THE POWER OF UNITY
Pastor Eric J. Hanson
Introduction
This has also been a life theme for me, starting with the theme verse of the music ministry I was part of back in 1974 & 75 “The Gospel Express”. That verse was II Corinthians 5:19, especially that He (God) has given us this ministry of reconciliation. I tried very hard, somewhat naively, to get the South Paris Baptists and Hosanna Church together as friends in the 70s, especially through the ministry of the “Lighted Lamp” Coffee House. Then I wrote “Come Together My People” in a moment of personal renewal and repentance in 1978. Then God gave me “Please Stop Fighting” in 1988 and “Coming Together in Jesus” in 1991.
The theme of the Four levels of Unity is a major Lifetime thrust for me. I first preached a message by that title back in 1977 at Hosanna Church. Ever since my formal ordination in 1982, I have worked as part of the regional and citywide Church through promoting and seeking to strengthen the “Pastors Prayer Fellowship” both in the Oxford Hills and in Lewiston/Auburn. For years I sought to get two small struggling church based schools to come together as a regional Christian school, writing a blueprint for it. I have seen that dream come true.
Today I am revisiting the major themes of the Four Levels of Unity within the Lord’s Church. I am doing so because these are super important within God’s economy, and especially they are important in connection with the people of a community being able to become true believers in Jesus Christ. Let’s jump right into them now.
Main Outline of Message
I. The first Unity Level: The Individual and God (John 15:4-5)
A. (John 3:3 & 3-17) You must become Born Again.
B. (Romans 6:1-22 & Galatians 2:17-21) Reckon yourself dead to sin and alive to God through the work of the Cross.
C. (Matthew 22:37-40 & I John 1:5-10 & 2:1-6) Walk with God obeying his commands to love (obey) God and to love people. These are good and life giving. They free God to flow in and through us.
II. The Next Level of Unity: You and Your Household (Amos 3:3 & Colossians 3:18-21)
A. (Ephesians 5:22-33) Husbands and wives need to heed this.
B. (Ephesians 6:1-4) Children and Parents
C. (Proverbs 22:6 & Deuteronomy 6:5-9) Raising of Children
III. Level 3: The Local Church Family
A. (Ephesians 2:19-22 & I Peter 2:1-5) We are a house made of living stones built together as a habitation for the Lord. Dropping out of reliable fellowship with your church family, coming to church primarily as a consumer of goods and services, or engaging in church hopping destroys this dynamic.
B. (Ephesians 4:29-32) No rumors; no evil speaking; no hard heartedness; no unforgiveness: This heads off trouble before it can start up.
C. (Ephesians 5:21) This is the attitude for every believer to walk in continually. It’s only possible through the work of the Cross; dying to self, living to and through God.
By the way, all traveling ministers, and all para-church ministers must be vitally connected to a local church; a church family that they are sent forth from to perform ministry functions; and which they report back to, even as Barnabas and Saul/Paul did in Acts Chapter 13 and following. Every man in Christ needs to walk in the rigorous realities of local church life, graciously flow within the give and take there, and go regularly to the Cross of Christ and die to self, in order to be part of the solution in the working through of problems in his local church. Every believer is a living stone set into a wall. Every believer is a cell, vitally connected within a living and interdependent local expression of the Body of Christ. Any man who will not humble himself to vitally connect as part of a local church, even though all local churches are flawed, dis-qualifies himself from traveling in ministry or heading up a para-church ministry such as Full Gospel Businessmen, a Christian coffeehouse, or what have you.
D. (Philippians 2:1-5) This is an overall attitude blueprint for unity and unselfishness to reign in the Church Family.
Special Note: There are other dynamics which must function in a healthy church family. We cannot wink at sin. Men who will not work must be chided. Those who continue in fornication, rage, or hatred must be warned. Those who gossip maliciously (like Diotrophes) must be stopped. Those who seek to build personal kingdoms within the Church with personal agendas must be exposed. Those who, after some time of being taught the word, care only for their own concerns and don’t show sensitivity concerning the needs of others, need to be challenged, personally. Yes, Church discipline, done in the matrix of love and restoration to full potential, must exist.
IV. Level Four: Unity of All True Believers in Christ (John 17:20-23 Notice the condition and the result of the condition being met.)
A. (Philippians 1:1, II Corinthians 1:1) The Church is One
Notice that the New Testament Church was one in each city. That is God’s perfect will and plan for the Church. Then it can be fully equipped, lacking nothing, doctrinally balanced, with a great combination of Ephesians 4 equipping gifts flowing together through the servant leaders who make up the local elders, along with trustworthy traveling equippers. In God’s perfect plan, which absolutely requires the power of the Cross, these brothers are to demonstrate mutual submission and harmony to the World around us.
B. (I Corinthians 1:10-15, 3:1-9) Only Jesus Christ is exalted.
The Citywide church needs to get away from the exaltation of persons, and fully recognize that the title of (greek) “arche-poimen” which means “over-shepherd” or, in common usage “senior pastor” is reserved in the scriptures for Jesus Christ. It occurs in I Peter 5, where all of we undershepherds are told to care for the flock (that is the people-sheep of God) over which the Lord has made us overseers. Then, if we are faithful in this, when the senior pastor shows up from Heaven, we shall receive crowns.
Let me read a brief excerpt from my book “Restoring the Lord’s Church in Each City”.
WHAT IS ACTUALLY NEEDED AND BIBLICALLY CORRECT
In recent years I have come to realize what needs to take place in order for us to ever achieve true New Testament order. How can the Church in our city be governed and equipped by a whole group of genuine elder/pastors from a broad range of motive giftings, who meet all the qualifications for elders found in God’s word? To achieve this we must to do something quite radical compared to what we modern day Christians have been accustomed to.
The Bible believing “splinter” churches must move beyond friendship, though friendship is a big improvement over the bitter rivalry and misinformation that used to be normal. The many little believing churches in each city or cluster of small towns, need to move toward an organic relationship with the goal of becoming, in practice and accountability, the “Church” in our city.
Please note that all of the epistles are addressed to the “Church” in this or that city; never to “First Baptist Church” or “Trinity Assembly of God Church”. The only church unit recognized in the New Testament is the citywide Church governed initially by founding apostles and prophets, and later by a group of local elders, set in by apostles. It is these elders who then pastor (shepherd) that church together under the Lord Jesus Christ.
There is no way that this radically biblical Church can be brought about in natural strength. We, who come to see this as Bible truth and as God’s clearly revealed will, must cry out to the Lord to do this in and through us. When the world sees this miracle change gradually taking place, the prayer of John 17:20-23 will indeed be activated in massive power and freedom. When we become the Church in Oxford Hills, the Church in the Twin Cities, etc, there will indeed be enough biblically qualified brothers to set into an eldership with no motive gift left out, and with known stability and godliness in those who serve.
Eventually, there will no longer be the little church on corner #1 weak in music but strong in small group discipleship, and the little church on corner #2 strong in music but weak in ministry to the poor, and the little church on corner #3 strong in exhortational sermons but weak in line upon line Bible teaching. Instead, there will be the “Church” coming forth in all her equipping! There will begin to emerge, the Bride of Christ without spot or wrinkle!
Fleshy believers who have jumped the fence from church to church, because they got upset with someone, and who never went through the Matthew 18 reconciliation process, but instead left and went to the next church up the road, will be much more accountable in this Biblically correct setting. They will not so easily be able to hide their sin but will have much more incentive to do the right thing and walk through the peacemaking process, even though this is hard on the flesh, and actually requires going to the cross and reckoning oneself dead to fleshy self-rule.
With six or eight or twelve biblically qualified, proven, mutually submitted elders sharing the preaching, teaching, and training, the Church will be equipped in a much more balanced and accurate way than could ever have been done in many little churches in the city. There is really a tremendous jump in quality to be had through this.
The whole dynamic that is needed for the Church in the city to truly emerge is that of radically laying aside tradition and radically embracing God’s Word. Along with that, we must live the crucified life so that the Glory of God can shine through all of us and the end result will be huge parts of whole towns and cities meeting and following the Lord and entering into the Kingdom of God through Jesus Christ.
Conclusion
Some things I’ve talked about today may take a year or 50 years. Others, you can put into practice today. You can start walking in love by the grace of God today. You can have more unity with God, starting today. You can have more unity in your home starting today, even if you are the only one who starts practicing these principles at first. You can promote unity in your local Church starting today. You can refuse to talk badly about that brother or leader in front of other people, but go to him and resolve your issues!
You can recognize the Church in Portland, the Church in Lewiston, the Church in Augusta made up of all genuine believers in Jesus Christ! I challenge you today!
Let’s pray.
