同心邁向主使命
作者：盧國禮     翻譯：小米

聖經記述耶穌在客西馬尼園祈禱："......我不但為這些人祈求，也為那些因他們的話信我的人祈求；使他們都合而為一；正如你父在我裡面，我在你裡面，使他們也在我們裡面；叫世人可以信你差了我來。你所賜給我的榮耀，我已賜給他們，使他們合而為一，像我們合而為一。我在他們裡面，你在我裡面，使他們完完全全的合而為一；叫世人知道你差了我來，也知道你愛他們如同愛我一樣。"(約翰福音，17:20-23，和合本)

因此，"合而為一" 乃是神對人的心意，藉著主耶穌教導信徒及教會與耶穌基督的聯合。"基督徒對神的知識、經驗、與歡愉之情，都是透過基督而來；他的洗禮是要與基督聯合，他的身份及每一恩福都是在基督裡面，而他的命運也是在基督裡。教會要與主成為一，正如祂與父為一，以及要與所有信徒成為一體。

所以，"合而為一"的教義是歷代以來的敬拜與教導，不可不重視。我們怎樣踏進復興的路途呢？

舊約尼希米記有此啟示：

未作任何計劃重建耶路撒冷城牆之先，尼希米作的第一件事，就是先自我檢視，向神讖悔，求與神和好，重建和神親密的和合關係；繼後，神的恩就臨到他身上，王便差遣他回去，並賜詔書，准他通行無礙，又給他木料，派軍長和馬兵護送。(尼希米記，2:1-10，和合本)

合而為一的涵義

"惟用愛心說誠實話，凡事長進，連於元首基督；全身都靠他聯絡得合式，而各按各職，照著各體的功用，被此相助，便叫身體漸漸增長，在愛中建立自己。"(以弗所書，4:15-16，和合本)

教會生活的合一

 

信徒要同一心誌，"藉著聖靈與基督聯合的人，才能懂得祂的心，屬世的人所不明白的屬神的事，屬靈的人因為有基督的心，所以能明白。"(哥林多前書註解2:16，和合本)

信徒的合一

 

信徒是基督的肢體，有特定事奉，他們都從一位聖靈受洗，成了一個身體；飲於一位聖靈。(哥林多前書，12:12-13，和合本)

既然肢體是身子的一部份，而身子只有一個，其關係的密切，自然可見，不同的肢體，神給與不同的恩賜，使他們有不同的事奉工作，互相配搭；成為一體，就好像神要夫婦二人成為一體的道理。

祈禱

 

我們天上的父神啊！求你賜給我們清潔的愛心，知悟教會是神的家，各肢體合而為一，同感一靈，作神要我們所作的工；盡心、盡性、盡力、盡意去敬拜，事奉我們的三一真神，又愛我們的鄰舍，如同愛自己。

 

奉主名求，阿們！

 

 

Unity in Christ's Commission 

Written by Francis Loo     Translated by Naomi

According to the Bible, Jesus once prayed for believers: "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one—I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. (John 17:20-23)

Therefore, it is God's will for believers to be one. It is because of the teachings from Jesus Christ and the unity in early church, believers have been taught to know God through knowledge, experience and emotion based on Jesus. In order to abide in Jesus, believers need to get baptized. Believers find their identities in Christ alone. It is also because of Jesus, all the believers are blessed by divine grace. Their life is Christ-centered. Their church is Christ-centered. It is just as Christ and God are one; all the believers are also one.

In short, the unity in Christ has been part of the essential teachings in church since 1st century. It is important for all the followers of Christ. How are we going to apply this teaching then?

In the book of Nehemiah, Bible teaches us:

Before Nehemiah made any plans for rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem, he had decided to seek God first. He confessed all his sins. He asked forgiveness from the Lord. He made sure that he had an intimacy relationship with God. And then, God's blessing was upon him, and King Artaxerxes sent him to the city in Judah. The King also sent him letters to the governors, so that they provided him safe-conduct and timber. Furthermore, the king had also sent army officers and cavalry with Nehemiah in order to protect him. (Nehemiah 2:1-10)

The Definition of Unity

 

According to the Bible, unity means speaking the truth in love, growing to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. (Ephesians 4:15-16)

The Unity of Church Life

 

The unity of church life is achieved by having believers to share the same mind. This is because those who abiding in Christ can understand the heart of Jesus. Because of such godly heart, believers can share the same understanding with God, and such understanding is impossible to share among worldly people. (1 Corinthians 2:16)

The Unity among believers

 

Christ is the body. Believers are the parts of the body. Every believer serves a unique function. All the believers are baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body. Therefore, all the believers were all given the one Spirit to drink. (1 Corinthians 12:12-13)

There is only one body, and all the parts belong to it. Different part of the body works for the same purpose. Every part has different gifts from God in order to serve properly. All the parts work together for the whole body, which is like God designs husband and wife to be one.

Prayer

Dear heavenly father,

God! Please give me a pure heart, a loving heart. Please give me the deep sense of understanding that church is the home of God. Every limb of the heavenly body needs to be one. We share the same spirit and work towards the same goal blessed by you. We will worship you with all our hearts, all our minds, all our strength and everything we have. We want to serve you, the trinity God. We will love our neighbors as ourselves. 

I pray in the Lord's name. Amen.