One Heart

Ezekiel 11:17-19

Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even gather you from the people, and assemble you out of the countries where ye have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.

And they shall come thither, and they shall take away all the detestable things thereof and all the abominations thereof from thence.

And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh:

Here is a promise for the Jew that cannot be considered to have been fulfilled at the end of the captivity. The Jews are yet a divided people; perhaps more so after the captivity than at any time previous. By the time of the Lord the two most prominent factions were the Pharisees and Sadducees. After the crucifixion of Christ, and as Roman oppression began to squeeze in on Jerusalem, Jewish leaders plotted and killed one another over their differences of opinion concerning the Roman problem. Today the Jews are still further divided between old orthodox Jews, new liberal Jews, Messianic Jews and those Jews who embrace their historical heritage but not their spiritual one. Only when Jesus Christ returns and establishes His kingdom can this prophecy be finally fulfilled.

To have one heart is the New Testament objective for every church. Paul repeatedly calls Christians to:

·       Strive for unity,

·       Be of one mind,

·       Esteem others better than ourselves

Truly this is only possible when every member of the local church has a new spirit:

·       One that is quickened in the new birth

·       One that is yielded to righteousness and

·       One that is controlled by God's Holy Spirit

We will not see perfect unity until Jesus sits on His throne in the Kingdom. But we can work together for better unity in our churches. We ought to work together for unity. We must work together for unity.