Eph 4:3 diligent to keep the u of the Spirit in the
Eph 4:13 until we all come to the u of faith
Used in the OT in the sense of being together (Gen 13:6; Jdg 19:6; Psa 34:3). Isa 11:6-7 speak of a future time when there will be unity among the animals. The word in the NT speaks of the unity of faith that unites the people of God (Eph 4:13).
Source: Hispanic World Bible Dictionary
(It is known in Hispanic countries as “Unity” or “Unity School of Christianity” or “School of the Unity of Christianity”. They are also known as “Christian Science and New Thinking”.)
American sect. This movement was founded by Charles and Mirtle Fillmore in 1889 and adopted its current name in 1895. The movement has spread throughout much of the world.
Some of their beliefs relate to those of ® CHRISTIAN SCIENCE. From the beginning they taught healing and overcoming illness through correct personal thought. They regard God as a Spirit or “Principle” and Jesus the perfect expression of that principle. Man is a trinity of spirit, soul and body, and is saved through reincarnation and bodily regeneration. The goal is for everyone to be like Christ.
Source: Dictionary of Religions Denominations and Sects
(common-union, intimacy), Joh 17:23, Eph 4:3, Eph 4:13, Jue, Eph 19:6).
– God is the perfect unity of love, see “Trinity”.
– The “marriage” must be like the Trinity: Two different people, but one flesh, united by the love of Christ, Gen 1:27, Gen 2:24, Mat 19:5-6, Eph 5:22-33 .
– The church is as “one” and “unique” as a single tree: (Jua 15:1-7), or as a single body: (1 Cor.12, Ro. I2, Eph 4:4-6), or as a single building: (1 Pet.2).
– Christ’s prophecy will be fulfilled: There will be one flock and one shepherd, Jn. 10.
16. and it is the deepest desire of his heart, which he repeats 4 times in the “Christ’s Priestly Prayer” of Joh 17:11, Joh 17:20, Joh 17:22-23.
See “Church”, “Marriage”.
Christian Bible Dictionary
Dr. J. Dominguez
http://bible.com/dictionary/
Source: Christian Bible Dictionary
In general, it is the property of a being, entity, society or movement, which is expressed by the singularity of notes, data, parts and links. It is an analogous term, not univocal, to that of singularity, simplicity, indivisibility, cohesion, globality.
In reference to the Christian Church, it is the sign or “note” wanted by Jesus, which is defined as the essential link that his disciples have with respect to his human and divine person, risen and present among his own who, throughout the ages, Centuries, they are spread throughout the world.
Christ wanted a Catholic, holy and united Church. But he made it out of limited and free men. Neither holiness nor unity would ever be perfect, not because Christ did not want it, but because men do not respond perfectly to his foundational desires. That is why the members of the Church, with a call to holiness, are not always saints. And that is why it is explained that, Christ wanting his Church to be one and his members to live together, he knew in history multiple divisions, schisms, separations and rivalries. Today they diversify, and break the unity, with a multitude of groups that call themselves Christians.
As a note of the Church, the Council of Constantinople (year 381) was the first place where the four signs of the Church were expressed: unity, holiness, catholicity, apostolicity and these four notes were proposed as signs or proofs of the true Church . Unity is not uniformity. Uniformity refers to actions and relationships. Unity alludes to faith, charity and prayer. Some kind of unity is indispensable to any human society: it is the basis of order, whether the society is civil, political, or religious.
And the Church, in addition to being a Mystical Body with a single life and a single soul, is also a society of earthly men. That is why social and moral unity is convenient and we must aspire to it. But the sense of radical unity is deeper and more stable than that which emerges from historical vicissitudes and doctrinal dissensions or cultural pluralities. Curiously, the concept of unity varies in each Church that calls itself Christian:
– Many Protestants believe that unity is identified only with faith, hope and charity or love of Christ. Doctrinal formulas, prayers, earthly hierarchies you see as secondary.
– Orthodox Christians, in general, understand unity as acceptance of the same sacred Word of Scripture, living in the same sacraments, the action of the Holy Spirit. The local churches: Constantinople, Russia, Antioch, Jerusalem, Greece, are seen as external expressions of a pluriform authority, which does not need a visible head, as Rome suspects.
– Anglicans teach that the one Church is made up of three branches: Greek, Roman and Anglican. They say that each one has a different legitimate hierarchy, but they are all united by a spiritual bond that is love for Christ.
– Catholics are more demanding. The unity is not only spiritual and moral. It has to be real and hierarchical. They are aware that Christian divisions are an obstacle to the mission of the Church and they pray and fight so that schisms and rebellions end. They see the unity in the will of Christ and they see in the text on the Primacy of Peter the secret and the link of that unity. Above all, Christians must aspire to live united in doctrine, expressed through the formula of the Creed; in worship, manifested by Baptism and the Eucharist above all. And in the unity of government, by the acceptance of the Bishop of Rome, successor of Peter.
The Church of Jesus, reflected in the words of the Lord that defines it as a kingdom, the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of God (Mat. 13. 24-33; Luc. 13.18; Jn. 18.36); that he compared it to a city whose keys were entrusted to the Apostles (Mt. 5.14; 16.19); who saw it as a fold to which all his sheep should come and be united under a single Shepherd (Jn. 10. 7-17) or a vine with its branches united, with a house built on a rock (Mt. 16.18), it is the one that has lasted in the world for two millennia and will continue until the end of time according to the promise of Jesus.
Jesus asked the Father before his passion for unity for his Apostles and for those who believed him through his preaching: (Jn. 17.20-23). Before him he had told his own that “every divided kingdom would be left desolate and every divided city or house would end up perish” (Mt. 12.25).
The Apostles understood his message: (Gal. 5. 20-21; 1 Cor. 1.13 and 102.16-17; Eph. 4.3-6). Gal. 1.8; 1 Jn. 4. 1-7; Apoc. 2. 6,14-15 and 20-29; 2 Pet. 2. 1-19; Jude. 5.19). And his message has remained alive throughout the centuries claiming unity until today, although he has not achieved it.
Pedro Chico González, Dictionary of Catechesis and Religious Pedagogy, Editorial Bruño, Lima, Peru 2006
Source: Dictionary of Catechesis and Religious Pedagogy
Men have unity of origin (Act 7,26); by the first sin the unity of destiny was lost (Rom 5,12); but this historical unity tells us that if once and for all they were lost and divided by the sin of Adam (1 Cor 15:2), also once and for all they were reunited and united in Jesus Christ, savior of the world (Jn 11, 50-52; 18,14; 2 Cor 5,14-15). All believers (1 Cor 15,22-23), who in hope represent the whole of humanity (therefore, all men), by the Holy Spirit are one in Christ (1 Cor 6,17) and among themselves (Jn 11,52; Rom 12,5; Gal 3,28). Division and schism are a clear consequence of sin (Rom 16,17; 1 Cor 11,18; 12,25; Gal 5,20). Jesus asks for unity for his disciples (Jn 17,11); that they have the same feeling, a single heart and a single soul (Act 4,32); he asks for it for all men; a unity that has as its model the perfect unity of the August Trinity (Jn 17,21) and that is the guarantee of the divinity of the Church and that is founded on charity as a visible element of unity (Jn 13,35).
MNE
FERNANDEZ RAMOS, Felipe (Dir.), Dictionary of Jesus of Nazareth, Editorial Monte Carmelo, Burbos, 2001
Source: Dictionary of Jesus of Nazareth
In the Nicene Creed, Christians profess their faith in the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. Unity is therefore a sign and a characteristic of the Church, precisely as an object of Christian faith. This unity can only be understood in faith; it derives from the intimate relationship that exists between the Church and the primary object of faith, which is the Triune and One mystery of God himself.
In this sense, the 11th Attican Council teaches: “This is the sacred mystery of the unity of the Church in Christ and through Christ, the Holy Spirit operating the variety of functions. The supreme model and the supreme principle of this mystery is, in the trinity of persons, the unity of one God the Father and the Son in the Holy Spirit” (UR 2).
Scripture gives us ample proof that the Church is one. The Pauline image of the “Body of Christ” attempts to describe the close bond that holds all Christians together: “Just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, however many they may be, do not form more than one body, so also Christ.
Because all of us, Jews or non-Jews, slaves or free, have received the same Spirit in baptism, in order to form one body; and we have all drunk of the same Spirit” (1 Cor 12,12-13). Paul condemns factions within the Corinthian community, appealing to the Christological foundation of Christian unity (cf. 1 Cor 1:13). Throughout the New Testament, the unity of the Church is shown in various ways: in the descriptions of harmonious community life found in the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 2,41 47. 4,32-37), in the prayer of the last supper for unity (Jn 17), in the theology of the letter to the Ephesians (cf Eph 4,46).
At the same time, it is clear that there was some diversity in the early Church. In the first place, a plurality of geographically distinct communities is recognized, such as the “house churches” mentioned in 1 Cor 16:19. Rom 16.5 and Col 4.15. For this reason, the New Testament can use the plural expression: “Churches of God” (1 Cor 1 1,16; 2 Thess 1,4; cf. also Rom 16,4.16). Furthermore, the diverse cultural and religious backgrounds of these diverse communities made it necessary to express the one gospel in different ways, in order to respond to diverse questions and needs. Thus, while there is only one gospel (Gal 1:6-9), one can nevertheless speak of various New Testament theologies of Paul, Joan, the Letter to the Hebrews, etc., which reflect the legitimate diversity existing among the various communities .
An event like the Jerusalem Council (Gal 2; Acts 15) was held to strengthen unity among Christians of different persuasions and remains a remarkable testimony to the fact that, from the very beginning of the Church, unity demands… .