It is God’s desire that there be unity between his people, and for that reason Christian unity is a prominent theme in the New Testament. Jesus prays for it in his High Priestly prayer, Luke describes it in his history of the early church, Paul demands it of the congregations he writes to, Peter appeals for it in his epistles, and John displays it in its final perfection in his vision of what is to come. As we each live out the gospel and display the fruit of the Spirit in Christian community, unity should naturally result.
It should. But a look at the average local church shows that this is not necessarily the case. There are often disagreements among Christians, many of them very serious and very heated. Where we ought to be quick to unite and slow to divide, it seems we are often slow to unite and quick to divide. Where the gospel is best protected and displayed in unity we seem to believe the gospel is best protected and displayed in division.
I have often wondered if much of our division stems from a confusion between unity and unanimity. I have often wondered if
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