Unity and Holiness

Jay Guyer
02/16/16 - Unity

“Unity”

The Need for Holiness - Part I

 

It has been assumed by some that when christians walk, talk and think alike, there is unity.  That criteria is insufficient at best.  It is not that those points are wrong or unimportant.  Such things are simply superficial in determining if the Lord’s people are united. 

 

Some consideration of “Holiness” will provide a better perspective.  From ancient times Jehovah God has expected His people to be holy because He is holy (Le 11:44,45; I Pe 1:6).  Being holy places us in a different arena, on a plain where we will necessarily have unity with God and with each other.  But, to the degree that I am not holy, I cannot have unity with either my Lord or my brethren.  When I am holy, there is no basis for disagreement with my God, and if you are holy, there is no reason why the two of us cannot be united. 

 

As we see in Jesus’ life, there is a submission to the One, who is truly and completely holy, that renders all thoughts and actions harmonious with the Lord – a beautiful thing!  My being holy results from an unrivaled, continual reverence for God – nothing, no man, group, paper, etc., can dare take precedence.  Two separate but similar examples (Moses, Ex 3:1-6 & Joshua, Jos 5:13-15) express the need for holiness in the presence of a Holy God:  When Moses failed to be holy and regard Jehovah as holy (Nu 20:1-13), he suffered physical consequences, even though he was most likely remorseful for his mistake.  

 

How often did Jesus’ disciples fail, like Moses, to comprehend and live in holiness because their focus or purpose was wrong.  Consequently, there was little, if any, unity/oneness among the twelve.  But, when they experienced the Cross in view of Jesus’ repeatedly proclaimed mission to save and sanctify men, they became a remorseful and changed people.  They were cleansed in spirit, amazingly successful in the Kingdom, glorying in the suffering and death and resurrection of Christ and expecting such suffering themselves.  While honoring the true mission of all men, they laid aside all personal and physical ambitions, becoming holy to and before the Lord.

 

If the Lord’s saints could ever arrive at such holiness, consecration, and love for Him, none could hold us back – they could not stop Jesus!  What a beautiful, powerful, and uplifting thought – much needed today.  This expectation of holiness permeates Jesus’ letters to the seven churches.  His message was simple, “hear what the Spirit says...:”  repent, keep your garments clean, hold fast, do the first works, etc.  Too often instead, other advice is heard today, that does not include holiness, a sanctification by the Lord.

 

It takes two to tangle OR be united.  If one or both choose not to be holy before God, not to honor Him as holy, there can be no unity, only a fight, that often ends in bitterness and/or divorce – true of marriages and churches (and any other relationships).  Each of us needs to glorify the Father and finish the work given to us by Him, as Jesus did (Jn 17:4).  Let us press on in the Lord’s work humbly, so He will sanctify us to holiness, because Jehovah, our God is holy (I Pe 1:16).  In Part II we will consider Unity, The Spirit of Holiness.

Jay K. Guyer   January 2009  

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Unity”

The Spirit of Holiness - Part II

 

As was noted in Part I, Jehovah, our God is Holy, therefore, His saints must be holy.  In a simple and sobering message to Aaron, Jehovah said, “By those who come near Me, I must be sanctified (regarded as holy); and before all the people I must be glorified.  So Aaron held his peace” (Le 10:3).  Aaron’s distress resulted from Jehovah having just taken the lives of his sons by fire.  They failed to remain sanctified/holy in their relationship to the Holy God. 

 

In their service to Jehovah, Aaron and his sons had been sanctified by the Lord to serve as priests in the Tabernacle.  Their sanctification, their holiness, their having been set aside for this purpose resulted in a very special relationship to God.  It was to be remembered by them as special, nurtured in their minds, maintained in their lives every day, seen in their choices and activities by everyone, so that Jehovah would be glorified.   

 

However, by a worldly attitude and by influence of the fleshly man, they made some wrong choices.  Because God is holy and they failed to remain holy or consecrated to Him, unity with the Lord had been destroyed - the “spirit of holiness” was gone.  Because this spirit was gone, unity with their physical father, Aaron, and with Israel had been destroyed.  Consequently, coming into Jehovah’s presence for service, was totally unacceptable.

 

Today when we realize our spiritual bankruptcy and turn in faith to our Savior, when we choose to be devoted to and serve Him, we can be washed of our uncleanness, when we are immersed in water.  Like those Old Testament priests, being washed of our uncleanness prepares us to be His saints, sanctified by and holy for the Lord.  Paul wrote (Ep 1:4), “He chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and without blemish before Him” (in His body/the church).  In Ep 2:1-10 the grace and love of our God is noted as making us alive, raising us up, saving us by our faith, so that we are His workmanship - we are sanctified to stand before Him, we become a holy temple in which the most Holy God dwells (vs 21,22).

 

Holiness for saints is the common bond that unites them in the presence of God to serve Him.  Without our being holy as He is holy there will never be any unity in Him, no matter how many things there are about which we might agree.  Likewise, those things about which we disagree will continue to plague us, when we fail to be holy before a Holy God.  Our sanctification in the presence of our God and Savior is foundational.  Conducting ourselves in The Highway of Holiness (Is 35:8),  having fellowship with Him in going to the Cross, fellowship in His sufferings to which we have been called (I Pe 2:20,21), fellowship in His purpose of seeking and saving souls, is absolutely essential in drawing His people together, in uniting them. 

 

Such is a spirit of unity that must be maintained by each and every saint in Jehovah’s presence.  Just as those Old Testament priests became unclean and needed to be re-cleansed and re-consecrated, so we sin and need the re-cleansing of the Lamb’s blood (I Jn 1:5-10).  Without continual vigilance here, there can be no sanctification from or by the Lord, no holiness as He is holy, no unity with Him or with our brethren.  Being holy because He is holy sets the stage for good in every relationship in life.  This unity makes the superficial stuff a breeze!

Jay K. Guyer    January  2009