Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered outside the gate. Therefore, let us go forth to him outside the camp, bearing his reproach. For we have no continuing city here, but we seek one to come.
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There are two kinds of unity that Jesus has created for his called out people: unity of the Spirit and unity of the faith. To have the first kind of unity is heavenly; but to have both kinds is better.
If we have the love of God for our brothers and sisters in the Lord, then we can feel a unity of spirit with them all, regardless of the doctrine they have embraced, because they are our family. Their Father is our Father, and we share the same Spirit. (Sometimes, even before people actually receive the holy Ghost, we can feel a kinship with them, if they are hungering and thirsting for righteousness.) Anyone who has God's Spirit can sense a kinship with others who have the Spirit. This kind of unity is supernatural and can be experienced only by those who truly belong to God. This is the "unity of the Spirit" to which Paul referred, and it is holy and good.
The other unity, however, is far superior to the unity of Spirit. It is the unity of the faith. This is a unity, or fellowship, that only some among God's children ever know while they live on this earth. It is a unity created by God among His children when He reveals His truth to them. This unity of the faith is a unity of understanding. It makes us truly one with Him and each other, one in mind and heart. Only those who understand the one true doctrine of Christ can experience this wonderful unity. The unity of the faith is far stronger, cleaner, and holier than is unity in spirit, as good as that is.
In Ephesians chapter 4, Paul exhorted the saints to "keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace . . . till we all come in the unity of the faith" (vv. 1-13). There is growth in the Spirit, and we must be patient with and merciful toward each other until we all come to that holy place of harmony, a place where Paul's hope for the saints in Corinth is fulfilled: "Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment." That is unity in the faith, and its glory and benefits surpass simple unity of spirit as far as heaven is above earth.
Jesus did not say that those who followed him were free. Most were not. In fact, most of the people in the crowds that followed him never experienced the kind of freedom he wanted them to have. What he said was that if those who followed him would continue to follow him, then they would come to a knowledge of the truth, and that knowledge of the truth would make them free (Jn. 8:31-32). Nothing but the truth, the one doctrine of Christ, will bring God's children into the unity of the faith where true freedom is.
You can know the unity of the Spirit and still be in bondage. There are more of God's children today who are in bondage than can be numbered. They are born again, and they feel a unity with others who have also received the holy Ghost, but they are not free because they do not know the truth. They have a fellowship in spirit with all other children of God, but they do not have fellowship in the faith either with Jesus or with those who have attained to the knowledge of God.
Let us strive together to be one in Christ Jesus as he so earnestly prayed that we would be (Jn. 17). The benefits of obtaining that prize cannot be enumerated.
The psalmist wrote (Ps. 133) that unity among the children of God carries the same weight in heaven as did the anointing that covered Aaron, Israel's high priest. Didn't Jesus say that where two or three are gathered together in his name, he is there? There are many millions who gather regularly for religious services, but, oh, how few truly gather in his name! "In his name" signifies a holy unity, a fellowship of heart and mind with God and each other that can be experienced neither by those without the Spirit nor by those with the Spirit if they do not follow it. This unity in the faith is reserved for the pure in heart. It can be known only by wise and obedient children of God. The foolish never come to know it.
I have never seen a body of believers in whom there was unity of the faith be wrong in its collective judgment about anything or anybody. Unity in the faith of Christ, which is another word for fellowship, protects the assembly, comforts them, teaches them, and heals them. The greater the fellowship, the greater the protection, the comfort, the knowledge of God, and the spiritual strength of the congregation. Satan trembles at the thought that God's children will someday seek and obtain fellowship with each other in the light. He knows that when they do, his little kingdom will crumble, for there will be an exodus of the saints out of Christianity that will make Moses blush with jealousy.
Let us do our part to hasten the day, my friends, when our brothers and sisters will be elevated by the truth of Christ above the simple fellowship in spirit they have known. Fellowship of the faith among His children is the desire of our heavenly Father. Pray for love and courage. There are many adversaries who, in ignorance, oppose the good thing Jesus has given us to do. But we will continue publishing the good news of Jesus, in hope of obtaining perfect unity with our brothers and sisters everywhere. The prize of unity of faith with God's people everywhere will never be attained to if the few who do know the truth sin through silence.