Unity in the Body of Christ

Revelation 7:9 “. . . and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb.”

My friend at Peace on That blogged (November 28, “ The Racism of my Religion”) recently about diversity in the church, the body of Christ. He had some great comments and discussion. I was going to blog this week on the subject of unity, in light of Ephesians, but got tied up with other events. This is the first I’ve been able to blog this week. His blog encouraged me to go ahead and get this done. I serve in a church that is very unique in that we don’t all look the same. We’ve got all kinds of ethnicities as well as people from differing economic backgrounds and ages. The desire of the church is that we look more like our neighborhood (because we want to be a church that looks like our area), which is very diverse, and more important, we want to look like the description in Revelation 7 that I quoted earlier.

God is pleased by unity. Here are just a few Scriptures that deal with the issue:
Psalm 133, “how good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity. . . for there the Lord bestows his blessing, even life evermore.”
John 17:20, 23 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message. . . May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”
Ephesians 2:20-22 (Message) He used the apostles and prophets for the foundation. Now he's using you, fitting you in brick by brick, stone by stone, with Christ Jesus as the cornerstone that holds all the parts together. We see it taking shape day after day - a holy temple built by God, all of us built into it, a temple in which God is quite at home.

I used the last verse in my sermon on Sunday. Earlier in the same chapter (Ephesians 2:14-15) the Bible speaks of the dividing wall of hostility between Jews and Gentiles (people who were notorious in the hatred of one another) was broken so that enemies could be made one. The conclusion of that thought is found in verse 2:22. I applied that to today, that when people of diverse backgrounds, ethnicities, color, ages, etc., are brought together “God is quite at home.” God is at home, not in separation, but in unity, when diversity is joined together! I believe God is at home in our church and part of that is due to our differences. And by the way, this unity can only fully take place by the power of Jesus Christ, who is the one who breaks divding walls!