THE UNITY OF THE SPIRIT
Text: Psalm 133:1-3, "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."
Ecclesiastes 4:12c, "...a threefold cord is not quickly broken."
According to Mt. 12:25; Mark 3:25; and, Luke 11:17 a house divided against itself cannot stand.
Unity, being unified, is a strength that gives our enemies second thoughts.
Satan dreads the unity of the true Christians and works day and night to undo it.
The adversary of our souls is looking to, makeing eloborate plans to, attempting to
blow our spiritual houses in. He wants to devour God's finest creation--man!
Illustration: A lad in his Sunday School Class must have misunderstood what the teacher
said regarding the wording of 1Peter 5:8. Upon trying to convey to his parents what
he had learned that day in Sunday School; he said that there is a mean creature in the
universe called the "double" and we must be cautious.
The evil one called Satan and the Devil is always lurking--waiting to pounce upon the
saints of God. He will double cross, double and redouble his slimy assaults upon every
dedicated, and sanctified, and conscientious Christian who is diligently serving and
worshipping our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. "Double," therefore is a fitting description
of the enemy of our souls. Stay in unity (Ps. 133), stay in the boat, stay with the bunch.
Indeed! A threefold cord in not easily broken.
It is imperative that the Bride of Christ, the Church, understands and practices the concept of the
unity of the Spirit (Holy Spirit). Unity is one thing that will convince others that the church has
something beautiful the ungodly do not have.
Now, immediately we have seen two benefits of spiritual unity in the church that Jesus is building!
How rare & exotic (strange & exciting) a plant it (unity) is on Earth. The psalmist decription was
shown in Ps. 133:1a, "...how good and...pleasant..." is this unity of the Spirit.
To better appreciate what we are discussing, let us digress for a moment to what is recorded in
the early chapters of the Bible Book of Genesis.
Shadows of Cain & Abel are always nearby.
1. Man's first sin separated man from God (Genesis 3:6).
2. Man's second sin separated man from man (Genesis 4:8).
3. Cain's angry act put a temporary end to the brotherhood of men.
4. Christ's accomplishment on the Cross of Calvary bridges the gap.
a) vertically
b) horizontally
Romans 6:23 states: "For the wages of sin is death;
but the gift of God is eternal life
through Jesus Christ our Lord."
This is one of several passages in God's Holy Writ that quickly lends itself to a three point outline.Preachers and Bible teachers appreciate things like this for their writing and speaking purposes.
If we can picture a giant letter H and place on the left leg the first part of the above verse, "For the wages of sin is death," we will have part of the picture. Now place the second phrase, "but the gift of God is eternal life," on the right leg, excluding the word "but." Next imagine the word "but" inscribed on the horizontal bar of our letter H. We now see a need for somewhere to place the third phrase of out text. So what do we see so far? We see on the left that sin pays wages and those wages are death (the death of Rev. 21:8). That is a negative picture. Here is the positivepicture on the right declaring there is a "gift of God." That gift is called eternal life, sins forgiven and holiness imparted, which is life in God's Spirit and presence. But wait!
There is more. Who or what enables the transition from "wages of sin" to "God's gift of eternal life?" I am glad you asked! Again I ask that we use our imaginations where now we see above the letter H, in the form of an arch connecting the left and right legs. Upon that arch now bridging the gap we see the third phrase of the verse, "through Jesus Christ our Lord." What a wonderful blessing the Heavenly Father has provided to mankind. You see, salvation from sin and its penalty is now availabe--I John 1:9,"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."Romans 10:13, "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."
The vertical issue has been addressed. Next the horizontal portion of involvement in the unity of the Spirit is to be considered. Please remember at this point we are considering the Bible truth "Christ's accomplishment on the Cross of Calvary bridges the gap." The words of Jesus say it best in Mark 12:30-31, "And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these."
A prime example of "the unity of the Spirit" can be appreciated when we consider that even before the creation of the world the Holy Trinity--Father, Son, and Holy Ghost were unified in orcherstrating a plan of salvation for lost makind. You see, salvation is not in a plan, but in a man--"the man Christ Jesus." First Timothy Chapter two and verse five succinctly points out; "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;"
Now, if we are made in the image of God, and if our sins are forgiven and we have been born
from above (James 1:17) then, unity must become prevalent among the saints of God?
The value of "unity of the Spirit" cannot be under estimated or overstated. How can two walk together except they be agreed?
"Brotherhood of men happens only where there is the Fatherhood of God." ___selected (underlining mine)
All are God's creations, but not all are God's sons/children. He is the Father only to those who are born from above, that is born of the Spirit. Here again the Scriptures speak, "Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently: Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever (1 Peter 1:22-23.)"
Matthew 18:19-20 "Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."
Men's souls and eternal destinies are in the balance. "Does the world see brotherhood and unity among us? Who is us? It is we who are the born again sons and daughters of Almighty God.
Our responsibilities did not end at the point of our crisis experiences of salvation--
they (responsibilities) had just begun!
King David, the son of Jesse, understood the concept or idea of unity .
It is fitting that Ps. 133 came from David's pen. He forged 12 disconnected tribes into a united kingdom. He centralized everything in Jerusalem. One may ask, "What does centralized mean?" It means to draw into or toward a center; consolidate. It also means to bring under a single, central authority example: The Constitution centralizes political power in the federal government.
David planned for Israel's Temple to be a national symbol of spiritual unity. He (David)
understood there must be a common faith in the Living God & His Word!
When Aaron was the ministering priest a sacred description of unity began to unfold (Ps. 133:2)
by way of the beautiful fragrance of the anointing oil described in Exodus 30:22-33.
The Anointing Oil (Ex. 30:22-33) was unique as it was sacred.
1. designed to demonstrate the priest's special call,
appointment & equipping via the Father the Holy Ghost
(listed next are the contents and weight of each).
a) Pure Myrrh - 12.5 lbs.
b) Sweet Cinnamon - 6.25 lbs.
c) Sweet Calamus (cane) - 6.25 lbs.
d) Cassia - 12.5 lbs.
e) Olive Oil - one gallon (a hin)
2. Blended together for God's special purpose
a) sanctify holy the Tabernacle & Furnishings
b) sanctify priests for ministry
3. God's alone to give--NO SUBSTITUTES
4. Anointing is not man's to give, it is from God only.
a) He chooses.
b) He calls.
c) He appoints & anoints.
d) Eph. 4:11-13 (NLT), "Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles,
the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to
equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ.
This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s
Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete
standard of Christ."
5. Ingredients of the Anointing Oil
a) Myrrh - fragrant & medicinal gum from a little known
tree in Arabia (the inner bark)
b) Sweet Cinnamon - from a species of Laurel or Sweet Bay
found chiefly in Ceylon (now Sri-Lanka)
off India
c) Sweet Calamus - (cane) found in Arabia & India
It is of a tawny (dull yellowish-brown)
color and has a strong odor.
d) Cassia - same as Sweet Cinnamon using the outer bark
e) one gallon (hin) of olive oil
Next we can observe the psalmist's facinating decription of the anointing's manifestation.
A. Action
1. poured on Aaron's mitre (headpiece)
a) showing the glory of his position
b) symbolic of Christ in His Majesty
c) Christ the Head of the Church
d) anointed Head in Heaven
e) Christ's fragrance fills all Heaven.
2. flowed over Aaron's beard
a) symbolic of Christ in His Manliness
b) true man, God's man, perfect man
c) perfect,fragrant, pure, loving, flawless
d) Christ in His members
3. flowed down on Aaron's garments
a) symbolic of Christ in His Ministry
b) Calvary ministry--gave His life a ransom for many
c) continuing ministry to others
4. flowed down to Aaron's skirts
a) symbolic of Christ in His mercy
b) ministers down to the ground
c) down to earth ministry
d) not distant, but to where we are
Now, to another great and vivid biblical word picture of unity, yea! even spiritual unity:
That Unifying Dew of Hermon (Ps. 133:3a, "As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew
that descended upon the mountains of Zion:...." )
A. In the hot Mediterranean dew is vital to plant life.
B. The tribes of Israel were blessed by that life giving,
refreshing summer mist (dew).
C. Dew is symbolic of unity.
1. formed in the still, restful night season
2. formed only when all is still & restful
3. never formed after a storm
4. cannot be brought about by strife, rush, bustle,
worry, ceaseless activity.
5. Dew is God's gift and cannot be manufactured.
Concl: According to Ps. 133:3b the blessing of unity is "...even life for evermore."
God's Spirit is quenched when there is squabbling.
Where quarrels abound no souls are saved and there is no spiritual growth.
People cannot be fooled. They know when they have come into the
company of people who truly love God.
We must love God, each other, and the lost.
There we find the unity of the Spirit; even life for evermore!!
Earlier we were confronted with the eternal truths of Ephesians 4:11-13.
Again, a vital portion the Bible Book of Ephesians, chapter four directs our
attitudes and actions.
Ephesians 4:1-6 (NLT), "Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life
worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. Always be humble and gentle.
Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your
love.Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves
together with peace. For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called
to one glorious hope for the future. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one
God and Father, who is over all and in all and living through all." Here, under the
direction of the Holy Spirit.Paul admonished his readers to live rightly in spiritual unity,
but only, after we become aware of all God has done for us, freely by His grace.
