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As we continue our thoughts on The Love of the Truth and how it relates to the theme of religious unity, we shall answer our question about what constraints, if any, God has placed upon the achievement of unity and whether or not we can go too far in the pursuit of unity. These are serious and timely matters in all aspects of the human endeavor and it is our purpose to provide a biblical answer to these questions.

There are two passages in the New King James Version of the New Testament that use the word unity. It is also factual that these two verses are the only occurrences of the Greek word that translates unity in the New Testament. Thayer states that this word means “…unanimity or agreement.” In both of these occurrences there is a tremendously important lesson involved; we will briefly explore these lessons.

First, we cite Ephesians 4.1-3. “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (emphasis mine; jeb).”

Secondly, we cite Ephesians 4.11-16. “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head — Christ — from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. (emphasis mine; jeb)”

The two passages cited are complementary; they use differing terminology, but they are unified in meaning. “The unity of the Spirit” refers to the unity that the Spirit Himself possesses and displays, the unity in which there is no variableness or shadow of turning. “The unity of the faith” is the effectively the same except that the emphasis is upon the means by which the Spirit defines that unity, namely the doctrines contained within the oral and written teachings of His inspired teachers and prophets.

The Love of the Truth is interrelated to these two expressions. It is that love which is produced by the teachings of the Spirit. It is the love which Paul had when he chided the Corinthians for their carnal divisions (see 1 Corinthians 1.10-13), and the love which believing husbands are to have for their wives, the same love which Jesus had/has for the Church (see Ephesians 5.22-33). It is that love which will motivate a believer to forsake all others desires and demands in order to put on and use the spiritual armor of God in our declared war against evil (see Ephesians 6.10-20). The Love of the Truth is the love which God possesses as opposed to the love which the world might produce and demand!

Questions:

1. How many times is the word unity used in reputable translations of the New Testament?

2. How has (past tense) and does (present tense) God demonstrate unity of His being (THINK)?

3. What example of love did Paul use to illustrate to the Ephesians the bonds which ought to bind believers together in the revealed faith (the gospel message)?

4. How has God revealed the love which we as believers are to emulate and demonstrate to the world (this IS The Love of the Truth)?

"Voice of Inspiration" from Andy Castro

A Lot Of Salt