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“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.” (Ephesians 1:7-10)

The Lord Jesus has a plan. This plan will culminate with the uniting of all things in him. Since Adam and Eve the universe has been dis-unified. It has been running in many ways contrary to God’s design. God’s plan which, rest assured, he will bring about at the right time, calls for his people to grow more and more united in him until the time when complete unity is restored. This could only be made possible through Christ.

The foundation of this unity is Christ’s death which made redemption possible. Thus we understand Paul’s words from 1 Corinthians 3:11 to be the exclusive means by which God’s plan was initiated. “For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” Faith in Christ starts the transformation of human hearts and minds to come into alignment with God’s will and purposes.

Along the way there are many obstacles which stand in the way of the working out of God’s plan. One of these obstacles is called, “Unity at all costs.” This obstacle emphasizes getting along with everyone at the cost of declaring and living out the truth of God’s word. For example, many are deceived by the idea that since God is love he would never be opposed to any expression of love. Those who buy into this deception have never come to grips with 1 Corinthians 13:6, “[Love] does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.” We know from 1 John 4:7 that “love is from God.” Therefore, anything that rejects God’s own standards and tries to replace them with human ideas of right and wrong is not love.

The Lord prayed for us on the night before he died about our unity with each other in him. “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just 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 have sent me.” (John 17:20-21) We know that this prayer of the Lord’s will be answered, but in light of the disunity all around us how can this be possible? It starts with the foundation of our faith which is Christ. It is built up as our faith is built on this foundation by the truth of God’s Word. It certainly won’t be complete until the Lord returns and brings us home with him to heaven.

However, along the way we can experience an increasing measure of unity with God’s people. This unity increases in proportion to our unity with God’s plan. The Lord taught us to pray, “Your will be done.” We should continue to pray for his will to be done in us and to really mean it. If we agree with him, then we will see greater unity among ourselves. It won’t be because we agree on everything but because our hearts are aligned with his.