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Maintaining Unity in Faith and Work

LOOK where we will, friction and strife mark this wicked old system of things. In striking contrast thereto stand Jehovah and his heavenly organization, among whom harmony and unity prevail. It is therefore only fitting that all dedicated servants of Jehovah God upon earth should also be at unity with him and with one another. Their unity with one another is well described by the psalmist: “Look! How good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity!”—Ps. 133:1.a

Jehovah God has purposed this very thing, namely, “at the full limit of the appointed times . . . to gather all things together again in the Christ, the things in the heavens and the things on the earth.” This Jehovah has been doing by means of his holy spirit, his organization and his Word. As a result we see unity and cooperation between the “little flock” of anointed Kingdom heirs and the great crowd of “other sheep.”—Eph. 1:10; Matt. 25:34-40; John 10:16.

As members of either one or the other of these two ‘folds’ of Jehovah’s “sheep” we have the obligation individually to maintain, first of all, unity in faith, even as the apostle Paul counsels: “Now I exhort you, brothers, through the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that you should all speak in agreement, and that there should not be divisions among you, but that you may be fitly united in the same mind and in the same line of thought.” This requires us to look at all times to God’s spirit for help and enlightenment, to study his Word diligently and to associate with his people regularly.—1 Cor. 1:10.

Such unity of faith, of mind and of heart is absolutely essential to carrying out our preaching commission as effectively and as quickly as possible. Ours is a work of planting and watering the word of God in the hearts of lovers of righteousness, and concerning this the apostle Paul further said: “He that plants and he that waters are one,” both looking to God to make it grow. Telling of this same unity of work, God inspired one of his prophets to write: “I shall give to peoples the change to a pure language, in order for them all to call upon the name of Jehovah, in order to serve him shoulder to shoulder.”—1 Cor. 3:8; Zeph. 3:9.

To serve in this way we must carefully guard against any spirit of independence creeping in, for the world is saturated with it. How can we do so? By cultivating lowliness of mind, submissiveness, love and all the rest of the fruits of the spirit. Doing so, we will be able not only to maintain our unity in faith and work but to do so with joy.—1 Pet. 5:5.

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