Psalm 133:1 Behold, how good and how pleasant [it is] for brethren to dwell together in unity!
Yes, in the Bible, this verse has an exclamation point! No wonder!
1 Corinthians 1:9-10
9 God [is] faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
10 Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and [that] there be no divisions among you; but [that] ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
Matthew 7:7-11
7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
9 Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?
10 Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?
11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?
If you seek The Truth, you will find it. Pray to God to show you The Truth, then seek it out.
1 Corinthians 11:17-19
17 Now in this that I declare [unto you] I praise [you] not, that ye come together not for the better, but for the worse.
18 For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it.
19 For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.
Among everyone who knows The Truth there is unity. There will never be unity for anyone who is unconcerned with error in his own beliefs. For every true view there is no limit to the number of corresponding erroneous views. As Christians, we are to have unity. The road to unity is travelled by seeking The Truth and brotherly peace.
We do not intend give the impression that we need to scorn people who are wrong about something, or we would need to scorn everyone, since no one is all-knowing but God. What we mean is this:
1 Thessalonians 5:21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
Romans 15:1-7
1 We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.
2 Let every one of us please [his] neighbour for [his] good to edification.
3 For even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me.
4 For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.
5 Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus:
6 That ye may with one mind [and] one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
7 Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God.
Proverbs 30:5-6
5 Every word of God [is] pure: he [is] a shield unto them that put their trust in him.
6 Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.
When a view is a matter of opinion, rather than The Revealed Scripture, then such a thesis must not be asserted as The Truth. It seems impossible to address the subject of unity without quoting John Amos Comenius, “In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity.” We don’t despise people who are incorrect, but we also don’t accept their false teachings as being as equally valid as The Truth. In order to grow in unity, we need to compare human teachings with God’s Word to prove them, to test them, to see if they are valid.
1 John 1:7 … if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
The Scripture is not of any private interpretation, so there is only one correct view for each doctrine. So, one obvious aspect of unity is when two people have learned the proper biblical precepts about a certain topic, then they will be in agreement and unity about that topic.
However, I will never be able to learn all there is to know about true doctrine, so how can I ever have unity in doctrine? By not holding fast any doctrine that has not been proven by God’s Word and by allowing others to learn according to God’s divine schedule for that person, rather than my own. When I take this approach, then I am always seeking The Truth and I am always in unity with those who are seeking The Truth, those who are students of The Holy Bible. I am learning. I may share with you what I have learned. I may want to learn from you what you have learned.
Romans 14:1-4
1 Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, [but] not to doubtful disputations.
2 For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs.
3 Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him.
4 Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.
The only people we would have occasion to correct, would be those who teach for doctrines the commandments of men. Biblically, this correction seems to be one of the duties borne by the role of the New Testament prophet, if you read 1 Corinthians 14, then take note of verse 29.
But, what about sophistry? There are times when we are misled into believing that a false teaching, or opinion, is biblical. The way it has been explained to us makes it seem to be supported by Scripture. There are three ingredients to the recipe that removes the effects of sophistry from your beliefs: humility, prayer, and seeking.
Ephesians 4:1-6
1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,
2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;
3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
4 [There is] one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
6 One God and Father of all, who [is] above all, and through all, and in you all.
Ephesians 4:11-16
11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
14 That we [henceforth] be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, [and] cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, [even] Christ:
16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.
We have a choice to make between patience or strife. Patience is a key to unity and brotherly peace.
2 Timothy 2:23-26
23 But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes.
24 And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all [men,] apt to teach, patient,
25 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;
26 And [that] they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.
James 3:13-18
13 Who [is] a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him show out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom.
14 But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth.
15 This wisdom descendeth not from above, but [is] earthly, sensual, devilish.
16 For where envying and strife [is,] there [is] confusion and every evil work.
17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, [and] easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.
18 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.
1 Corinthians 14:33 For God is not [the author] of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.
Philippians 2:1-8
1 If [there be] therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies,
2 Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, [being] of one accord, of one mind.
3 [Let] nothing [be done] through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.
4 Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.
5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
James 5:9-11
9 Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door.
10 Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience.
11 Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.
Psalm 133:1 Behold, how good and how pleasant [it is] for brethren to dwell together in unity!
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