FROM the beginning of chapter 14 Paul has been dealing with difficulties which had divided the fellowship amongst the Christians at Rome. He now seeks to pull together all he has been saying in this prayer for unity in the fellowship of believers in Rome. He prays that God may give the church in Rome a spirit of unity.

THE IMPORTANCE OF UNITY.

Paul is expressing in these two verses his longing for the church. His longing is that there may not be divisions in the fellowship which destroy the harmony in the family of believers. He expresses this longing in a prayer from the heart - 'May the God of endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity'. How important this is, for where there is a lack of unity then the family of God is hurting, and dishonour is being brought on the glory of God. Where there is disunity in a fellowship it is a sign that Satan has successfully infiltrated the church, and caused members to fall out with each other.

SPIRIT OF UNITY.

We need to understand what Paul means when he speaks of the spirit of unity. This is important because over the last 50 years or so there has been much talk about unity between the denominations, and schemes have been brought out whereby different denominations could be brought together under one united body. Most of these have had limited success, and for the very reason that outward unity is not what Paul is speaking about here. Such unity has been an effort to bring together church bodies who have different understandings and belief in the vain hope that there may be a united front before the world. But this has never been real unity because within the so called united body there is clearly division. Where there is a semblance of unity it is at the expense of any definitive message being proclaimed. Outward unity such as this is not true unity, and is not what Paul or Jesus meant by unity. The Church of England is one big outward institution which has the semblance of unity, but underneath it is full of division, and because of this is not all that effective for God in the world.

The spirit of unity which Paul is speaking of here in these two verses is a spirit of oneness in heart and mind. It is a unity in the truth believed which brings people into one family of God's people. There can be no true spirit of unity where there is disagreement as to the fundamental truths of the Bible. Paul never could countenance any departure from the truth of God plainly taught in the Scriptures, and says very strongly in Galatians chapter one that those who taught other than the truth should be cursed, so strongly did he feel about the necessity for the truth of the Scriptures to be maintained. He saw that to allow error to creep into the church was to let Satan in, and so destroy unity. Unity can only be maintained when people are in one heart and mind concerning what is the Gospel.

What Paul is speaking about here when he speaks of the spirit of unity is what should and must exist between those who hold fast to the truth of God's Word, and share a common faith and life. It is unity amongst those who are truly members of the family of God by repentance and faith in Christ as the only Saviour, and who are members of God's family by spiritual birth given by the Spirit of God.

Throughout chapter 14 Paul has been speaking to the Christians in Rome. They all shared the same common faith in Christ alone as Saviour, but there had been problems which had brought fraction into the unity of the family of believers. Paul had been dealing with all this in chapter 14, and now he urgently prays that the believers in Roma may have a spirit of unity. What this means is that Paul wanted them to desire to be one together, and that they should love each other as brothers and sisters in Christ as Christ had loved them. This is the spirit of unity which all true believers in a fellowship should have and aim at. Such a spirit of oneness will deplore all dissension amongst people in the fellowship.

The divisions which Paul is speaking about are not divisions concerning the fundamentals of the faith, but disagreements over minor issues, and falling out with each other over disagreement of different forms of expression of faith in practice. There was no disagreement over the truth of the Gospel, but Christians in Rome were judging each other over pratical issues, and separating over these issues. This was at the heart of the problem between weak and strong believers. These disagreements and the resulting disunity was more to do with self-righteousness and pride than anything else.

So many churches where the minister is faithful in expounding the Word of God, and seeking the glory of Christ and of God, are at loggerheads in the fellowship over some issue which have nothing to do with the essentials of the Gospel, but all to do with personal likes and dislikes, and with what people perceive as good or bad practice. If believers had a spirit of unity which Paul prays for here, they would be truly repentant when such divisions appear. Unity of the family is more important than personal preferences.

GLORIFYING GOD.

The business of the company of believers is to glorify God. All our efforts in personal and corporate life as Christians is for this goal. We were saved that we might bring glory to God. In Revelation 4 we see the symbolic representation of the church in the 24 elders who surround the throne of God. The symbolism of the church of the Old Testament and of the New Testament which are represented by 12 patriarchs and twelve apostles. What are they doing with the whole company of angels and cherubims. It is simply to enhance the glory of the throne. They worship and give honour to God on the throne. This is what the church is saved for. It is the purpose of our life and living, to bring honour and glory to God in our lives and witness.

Paul points out that this cannot be achieved unless with one heart and one mouth we join is glorifying the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. If there is not one heart and one mouth in the fellowship then there is a break down in this business of bringing glory to God.

In Rome they were all seeking to follow Christ Jesus by living by the Gospel and seeking to proclaim the Gospel, but this life and service for Jesus was broken by a lack of this spirit of unity. People were holding fast to their opinions and their desires, and seeking to bring the supposed opposition down. In this lack of the spirit of unity the love of Christ had flown out of the window, and God's glory was not shining in the fellowship as it should.

GOD'S GIFT.

Paul prays that God may give the spirit of unity. This spirit of unity, being a gift from God, needs to be prayed for. We will only earnestly pray for it if we feel repentance and shame where divisions occur in the family of believers. When we pray God looks for the heart to be behind the prayer. We read in the Old Testament that God says 'You will seek for me and find me when you seek for me with all your heart.' It is no good praying for unity when in our hearts we want unity only on our terms, to give us what we want, without regard for others who have different perceptions.

When we pray for the gift of unity, we must also pray for the gift love and willingness to accept other believers as one in Christ with us. Love suffers long and is kind. There can be no answer to our prayer for unity if we refuse to love others as Christ has loved us. Prayer for the spirit of unity is also a prayer that we may be one in heart and mouth.

THE GOD WHO GIVES.

Paul speaks of God who gives as the God of endurance and encouragement, or the God of patience and consolation. In this character of God we have the pattern which promotes the spirit of unity. God remains one with us, because he sees us as his elect children in Christ. He is patient with us in all our failing, and he endures our constant sins and complaints. His love for us never fails. He does not fall out with us when we behave in an unbecoming way, or when we fail because our faith is weak, or our understanding is limited. No! he bears with us in love, ever holding us in his everlasting arms.

This is what we need to pray that God will give us so that we can have the spirit of unity. This attitude of God in Christ for us, must be the attitude we have towards our fellow believers whether we like all that they are, say or do, or not. We must be bound in love to them and so be one with them. This is the spirit of unity.

Then God is the God of encouragement and consolation. God knows how difficult we find it to love our fellow believers sometimes. He knows that because we are all so different in many ways, personalities and attitudes clash, and are hard to come to terms with. So he is the giver of encouragement when we strive by his grace to love what to us may be unlovely; and in our striving to have the spirit of unity, Jesus will come by our side with encouragement and consolation, that we may patiently bear with other peoples faults and attitudes. The spirit that is in God as he deals with us, he will bestow up the earnest believer who strives for the spirit of unity, and strengthen us to be one with other believers whose hopes and aspirations are not ones we share.

So Paul is not only praying that God will give the Christians in Rome a spirit of unity, but praying that God will come by our side as we strive and enable us to be one with other believers as Jesus is one with the Father.

CONCLUSION.

There is nothing so harmful in a fellowship of believers as disunity, which breeds criticism and dislike. When we harbour a spirit of disunity, we not only bring harm to the fellowship, but we harm our own joy in Christ. Where the spirit of unity is lacking, there is always unhappiness, which harms the work of the fellowship, and brings dishonour to the glory of God.