1 Therefore, I encourage you, I the prisoner in the Lord, to walk worthy of the calling by which you were called, 2 with all humility of mind and meekness, with long-suffering, forebearing one another in love, 3 being eager to keep the unity of the Spirit in the uniting bond of peace. Ephesians 4:1-3 (translated from the NA28 Greek text)
Like never before in history, we hear much about unity today. However, much of what we hear is not based on a proper understanding of what true unity is. Unity, for example, is not compromise, or tolerance, when we throw out all doctrine so that everyone can “get along.”…
Neither is unity “brotherhood” or “camaraderie.” which we might find in being members of the same company, union, association, or even church denomination. Nor is unity uniformity, where everyone walks, talks, acts, thinks, and even dresses alike.
The true nature of unity is found in the Greek ἑνότης (henotēs). In Ephesians 4:3 we have the “unity” which translates the Greek noun ἑνότητα (henotēta) the accusative singular feminine case of ἑνότης which basically means “unanimity and agreement.” In Greek and Roman philosophy the unity of God and the world is demanded by educated reason. In the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the Septuagint, the unity of God is a confession derived from experience of God’s unique reality. The decisive advance in the New Testament, caused by God Himself, is the basing of the unity and uniqueness of God on the unique revelation through and in the one man Jesus Christ.