The whole world agrees we are in need of peace and
unity. Governments turn to force and strict laws to
keep people from destroying each other. On a much
smaller scale, millions of families and married couples have
their own difficulties as they seek to find enough common
ground to live in peace with each other.
God, on the other hand, expects Christians to “be likeminded,
having the same love, being of one accord, of one
mind” (Philippians 2:2, kjv).
Why is unity so important to God? Paul Billheimer explains
the reason in his book Destined for the Throne: Before
the world began, the Father wanted to find a Bride for His
Son, so He created us. God didn’t look for many brides, but
only for one Bride.1 The purpose of the cross is to make millions
of people from a million different backgrounds and
races into one individual—the Bride of Christ.
In the light of this high calling, it is so serious and of
utmost importance that each of us is “endeavoring to keep
the unity of the Spirit . . .” (Ephesians 4:3). “Endeavor” is another
word for try, attempt, labor, strive, exert and struggle.
Just by looking at these synonyms, it is obvious that it is a
very deliberate, conscious act. We cannot simply say to one
another, “Well, if you agree with what I say and if you eat
the same food I like, I will sit at your table and we will have
unity.”
In fact, the Apostle Paul tells us in the same text of Scripture
exactly what we must do to be able to attain this unity:
“I . . . beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which
you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with
longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring
to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace”
(Ephesians 4:1–3). What Paul is expressing is that we should
do everything we can, even at the expense of our own feelings,
to maintain this unity of the Spirit.
We find a beautiful picture of what it takes to maintain
this kind of unity in Jesus’ last Passover with His disciples.
When He took the bread, He said to them: “ . . . this is My
body which is broken for you” (1 Corinthians 11:24).
If we look closely at a piece of bread, we will find that it
is made up of thousands of kernels of grain; however, none
of these individual kernels was left whole. They were all
ground up into powder and mixed together before a loaf of
bread could be formed and baked.
The bread Jesus gave to His disciples was not only a picture
of His body being broken on our behalf on the cross
of Calvary, but it was equally a picture of what it took for
Jesus to become the Bread of Life. He was crushed and powdered
as He laid down His own will and learned obedience
through the things He suffered.
What about us? The Bride of Christ is also the Body of
Christ. If we are His Body, we must also become bread that
God can break to feed the multitudes of our generation.
We can only become a loaf of bread to feed the hungry
if the oneness of the Spirit is among us. And oneness only
comes by yielding ourselves to be ground, powdered and
mixed together.
Will you yield yourself to Him in your own circumstances?
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K.P. Yohannan ( - Present)
Dr. K.P. Yohannan, the Metropolitan Bishop of Believers Church, was born and brought up in Niranam, Kerala. Niranam has immense historical significance in the tradition of Saint Thomas, a disciple of Jesus Christ who planted the first church there in AD 52. K.P. Yohannan dedicated his life to God at a young age to serve the needy and downtrodden. He prayed, “Oh my Lord, let my heart break with the things that break Your heart” and his life was never the same. It’s his belief that one can only demonstrate God’s love by loving people. After over four decades of selfless service, he says, I have no regrets in praying that prayer for I know God has touched millions through what He did in and through me. It is all God’s grace.He spent the early years of his service in North India and traveled to the remote villages sharing the love of Christ and doing charitable works. Through numerous encounters during those years, he was instilled with an increasing passion to bring hope, peace, and comfort to the needy and deprived. His sacrificial commitment, farsightedness and aptitude to perceive helped him to lead a life of unhindered devotion to serve Christ and His church. K.P. Yohannan is also the voice of Athmeeya Yathra, touching millions through his daily radio and TV broadcasts. His 250 books offer practical and spiritual guidance on hundreds of subjects.
Recommends these books by K.P. Yohannan:
Living in the Light of Eternity: Discovering God's Design For Your Life by K.P. Yohannan
The Beauty of Christ through Brokenness by K.P. Yohannan
Crisis in Leadership by K.P. Yohannan
K.P. Yohannan is the founder and president of Gospel for Asia, a mission organization involved in evangelism and church planting in the unreached regions of Asia. Currently Gospel for Asia supports thousands of church planters in the heart of the 10/40 window.
Born in a remote village of South India, K.P. Yohannan's personal journey toward spiritual reality began at the age of eight when he gave his heart to Christ. While he was still a young boy, his mother began fasting each week, praying God would call one of her six sons into full-time gospel ministry. Her prayers were answered in 1966 when 16 year-old K.P., her youngest, volunteered to serve in North India with Operation Mobilization.
From 1974 to 1979 K.P. attended Criswell Bible College in Dallas, Texas, where he earned his B.A. in Biblical Studies. He was also awarded an honorary doctor of divinity degree from Hindustan Bible College in Madras, India. During the time he attended Criswell, he pastored a local church in Dallas. However, he was unable to forget the millions still lost without Christ in his homeland of India, and knew God was calling him to reach his own people. In 1978 K.P. resigned his pastorate and he and his wife, Gisela, organized what is now Gospel for Asia.