The Restoration Movement originally began as a unity movement among all those who claimed to be Christians. Alexander Campbell was in the Presbyterian Church which practiced a narrow fellowship which bothered Campbell. As he continued to study the Scriptures, he realized that baptism was for adults and he left the Presbyterian Church. Then he associated with the Baptists but when he learned and started teaching that baptism is for the forgiveness of sins he left the Baptists as well. Campbell wanted unity, but he insisted that unity should be based on what the Bible teaches. He believed – naively – that if denominations would leave behind all their names which were not found in the Bible, and their creeds and manuals and Confessions of faith, and just unite on what the Bible teaches, the Christian world would be united.
Unity based on Truth.
UNITY IS BEAUTIFUL:
“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brothers to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious oil upon the head, Coming down upon the beard, Even Aaron’s beard, Coming down upon the edge of his robes. It is like the dew of Hermon Coming down upon the mountains of Zion; For there the Lord commanded the blessing—life forever.”
Here, David says that unity among brothers is like oil that has been poured on the head of the priest, like Aaron. What happens when you pour oil on the head? It saturates and it covers everything. With the priest, it even poured down over the edge of the priest’s robe.
The imagery is similar with the dew coming down from Mount Hermon, which was north of the Sea of Galilee. Dew covers everything. It was on Mount Zion, where Jerusalem was located, that was the center of the Lord’s blessings which could be summarized in the expression “life forever.”
Of course the city of Jerusalem is no longer a part of God’s plan to save man. But the church stands in a similar position as Mount Zion or Jerusalem, but in a spiritual sense. Unity among brothers is good and it is pleasant and it covers everything and saturates everything.
When we are hurting, unity with fellow Christians makes things good and pleasant. The prayers. The calls. The cards. The gifts. The flowers. The transportation for someone who needs it. When Christians step up and, in a spirit of unity, helps fellow Christians, it makes the hurt a little easier to bear.
When we are enjoying life, unity with fellow Christians again makes things good and pleasant. It is nice to spend time with fellow Christians, not just in worship, but doing other things that are enjoyable. Going on short trips. Or playing games. Or watching a football or basketball game or baseball game together. Fellowship with other Christians makes the good times more pleasant and more enjoyable.
HOW TO HAVE UNITY:
1. We need to have humility. The church of Christ in Philippi was having some problems with two sisters in Christ in the church who had some type of spat or fuss between them: Eudia and Syntache (Phil. 4:2-3). See Paul’s solution in 2:1-5.
2. Agree on what the Bible clearly and explicitly teaches: Eph. 4:1-6.
3. Work together to encourage each other. When Jesus sent out the apostles, He went them out in twos. When He sent out the 72 in Luke 10, he sent them out in twos. The apostle Paul almost always had a coworker – Silas, Timothy, Barnabas, and others. Rarely was Paul ever alone.
4. We have to love one other sincerely, fervently, from the heart. That means practically that we consider and do for others what we would want them to do for us.
Embrace the beauty of humility and watch as unity flourishes among the church family!
Paul Holland
