UNITY OF HEART AND MIND

The principle of unity which is spoken of in the Bible arises from the fact that God is one. His inherent nature demonstrates this unity. He is unchanging and has existed from before time and will continue to do so for evermore. He is immortal, invisible, the only God (1 Timothy 1:17). He is from everlasting to everlasting (1 Chronicles 16:36). The laws He established to manage the universe and all the things in it, are likewise unchangeable and dependable—so much so, for example, that the time and date a spacecraft from earth gets to its target after a long journey can be accurately calculated.

Of the unity of God, the scriptures write eloquently: ‘For us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist’ (1 Corinthians 8:6), and “one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all” (Ephesians 4:6). These straightforward teachings are clear: God made and supports the universe, and He works constantly in the whole creation. His laws of nature and His purpose control what happens, when and how: whether humankind acknowledges Him or not.

As God is one, and the things He made work together as one united whole, He expects the people whom He has created in His own image (Genesis 1:27) to be likewise united. This ideal floundered at the beginning of human history when Adam and Eve preferred the serpent’s lie to the wisdom and truth of God (3:3–6), Cain murdered Abel his brother (4:8), and the one language of the people was confounded at the tower of Babel (11:7). But God’s ultimate purpose that ‘all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD’ (Numbers 14:21) was not frustrated by all this chaos and disunity. It will be completed in His own good time. He has called out of the nations a people for His Name (Acts 15:14), who honour Him and believe Him, and who demonstrate the unity He desires in their lives and in their collective worship. Their personal response to the true Gospel defines who they are.

Unity of the Body

When the apostle Paul wrote to the congregation at Corinth to encourage them to be at one with each other and to put aside their squabbles and differences, he did so using the pattern of the human body. He wrote, ‘God has so composed the body, giving greater honour to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another… Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it’ (1 Corinthians 12:24-27). God has structured the human body in a comparable way to the church. Some members will lead the congregation spiritually and practically, and other members will have other gifts and graces to offer. The welfare concerns of all will be covered, which should ease any schisms and bring harmony and unity.

Paul was taking the trouble to reinforce the fact that collectively the congregation’s members are the body of Christ, and therefore unity in heart and mind is an important aspect of their association. One of the lovely things about group worship in the body of Christ is the fellowship each can share when there is unity between the members. The apostle John wrote about fellowship as follows: ‘If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin’ (1 John 1:7). The key is ‘walking in the light’ (of Jesus Christ). That means each person fully embracing the things of the Gospel and living them daily. If they all do this then they can share a fellowship with one another, with the great blessing of forgiveness because of the Lord’s selfless sacrifice. We can understand that if there is no harmony in the assembly, and consequently no unity of hearts and minds, then there cannot be shared fellowship, which mars the worship and possibly the blessing of salvation through the blood of Jesus Christ.

John had already written in verse 3 that firstly, fellowship is with the Father and His Son Jesus Christ, based on a committed faith and unwavering love, in what is revealed and taught by the Gospel; and secondarily it is with others who believe and practise the same things. This is why unity in believers’ hearts and minds is essential.

Encouragement to Unity

There is encouragement in the Bible to do this. The psalmist says, speaking of God, ‘You are great and do wondrous things; you alone are God. Teach me your way, O LORD, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name. I give thanks to you, O LORD my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name for ever’ (Psalm 86:10-12). This is a confession that God and only God has the knowledge that can convert the one who seeks the true way of God. It has to do with the way of life, and hearts united in the fear of God, uttering praise and worship because of Who and What God is.

In his letter to the Corinthians Paul states a majestic truth, that ‘we have the mind of Christ’ (1 Corinthians 2:16). He means that the mind of Christ had been openly revealed in his ministry, and was captured by the preaching of the apostles, and in their letters, in which the principles of the Gospel are set out. Today we have the mind of Christ in the Bible in written form, meaning that the Bible is the inspired Word of God. Jesus himself said, “Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me” (John 14:24).

Finally, king David in one of his psalms catches the joy and pleasure of what harmony means when demonstrated by those who agree together. He said, ‘Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!’ (Psalm 133:1). He likens it to the anointing oil of Aaron when he was inaugurated as the first High Priest, or the refreshing dew on Mount Hermon or the mountains of Zion, and concludes the psalm: ‘For there the LORD has commanded the blessing, life for evermore’ (v. 3). This is the prize of unity in hearts and minds in worship.

VIC AUCOTT (WORSHIP – PART 9 – to be continued)