First of all, before we look at this beautiful list of seven unities in the church, look at how this list is framed. Immediately prior to it we have the first use of the word “unity” in the New Testament. There we see that we do not create the unity of the church, but rather that we maintain that unity. Unity is the Holy Spirit’s gift; unity is something He grants. We maintain it; we keep it insofar as we can. Then notice what Paul says after listing the sevenfold unities of the church. He speaks of the diversity of gifts that Christ has given to maintain unity, and he climaxes this teaching by saying that the ultimate result of the gifts is that we will all come to the unity of the faith. It is there that the word “unity” appears for the last time in the New Testament. That’s right: the word “unity” is found only in this chapter in the NT. Sandwiched between a reference to maintaining unity and another reference to growing up to unity we have Paul’s declaration that the church has unity. Indeed, before we even look at the the things that unite the church, you and I need to know that the unity of the church is something that is not yet perfect. It is growing. We will be fully unified someday.
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Caleb Nelson grew up in Ft. Collins, CO. Born into a Christian home, where he eventually became the eldest of 11 children, he has been a lifelong Presbyterian. He professed faith at the age of six, and was homeschooled through high school. He then attended Patrick Henry College...
