When 2 or more are 1 in some way, unity lives.
The Triune God, Yahweh, has unity within Himself. Father, Spirit, and Son are all in perfect unity with each other. Together, They are One.
A Quick Word About God
This post is not about the Trinity; it’s about unity. However, for some readers it may be beneficial to at least touch on what we mean when we talk about a “Triune God”.
One example of a trinity is the universe around us. It is made up of Time, Space, and Matter. Without one or more of those elements, the universe would not be what it is. Time is not Space or Matter, Space is not Time or Matter. Matter is not Time or Space. Each is unique. Each is individual. Yet, each is a part of the unified whole that makes up the universe. If each had life, personality, conscience, and whatever makes us more than the time, space and matter we live in, then they would be more like the One Who created them.
God, like us (because we are made in His image), has personality, cognition, will… all the things that make a being sentient (aware). In fact, His sentience goes way beyond anything we can muster. His knowledge is infinite. His will is infinite. His very presence is infinite. And yet, with such loftiness, He determines to be immediate and intimate with us—on our level. And since His awareness is infinite, He can have a very intimate experience with each and every one of His creatures (all at once, over all time and eternity).
God’s unity within Himself is something that we can not really grasp in our hearts and minds. Not yet. However, we can at least know that it exists. On a lower level, we can even comprehend it and desire to be a part of it. I am not saying that we desire to be equal with God; more like a little thing that is consumed by Him and feels His life force.
Unity With God
Unity is not the same, necessarily, as equality. We humans are all equal with each other in essence, if not in purpose. We can have unity with each other on a level of equality, since we are all the same. But when we have unity with God, it does not make us equal with Him in essence.
Our feelings, while in a state of unity with God, may be the same as His: love, joy, peace… but our level that we feel is not going to compare to His infinite feelings. The very word “level” indicates a plain, a consistency, a limit. Peace, for example, is never perfect for us (at least for long). Our peace can be interrupted and diminished by our environment. Our own body can steal our peace. No matter where I go, my soul is never at total peace.
And yet, when we approach our Creator with the desire for unity, we can experience His peace. He can commute it to us. It is a gift that we get when in His presence. (When I say “in His presence”, I mean allowing Him to affect us in some way or other.) And how do we come into God’s presence? What does it mean to be in God’s presence?
Firstly, we must desire to be with God. The beginning of unity always begins with the heart (the desire, the will). If I do not desire unity, it will not manifest.
Sometimes, unity (whether with God or someone else) is a difficult achievement. It may require dealing with our own feelings of anger, hatred, sorrow, guilt, shame, or any number of other conditions. Guess what? God knows what our feelings are all the time. Whether we understand ourselves or not, He does. And He is always willing to meet us where we are. In His infinite presence, He doesn’t have to travel to be with us. He is always immediate and intimate with us. Always. But for unity to occur, we must turn from our own condition that is anti-God (whether in feeling, thought, deed, or word) and turn toward Him and His will (His desires, His essence, His ways).
This unity can be achieved through honest communication with Him. We can initiate the conversation with God. We can tell Him how we feel about Him. Even though He already knows this, it is up to us to realign ourselves with Him. That’s our contribution to the state of unity: Seeking Him honestly.
This may take the form of praise and worship, right away. Or, it may take some time to work through whatever we are feeling that is a hindrance to unity with Him. We may need to confess our secret sins, for example, not for Him to learn about them, but for us to simply be honest with Him. It is for our benefit that we confess so that we can “get it off our shoulders” so to speak. By putting the thing before Him, with a desire for a cure, He will take it up and do what needs to be done with it. This is the first step in forgiveness. Forgiveness leads to unity.
No matter our condition, when we seek unity with God, He will meet us where we are and lead us closer to that unity. The more we do this, the closer we get to Him (and unity with Him). For some, this may be a long, difficult process. For others, it may be nearly instantaneous. Unfortunately, not all people will experience unity with God. In fact, Jesus told us this:
“You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The road that leads to destruction is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14)
God’s kingdom is where we find unity with Him. And what is the “narrow gate”? We get a hint when we read what He told us:
“I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me were thieves and robbers. But the true sheep did not listen to them. Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures. The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.” (John 10:6-10, NLT)
He also said this about Himself:
“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)
So true unity with God begins with whether or not we accept Jesus’ words. And not just His words, but also His deeds, specifically, His death on the cross. The cross—that ancient device of torturous death—is the one thing (the narrow road; the single gate) that leads to unity with God. Without it, unity is impossible.
Unity With Others
You may have noticed, you are not alone on this planet. You may feel alone, but even in that you are not alone. People are everywhere. They swarm the marketplaces. They busily hustle to and fro. They are a constant presence all around you. It’s your decision whether to interact with them or not. Sometimes, though, refusing to interact will get you into trouble with them. But what kind of interaction do you desire?
Unity with God makes a lot of sense to me. It seems necessary. Unity with people, on the other hand, seems different. There is only one God; but there are many people. God, I want to be with. People, maybe yes; maybe no. Usually the deciding factor for me (whether to engage in interaction with someone else) is who I am dealing with. Face it, some people are difficult to engage with. Some people are not pleasant. And some (because they have free will) refuse to be engaged. Others only engage with someone in order to get something from them.
And that’s part of the problem in finding unity with people, they have issues (sins, even). It can be dangerous engaging with another human being. It can be hurtful, annoying, costly, confusing… that’s the bad side of it. But with great chance can come great reward as well. Sometimes, engaging with people is well worth the effort, for a plethora of reasons.
As a believer in Christ, one who has entered through the little gate found on the narrow road, I can say that there is a dimension to human interaction that transcends all other interactions: unity in Christ. Now, from personal experience I can say that interaction with people who confess a relationship with Jesus is not always pleasant. My fellow believers are not always pleasant to be around. The interaction with them is not guaranteed to be pleasant or useful. But that isn’t why I entered the gateway to God. I entered to get to God; not other people. Still, He wants them in His life, so I see that they will be in my life as well. And that should be the one thing that we all (who have entered the gate on the narrow path) can find unity in, if nothing else: our desire to be with God.
In this way, unity with God brings unity with people who also have unity with God. Unity with God automatically brings unity with other people. Every person can find a type of unity with any other person: we are all people. That in itself is a form of unity; we are unified in our common essence. But that isn’t enough to bring fulfillment with each other. In fact, I do not seek fulfillment through unity with other people; I seek it through my unity with God. Having relations with others who are also in unity with God is a bonus. And this is something that Jesus encourages in us—seeking Him above all others.
“If you want to be my disciple, you must, by comparison, hate everyone else—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:26, NLT)
A disciple is someone who follows. We follow someone when we seek them. We seek someone when we want to be with them. We want to be with those we love. When we are with those we love, we find joy to go with our love. We find peace in true joy. We find contentment and satisfaction. We find meaning to our lives.
Conclusion
It is my hope that all who seek these things: love, joy, peace, satisfaction, and contentment, will find them. There are many counterfeits out there that seem to have these things, but after tasting some of them and tasting the real thing, I can say that the real thing only comes from Jesus. The counterfeits will lead only to the opposite of these beautiful things. Without Jesus, a person will ultimately find him or herself without them. Love, joy, peace, satisfaction, and contentment will ultimately elude the one who denies Christ and His love. It is God’s purpose to have unity with you. The means (the one and only means) that He has provided for that to occur is the cross of Christ.
When we come to terms with God on His terms, we will receive His Spirit to live inside of us. THAT is when we begin to grow in our unity with God. Without the Spirit of God living inside of us, unity with God is impossible. And the Spirit of God shows His presence in us through what Paul calls the “fruits of the Spirit”. Here’s how he put it in his letter to the congregation in Galatia: “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” (Galatian 5:22-23)
Having experienced this fruit (and continuing to do so), I can say that it is a good way to live. I much prefer the fruit of the Spirit in my life more than any other thing. And when He expresses His unity with me through unity with other believers, it’s a very good thing. I can’t wait until the Lord returns and makes all of His followers perfect, as He is perfect. THEN our unity will be complete; unity in God and unity in each other. Until then, it’s all just practice, learning, growing, and continuing to seek that perfect unity with God above all things in life.
Seek God. Seek His unity. It’s only the most important thing in life.
In Him,
Gary
