Let us read Psalm 133. “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brothers to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious oil upon the head, Coming down upon the beard, Even Aaron’s beard, Coming down upon the edge of his robe. It is like the dew of Hermon Coming down upon the mountains of Zion; For there the Lord commanded the blessing—life forever.”
This Psalm speaks about unity among brothers. The base of the unity mentioned here is ‘brothers dwelling together’. There are many places in the world that people meet together like clubs, communities, congregations, forums, associations etc. In these places also we see unity. These people also agree on many things and work together to implement it. What is the unity that the Bible talks about in Psalm 133? Is it the same? Notice the last part of this Psalm – the Lord commanded the blessing—life forever. This is the blessing for the unity among brothers.
In Exodus 30:30, “You shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister as priests to Me.” In the above verses we see how the oil that is used to anoint the priests is made. In the new covenant, we have all been made kings and priests. In Psalms 133 we read of the preciousness of the oil used to consecrate the priests. It says that the unity of the brothers is like this oil. Unity is like the fragrant perfume that was used in anointing Aaron the priest.
In the new covenant, the importance is given to the unity of spirit. It is not a material unity. There is a difference between unity and uniformity. Dwelling together in unity does not mean that we are rubber-stamped into a similar form. Like Paul says in the new testament, ‘having the same spirit’ – how can we have that? When God created man in the first chapter of the Bible, God wanted to have fellowship with man. The basis of Christian unity is our common relationship to the heavenly Father. We can have fellowship with the Father through Jesus. When man sinned against God in the beginning, the first disaster to befall him after being driven from Eden and from fellowship with God was that one brother raised his hand against the other. Through sin, the fellowship between God and man was broken.
In John 15:4 we read, “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.” How can the broken fellowship be restored? Only if we abide in Jesus! Through Jesus, we have been redeemed and saved and our Adamic nature can be removed. Thus we can have this unity. The unity that God desires cannot be man-made. It can’t be attained by implementing a set of rules. When we meet together for meetings, it is easy for us to have the same mind and we can have an impression that we are one. But as we go out to this world, the Holy Spirit can bind our hearts so that we are in unity. We are the Body of Christ not only when we meet together. Thus if the spirit binds our hearts, we will carry the burdens of our brethren.
In Galatians 5:22-25 we read, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.” We read of the fruits of the Spirit. We sometimes don’t have all these fruits because we are not boastful and proud. We can control our passions and desires through Christ. This same Spirit can help us as a church and keep us in unity. Satan is doing his best to break this unity. But God has promised life forever for those who are in this unity. In Revelation 3 we read the message to the church of Sardis. God encourages them to wake up and strengthen the things that remain. The Spirit will council us on the areas that we need to work on; thus having life forever through unity. If we are not under the spirit we will have death in various areas of our life.
In John 13:34-35 we read, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” If we have the unity in Spirit, we will be able to love one another as Christ loved us. In Philippians we read that God will supply all our need according to His riches in glory. If we cry out, God will fill us in this area of need also. In those areas where we see a lack of unity, we can cry out to God.
In Psalm 133 we read of the oil. The holy anointing oil pictures the ministry of the Holy Spirit, descending as a sweet-smelling savor on God’s people when they live happily together, and diffusing the aroma of their testimony to the surrounding areas. The world is looking for a practical demonstration of brotherhood; and the only place where they will ever be able to see true brotherhood in action is among those who know God as their Father, those who are brothers and sisters in Christ. We don’t have to preach many things, but through our unity, the world will know we are the Body of Christ.
In Ephesians 4 Paul encourages the brethren to make every effort to be in unity. In verses 1-6 we read, “Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.” Are we walking daily in a manner worthy of our calling? Are we eagerly working to have fellowship and unity with the Father and with the brothers? God wants to build each of us with all humility and gentleness, patience and tolerance for others. God wants to build us up individually and with unity as a church witnessing the life of Christ. God can supply this need also according to His riches in glory. This is a promise for all of us who are committed to the Body of Christ. God is there to help us. Let us be under this spirit of unity that God had desired from the beginning.
