All For One And One For All

“I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose.” – 1 Corinthians 1:10

Remember the Three Musketeers. There have been numerous movies made about the three heroes and they all have one thing in common: the “All for one and one for all” motto. The obvious meaning was that each member of that group of men would fight for the group or for any of the others. In other words, they were vowing to stand together in their common fight. I believe that the Lord expects us, as a church family, to walk together in absolute unity for His glory by being “all for one and one for all.” 

That can be a challenge. We all come here today from different cultural foundations, different economic backgrounds, different lifestyles, etc. How can we possibly find any common ground?  Paul’s prayer is that God will “help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus.” Paul’s prayer is that the church in Rome and Panama City, and Panama City Beach and Callaway and everywhere else live in harmony in the way and manner that Jesus taught. We’re to do everything we possibly can in the church to live in harmony according to how Jesus teaches us to live and treat one another.

A united church is a powerful tool. Unity is powerful everywhere it is found, not just when it’s found in a church. A lack of unity is highly destructive wherever it is found, not just in a church. Paul says we exist as a church so, “…all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 15:6) If we’re going to be successful doing that, it’s going to take everyone making that our goal. All for one and one for all. That’s what winning looks like for us as church. In football, you can tell who is winning by simply looking at the scoreboard. As a church, winning is each of us making every effort to live in harmony as Jesus taught us to live, working for unity in church, in our families, workplaces, etc.

When the world sees this kind of love and unity it is a powerful testimony to the truth of the gospel. Let us work even harder to both improve our unity by the love we show in the communities we serve. All for one and one for all. 

Discussion Questions:

1. How important is living in harmony?
2. How would you describe the power and impact of unity? When or where have you experienced that?
3. What can you do to become more of a force for unity?