Unity First!

"Unity is necessary for the outpouring of the Spirit of God."

A.W. Tozer, quoted from the sermon "Unity that Brings Revival"

While listening to a sermon delivered by Tozer online today, I was struck by the aforementioned quote.  Unity of the church is a topic that seems to keep popping up in my mind lately.  This morning in our church prayer meeting I was prompted to pray for unity.  In talking with a fellow follower of Christ this afternoon, unity was a topic emphasised over and over.  Unity is very important in the church, perhaps more important than we think!

In his message, Tozer says that people make the mistake of praying for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit so we might be united.  His claim is that prayer is in the wrong order:  God does not send His Spirit to unite us, but sends His Spirit when we are already united in Christ.  Tozer quotes Acts 4:31-33: "And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness. ³² Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common. ³³ And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all."  He claims, and I am in agreement, that these Christians were of one accord and one mind:  therefore they were filled and empowered by the Spirit to glorify God.

Think in relation to the natural operation of a human body.  The heart may have the power and force to pump blood swiftly though a leg or arm, but if limbs are severed from the body they are no longer connected to the source.  A gas heater might be plugged into a power point to operate the fan, but unless the heater is connected to the gas line there will be no heat.  For us to be filled with the Spirit as a body of believers, we need to be united together in Christ.  The body of Christ is one body made of many members with Christ as the head.  To paraphrase Tozer's thoughts, he says something to this effect (and I paraphrase):  "How will God revive this church?  The only way He'll do it is when there is among us a oneness, a determination to glorify the LORD alone.  We have as much of God as we want."

Jesus says in Matthew 18:19:  "Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven."  There is power in unity.  What is the immediate context of this statement?  Right before this Jesus is explaining our duty to seek out those who have offended us for reconciliation.  Right after this statement Jesus explains our duty to forgive.  If we harbor offense, unforgiveness, bitterness, or judgments in our hearts, we cannot be united.  It is simply not possible.  We might both share a real love and desire to follow Christ in faith, we might agree on certain doctrines, but until we are willing to humble ourselves and obey God's command to forgive we are not abiding in Christ.  We are like a branch cut off from the Vine.  But if we seek Christ's glory in our unity, we will again have sweet fellowship with Him and one another!

Let us be united, brothers and sisters!  Family can be a messy business, but thank God we have a loving, gentle Father who seeks to restore!  You want the power of the Holy Spirit?  You know what you must do!