The Unity of One

“Shema Yisrael, Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai Echad”

With these words Moses affirmed the mystery of the unity of One:

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is One!” – Deuteronomy 6:4 (NKJV)

This topic of oneness is vast in complexity and, as a matter of fact, extends way beyond the scope of this Blog, but as is my habit, I endeavor to whet your curiosity enough so as to birth in you an inclination to investigate for yourself.

Scripture is rife with the concept of “oneness” which can be seen from early on when God said, in Genesis 3:22, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us…” (NKJV). Here is a great example of the mysterious concept of unity and plurality occurring at the same time in this one verse, because “man” refers to both Adam and Eve, while “Us”, seen also in Genesis 1:26, is translated from the Hebrew word “Elohim”, a plural word for God. We are introduced to Elohim, an expression of the all-encompassing powerful nature of God, from the very beginning of the Word in Genesis 1:1.

God is by far our best example of the unity of One, in that, He is Three distinct Persons in One: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – the Trinity or Tri-Unity. And even though the Bible does not specifically use the word Trinity, God Himself gave us a clue to His triune nature, when He said,

“Come near to Me, hear this: I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; From the time that it was, I was there. And now the Lord God and His Spirit Have sent Me.” – Isaiah 48:16 (NKJV)

The Lord our God is indeed One, and Adam and Eve were One with Him before the introduction of sin in the Garden. Man became divided from each other, separated from God, and scattered abroad through sin. But our loving God already had in place a solution to restore the unity of one – man to man and man to God.

“…Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one.” – John 11:51, 52 (NIV)

Yes, Jesus, the Son, gave up the privileges of Heaven, a realm of no limitations, took the form of a limited body of flesh here on earth, and willingly sacrificed His life to redeem all mankind – both Jew and Gentile – from sin and make possible our reconciliation to God. How’s that for a gift of love? Jesus was one in His purpose to reunify everyone with each other and with God. 

“…His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.” – Ephesians 2:15, 16 (NIV)

Without Jesus, you and I have no hope of restoring the oneness that was lost. Without Jesus, you and I will remain separated from one another and from God. Without Jesus, there’s no coming “together as one in mind and spirit and purpose, sharing in the same love.” that Apostle Paul talks about in Philippians 2:2; there’ll be no standing united, singular in vision and purpose as if one person, that he speaks of in Philippians 1:27. Without Jesus we’ll remain two, or three, or more, each man for himself, a divided house against itself destined to fall.

Jesus is our bond of unity. He has broken down the barrier, the dividing wall. The unity of One is so important to God, that on the night before Jesus went to the cross, He prayed for us to return to One.

“…I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one…” – John 17:23 (NKJV)

God’s people must strive for unity because when two truly become one through Christ Jesus and joined by God, there’s no stronger bond, nothing and no-one can separate that union (Matthew 19:5-6). When we come into agreement with each other and with God, the unity of One is created and God can use us to crush the enemy (Romans 16:20; Matthew 18:19). 

Man, through sin, created the division, God sent His Son Jesus to bring man back to the unity of One. Today, you and I have a choice: we can remain separated from God by sin, or become united to God through Jesus – we can either reject or accept the unity of One. 

If we accept, then we’ll “travel on the same road and in the same direction, staying together, both outwardly and inwardly, having one Master, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who rules over all, works through all, and is present in all, and everything we are and think and do will be permeated with Oneness.” (Ephesians 4:4-6 MSG).

Amen†

The Unity of One

Shelley Johnson April 4, 2017