The ChurchSample

How is the Church united?

The Church is united by the Holy Spirit into one body under one Head, Jesus Christ, having peace with God and one another.

For anyone who’s ever done a group project, or anyone who’s ever been on a team, you know how hard it can be to stick together for a common goal. It can be hard to put others first, to serve them, to reject your selfishness and desire for credit, and even to believe the best of each other.

But that’s exactly what the Church is supposed to be and to do. Though the Church is incredibly diverse and we come from so many different countries and ethnicities and backgrounds, we are called by God to be one. We’re supposed to be united in love and service and humility, focused upon the mission of God in the world. 

Sounds incredible, but how are we to accomplish this? When we know how difficult it can be to hold two or three people together, how can we ever hope to hold millions together? 

When Jesus gave us the Holy Spirit, he promised that the Spirit would unite us. And as hard as that can be to believe when we see so much brokenness and disunity in the world, we can trust Jesus and depend upon the Holy Spirit he sent. Our unity is supposed to show the world the power of God.

Remember, the Holy Spirit isn’t just a warm, fuzzy feeling in our hearts. The Holy Spirit is God himself, the third person of the Trinity. And so if Jesus sent the Spirit of God into our hearts, and if Jesus promises that the Spirit will keep us united, we can trust him.

But there are also steps that we can take as the people of God. We can pray for unity. We can choose to put our own selfish interests aside and serve one another. And, particularly, we can commit ourselves to live faithfully as part of a local church.

Pray for the unity of the Church as a whole, for your local church, and for unity among your Christian friends. Ask God to make the Church one. Ask him to reveal to you how you can advance his supernatural unity in the world so that those around you are intrigued by the radical love and power of the God you serve.