Have you ever seen an orchestra perform? As many as one hundred of the highest caliber of musicians are there, tuning their instruments. Standing in front of these experts is one man. Armed with the same sheet music as every other performer, he taps his baton on the music stand and all the seasoned professionals wait. Why? Every one of the musicians is more than capable of playing as a solo artist. Everyone in the orchestra can read their own sheet music, thank you very much. How dare that one man with a stick try to tell them how to interpret it! Yet all their eyes are on him, and when the baton is lowered they all play together as one. Together they achieve something they could never reach on their own. The fusion of all their efforts can only truly be experienced when you are there, in unity with the orchestra.

This unity, this state of being one, is not an easy thing to achieve. Like a master musician, we never outgrow the need for it and we never cease to reap its benefits. Without it we have division, which cannot coexist with harmony. Paul even instructs us to avoid those who cause divisions (Romans 16:17). In order to grow, we must learn to live in unity. With unity, we can accomplish more with synergy than we could individually. Unity is imperative.

“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!”  – Psalm 133:1

People around the world find it within themselves to unite with each other and accomplish things that would be impossible for just one. Feats of precision and skill are carried out faithfully because of their devotion to craft, culture, or community. We should certainly recognize these accomplishments, but they should also cause us to examine ourselves. If others can live in unity for the sake of perishable human creations, how much more should we be willing to work for unity as the servants of God?

I cannot think of many ways to explain it unity better than through the experiences I have had. A few times in particular stick out. I can remember being in prayer meetings when the power of God was so present that it brought our young group of believers into a place that surpassed every ethnic, economic, social, and gender barrier.  We were able to enter into a place where it did not matter what the person next to you was doing. This move of the Spirit brought us into one mind and one accord. The power was amplified many times over as the spirit directed us to intercede, to worship, to enter into warfare, or to just be in awe.

When this happens, the Spirit guides each of us to surrender individually, and bond corporately. The rest is inevitable; as we draw closer to His will, we will all work together towards the same goal. It is an act that overcomes every obstacle and lets us be a part of something much bigger.

One instance in the Bible stands out as an instance of a time when great things happened because everyone was in unity. The book of Acts recounts when the Holy Spirit was poured out in the upper room. “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.  And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.  And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” (Acts 2:1-4)

That is an example from the Bible of what happened when the believers were unified. I believe that there are going to be great things that occur as we are unified under Jesus in this coming year!

Well, an army is a complicated system. Every officer must answer to another, higher-ranking officer. Battles are confusing and a disjointed. Many men end up killing their own comrades without even realizing it. Some battles become outright massacres if the officers do not coordinate properly. Spiritually, if we do not keep our lives straight we will be in danger of a massacre: total destruction at the hands of our enemies. God has a place for us in His army to destroy those enemies instead, and guide us through our problems. He wants us to join with Him in the fight against our foes.

If we will only put our trust in God, He will guide us through the battle. When we cooperate with Him like a soldier cooperates with their superiors, we are in the undefeatable fortress of God. [Clearly this requires, well, cooperation.  -Ed.] I need to be aware of my mental, emotional, or even physical enemies so He can direct me. If I don’t follow directions, my day is not going to be easy. That’s not to say that following directions is always easy — it’s difficult for many people — but He’s still our superior. And maybe we’ll mess up from time to time because we’re not perfect, but that’s why we have a God to catch us if we fall. Psalms 119:105 says that God’s word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. This means that God will direct us where we need to go: all we need to do is follow.

A faithful soldier who communicates with his superiors is far preferable in the eyes of a general to a “lone wolf”, whose unguided attacks may hinder his own comrades. Likewise, if we are spiritually active but not in agreement with God, we may do more harm than good. Victory over our personal enemies — whatever they may be — is dependent on our unity with God.

I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them. And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.

Unity is a successive step, an extension of the Mosaic Law. Jesus stated both simply: the law of Moses teaches us to (1) love God with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our mind, and (2) love our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:37,39). He stated the principle of unity as ‘one-ness’ with each other. He implies identification, communication, and mutual support with these phrases. If God’s laws can be distilled to principles of love, then unity must be a side effect, for it displays the effects of an atmosphere of brotherly love.

If the above argument has not convinced you that unity is an important part of being an effective Christ-follower, I encourage you to search out every Biblical mention of unity’s opposite: division. You will find that there is no place in the house of God for divisive attitudes or actions. There is plenty of room for discussion and even disagreements without being divisive about it. Without unity a group of people will scatter to the wind; with unity that same group can remain when all else has fallen. We will revisit the effects of unity in later articles.

The New Free Thinkers also think that unity is important to a successful spiritual life — so much so that we are sponsoring a series of prayer meetings in the Northeast United States to encourage church youth groups (and others) to get in unity with each other. This project, called Unitiative, will endeavor connect groups of Christian young people to God and to other young people who share their desire to live for God. To find a meeting near you, or to volunteer to host a meeting, visit:

JoinTheUnitiative.com