JUNE 2026 CONTENTS
Editorial — Keeping the Unity
Gospel Standard Society Meetings:
Evening Sermon — The Weeping Sower’s Reward
(Psalm 126:6)
Morning Prayer Meeting
Afternoon Business Meeting
Love Seeking Unity
Obituary — Philip Drury
Book Reviews
Poetry — Let Us Not Rend It
Cover image: Francis Covell (1809-1879), one of the originators of the Gospel Standard Aid Society.
Keeping the Unity
The Apostle Paul exhorted the church at Ephesus to “keep the unity of the Spirit.” Unity in the church is produced by the Holy Spirit and it is a spiritual unity — a unity in and between the souls of those spiritually renewed by the Holy Spirit in regeneration. Such spiritual union produces a “bond of peace” and love to the brethren. It is principally evidenced in the fruit of the Spirit in the lives of the members of the church, and enjoyed to the extent that this fruit is manifested.
As the Lord’s people find by experience that there is much in and about us that is opposed to the work of grace — our old nature, the world and the devil — so we find that there is much that is against the union between us and our brethren in Christ. Paul had proved this first-hand. He had parted ways from Barnabas over taking John Mark on their missionary travels. Although we may say that their disagreement resulted in a wider missionary work and therefore was ultimately for good, such a “sharp contention” should not have occurred. Although even our sins are among the “all things” that work together for our good, the overruling grace and power of God must never be made an excuse for our sin. So, while disunity at times may be overruled for good by God, it is never right. Paul therefore tells the Ephesians that they must “endeavour to keep the unity of the Spirit.”
To “endeavour” is no half-hearted work. The verb in the original, σπουδάζω (transliterated: spoudazó), means “to be especially conscientious in discharging an obligation, be zealous/eager, take pains, make every effort, be conscientious” (BDAG Lexicon). It is a work that allows no holidays.
Endeavouring to keep the unity means recognising that the unity is not ours to make — it is the work of the Holy Spirit — but the existence of a true church presupposes this Spirit-produced unity. It is a oneness of heart with regard to the Lord Jesus — the various church members are united in their faith in and love for Him. They love to hear His gospel preached and they love to see and hear of the tokens of His grace in each other’s lives. In Spirit-produced humility they each prefer others above themselves. They love their brethren and look out for them so that whether spiritually or practically they can bear each other’s burdens and be of assistance to each other.
Sometimes, endeavouring to keep the unity means that the strong have to learn to slow down and walk with the weak, while the weak have to prayerfully strain to keep up with the strong. It requires individual members to realise that while many things may be lawful, they may not all be expedient. As points of difference crop up from time to time, we should ask whether it is vital for us to insist on having things our own way. Does this issue concern essential truths — those which if denied or altered would affect our salvation? If things are as serious as to concern essential truths then the unity of the Spirit has already been broken, and a superficial organisational unity must not be prioritised above faithfulness to essential truths.
However, in the everyday life of a church and congregation, differences emerge over much less significant things, and even over “matters of indifference” — matters which are neutral in themselves such as, in Paul’s example, eating and drinking (Rom. 14). On matters of indifference, charity must always be exercised. Love for our brother and sister and love for the church (which is the body of Christ) should be our governing principle here.
Keeping unity is not a light matter, partly because of the spiritual welfare of our brothers and sisters, but also because the honour of Jesus, the great head of the church, is at stake. This is the case if we break unity when it should have been maintained, or maintain a false peace when we should have spoken up. What grace and wisdom are needed! But what full supplies of these Jesus is ready to give to those who ask them of Him!
We fail to keep the unity of the Spirit when we allow the things that oppose it — our old nature, the world and the devil — to have free rein in our lives or in the life of the church. We are to resist the devil, mortify the deeds of the flesh and constantly keep separate from the world. It is a mistake to think that unity is broken only when someone leaves the church of which they are a member — that act is rather the last step in a process of disunity. That process typically begins when the church member forgets to pray for their fellow church members, indulges hard thoughts against them, fails to help carry their burdens, gossips about them behind their backs, censoriously judges them rather than patiently seeking to understand why they are where they are and inwardly thinks more of themselves than they should. Our forefathers spoke often of the “sin of schism,” or division, where the church is splintered into hostile factions. Mr JK Popham wrote “Schism is a sin to be guarded against, as it mars the divine oneness of the church (1 Cor. 1:10-18).”
Unity is not the same as uniformity. We know that often in marriage, opposites attract, and some of the strongest marriages have spouses which are very different. So it may be in the church. There have been some most unlikely friends in the bonds of peace. David and Jonathan are a good example of this — a prince and heir to the throne walking hand in hand with a poor shepherd, heir by birth to nothing. Some place too much emphasis on uniformity. They insist that everybody must look the same, speak the same and think the same. But that is to deny Paul’s doctrine of the church, which rests on unity while exalting the diversity of gifts bestowed by the Holy Spirit. God is glorified by unity in diversity, when foot, hand, ear, eye, all belong to the body and are beautiful and useful in their own ways (1 Cor. 12).
Here is prime material for prayerful self-examination. Are you strenuously endeavouring to keep the unity? Has the ideal of unity in the church slipped down in your list of priorities? Has it been sacrificed to your own personal prejudices? Take great care. The danger of disunity is never far from us while we remain part of the church militant. May we be burdened for the peace and prosperity of the church in our day! May we constantly labour to maintain unity. As a good marriage has to be worked at, so unity in the church has to be constantly worked at. Communication, spending time together and knowing one another, are key elements of keeping the unity. Much grace is needed, but God gives grace to those who ask Him. Oh to see greater unity in the church, and more godly discretion over the matters which have no right to break unity!