Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervor and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John. He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately.

–Parallel verses:
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭4‬:‭1‬-‭6‬ (emphasis mine)
As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely HUMBLE and gentle; be patient, BEARING WITH one another in love. Make every effort to keep the UNITY of the Spirit through the BOND of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; ONE GOD and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

When we hear the term unity these days, many are using it to unite together people of all stripes and colors to “co-exist”. While this is a form of unity, it is not the type of unity God desires.

Let me give you an example: In high school, I was one of the top players on the football team during my senior year. The goal was to play as a team and unite to achieve our best results and hopefully victory. One practice, a coach berated two younger football players to a degree that was unhealthy. He called them all kinds of names, yelled at them, and basically told them they were worthless fat pigs. I was standing there alongside my teammates and many of us were stunned. In order to keep “team unity”, the temptation was to just remain quiet and not say anything. But I found that God’s Spirit inside of me was crying out that these two young boys needed a defender. There was a unity with God’s Spirit that called on me to call out this coach, which I did. It had consequences. I was benched for the next game. But it also had rewards … I was able to stand for what was right in a worldly environment. This was not unity under the world’s description, it was unity under God’s plan to love on and defend these young men. Later, the head coach allowed me to play in the game anyways, after he investigated what happened.

Godly Unity is not something to achieve by itself. Godly unity is dependent on us uniting with God and his people to accomplish his purposes, even if it means temporary separation from the world in groups that are sowing spiritual, mental, and/or physical discord.

I see this model of unity exemplified by Aquila and Priscilla. As they were ministering, they ran across a bold and true preacher named Apollos. They did not see him as competition or a threat. First they listened to see if he was united with God in spirit as evidenced by his words and actions. He was. Then they befriended him and taught him the complete story of redemption through Jesus Christ.

I can only imagine there were likely some who pointed out his lack of knowledge or inadequacies. This is easy to do in all of us. Instead, they looked to build Godly Unity with Apollos. And God blessed their efforts and multiplied the impact. Apollos became a compelling minister of the gospel in the early church, with many disciples.

Since we have one God, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one hope, let us unify around the work of God’s Spirit in our lives and the lives of lost people. Let us look to mentor and unify with Godly people and leave the credit to God. We can be humble, gentle and patient. We can bear each other’s burdens. And we can bond together in peace with God and unify around the works of his Spirit!

Lord Jesus, you work to unify us to God through the Holy Spirit. This is why you died on a cross for our sins, enduring the scorn, torture, and shame. Come and have your way in my heart today. Remove any selfish ambition and worldly passion or pursuit. Make me holy and pure as an offering to you!