Many Yet One: Unity Around Christ
"Unity shines brightest when Christ is at the center."
E. Stanley Jones beautifully reminds us today of the divine pattern set forth in the New Testament: unity amid diversity. God designed His Church to be a body with many diverse members—each unique and beautifully distinct—yet all joined inseparably in Christ. Sadly, our human patterns have distorted this ideal. Instead of celebrating our unity in Him, we often gather around secondary things—denominations, traditions, leaders, or practices—and unintentionally divide the body that Christ Himself united by His blood.
Jones points out how subtly division can enter—even within the closest relationships—when our focus shifts away from Christ. The heartbreaking story of a woman who, in loyalty to her narrow denominational beliefs, chose to be buried separately from her husband illustrates how denominationalism divides us not only in life but even in death. Such divisions, although sometimes subtle, betray the very heart of the unity Christ has secured for us.
Yet Jones encourages us not to despair. True unity already exists, perfectly and eternally, in Christ Himself. As believers, we already share this profound spiritual reality; we do not need to create unity, only recognize and live from the unity Christ purchased for us. Unity is found nowhere else—not around our preferred leadership structures, baptismal traditions, or denominational identities—but solely and completely in Christ. To center ourselves anywhere else inevitably fragments His body.
Our unity, therefore, isn’t something we strive to achieve; it's a reality we rest in, deeply and joyfully. All who belong to Christ inherently belong to each other. This is a truth of divine origin, a treasure waiting simply to be embraced.
Personalized Journal Entry in the Holy Spirit’s Voice Through Scripture:
I urge you to live worthy of your calling, with all humility, gentleness, patience, bearing with one another in love, diligently preserving the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope in your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all, through all, and in all.
Remember, you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. As many of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. Now there is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female—since you are all one in Christ Jesus. Christ Himself is your peace, who made both groups into one, breaking down every dividing wall of hostility. In Him, the whole building is fitted together and growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
Therefore, let no one boast in human leaders, for everything belongs to you, whether Paul, Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, life, death, the present, or the future—all are yours, and you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s. By this everyone will know that you are His disciples if you love one another. Your unity in Christ is not merely external—it is deeply spiritual, established forever by the sacrifice of Jesus, the cornerstone upon which your unity stands secure.
Now may the God who gives endurance and encouragement grant you harmony with one another according to Christ Jesus, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of your Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, accept one another, just as Christ accepted you, for the glory of God.
(Ephesians 4:1-6; Galatians 3:26-28; Ephesians 2:14, 21-22; 1 Corinthians 3:21-23; John 13:35; Romans 15:5-7)
Prayer:
Father, thank You for the precious unity You’ve provided for us in Your Son, Jesus Christ. You have already made us one body, perfectly united by Your Spirit. I trust You fully to express this unity through us as we rest confidently in the life of Christ within. Lord, You are the center, the heartbeat, and the unbreakable bond of our unity. Thank You that we never have to labor for what You’ve freely and fully accomplished. May we joyfully reflect this beautiful reality today. Amen.
Devotional credit: “In Christ,” by E. Stanley Jones
Photo credit: Unsplash