Ephesians 4:4 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, 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.
This passage of scripture reveals to us the will of God as it pertains to the body of Christ being united under one God, one faith, and one baptism. The passage also cautions us about being tossed about by every wind of doctrine which may come our way, for when unscriptural beliefs are adopted and practiced, it has the effect of destabilizing unwary souls, thus leading many to perdition.
In order for Christians to be truly united, there are two specific essentials that must be put in place and agreed to by all, so that we can present a united front to the world. First and foremost among these is the necessity of having Christ as The Lord and Savior of our lives, with no reservations whatsoever. Many Christians acknowledge Him as Savior, but not as Lord, for when Christ is The Lord of our lives He has the authority to tell us what to do, and our own personal opinions and preferences are held in subjection to what He says at all times, and in all situations. In other words, we do not pick and choose what we prefer to obey, and expunge those instructions we do not agree with. Let's read:
John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments. 21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
There are many who claim to love Christ, and yet walk contrary to the plainest teachings He has given, and because of this, the unity which Christ prayed for is disrupted, for two cannot walk together except they agree. It is true that genuine Christian love will always characterize the followers of Christ, but even this love is commanded, for it does not occur in us naturally, and it can only exist and be exercised when Christ takes possession of our hearts, through the indwelling of The Holy Ghost. Let's read:
John 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. 35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
The next essential is that as Christians we must stand upon a firm platform of truth, using the word of God alone as the rule and guide of life. In other words, when God says it, we believe it, and that settles it. The habit of introducing the opinions of men into the teachings of the Bible is productive of great evil, for the human agent tends to add or subtract from God's word, based on bias, culture, preferences, and tradition. But God's word transcends cultural heritage and traditions, and is not subject to amendments based on the shortsighted, finite reasoning of men. As a matter of fact, we should not wait to understand everything God commands us before we obey, because there will always be things we do not understand.
When we were younger, our parents used to instruct us to brush our teeth, but being three or four years old, we did not fully understand why they required this of us. However, we obeyed anyway, and the same child-like attitude must be adopted by all Christians so that we can be united in the truth. Let's read:
John 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. 21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
In our day we have many opposing doctrines and creeds that have been introduced to Christianity, and because of this we cannot be united as God would have us. Therefore it is imperative, that in our efforts for unity, that the two aforementioned essentials be adopted in entirety, and when this is done, then the joy of communion and brotherhood will be seen and manifested in a unity which cannot be broken nor intimidated. We therefore end with a passage of scripture which highlights these two essentials, and it is the will of God that they be adopted by Christians everywhere. Let's read:
1st John 2:1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: 3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. 4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.
We sincerely hope and pray that the unity and brotherhood which Christ prayed for will be our experience as we move forward, and towards this end we should all be working, for it is the revealed will of God for all Christians. God bless!