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Unity
Scripture portrays great richness and variety in the use of the term. There is the unity of the believer with his Lord, and there is the union manifested in the body of Christ, the Church, which rests eventually on a deeper unity of believers in “one Lord, one faith, one baptism.” Unity with Christ is illustrated in many ways: that of husband and wife, or the stones and the building. The classic analogy is the vine and the branches (cf.
Terminology
The Hebrew word of the Old Testament is ֭יַחַד (unitedness) and the Greek of the New Testament is ἑνότης, G1942, (oneness), the meaning being quite evident in the root of ἑνότης, G1942, from εἱ̂ς, ἑνός which means simply “one.”
Usage
Used in the Old Testament in the sense of togetherness of persons (
The New Testament word speaks of the unity of faith that binds together the people of God (
Also Sirach 25:1 the King James Version for homonoia "concord" (so the Revised Version.
Paul and Unity
Paul took special interest in the unity within the body of believers and he did not argue for the invisible but for the visible body. He recognized unity in diversity and diversity in unity and he amplified this approach (
Paul looked upon unity as reality already in existence, but also as a reality yet to be attained (
That the real unity here described is not manifest in the Church nor among the most ardent followers of Christ is quite clear; Paul wrote of unity as something yet to be attained. There are varieties of gifts and offices for the building up of the body of Christ “until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God.” Then will come “mature manhood...the fulness of Christ” (