God commands those who believe in Christ to be unified. Jesus prayed "that they all may be one"(John 17:21), Paul urged the Corinthians to "all speak the same thing"(1 Cor 1:10) and the Ephesians also were "to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace"(Eph 4:3). But let us look more closely.
Jesus' prayer was for unity, but on the basis of the truth of God (John 17:17). Paul wanted the Corinthians to speak the same thing: that they would follow Christ alone and not man (1 Cor 1:10-13, 3:5-7)! The Ephesians had to maintain God's unity: "There is one body and one Spirit…one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father"(Eph 4:4-6). In other words, this unity was not superficial, but was the agreement of those who had truly devoted their whole life-including what they believed-to Christ!
Many today-including the effort put forth this past week-attempt to unify believers without addressing the real issues! God's desire (and mine as well) is that His followers be united, but only upon following Jesus alone and wholeheartedly obeying His word!
Let me issue a sincere plea for true unity. Let's abandon denominational loyalties and follow just Jesus. Let's become just Christians like people in the New Testament did by believing, repenting, confessing, and being baptized (Mark 16:16, Acts 2:38, Rom 10:10). Let's follow the pattern of church work, worship, and organization we see in the New Testament (Acts 2:42). If we don't follow God, we will always be divided. If we follow Him only, we will be united!
If we truly believe in Jesus, how can we follow our traditions above Him (Matt 15:9)? How can we divide His body-and then pretend to have unity while maintaining a separation?___Jacob Hudgins