First of all, we have seen that unity is each and every member of the body finding his or her place in the body, and functioning there; not coveting somebody else's place, but fulfilling our own role and ministry in the body of Christ. We have seen further that this unity cannot be produced from outward influence, it works from the inside out. It is brought about by the mind of Christ in each believer. Like-mindedness, according to the Apostle Paul, was a characteristic of the church in the book of Acts. We are commanded by God, "Let this mind be in you, which also was in Christ Jesus" ( Philippians 2:5).

Reading Philippians 2:5 & 6, (5) "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: (6) Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God..." We have stated in the lesson before this, that the unity of Christ with the Father is the objective pattern. It is the pattern, the example of our unity one with another. Christ's unity with the Father was demonstrated by His identity with the Father. Essentially, the verse says, that Jesus Christ is God. In mathematics, the study of identity is the study of those things which, though they are expressed in different terms are nevertheless equal in value, content, and definition.

While this is not the best analogy of the Trinity, it does address several of the attributes of the triune Godhead. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Ghost are one; they are equal and they constitute an equal identity. Also, all Christians are equal and constitute an identity; the body of Christ, which is as mysterious in its unity as is the Trinity. Christian unity requires each Christian to know personally, and confess publicly, that all Christians are equal in God's sight. This is not the modern self-esteem distortion of the Gospel of Christ. This just says that Christian unity has as its base the total and full equality of all believers. We are going to drive this truth home to your mind. Because everything that I've said in this series on unity, has to do with whether or not God is going to favor you with His presence, each believer must, by the Word of God, be brought into the place of one accord; that is, each one brought into his or her proper place in the body of Christ. To do this, which is essentially your job as God's Old Man, you must recognize that every single member of the body is equal in the sight of God. Every ministry given by God is equal in the sight of God.

The idea that one believer is better than another was excluded in Romans 12. The idea that one believer was inferior to another believer is excluded by Romans chapters 13 and 14. We don't have time here to read these chapters in the class, but you need to read them over several times. Christian unity is characterized by all believers identifying with all other Christians as equal in the sight of God. This equality is not measured in objective personal data, but in subjective pure doctrine. God said we are equal. Therefore, we affirm we are equal no matter how circumstances seem to contradict that reality. Without identity with the Father, the Son could never have had unity with the Father. Their unity was not in the yielding of their unique individual offices, but of their being one in essence.

So, unity for the body of Christ is not homogeneity of personality, of ministry, or of talents, but in having a like-mindedness which is granted by God through grace. It doesn't mean that we are equal in physical talents or in mental ability, but it does mean that we have the same mind. This like-mindedness acknowledges that all believers are equal in God. We cannot overstress the importance of unity, because it is here that God commands His life. Also it is not possible for me to overemphasize the fact that you, as a mouthpiece of God, are charged with the responsibility of bringing this unity about.

You say there may be some that will not go along with this. I am saying, if you perform and function as the mouthpiece of God, they will either get in or they will get out. His Sheep know His voice. John said the reason they left him was because they were not of him. If they were not a part of the vision, they must leave. Those that are with you will follow you, if you are faithful in preaching and proclaiming the word that brings about this unity. If you are faithful, those that are not of you, will leave you. That is a blessing from God. Those that are of the vision will stay with you. This identification is achieved in four ways, the first being an act of the will. Christ's objective identification; His identification with the Father with whom He is equal. Our identification is with other men, with whom we are equal.

Jesus was equal with the Father by nature; we are equal with one another by nature. Christ's identification with the Father made it possible for Him to identify with us, for only God could understand our predicament and undertake to remedy it. Our redemption required His identification with us. Christ's identification with us was achieved by His emptying of Himself. This was accomplished by an act of His own will. The tense voice and mood of the verb made in Philippians 2:7, "But He made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men..." indicates this was volitional on the part of Christ. Jesus Christ took upon Himself the responsibility for redeeming us. There was nothing within Himself that required such redemption. He knew no sin. He accepted this as a moral responsibility.

This is the meaning of Hebrews 2:14-18. (14) "Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; (15) And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. (16) For verily He took not on him the nature of angels; but took on him the seed of Abraham. (17) Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. (18) For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted."

Let's look particularly at Verse 17, "For it behoved Him..." This is the translation of a word which means, to owe a debt. In Christ's case it was a debt He assumed. The application of this truth on our part is that we must voluntarily, by an act of our will, invite and accept equality, and identify with those to whom God calls us to minister. Objectively, our identity may be with greater riches, greater power, greater talents, greater education, but subjectively, without condescension or patronization, it must be as equal with all men and women to whom we minister. If you cannot do that, you have no right to be a minister of God.

He is the Son of God, not the son of an Englishman. He is the Son of man. That is universal. It doesn't matter about the color of skin or the language we speak. If you cannot identify as being equal, then you have no right to be the mouthpiece of God. It means that we assume the responsibility for the failure of others, even though, and in spite of the fact, that we are not responsible for their failure. This is a painful step because it exposes us to misunderstanding, and is a most grievous insult to the flesh. It is however, an essential step in the endeavor to maintain Christian unity.

The second way to achieve identification is investing assets in others. Kenosis is translated by the phrase "made Himself of no reputation." (Philippians 2:7) It means, to empty oneself. The basic meaning is Jesus Christ gave up all of His riches in glory so that those who had no wealth could become rich through Him. This was Paul's meaning in II Corinthians 8: 9. "For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty may become rich." Kenosis deposited all that He is to the account of those whose indebtedness He determined to redeem. In our kenosis we empty ourselves of imagined assets which separate us from those to whom God has called us to minister. In His kenosis Jesus gave up real assets to secure redemption for the unworthy such as me. In our kenosis we give up perceived advantages that we might meet the real needs of others. This is the meaning of James, not to be a respecter of persons. When you and I cease to be respecter of persons, then we are prepared to live a redemptive life.

The third way identification is achieved is to be immersed in the needs of others. We are dealing with four ways to achieve the identification that all Christians are equal. Christian unity is Identification. Jesus Christ, whose nature made Him equal with God took upon Himself, as an act of His own will, the form, the outward manifestation and identification of a servant. How low He stooped to save us; yet we, in our pride, won't give up our imagined assets, that we might identify with people who we sometimes think as less than ourselves. There will never be a revival in such prideful circumstances. The word servant is a translation of the word doulous and it means bondslave, a voluntary, slave. It was as an obligation based on His decision to empty Himself that Jesus, as a debt, became a doulous. Kenosis requires and results in doulous, a bondservant, the communication of His relinquished riches, His presence in the third Heaven with the Father, and his independence of time and space had to be given up.

The power and omniscience of the Godhead to those whom the Father loved was done by His becoming a servant. It was found that in giving these away Jesus did not lose them; He multiplied them to the benefit of others. This is how we will communicate the riches of Christ to those who God loves: By becoming their servant, and by the giving away of our lives in order to multiply those lives in others. This is the lesson of the lad's five loaves and two fishes in John 6:1-14. It is by the childlike giving of all that we have to Jesus that our insufficiency is multiplied to feed the many. It is one thing to do something out of choice. It is another thing to do it out of obligation. Many will serve others as long as it is understood that their service is an option of their own will; but if they believe it is required, they balk.

Jesus Christ achieved the ultimate humility, accepting as an obligation that for which he had no personal responsibility. "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." (II Corinthians 5:21) This is one of the cardinal traits of Christian unity, the accepting as an obligation the consequences of the failure of another, even though we have no personal responsibility for that failure. Christian unity is achieved initially by our voluntarily giving ourselves to others as their servants. Ultimately, as a responsibility of that giving, we serve them as a bondslave, involuntarily. This is where the flesh man dies.

The fourth way identification is achieved is by imitation of men. For God to look upon angels is an act of humility. Psalms 113:3, "From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the LORD'S name is to be praised." The angels are higher in the order of creation than man. Yet when Christ was incarnate, He did not take the form of an angel, and He took the form of a man. Christ's imitation was not in copying the sins of men, but in walking as they walked. He showed them how the Father desired for them to live. This is what Paul means in I Corinthians 9:19-23 (19) "For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more. (20) Unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law; (21) To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law. (22) To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. (23) And this I do for the gospel's sake, that I might be partaker thereof with you."

This is not the secular cynical statement, "When in Rome do as Rome does." It is though the identification by imitation of the hopes, fears, weaknesses, and circumstances of others that you have the opportunity to minister to them. In other words, we are in this world, but we are not of this world. We are not superhuman. Paul is saying, "I know what it is to be what you are. I suffer every temptation. I go through everything. I know what it is to have been there, and I know what it is to be in Christ." What is he saying? It is to be among them yet not be a part of them. They know that it is something within you that gives you this ability to live above sin. Without identification the believer may exercise the secular concept, but he will never experience the servant dynamic of true Christian unity. That only happens as we identify with Him.

Paul said, "I walk this earth as a man. I'm not God. I overcome sin by the life of Him that is within me. I am still tempted like you are. I have to face the devil every day. But being birthed of God, I can overcome. I can identify with you in these trials and difficulties of life, I stand here among you as one of you, identifying with you, but have overcome."