Ephesians 2: 20 – 22
Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building being fitted together is growing into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is the glue which holds the church together. You know he is our teacher, comforter and the one who goes alongside us daily. You have learned many of his roles in the earth. Here is another of his important roles, to bind us together as one.
I have written previously about the things of the Spirit having actual substance, things like faith, for example. Well, you too have substance in the Spiritual realm. In Christ, we all are bricks which are being glued together to form the church, one edifice built for the glory of God.
We come from many different backgrounds. We represent many denominations, countries and ethnicities. Some of us are protestant; some of us are not. However, we all have one thing in common and it is the only thing of true importance. That, of course, is Jesus Christ. How do you get so many people of such varied backgrounds and beliefs together? The Holy Spirit binds us together in Christ to form one holy temple unto the Lord.
Have you ever used a glue which required a activating agent in order to function as an adhesive? A chemical reaction occurs when you mix the two components. Without that chemical reaction, there is no adhesion. So it is with the body of Christ. We do not stick together very well but, in the Spirit, we become one. We can bond to one another in the Spirit because he is the bonding agent. He joins us as one to Jesus. When you are in the Spirit, differences dissipate, overshadowed by the glory of Christ, the anointed one.
This is very important for these latter days. We must unite as one body. What good is an arm all by itself? It is useless. However, put us all together and we are strong and powerful. We are functional. The key is not our individual adherence to Jesus. It is our adherence to Jesus in the Spirit. Unity is essential. I think we all can agree to that. The challenge we have faced is ignorance of the Spirit. We can be like some of Paul’s followers. Paul asked them, “‘Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?’ And they said to him, ‘No, we have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit,’” (Acts 19: 2).
Most of us have at least heard of the Spirit but as a group, we do not know this third person of the trinity. We certainly have not fallen in love with the Spirit. Neither have we developed a personal relationship with him. Honestly, it is difficult to even understand what it means to be in him or led by him. That is the challenge of our generation. We are the ones who were destined, from the beginning of time, to pursue and know the Spirit of God. Until we have the divine glue on us, we will have difficulty bonding with all the varieties of other Christians. Jesus’ departure opened the door to this great gift of the Holy Spirit. Now we must pursue him relentlessly until we understand what it means to be in the Spirit and can live every day in his company.