Unity - Gateway Foursquare Church - November 5, 2023

Experiencing God with Tim Hart

This episode is a message that Tim gave at Gateway Foursquare Church on November 5, 2023. For more information about Gateway Foursquare visit: https://gatewayfoursquare.ca/
Unity is a foundational characteristic of the Church in the New Testament and is a reflection of the very nature of God himself. One of the central themes of Jesus’ prayer as recorded by John is that we as his followers would be one, as he and the Father are one (John 17:11,20-23). Scripture is clear that every single person who puts his/her faith in Jesus, instantly becomes part of one Body, by one spirit, serving one Lord. This is a universal, positional reality for every believer (see 1 Corinthians 12:12-13). In other words, unity is not a by-product of our human effort, it is the default position and a defining characteristic of the Church, and is an inward spiritual reality for every believer.
For many believers however, the positional reality of the unified Church can be difficult to reconcile with our ground-level experience. So many believers have experienced relational breakdown, jealously, discord, disunity, quarrelling, and church splits! Unity is something that comes under regular, focused attack of our adversary, and his aim is to destroy the fabric of the Church by sowing division and strife.
This is why Paul exhorts believers to be eager to maintain the Unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Ephesians 4:3). We have an active part to play to maintain unity within the Body of Christ, so that our relational, ground-level experience as believers accurately reflects the universal, eternal reality that there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, but all are one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28).
In this message Tim focuses on several passages of scripture to unpack this topic further, addressing the issue of division in the Church, and unity as a fundamental characteristic of all genuine believers, and one of God’s ultimate goals for the Church.
Enjoy this episode of Experiencing God with Tim Hart.