"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God; this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is, his good, pleasing and perfect will" (Romans 12.1,2).

We are continually told that we can not live a true Christian life unless we are in unity with our fellows, but as matters are at the moment the world is completely disunited. There are disputes, wars and the threat of war between nations. There is disunity between the various religions of the world, and mankind is separated from God. Even within ourselves there is a continual battle going on between good and evil, but Jesus died so that all the discord and separation in the world could be ended and man be reconciled to God. Now obviously that unity doesn't exist yet, although it should already be there within the family of God. But when the day comes that everyone loves his neighbour in the way that he himself would like to be loved, we will all be truly one in Christ Jesus. So with this thought in mind we should perhaps consider the warning given by our Lord (Matthew 5.23) about the dangers of offering gifts to God when we're not in unity with our brothers. You may recall that we are told that if one of our brethren has any dispute with us we should leave the offering at the altar and go and settle the problem first; then we can come and make the offering. This offering can take many forms, besides money or animal sacrifices. Think of the parable of the sheep and goats and what they did or didn't do for the Lord's brethren. Jesus said that what had been done for His brethren was also done for Him. Since God and Jesus are completely united, in word, thought and deed, all these things, in being done, (or not done) to Jesus were also done to God and therefore were offerings to the Lord. So if Jesus says we must make peace before making our offering, then He is also telling us that if we don't do so, our offering won't be acceptable to our Heavenly Father because we are at odds with one or more of our brethren. Which in turn says that as long as the disagreement continues, we cannot be in harmony with God. Therefore, since the Son and the Father are like-minded, one in thought, aim and purpose, then we can't be united with Christ either.

This is a thought that is perhaps overlooked by those who, through a lack of a unity of Spirit, refuse to associate with others of a similar belief. This is so because they disagree on the interpretation of certain points of doctrine rather than agreeing to disagree on that point and continuing in fellowship together. Would it not be good if we all always remembered the words of Psalm 133 "How wonderful it is, how pleasant, when brothers live together in harmony! For harmony is as precious as the fragrant anointing oil that was poured over Aaron's head, that ran down his beard, and onto the border of his robe. Harmony is as refreshing as the dew from Mount Herman that falls on the mountains of Zion. And the Lord has pronounced his blessing, even life forevermore.

The statement that we're all "one in Christ", all of equal standing in His eyes, must have seemed a very revolutionary announcement for Paul to make at a time when slavery was common, and the social differences of wealth, rank, nationality and even gender were much more active than they are today. Now we like to think that in our own enlightened and advanced Western society we've done away with many of these divisions and in worldly affairs this is fairly true. However, in spiritual matters, these divisions are still rife. The curse of sectarianism has been the problem of the Churches down through the ages. Men disagree on gospel teaching and instead of settling their differences, as our Master taught, neither will give way, so one of them goes away from his class or even his church and starts another one based on his interpretation of the scriptures. Paul had occasion to lecture the Corinthian church about this very problem. Some were saying I follow the teaching of Paul, some that of Apollos, others the teaching of Peter, and some, presumably on the argument of going back to first principles, saying I follow Christ, but we should ask the same question that Paul did; "Is Christ divided? (1 Cor.1.13)

The apostle, in his reprimand, is quite plainly saying, No, this isn't the way that God sees His Church; this is not the harmony that Jesus wants. That's not to say, of course, that we shouldn't respect those who have been specially blessed with gifts or talents for the Lord's service. But it is to say that we should remember the teaching of the Apostle John. "Do not trust any and every spirit, my friends; test the spirits, to see whether they are from God, for among those who have gone out into the world there are many prophets falsely inspired." (1 John 4.1)

Going on then from the reality of the oneness of the Body of Christ, made up of all of His faithful followers, and the worth of each member of that body, let us read again the words of our Master shortly before the end of His ministry. John tells us that after Jesus had shared the last supper with the apostles, and had comforted them about His imminent death, He looked up to heaven and prayed to the Father. In part of that petition He said of His followers; "I have delivered thy word to them, and the world hates them because they are strangers in the world, as I am. I pray thee, not to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. They are strangers in the world as I am. Consecrate them by the truth; thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world, and for their sake I now consecrate myself, that they too may be consecrated by the truth. But it is not for these alone that I pray, but for those also who through their words put their faith in me; may they all be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, so also may they be in us, that the world may believe that thou didst send me. The glory which thou gavest me I have given to them, that they may be one, as we are one; I in them and thou in me, may they be perfectly one. Then the world will learn that thou didst send me, that thou didst love them as thou didst me." (John 17. 14-23)

Here we have the same point again that was raised earlier. We are strangers in the world, but we aren't to be taken out of it, only protected from the evil one while we are here. Why? Because God loves us, and so that the world may know, by the lives we lead, that we represent our Lord, because, while we're in this alien land we are ambassadors of Heaven. And what a marvellous standard of unity the Lord was praying for in those words. One, even as the Father and the Son are one (one in aim, purpose and love) and this harmony was also to be a oneness in us. This is a unity in the Father and the Son and if this oneness has been granted by our Heavenly Father, then we should surely expect to see some character development. Also there should be evidence of some family likeness not only to one another, but also, and more importantly, first to our Lord, and also to our Father in Heaven, if the likeness is to become real.

This raises a number of questions. How much of Jesus do others see in us?

Can a family likeness be seen in us or is one developing? Do others listen to us and "take notice of us that we have been with Jesus", in the same way that they did of Peter and John? These are really self-examination questions. But they are questions we should regularly ask ourselves as we endeavour to progress along the way. Of course in all these things we need reverence and we need respect for one another. But these things are not in themselves the criteria for oneness in Christ and perhaps Paul in his letter to the Ephesians gives us the best guide to how we should behave if we are to obtain this unity. He says; "I entreat you, then - I, a

prisoner for the Lord's sake: as God has called you, live up to your calling. Be humble always and gentle, and patient too. Be forbearing with one another and charitable. Spare no effort to make fast with bonds of peace the unity that the Spirit gives. There is one body and one Spirit, as there is also one hope held out to you in God's call to you; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all." (Ephesians 4. 1‑ 6)

Paul's earnest plea for the maintenance of Christian unity emphasizes the essentials for this oneness, and we can perhaps sum them up as the common consideration of one for another, and love for one another.

The first essential is humility. Christian humility needs to be cultivated because it's so easy to think only of oneself, or at least to put oneself first. It's the virtue by which we become aware of our own unworthiness. It comes from comparing our own lives, not with the life of some worldly acquaintance where, hopefully, we'll come out looking quite good, but with the life of our Lord and then looking at the answer in the light of the perfection which God asks of us. God is perfect and for us as human beings to be perfect in this life is impossible. Therefore in humbleness we must do our very best to throw ourselves on His mercy and ask His help.

The second is gentleness; the King James version calls it meekness. To be gentle is to be moderate in our behaviour, neither excessively angry or overly mild but having every passion, every attitude of mind, under control. That's not to say that a gentle person is completely self-controlled because we all "blow our top" at some time, even our Lord did. Just think of how He dealt with the money-changers and sellers of doves, in the Temple - but a gentle person is one who allows God to control them so that if they are angry it's at the right time and for the right reason.

The third great quality is patience; what the King James Version calls longsuffering. It is translated from the Greek word makrothumia which has two main meanings. First, it has the thought of the mind which will never give in, and which, because it endures to the end, will reap the promised reward. The second thought is of the person who bears insult and injury without bitterness or complaint, which should immediately bring to mind the words of Peter about our Lord; "Christ suffered on your behalf, and thereby left you an example; it is for you to follow in His steps. He committed no sin, He was convicted of no falsehood; when He was abused He did not retort with abuse, when He suffered He uttered no threats, but committed His cause to the One who judges justly"(1 Peter 2. 21-23).

These three virtues need to be constantly brought to mind because failure to give proper attention to any of these instructions has perhaps been one of the greatest reasons for the condemnation by the world, of those who name the Name of Jesus.

I don't suppose that anyone will doubt that the adversary is still active in the area of personal relationships, especially in relationships between the Lord's people, and we need to be constantly vigilant, always on our guard with "humility, gentleness and patience, in the bond of peace" because these qualities can assure us of oneness and unity of the spirit. So wherever people gather together, we are only going to get unity, only going to get harmony and united effort, where these qualities of consideration for others are practised and not only practised but seen to be practised. Our Lord said that; "A house that is divided against itself will fall" (Matthew 12.25). Throughout history, and even more so today, personal ambition, personal ideas and self-interest have led to disintegration, even though those who have been guilty of these faults, have professed to have the same ideas and the same objectives as the rest of humanity. The spirit of forbearance, and consideration or concern for others has only been notable by its absence, so that we get, not harmony, not unity but discord. Having the same objectives and ideas are obviously not enough, there must be mutual respect of, and concern for, others. That's why the apostle puts this aspect of concern for - and of love for - one another first, before going on to describe our common ideals and objectives. Writing to the Church at Philippi about this Paul urged them to; "Fill up my cup of happiness by thinking and feeling alike, with the same love for one another, the same turn of mind, and a common care for unity. There must be no room for rivalry and personal vanity among you, but you must humbly reckon others better than yourselves. Look to each other's interest and not merely to your own." (Philippians 2. 2‑4)

We're to be like minded. This doesn't mean, of course, that we should all have exactly the same view on every aspect of Christian knowledge: if we were to be like that we would be nothing more than robots. Then as we read on we find the like mindedness, at which we're to aim, described by the apostle in the next verse where he says; "Let your bearing towards one another arise out of your life in Christ Jesus. For the divine nature was His from the first; yet He did not think to snatch equality with God but made himself nothing, assuming the nature of a slave. Bearing the human likeness, revealed in human shape, he humbled himself, and in obedience accepted even death— death on a cross." (Philippians 2.5‑8)

This lovely lesson in humility, obedience and self-sacrifice takes our thoughts back again to the oneness of the Father and the Son. The full extent of this harmony between them seems to be well beyond our simple human understanding. However, we can see it expressed by the love and perfect obedience of Jesus in doing His Father's will in order to further the divine purposes, even at the cost of His own life. So if we, as new creatures, want to share the divine nature with Him we must also be prepared to share the trials and tribulations and prove faithful unto death.

When we understand the perfect love and devotion of our Lord then all those who have the eyes to see ‑ to all who have the hearts and minds to understand just what our Lord did for us ‑ can appreciate something of the characteristics of God, the God who is the one Lord and Father of all those who come to Him by faith. These need to be characteristics of every child of God as we try to; "Proclaim the triumphs of Him who has brought us out of darkness into his marvellous light"(1 Peter 2. 9).

By concentrating all our efforts along these lines we will build a greater unity of the Spirit among all the Lord's people. Of course there will be differences ‑ differences of background, differences of understanding of the details of our Father's plans and purposes, differences in our interpretation of the scriptures and differences of personal ways of expression. But we can safely leave all these in our loving Fathers hands, because, as Paul says; "Now we see only puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we shall see face to face. Our knowledge is now partial; then it will be whole, like God's knowledge of me." (1 Corinthians 13. 12) These precious truths which are shared by all of us who really love God, all who trust in Jesus as Saviour and Lord, are, in reality, so much greater than those things which are sometimes allowed to divide His people and to sever fellowships. It seems that Paul didn't think that the Church was completely united because in the fourth chapter of his letter to the Ephesians he repeats his teaching of the oneness of the Church as one body of many members under one head, our Lord Jesus, and united by one Spirit, the spirit of love. He encourages all those members to walk worthy of their calling, in lowliness, meekness and longsuffering, forbearing one another in love: endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Speaking of this unity of the Church one writer said; "We shall never be of one mind in the sense of all holding the same opinions. But we may all be of one mind when, beneath the divisions of opinion, of expression and of view, we are united by a common devotion to Christ, a common loyalty to the great underlying facts of redemption and a common love to all who hold Him the Head."

So! "Let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is born of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. God showed how much he loved us by sending his only son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love. It is not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins."…….."Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other. God lives in us, and his love has been brought to full expression through us." (1 John 4. 7-12)

RJH