Chapter 25—Christian Unity
“I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among
you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in
the same judgment.”
Union is strength; division is weakness. When those who believe
present truth are united, they exert a telling influence. Satan well
understands this. Never was he more determined than now to make
of none effect the truth of God by causing bitterness and dissension
among the Lord’s people.
The world is against us, the popular churches are against us, the
laws of the land will soon be against us. If there was ever a time when
the people of God should press together, it is now. God has committed
to us the special truths for this time to make known to the world. The
last message of mercy is now going forth. We are dealing with men
and women who are judgment bound. How careful should we be in
every word and act to follow closely the Pattern, that our example may
lead men to Christ. With what care should we seek so to present the
truth that others by beholding its beauty and simplicity may be led to
receive it. If our characters testify of its sanctifying power, we shall be
a continual light to others—living epistles, known and read of all men.
We cannot afford now to give place to Satan by cherishing disunion,
discord, and strife.
That union and love might exist among His disciples was the
burden of our Saviour’s last prayer for them prior to His crucifixion.
With the agony of the cross before Him, His solicitude was not for
Himself, but for those whom He should leave to carry forward His
work in the earth. The severest trials awaited them, but Jesus saw that
their greatest danger would be from a spirit of bitterness and division.
Hence He prayed:
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“Sanctify them through Thy truth: Thy word is truth. As Thou hast
sent Me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.
And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also might be sanctified
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