The Lord has made His people one, and yet they may not know how to really practice and live in that oneness. They do not always have an awareness that He has made them to be one Body.
Man was not made to live alone. It might be easier living alone, because being around other people makes a person somewhat vulnerable. However, spiritual oneness with others can also make him invincible. The power of unity has not been understood, but the greatness of the end-time restoration and all fruitful efforts of the Kingdom will be a result of the unity that comes forth in God’s remnant.
Joel 2:7, 8 describes the people who are the end-time remnant of God: “They will not break ranks; nor thrust one another through.”
A more positive Scripture reads, Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices, they shout joyfully together; for they will see with their own eyes (literally, eye to eye) when the Lord restores Zion. Isaiah 52:8.
The watchmen lift up their voices together in a shout of victory, and they see eye to eye. They are not only in one accord, but a joyful shout comes from their lips. Their seeing eye to eye means that there is no deviation in the spirit of unity that possesses and fills them.
Do you believe that the Church is to have the oneness and unity that is described in the Scriptures? The Church began with that oneness. Acts 2:1 says that they were all with one accord in one place. Verse 42 says that they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship. Verse 46 says that with one accord they continued daily in the Temple, and broke bread from house to house, eating with gladness and singleness of heart.
There was no division among them. They walked in a unity of faith. The Lord poured out His Spirit upon them, and there was deep unity; but the unity came before the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
Read Acts 1:14 and 2:1 for a picture of the unity they experienced. They were all with one accord in one place, and then the Lord poured out the Holy Spirit upon them.
The unity preceded the outpouring of the latter rain. In this day too, the unity will precede the restoration of the Body of Chrrist and the gospel of the Kingdom going to the ends of the world. These are not the cause of unity; they are the effect of unity.
We have not yet learned the power that comes when God causes a man and a woman in marriage, or brethren in the house of God, to come into true unity.
Ineffectiveness results when individuals work without possessing a deep unity of spirit. Their efforts are individual, and so the sum total of them adds up to a certain result.
But when there is the unity of spirit and of faith, the total of the same men’s efforts is increased. In unity, their efforts are multiplied. Without unity there is much frustration.
The effects of unity can be likened to synergistic action. Two chemicals may have certain individual properties. Each may have certain effects when used independently; but when they are combined, they may cause an explosion.
We have yet to see what will happen when God fully unites His people in this end time and brings forth that powerful unity in every one of their lives. Husbands and wives should strive for this unity; otherwise, they take away from each other. Unity enhances and strengthens, and through it efforts of the effectiveness of ministry is multiplied. Then the fruitfulness of the will of God comes forth. This principle of unity can be seen over and over in the Scriptures.
We have to love and believe for one another so much that the anointing of the Lord will be so strong that the wisdom of the Lord will bring down the misunderstanding of key doctrines like we are not under the law but under grace. The righteousness of the law is fulfilled in those who walk in the Spirit.
Key words in the Bible are only partially understood, like grace, repentance, the rapture, end times, judgment, it is finished, and who we are in Christ, which cause division in the Body of Christ. The result is a disagreeing instead of a unity, in which we all say the same thing and believe the same thing.
Jesus said, Again I say unto you, that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. Matthew 18:19. What does God require? Only that two agree. They ask, and they are in deep agreement.
In the Greek text, the word for their agreeing together is sumphoneo. Sum means with, and phoneo means to cry or to voice it; and sumphoneo means to cry together—to cry with the brother. It comes as a unity of action unto the Lord.
This happened in Acts 4 after Peter and John were released from prison. They came together with the other disciples, and with one accord they lifted up their voices in a prophetic prayer. When they finished praying, the place where they were gathered was shaken (verse 31). A fantastic anointing rested upon that place, and the phenomena occurred because of the unity when they were crying and believing together.
Do violence to the divisiveness that can enter your spirit and cause you to withdraw. Battle withdrawal, rebellion, and anything else in your heart that is against church order and the unity of the Body and pure Body ministry.
Much damage is done to the church when the people hold themselves back by not pursuing after the unity and the oneness in the Spirit.
In John 17:21, Jesus prayed, “Father, I pray that they also may be one as We are one, that the world may believe that Thou has sent Me.” The heavens and the earth will be shaken when the same oneness that exists between the Father and the Son also exists between the remnant and the Lord.
When they are one, that oneness will have an impact on the world. To hinder that, Satan has caused hundreds of denominations to arise. He knows that he can defeat believers if he can divide them. He can defeat your home if he can keep you at swords’ points with one another. He can defeat a church if there are dissenting factions within.
We need not be defeated, because God has given us the anointing of His Spirit. It is our prerogative and at our initiative that we can enter into God’s dealings through repentance.
Let us repent of being independent individuals and determine to be what Christ has ordained—members of one another, a living organism, a living Body—many members functioning under the direct control of the Head. To see this accomplished requires a certain amount of dedication in our hearts.
The tenth chapter of Luke tells how Christ chose the seventy to go out before Him and proclaim the Kingdom in every city where He was going. The Lord gave a perfect pattern of Kingdom evangelism and the dedication that is required. He appointed them and sent them out two by two. Why two by two? There is power in confirmation: … in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. Matthew 18:16.
When one brother alone brings you a word it is not valid. Only when two or three give a word from the Lord, and all agree, do you have something to be concerned about. Then you have a confirmed Word.
Is confirmation necessary because one brother alone might make a mistake? That is only the negative aspect. Be concerned about having confirmation, because one brother has one ingredient, another brother has a word that furnishes another ingredient, and still another brother has another word to complete it. They all confirm, and combined together they create an explosion—a Word that is powerful.
It is not just a Word that you are accountable for, but a Word that will work. It is a Word that will release its energy and power from the divine heart of God into your life. It is the divine order for the Church being practiced. Believe for that beautiful unity and oneness of moving together.
The disciples were sent out two by two because the Lord knew there would be an effective Word. The Word was powerful. And the seventy returned with joy, saying, Lord, even the demons are subject unto us in thy name. The Lord replied, Nevertheless in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rejoice that your names are written in heaven. Luke 10:17, 20.
Did this mean that they were to be happy about being saved? No, this referred to the book of life, the book of those through whom the life of God flowed through the absolute submission and yielding the to the Lord, and the authority released in their ministry.
Two by two, thirty-five times, they walked in the power of God and healed the sick. Every demonic force gave way. Demons were cast out. “Do not just rejoice that the demons went out. Rejoice that you are right in the overflow of life. Rejoice that you are among those who are written in the book!,and are fultilling your destiny” This pictures to a fuller extent the meaning of the book of life (Philippians 4:3, Revelation 21:27).
Whenever God wants to start something, He chooses men like Paul and Barnabas: … the Holy Spirit said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. Acts 13:2.
God may have called them individually or collectively, but the church began to pray over the two men to create a unity.
Their first missionary journey was very effective because they received a commission and a ministry of unity (though it was broken on their second missionary journey). They walked together as one.
Elijah and Elisha are an illustration of the unity in which God chooses one man and then chooses another man to walk with him. Other examples of that unity are Caleb and Joshua, and also Moses and Aaron and Hur (a triad). Another illustration of unity is found where Paul and Silas were beaten, and yet they praised God together. Then an earthquake shook the jail open (Acts 16:25–26). The cause of the earthquake was more than the praising and more than the preaching. Something powerful was released in the unity between these men who were raised up to serve God together.
In this hour, we need not only to pray over and to lay hands on a brother to commission and send him forth, but we need to seek God to find the other man who is to walk with him. Then we need to lay hands on both of them in order to create the power that comes through unity. This is scriptural.
We should look to the Lord and find the ones whom God has linked together, and these brothers can learn to minister together and walk together. Then they can be sent out two by two to preach the gospel of the Kingdom. This will work, especially as the churches follow divine order and are united to agree together. In this Spirit-led walk there can be no real competition between the churches. They will not be interested in competing against one another, and the congregations within themselves will not compete if they have that beautiful spirit of Christ’s love.
When a man marries a woman, their unity results in a suppression of the weaknesses of the flesh. The effects of this unity in a marriage can be very outstanding. Their unity is a deterrent from that which would be wicked and lawless in their hearts.
This same principle applies within the congregation. Certain areas in a person’s life may be a source of defeat until they becomes one with the Body. Then a deterrent comes upon their flesh, simply through the force of unity as others begin to share their burden. These Scriptures support this truth: We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Romans 15:1. Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2.
In this way, a weak brother can come forth in his ministry. If it were not for this kind of Body ministry and the unity, men who are now pastoring the present-day New Testament churches would fail completely.
Believe to be one with the Body. Then you can be much more effective, more victorious, and you can become a real overcomer. You can walk in a ministry if you learn to subordinate your individuality, your rebelliousness, and your self-assertiveness. Get rid of your entire self-concern and enter in to be one with the Body. As soon as you are one with your brother and one with the Lord, something really blessed will come forth.
An immunity and a release from weakness will come through unity. This unity will precede the mighty movings of the Holy Spirit, even as in the days described in the book of Acts. The disciples 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. Acts 2:2.
As they did, so also we believe that we shall come together, even though there may not be much fasting and prayer. There will be such a unity that someone might say, “Let us believe for this,” and every one else will say, “We agree.” Then the Holy Spirit will break through again as the beautiful, beautiful rain, falling in the time of latter rain. With our initiative of faith and determination, we can see this happen. Our unity requires an initiative of aggressive faith on our part, as well as in the Holy Spirit bringing it to pass.
On the day of Pentecost, because of those first disciples’ unity, the Spirit of the Lord fell. The Holy Spirit whom they received was no different from the Holy Spirit whom people have been receiving since the beginning of this century. In the world today, there are millions of people who have had an experience of speaking in tongues.
Why, then, has the total of all of the efforts of the Pentecostal movement produced less reality than 120 disciples did on the Day of Pentecost? The same Holy Spirit received then is received now. What caused the effectiveness on the Day of Pentecost? They were in one accord, in one place, of one heart, of one mind, and of one spirit. This was what they urged upon one another. They were dedicated to this oneness, and so they were effective even without the facilities, the means of advertisement, the communication, or the transportation that we have today. Within that generation, a large part of the Roman Empire became Christian, which shows the effectiveness of their unity.
In these days of restoration, we will see the effectiveness of dwelling together in oneness of the Spirit. As we learn to dwell together in the unity of the Spirit and contend for the unity of the faith, our effectiveness will increase and be multiplied, again and again. Looking on the natural plane, there is a need for more land, more money, and more facilities. These provisions are essential, but if they are attained without the unity of the Body, they will never be effective. The key of effectiveness is unity. We will be surprised at how little we need to be very effective, if we have unity.
Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ; so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind (the margin reads, “one soul”) striving together for the faith of the gospel (there is a unity in that striving); in no way alarmed by your opponents—which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and that too, from God. For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, experiencing the same conflict which you saw in me, and now hear to be in me.
If therefore there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Philippians 1:27–2:4. God grant that we will become a dedicated people, dedicated to the unity of the Spirit and to what God would bring forth within us.
If there is any division in your heart, ask God to take it out. Become really dedicated to this unity. God sometimes gives personal problems to see if you will continually be occupied with your own problems, or if you will say, “This does not matter; I love my brother and I will meet his need.” Sometimes God does not give a deliverance, but leaves you with your personal problems to see if your love of the brethren, your unity and your oneness with them, will help you to rise above your own interests, your own sufferings, and your own problems. The people who are not occupied with their own problems, but are ready to reach out to others, are effective.
You may think that you have many problems and others have few, that you are harassed and others are not. Do not compare troubles, or you might be embarrassed. Rather compare how great is the blessing that rests upon you if you are not occupied with your troubles. How great is the blessing that rests upon those who are unselfish and dedicated to the Lord! Continue on in the unity, and pay the price to be really one with your brother. Sometimes the quickest way to the cross and death to self is to dedicate yourself to be one with your brother, regardless—it yields wonderful dividends.
When you partake of the provision of the Communion, of the blood in a common action of faith, remember that you can appropriate being one with the Lord and being one with one another in all effectiveness.