The Unity of the Spirit

In transforming our hearts and minds into the likeness of Christ, the Spirit transforms how we live in relationship with one another, creating spiritual community, i.e., the church. Spiritual community is the product of the Spirit’s work in us, through us, and among us.

One of the two dominant characteristics of Spirit-empowered spiritual community is unity — oneness that transcends and transforms differences. This oneness is centered in Christ Jesus. It is produced by the Spirit. It is expressed in a self-giving, servant spirit that seeks the wellbeing of the other, i.e., love.

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body — Jews or Greeks, slaves or free — and we were all made to drink of one Spirit (2 Corinthians 12:12-13).

The unity or oneness found in spiritual community is intended to reflect the unity and oneness of the Trinity — the Three in One. The oneness enjoyed by the Father, Son, and Spirit is grounded in a shared character. Each lives out of a character of self-giving, servant love. All that they do individually and collectively grows out of and is an expression of self-giving, servant love.

The unity experienced in spiritual community is a precursor to the unity that God is seeking to bring to all of creation (Ephesians 1:10; 3:7-12). In Christ, the animosity and dividing wall that separated Jew and Gentile have been broken down (Ephesians 2:14). People of all ethnicities and social groups are now “members of the household of God” (Ephesians 2:19). Their oneness in Christ creates “a holy temple … a dwelling place for God” on earth (Ephesians 2:21-22). The spiritual community, bound together as one in Christ, becomes an in-the-flesh embodiment of God and convincing evidence of the beauty of the ways of God (Ephesians 3:10). Such unity is essential to God’s eternal redemptive purpose (Ephesians 1:3-10). It is to be protected and maintained at all costs – “making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3). The unity experienced in spiritual community is a gift given by the Spirit that is to be recognized, treasured, and protected.

The key to maintaining the unity of the Spirit is the mind of Christ. It is living out of the servant spirit of Christ (Philippians 2:1-10). Conflict between two of its key leaders was disturbing the church at Philippi (Philippians 4:2). Paul wrote urging the two women “to be of the same mind in the Lord.” They were to come to agreement by looking for that which reflected the Lord’s purpose, not their own desires. They were to embrace the mind of Christ, relating out of humility, seeking the wellbeing of the other (Philippians 2:3-4). In addition to humility, the writer of Ephesians said gentleness, patience, and “putting up with” one another (Ephesians 4:2) were needed in order to maintain the unity of the Spirit.

Conflict grows out of what Paul called “the flesh” — our anxiety-driven, ego-centered self (Galatians 5:19-21). In other words, it does not take any effort to experience conflict. It is a normal part of our human condition. In conflict, each person looks out for their own interests and desires with no thought of or concern for what underlies the other person’s position. Each defends their own position while attacking the other and the other’s position. Winning — getting my way — becomes the objective. Power is used against the other for our own personal benefit. Such functioning is the opposite of the servant spirit of Jesus. It does not know the mind of Christ.

Conflict in the church — an all-too-common experience — occurs when members act out of their default human nature rather than out of their relationship with Christ. It happens when members protect their manufactured, ego-centric selves rather than living out of their crucified-with-Christ selves. It happens when members function out of what’s-in-it-for-me thinking rather than out of the mind of Christ. It happens when members demand their way, equating it with the will of God and, thereby, the only way.

The antidote to conflict in the church is personal spiritual growth — the transforming work of the Spirit. As the Spirit conforms our hearts and minds to the likeness of Christ, how we live in relationship with one another is transformed. Unity centered in Christ and expressed in self-giving love displaces the ego-centered conflict that is an inherent part of our human nature.

Unity is the product of the Spirit’s work in our lives. But it requires our work, as well.