"Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments; As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore." Psalms 133:1-3, KJV. By Tom Shanklin The hundred and thirty third Psalm is actually a worship song about unity. It is "good and pleasant," the scripture says, "for the brethren to dwell together in unity." The song speaks of "precious ointment" emblematic of the anointing of the Holy Spirit, and God's blessings that come as a result of such unity. It was written at the time when all of Israel came together under King David's leadership, after a long time of separation and division. This was a great time of rejoicing, excitement and victory over the oneness of God's people. This anointing and blessing are sorely missing in the church world today. All too often, instead of unity and love, we have strife and division, and as a result we are missing much of what the Lord has for us. We may be individually anointed, but we are falling short of the level of power and blessing which we could have if we would learn to flow together in a corporate anointing. When Solomon's temple was dedicated, the Bible says that the Levites "were as one, to one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord." Together they said, "For He is good, and His mercy endures forever." As a result of their harmonious worship, the Bible says that a cloud of glory filled the temple so that the priests could no long stand up, because of the power and presence of the Lord. (2 Chronicles 5:11-14) Likewise, we see on the day of Pentecost, that the believers were "with one accord in one place" and suddenly the Holy Spirit came and filled them all. (Acts 2) Three thousand people got saved that day. Such is the power and presence of God when we come together in unity. The corporate anointing can accomplish much more than the individual anointing. And in fact, the anointing upon an individual can easily be dissipated by disunity and lack of harmony in the group. This is true in our individual churches, and also in the Body of Christ at large. In this wonderful song, written by David, we read, "It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments;" Now, I don't know about you, but when I read the Old Testament, I read it with New Testament eyes. I realize it was originally written for natural Israel, but it was inspired by the Holy Spirit, with the mind of Christ, and the Lord really looks at us (the church) as the commonwealth of Israel. Now, we know that the head of the body is the Lord Jesus Christ. The ointment that flows from the head is the anointing of the Holy Spirit that issues forth from the head of the church. This is the world's greatest anointing, because the scriptures tell us that God has anointed Jesus "with the oil of gladness above thy fellows." (Ps. 47.5) When we are flowing in the "Jesus anointing" we will rejoice and be glad, and see many miracles to glorify the Son. The scripture says that this anointing flows down upon the beard. The beard speaks of maturity. More about that later, but suffice it to say for now that maturity is required to carry the anointing and to allow it to function in the earth. Aaron was the high priest. This again speaks of the anointing of our high priest, Jesus, upon the ministry gifts and the body, an anointing which produces the priesthood of the believer. This anointing is designed to flow down to the skirts of his garment, that is, throughout the whole body and touch the world. As a result of this anointing, there is blessing. God's presence brings blessing to the church and to the world. The dew of Hermon and the dew upon Mt. Zion are symbolic of this blessing, flowing forth and bringing refreshing. Both Hermon and Zion are mountains which receive a dousing of dew even in dry seasons. The dew speaks of refreshing, and a moistening of the hearts and watering of the things of God. Mt. Zion is emblematic of the church. It was the high place in the city of the King, Jerusalem. Hermon was also considered a sacred place, but it is located in the north of Palestine, and is visible from Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan. The dew on Hermon represents the blessing of God that comes on all nations and people, through the unity of the believers. Hermon is also likely the location of the Mount of Transfigurations, where Jesus was seen by Peter, James, and John in His glory. The place of unity is where the Lord commanded the blessing, even life forevermore. In other words, when the brethren dwell together in unity, there will be a corporate anointing, and as a result, there will be blessing in the church, and people will get saved. People getting saved is the mission of the church. That's why we are here on the earth. It is the thing that is most important to the Lord. So, if we walk in unity with the brethren, we contribute to people getting saved. It we walk in disunity and disharmony, we contribute to their destruction. Oh my, things just got a whole lot more serious! OUR UNITY WILL TOUCH THE WORLD Jesus also told us that the unity of His church would touch the world. In the 17th chapter of the Gospel of John, He prayed to the Father, "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." John 17:21, KJV. Also, He says, "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." John 13:35, KJV. In my own life, I can remember that I was attracted to the Lord because of the love I saw in His people, both a love for Him and a love for one another. True Christian love is our greatest commodity, and our greatest soul winning tool. If the church at large could flow in God's love, in a short time, our local churches would be full, and the world would be won to Jesus. Therefore, we should all make love our great quest in life. How many of us have visited a local church, whether on vacation, or while searching for a place to fellowship, only to find the congregation turned inward, or with strife in the air, and colder than a dead fish? Imagine what it is like for an unbeliever to visit such a place. May the white hot power of the love of God warm our congregations. DON'T MISS YOUR DIVINE CONNECTIONS When Jesus sent out His disciples, He sent them two and two. He knew that they would need one another as they reached out to lost, dying, sighing, crying humanity. They would require support, encouragement and prayer. They would need someone on their team. When Jesus sent these teams of two, I have to imagine that He made a careful selection. He gave them partners with wisdom and divine discernment. He knew which personality traits and which spiritual gifts would compliment one another and contribute ot the success of the mission. We see throughout the Bible that God used divine connections (or we could say supernatural relationships, spiritual partnerships, or strategic alliances) to further His purposes. These relationships not only brought success to the plan of God, but also brought comfort and strength to those in partnership together. Where would David have been without Jonathan, who through a covenant friendship, protected David from the attempts upon his life by King Saul? Perhaps Paul would have never fulfilled his destiny, established churches, reached much of the known world, and written much of the New Testament, without a divine connection with Barnabus, who brought him to Antioch to teach the believers. Pricilla and Aquilla were divinely connected not only as husband and wife, but as co-pastors of the church which met in their home. God used them to instruct powerful leaders such as Apollos in the things of God. Husband and wife connections are very powerful. The way that these connections work will vary from one couple to another, Some may actively minister together, others may seem to function separately. In my own case, my strongest divine connection is with my wife. Although she doesn't always travel in ministry with me, I feel united with her at all times. When I go into a meeting, almost always Susan and I have prayed together about the gathering. She will often pray things under the unction of the Holy Spirit that will be a key to the operation of my ministry in that meeting. I may be ministering among strangers, but I do not have a sense of being alone. We are together, though often separated physically. We need to see the relationships which God has ordained for us, and understand how they are to be structured, in order to fulfill the divine purpose for our lives. All too often, our prejudice, emotional reactions, natural thinking, and fleshly wisdom keep us from functioning in these vital divine connections. There are spiritual connections between husbands and wives, between ministers, between church members and their pastors, which are not being fulfilled today. As a result the Body of Christ is weaker and less able to touch the world. There are ministries that are called to work together. There are churches that are called to unite. There are business people who are called to divine partnership with ministries. There are friends that are separated through disrespect, dishonor, and insensitivity. There are divine connections which are broken, which greatly hinder the work of God. Divine connections are not to be manipulated or contrived. We need to learn to flow with the Spirit in these partnerships. . . to connect the way that God has ordained, and with the people to whom God has divinely connected to us. The ecumenical movement is an example of a fleshly contrived unity which is more political than spiritual. Too often, it is based more on compromised values than any true spiritual partnership. It's an attempt at unity, but too often it's just man's effort, and produces little fruit. KEEP THE UNITY UNTIL WE GET UNITY The book of Ephesians gives us tremendous insight into the issue of unity in the Body of Christ. The first three chapters of that book deal with our position in Christ-who we are, what we have, and what we can do as a result of our spiritual union with the Lord. Then in Ephesians 4, Paul deals with the practical outworking of our spiritual walk in the Christian life. "I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." Ephesians 4:1-3, KJV. Before we talk about these verses, notice what Paul says in verse 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:" Ephesians 4:13, KJV. In verse 3, he tells us to "keep the unity. . ." In verse 13, he says "till we all come into the unity." We might wonder if Paul was confused. First, he says we are keep the unity, implying that unity is something we already possess, but need to keep. Then, he says in the future we will come to the unity. But in reality he is speaking of two different types of unity: the "unity of the Spirit" and the "unity of the faith." These are two very different things. We have the unity of the Spirit now, because "There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all." Ephesians 4:4-6, KJV. You see, every born again Christian has the same Father. We are all part of the same body, regardless of our denomination, race, or gender. We all receive from one Spirit. There is only one Lord who died for all of us, and there is only one baptism. In the mind of God, there is not a Pentecostal baptism, a Lutheran baptism, a Baptist baptism. There is only one. . . and we are one. This is why He says we are to KEEP the unity. We do not need to make unity. We are already unified. What we need to do is earnestly guard that unity and the bond of peace. We are to have peace with one another, in spite of what differences we may have. This is where we miss it. All too often, if someone disagrees with our theology or methodology, we are ready to declare them anathema (cursed). We are ready to break fellowship with them. But the Bible says we are to endeavor (strive earnestly) to keep the unity of the Spirit until we all come in the unity of the faith. "Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the LORD shall bring again Zion." Isaiah 52:8, KJV. You see, there is a day coming when we will see eye to eye. The Lord is going to bring us into the unity of the faith. But until that day, we are to endeavor to keep the the unity of the Spirit. We are to forebear (put up with) one another in love. Someone may have a different view of the day of the Lord than me, but that does not mean he is not my brother in Christ. Someone may have a different view of spiritual gifts, but that does not mean we do not have the same Father. Someone may have a different vision on how to reach the world, but ultimately we are all going the same direction. LET'S DON'T WRITE ONE ANOTHER OFF "But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother's way." Romans 14:10-13, KJV. We are often quick to "write off" our brother because of some perceived failure or doctrinal difference. We may call him a name or break fellowship. By doing this, we set a stumbling block for him and others and greatly hinder the work of God. As Christians, we are part of the family of God. "And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he followeth not us: and we forbad him, because he followeth not us. But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me. For he that is not against us is on our part." Mark 9:38-40, KJV. The disciples did not want to allow the man to use the name of Jesus, because he "followeth not us." He's not in our denomination, Jesus. He doesn't have papers with our organization. We can't allow him to minister. But Jesus made it clear that He has His servants in many different streams. I've been blessed to find fellowship with believers from many different denominations, streams, and movements. We don't always agree with every jot and tittle, but where there is a love for the Lord and for souls, we can often unite and work together. Actually, our differences can serve to strengthen us and help us to grew in new dimensions in Christ. Different perspectives on the Word are needed to help us see the whole picture. When we reject our brother's point of view, we instantly lose that perspective and he loses ours. "There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High." Psalms 46:4, KJV. I realize that there are some things that are just out-and-out heresy and need to be exposed. We need to be careful of subtle tactics of the enemy to bring error and sin into the church. But often people are often so quick to cry "false doctrine." You may need to ask yourself, "What about your false doctrine?" What about the things that you hold to be absolutely true, and yet you do not see the whole truth yet, until the Lord reveals these things. No, none of us have arrived. All of us have a ways to go, and as we are growing, we may tend to overemphasize or underemphasize certain things along the way, but if our heart is right and we are seekers of the truth, we will get where we are going, by and by. Meanwhile, let's walk in love towards our brother, so that the Father's will might be accomplished in all of us. OUR GIFTS COLOR OUR VISION Another thing that often divides us is our particular gifts and calling in the body of Christ. The way that we look at things spiritually is largely based on our gifts and callings. Paul continues to talk about the plan of God saying, "But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ." Ephesians 4:7, KJV. Just as much as we are the same-one Father, one Spirit, one Jesus, one body, we are also different, because Jesus made us that way. We each have different gifts. A study of the gifts reveals that each member of the Body of Christ has a different perspective according to the gift that has been given to them. For example, a person given the gift of prophecy will look at a situation completely differently than a person with a gift of mercy. The solution they see for a given problem will be completely different, and because of this they will often be at odds. But in fact, both of their perspectives are valid, and necessary. God made each person differently, so He could use them in different ways to minister to people. Likewise, a pastor and an evangelist may see things completely differently. The pastor's eyes are more on the local church, and the well-being of the saints. The evangelist has his eyes more on the world, and the needs of a lost and dying humanity. The evangelist needs the pastor's perspective. The pastor needs the evangelist's perspective. Together they can build the kingdom of God. This is an example of a divine connection which is much needed in the Body of Christ today. So, oftentimes it is our different gifting which separates us. It may also be our different religious or cultural backgrounds. It may be differences based on our gender, or age, or nationality. Sometimes it is based on spiritual differences. Sometimes it is natural things. But if we can realize that it is ok to be different and if we are willing to accept one another's differences as normal, then we can flow together, receive from one another and grow in the fullness of Christ. THE MINISTERS MUST FLOW TOGETHER The role of the various ministers in the body of Christ is vital to maintaining the unity of the Spirit, maturing the body of Christ, bringing us into the unity of the faith, and reaching the world for Jesus Christ. "And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: 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: 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; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: 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." Ephesians 4:11-16, KJV. These ministries are often called the five-fold ministry gifts. They include apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. Their purpose is to perfect (or mature) the saints (God's consecrated people) so that they might do the work towards building up (not tearing down) Christ's body, the church, until we come into the unity of faith, the knowledge of the son of God, into full maturity, becoming like Jesus. This is where we are headed, and the five-fold ministry gifts are given by God to get us there. What an awesome responsibility we as the ministers of God have been given by the Lord to bring His church into her destiny. No wonder James says that we should be not many masters (or teachers) knowing that we shall receive the greater judgment. (James 3:1) This understanding of the ministry gifts of God should also give all of us a solemn warning about how we treat the gift of God. "He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me." Matthew 10:40, KJV. We must learn to respect God's vessels. The way that we treat them is the way we are treating the Lord. Many people are quick to attack, demean, and criticize ministers of the Gospel. They may think that they are being gallant and bold by the things that they say, without realizing that they are completely out of the will of God. "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." Romans 14:4, KJV. But here's the thought I want to get to concerning the role of the five-fold ministry. If the ministers (apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers) are the key given by the Lord Jesus Christ to bring us into the unity of the faith, then we must lead the way into that unity by keeping the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace amongst ourselves, respecting one another's God-given gifts, and speaking the truth in love to one another. We must unite and work together to accomplish the will of God in the church. We must find those divine connections, which God has ordained between us. We must let go of our prejudice, emotional strongholds and hindrances to unity among the brethren. We must unite around Jesus, the head of the church, and His great cause of reaching the world, rather than our own man-made alliances, narrow-minded cynicism or gift-orientated biases. We must find that common denominator between us (which is Jesus) and lift Him up before the world. If the ministers grow up, then the body will grow up. Then God will work through all the divine connections in His body. A supply of the Spirit will come out of every "joint" (God-ordained relationship) and the body of Christ will be built up and reach the world for Jesus Christ. Yes, thank God for unity, it is good and pleasant. It releases a perfumed ointment from the head which flows through the ministry gifts and touches the whole Body. It brings a refreshing which will transform the church and touch the world. In this place, the place of unity, the Lord has ordained everlasting life. Swim in that and enjoy it, and let it touch everything around you. Let the river flow, in Jesus name. |
