The Necessity of Unity
Acts2:46-47 "So continuing daily with one accord in the temple and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily who were being saved."
The early church had Power because it had Unity. The Christians were united in purpose, sound in Doctrine and filled with the Spirit. They gave no place to the devil and his minions. As a result the strong man was bound and his goods were plundered! Mark3:27 Satan's kingdom had been invaded by a superior force. His turf uprooted. No longer did he have exclusive control over the lives of men.
The Apostle John expressed the sentiment of the first century church in this manner, "He who sins is of the devil for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil!" 1Jh3:8
Today it's the very opposite: 'He who sins' is not perfect and THIS is the reason Jesus came, died & rose again, to give us an excuse for our sins!' Anyone who teaches that a Christian doesn't sin everyday is lying, because: 'If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us!' 1Jh1:8 After all the Bible says, 'All have sinned & fall short of the glory of God!' Rom3:23
Yet John insists that: "Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God!" AND: "We know that whoever is born of God does not sin, but he who has been born of God keeps himself and the wicked one touches him not!" 1John3:8, 5:18
So the modern church is faced with a dilemma. They are as far removed from Apostolic Christianity as the east is from the west. They possess no power over the world the flesh and the devil and immorality is common practice among them. What went wrong? Didn't the early Christians understand the 'imputed' righteousness of Christ & the Liberty of Grace?
In Matt18:15-20 Jesus taught the disciples in what manner they were to deal with sin. He gave them explicit instructions to 'BIND' the evil among them and cast it out. If the sinning brother refuses even the witness of the church against him, he was to be treated as a 'heathen' until he repented. See verses: 15-17
(Remember Paul told the Corinthians that a 'little' leaven, leavens the whole lump! 1Cor5:7 The corrupting influence of sin will ruin the whole church unless you deal with it!)
Then Jesus makes an astounding statement: "Assuredly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. And if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in Heaven!" See Verses: 18-19
What authority to grant mere men! But to assure that no one misuse it, He gave the 'condition' of 'UNITY'. The agreeing parties MUST be in PERFECT Spiritual agreement with one another and in the Will of God or they're asking amiss. (Js1:5-8) NOTHING can be clearly understood in Scripture unless it Harmonizes with EVERY truth of Scripture!
(Since the 'double-minded' man is unstable in all his ways, he will receive nothing from God!)
Concerning sin, Jesus is telling his followers they have the Power granted from Heaven to 'BIND' the forces of evil, IF they can agree among themselves! To 'Bind' is to literally: 'Take Possession' and since Satan was 'Stripped' of his advantage at Calvary, Col2:15, Jesus could grant His followers this Power over the Principalities so they could effectually PREACH the Gospel message and save the souls of men!
NOW do you understand why the modern church is hopelessly inadequate against the wiles of Satan? The Apostles were given the Keys to the Kingdom, Matt16:18-19 and told to Build on the ROCK JESUS! Through the Power of Unity they could go forth binding the forces of evil that came against them and turn the world upside down for God. (Acts17:6) This is why they could cast out demons, heal the sick, raise the dead and save millions of souls with the Gospel. How different it is today when these things are explained away and no one agrees on anything!
The common practice among evangelical Christianity today is, Let's Look like the world, Sound like the world and ACT like the world, then we can convert them! We can clone our music, adjust our services, air condition our churches, make the pews nice & comfortable, keep the preaching lite & airy, THEN maybe they'll come and we can tell them about Jesus! Anything to keep the money rolling in and the pretense of godliness on display.
How did the Apostles conduct business:
1) They gave no place to the devil! Eph4:27 Sin was exposed and rebuked in every form. The doctrine which is according to godliness was the standard by which everyone was measured. 1Tim6:1-3 Arguments were cast down, disobedience corrected & holiness demanded. 2Cor10:5
2) They took up the Whole amour of God! Eph6:12-18 & Preached the Whole counsel of God, Acts20:26-29 They warned the people about the perils of sin, false doctrines & error. 2Pet2:1-3 They set an example of holiness among the saints, 1Thess2:10 and they never tolerated false teachers corrupting the flock! Jude3-4, 1Tim1:19-20, 2Tim2:17-18
3) The Solid Foundation of the Lord STOOD Strong! 2Tim2:19 'Those who named His Name, departed from iniquity!" No compromise with evil, no excuses for sin, no 'Doctrines' that teach men they can continue in sin under Grace and enter the kingdom. They battled deception in every form and deceivers at every turn. They held fast the Word of life, preserved its Purity, and proved what is good, acceptable & perfect to the Lord! 2Tim1:13, 1Thess5:21, Heb3:6, 4:14
That's why they had the Power to BIND the forces of evil and you don't! That's why the early church was Pure and you're not!
Throughout the book of Acts the necessity of Unity is clearly shown. They waited with One Accord in prayer and supplication on the day of Pentecost, Acts1:14. They prayed for boldness to speak the Word of Truth with One Accord, Acts4:24. They performed miraculous signs and wonders in One Accord, Acts5:12. The people were brought into One Accord by the power of the Gospel, Acts8:6. They sent forth Paul & Barnabas in One Accord, Acts15:25. Without the genuine Power of the Holy Spirit to bring this diverse cross section of humanity into One Accord, Nothing could have been accomplished against the kingdom of satan.
In Eph4 Paul spoke of this same Unity to bring the church to perfection:
"Endeavoring to keep the Unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." verse3
In order that the man of God come to the "Unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, to the perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." verse13
The Reason: verse14: "So 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 by which they lie in wait to deceive!"
Without Unit of Spirit the people are easily deceived by false teachers and led astray into the error of the wicked. (Acts20:29, 2Pet2:1-3)
Paul admonished the Philippian Church in the same manner:
"Fulfill my joy by being like-minded having the same love, being of One Accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each one esteem others better than himself." Phil2:2-3
Here he is asking them to be united in spirit, in desire and in love. THEN the Mind of Christ can dwell in you, as he states in the verse 5: "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus!"
Until we can agree in love, pray in One Accord through the Spirit and be liberated from the bondage of selfish ambition & evil desires by His Grace, the modern Church will remain destitute of true holiness and stripped of its power. Unable to discern the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error! 1John4:6 The price is Death to Self life, FEW are willing to pay it. Will you?