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Someone may ask, "But won't all these little house churches scattered throughout a city cause division and disunity within the Body of Christ within the city?" Little churches cause no more division than big ones. Very large churches and very small churches have the same challenge when it comes to unity.

"But what is the difference between spiritual unity and organizational unity?" We are all members of the same Body, therefore, we are one, spiritually. I may not be a member of your organization, but if you belong to Jesus, you belong to me and I belong to you, because all that belongs to the Father and to the Son belongs to all the children of God everywhere. We are members of his flesh and of his bones and we are members one of another.

Paul never wrote to the churches of any city. He always wrote to "the church" of that particular city. There is only one church in each city, or locality. He writes to "the church" in Rome, Corinth, Ephesus, etc. But he writes to "the churches" in Galatia, "the churches in Asia," etc. because these were provinces and not cities. There is only one church in each locality, though there may be scores or even hundreds of "churches" that meet in Jesus' name within that locality; the many smaller gatherings that make up the one church in that city. Just as all the churches in all the cities in the world make up the Body of Christ - the Church Universal- so all the churches (congregations) within a locality make up the church in that city.

In Ephesians 4:3-6 we read, "Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit...one Lord, one faith, one baptism: one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all." In the above passage Paul did not say, "Establish the unity of the Spirit." He said, "Keep the unity of the Spirit", as if it were something that was already established. He speaks here as if unity were something that comes automatically as a part of the package. We are born again into unity because, "There is one Body, one Spirit, one Lord, one Father, one God." Our part is simply an acknowledgment that we are already one. To fulfill the command to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace is to keep something that we already have, for you cannot keep what you do not yet have. This unity is not in external structures. It is neither born in external ties nor is it maintained by external ties. It is born in the Spirit and in the heart. It is an interior attitude. It is an attitude toward people...the people of God.

We can have all the diversity we want to have as far as organizations, denominations, and fellowships are concerned and still have unity in the Spirit. We are not held together by "formal membership." We are held together by "the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." On the other hand you can have one giant organization that includes every Christian on earth and still have no real unity in the Spirit, though you may have organizational one-ness. The "bond" in Ephesians 3:4-6 speaks of something that ties together, like a rope or belt. That bond is "peace." The opposite of peace is strife or war. If you have an attitude of love and acceptance toward your brothers and sisters in other churches, you are "keeping the unity" with them. You are not creating it. You are keeping it alive in your own spirit, and that is where unity exists, in the heart. It works itself out in different ways, but it exists in the spirit by means of the Holy Spirit. Conversely, if you have an attitude of strife, divisiveness, or sectarianism, you are not keeping the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

The one step to unity, then, and there is only one, is found in Romans 14:l and 15:7, "Accept those whose faith is weak without passing judgment on disputable matters...Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you." The word "accept" means to welcome, embrace, receive, to acknowledge kinship, to confess and declare the fact that we are one because by the new birth we have all been born into the same spiritual family. We are all brothers and sisters because Jesus is our Savior and God is our Father! Just as Jesus received us with all our brokenness, faults, and immaturity, so let us receive one another.

This one step to unity can be taken right where you are this very moment. You can turn to the Lord right now and pray, "Father, in the name of Jesus Christ my Lord, I do acknowledge that I am a member of your spiritual body, the church in this city and throughout the world. I do accept and receive every one of your children as my brother or sister because you are our Father. It doesn't matter where they live. It doesn't matter what race they are, what peculiar beliefs or practices they may have, whether they are post, pre, or a-millinialist. It doesn't matter if they baptize by sprinkling or by immersion, whether they are Arminianists or Calvinists. It doesn't matter if they go to church on Saturday, Sunday, Monday or Tuesday, whether they are Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox or Jew. I don't care if they are Baptist, Methodist' Presbyterian or Four Square. I do now declare and decree in the name of Jesus Christ the Lord, the Son of God Almighty, that I am one with every other born again believer that lives, that has lived or ever will live in time and in eternity. I will accept them. I will receive them. I will love them and support them. I will pray for them and as you direct me, Lord, I will co-labor with them, and I will endeavor to keep this unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. Amen!" When you sincerely pray the above prayer, you have taken the one step to unity. "But what about doctrinal unity? How can we walk together accept we be agreed?" God is not directing us all to walk in the same direction. We are told in Ephesians 4:12 that we are to keep this unity of the Spirit "Until we all come into the unity of the faith.." We can have spiritual unity while we are coming into doctrinal unity.

There is only one central truth around which we can all declare our unity and that truth is not a teaching or a concept or a principle or a doctrine. It is not a church or denomination or a movement. That Truth is a person. Jesus is the Truth. He said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life." When we come to him, He gives us life. We are born again! When the Philippian jailer asked Paul and Silas, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?". the answer was not, "Believe our doctrine and join our organization." It was, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved." We believe on a person and are born into the kingdom of light. When we are joined to Jesus we are joined to one another. We are one in Him. He who has Jesus has life. He who does not have Jesus does not have life. We are saved, not by embracing a doctrinal position, but by receiving Jesus Christ himself.

In every church, whether it is a house church or a traditional church, we must accept every other believer as members of the same Body without regard to denominational affiliation. God may lead us at times to cooperate in larger projects, but the most powerful expression of unity is in accepting and affirming one another in what we are already doing on many different fronts in many different places.

We are all in warfare and there are many generals, Lieutenants, captains, and foot soldiers, but there is one Head, our Commander in Chief, Jesus Christ himself. He said, "I will build my church." And that is what he is doing. Let's make room for him to build his church. He has charge of every small unit of his mighty army. We may be in different divisions, in different units, or on a different front, but we are still one army, one people, fighting the same war against the kingdom of darkness. Let us affirm and support one another in our various places of service without thinking that we are separated just because we're not all in the same place doing the same things at the same time under the same banner.

There were twelve tribes in Israel, each with its own territory, genealogy, leaders and banner. But they were still one people, Israel. We may be made up of hundreds, or even thousands of denominations, organizations, and churches, but we are one people, the people of God, the Israel of God. We do not have to be physically together doing the same things under the same flag in order to be one. We are already one so let us boldly proclaim our unity and go about our business of extending his kingdom while affirming, accepting and receiving one another. That is "keeping the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace."