That They would be one...

The plea for unity in the Church could not have come from a higher source. Christ prayed for the unity of the church, as recorded in John 17. Paul was writing about the same accomplished fact when he penned Ephesians 4: 1-7 ("one Lord, one faith, one baptism..."). But notice, this is a target that the church cannot hit by aiming directly at it. If we aim at unity for unity's sake we invariably end at comprise, and before long all is lost (as occurred with the Quakers, Unitarians and now the "Emergent" Church). The only way for the church to live out the unity that Christ has won for us is to keep our eyes firmly fixed upon Him, as He is revealed to us in His word and His indwelling Spirit (Who, among other things, illuminates the Bible to the believer). We are only truly walking with each other when we walk towards Him.