The unity of all believers in Christ is more than just wishful thinking on the part of of man–it is the ardent desire of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In the last hours of His earthly life, Jesus prayed for the unity of those who would come to believe in Him through the words of the apostles. He prayed, “I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me” (John 17:20–21).
Jesus said the receptivity of a lost world to the Gospel would be enhanced by the unity and harmony exhibited by those who are His disciples. In a world of religious division, where hundreds of different denominations all claim to follow Jesus, His desire for unity has been largely unheeded.
The foremost essential producing religious unity and harmony is not compromise, but acceptance of the Bible as the sole authority in religious matters. Division and strife result when men give their own writings and commandments equal place with the word of God. We are told to “Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus” (2 Tim. 1:12). When we cast aside the shackles of humanly originated creeds and dogmas and hold forth God’s words as our absolute standard in religious matters, then we will have taken a big step toward fulfilling Christ’s prayer for unity.
–Glen Elliott–