Skip to main content

Unity and Division

 Unity and Division

Biblically speaking, unity isn’t always good and division isn’t always bad.
God’s command: Genesis 9:1
So God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them: “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.
Man’s response to this is one of the greatest examples of human unity: Genesis 11:1-4 Now the whole earth had one language and one speech. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there. Then they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar. And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.”
God’s response: Genesis 11:5-9 But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. And the LORD said, “Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them. Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.” So the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city. Therefore its name is called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth; and from there the LORD scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.
New Testament example
Jesus command: Acts 1:8
But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Again man’s disobedience. Acts 2-7 we see that though people are being saved and miracles happening the disciples had not been obedient to the command of Jesus as in they hadn’t moved outside Jerusalem.
So what happens? Acts 8:1-5 Now Saul was consenting to his death.
At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him.
As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison. Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word. Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them.
It wasn’t till intense persecution came to the church that they actually went and did what they were supposed to do.
Unity is only good if we are first unified with the Holy Spirit and that’s kind of impossible if we’re not walking in obedience.
Eph 4:1-6
I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
Division:
From the examples above we see that for there to be Kingdom growth dividing is apart of God’s math.
Now let’s look at a couple accounts of Jesus concerning division.
Luke 12:51-53 is accomplished! Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division. For from now on five in one house will be divided: three against two, and two against three. Father will be divided against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.”
Matt. 10:34-39
“Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; and a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.
What I take away from all this is that the most important thing about unity and division is that above all else I need to be unified with Father, Son and Holy Spirit. If I do that the proper unity with those I need to be in unity with will happen, and because my focus is upon God first I won’t fall in the trap of disobedient unity.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Thoughts from Isaiah 10:27

 Thoughts from  Isaiah 10:27   From Isaiah 10:27 we get the popular, but erroneous, sayings in the church, “the anointing breaks the yoke.” This started from the KJV translation of this verse.  Most of the other English translations have translated it as the anointing oil or fat that breaks the yoke.  The Hebrew word used in this verse is semen, pronounced sheh’-men, which means grease, especially liquid (as from the olive, often perfumed; figuratively, richness:-anointing,xfat (things), x fruitful, oil (-ed) ointment, olive, pine. (Strong’s definition). In looking at every verse where semen is used in the Old Testament it is speaking of the oil or the fat itself and not the specific act of anointing.   Now with a proper understanding of what the verse we can see the real meaning and depth of what it is saying to us even now.  To help with this I have included the verse here from 3 different English translations.    I...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Price and Cost for more of God and His Presence

  The Price and Cost for more of God and His Presence I was reading an account of a preacher’s experience that I had previous heard him describe before in a sermon. Thought the account was familiar to me this time though it hit different.   The experience was during a time he had spent months desiring and seeking more of God and His Presence.  There were two statements that the preacher made from this account that the Lord highlighted for me.  The first was “My request for more of God carried a price” and the second was from his cry to the Lord “I must have more of You at any cost!”. These statements when I had heard them before sounded very true and I totally had agreed with them.  In fact, they had inspired me.  This time, though, was different.  This time there was at first, for a moment fear and not a Godly fear.  No, it was a fear that the price I would have to pay would be the cost of the life of one or mor...
1 comment
Read more

I Thought

  I Thought This morning the Pastor was preaching from 2 Kings 5 , NIV , and there were two words that stuck out to me that he read from verse 11 that Naaman said.  “ I thought ”. I sat for a few moments and meditated on how much trouble those two words have caused in my life.  I would say that all of my failures in life involve these two words.  “I thought this was a good idea”, “I thought this is what God said”, “I thought that this would be successful”, etc.  Why do I rely on, EVER, what I think instead of what God knows?  God has given us His Word and it is never wrong and it never fails. I have never failed when I slowed down, humbled myself, searched the scriptures and followed them.  Good ideas are not good enough, experience, especially other people’s experiences aren’t good enough, even a so-called prophetic word isn’t enough on its own.  Only that which can measure up with God’s Word, the Bible , brings su...
Post a Comment
Read more