ananias and Sapphira tried to rationalize their involvement by withholding some money, while at the same time trying to present themselves as being equally as whole-hearted as the other believers (and thereby showing that they knew the standard of commitment which was being set, though offered only by free choice in this great move of God). And so they died before the Lord for their duplicity. (Acts 5:1-11)
More generally we read Jesus’ rebuke of some places where he preached and showed great signs:
‘Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not: Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you.
And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.’ (Matthew 11:20-24)
So if a purpose of God in revival is to bless – and I believe it is – then a large measure of unity among those who receive the work is needed, otherwise those who are condemned by it might outnumber those who are blessed. Because these are not happenings in which one can sit on the fence (as Ananias and Sapphira tragically discovered). And that any at all should suffer from what is so great and generous a blessing, is a tragedy and does not adorn the work and unspeakable gift of God in the manner most fitting.
Nonetheless, I believe there is a deeper reason why unity is essential to revival, and to all reconciliation of men to God, which is a work of the Holy Spirit.
I mentioned the following scripture in an article earlier this year:
‘And when you stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.’ (Mark 11:25-26)
My thought was, how extraordinary, that our own conduct should have so great an effect on our salvation – for surely, to be forgiven is to be saved, and who can be saved if not forgiven by God? Yet we rightly say that nothing we can do can make us deserving of the grace of God to forgive our sins – yet it seems there may be things we can do, or not do, to make us undeserving.
My understanding has perhaps changed a little since my earlier comments. I see now that this may not be best viewed as a case of ‘do this to get that’. Rather, forgiving and being forgiven are part of the same thing: forgiveness. We cannot receive one side of the coin and not the other. Both are part of the grace we must receive, and are inseparable.
So it is with unity.
The grace of God to call us into the holy oneness he himself holds within the Godhead, is unthinkable. Yes we are made in the image of God. But we have corrupted that image beyond recognition. For God to say we should be one with him is gracious beyond belief. And for Jesus to pay the unimaginable price to make that possible – there is, and could be no greater stretch of love from one to another, to make one, where there was only infinite separation.
How then can we say of another believer, I cannot sit on the same pew with him? Or that I must attend a different church? When Jesus left heaven and came to earth to sit with us in the shadow of death, which we ourselves have brought to bear on the good world given us to enjoy? Which we have filled with sin and suffering by our own devices?
I know there are times when, to be upheld in our own faith, we must surround ourselves with others of ‘like faith’ and avoid unnecessary offences via the Church when the world has more than enough of those to present us with already. And some have suffered terribly at the hands of other believers, or at least those who wear the name of Christ. These are not all trivial matters.
But how can I lay hold on unity with God, and not with my brother, who in truth comes helpless as a sinner before the throne of grace as I do myself? While God, with whom I would be one, is holy.
Our unity, and unity with God, is one and the same. We cannot be made one with God, and not with each other, when his calling is precisely that: to make us one, and one with him.
‘that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one’. (John 17:22-23)
‘Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments;
As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.’ (Psalm 133)
Amen, Lord Jesus make us one.
Amen.
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