Based on “A Series of Lectures on the Church of the Bible and its Apostasy”, Lyman H. Johnson would describe “keeping the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3), which is referenced regarding the perfecting of saints for unity) as living in accordance with the God-made, spiritual unity that characterizes the true Church of Christ, in contrast to man-made attempts at unity that actually cause division.
Here’s a breakdown of his perspective:
- The Nature of True Unity:
- The unity of the Church is spiritual, not a man-made unity.
- It is a God-made unity.
- This unity is “effected” by the Holy Spirit.
- It results from being born by the Spirit into one family, meaning true believers are members of Christ’s one body.
- The instrument God uses to bring about this unity is the Word (gospel truth). As Ephesians 5:26 notes, Christ gave himself for the church that he might sanctify and cleanse it “with the washing of water by the word”. The faithful application of the Word is God’s way of purifying the church.
- The central principle of this unity is holy love (charity). This love is the “new commandment” and the “inward law” written on the heart. This is the love that joins members of God’s family inseparably, based on seeing the image of Christ in each other and loving the Master.
- Contrast with False Unity (Divisions):
- Man-made unity is a mockery.
- Human organizations, sects, and creeds rely on outward laws, forms, ceremonies, and human heads.
- These man-made efforts cause divisions (sects, heresies, Babylon), which are described as contrary to the doctrine they have learned and are damnable.
- Sectarian love is characterized by partiality and respect of persons, which James says is sin. This is in direct opposition to the love that distinguishes Christ’s disciples.
- Keeping the Unity and Bond of Peace:
- Keeping this unity is not by adhering to outward conditions or human discipline. Johnson learned from his experience in Rockton that man cannot do the separating work by enforcing human discipline or voting.
- It is God’s work alone to draw the lines and separate the chaff from the wheat through his Spirit and Word.
- Keeping the unity means living by the inward law of holy love and the Holy Spirit. This leads to righteous outward fruits, which are the visible proof of membership.
- It involves fellowshipping “a child of God wherever I find him”, based on evidence of saving grace (fruits of the Spirit), not on adherence to human creeds or forms.
- It requires rejecting and avoiding those who cause divisions (sectarians/heretics) and offenses contrary to the truth. This is because they are “subverted and sinneth, being condemned of himself”. Their sectarian choices are seen as splitting and destroying the spiritual body of Christ.
- The unity Christ prayed for is “that they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us”. It is impossible for party divisions to exist between the Father and the Son, so the unity of disciples should be the same.
In summary, keeping the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace, according to Lyman Johnson, is fundamentally about recognizing and living within the spiritual union that God creates through the Holy Spirit and the Word, characterized by holy love and the inward law, rather than seeking unity or enforcing discipline through outward, man-made organizations, rituals, or creeds, which inherently lead to ungodly divisions. As the diversity of gifts in the body (Ephesians 4, as referenced in) is intended for edifying the body and leading to unity, not division, keeping this unity means allowing God to set the members in the body as he pleases and function together under Christ the head, bound by love, without allowing human systems or disagreements over non-essentials to create schism.
This posting was created with Google NotebookLM using “A Series of Lectures on the Church of the Bible and its Apostasy” by Lyman H. Johnson with the question: “How would Lyman describe the process of keeping the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace as described in Ephesians 4?”