The Biblical Basis for Partnership 

In John 17:20-23, Jesus prays twice in four verses that His followers may be one, in order that the world may believe and know that God the Father sent Jesus. Except for the Great Commission itself in Mathew 28, this is one of the strongest comments Jesus made on missions. He hinged the credibility of our message on our oneness in Him.

A key passage for us as we investigate how the Bible speaks about unity is I Corinthians 12:12-27 - especially verse 25, "There should be no division in the body, but its parts should have equal concern for one another." We all know that there is division in the body, and that different parts often don't have much concern for one another. Yet God tell us is that there should be no division!

We are the body of Christ - and we actually need each other if the body is to work as effectively and efficiently as it should. Sometimes we have a tendency to pull others down - to criticize them. God's desire though is that we should "transform our thinking". That means that rather than pulling others down, we should be bringing them up! We are members of the same body - of the same family. And we need to relate to one another in a positive and encouraging way.

Unity in the Body
Another New Testament passage also has some helpful guidelines for us as it relates to unity and how the body should work together. Read Ephesians 4:1-6, 11-16. Here are a few of the main points we draw out this passage.

• Unity takes effort and we are called to make it! (verse 2)
• Gifts were given for a purpose - that the body of Christ might be built up until we all reach unity in the faith. (verse 13)
• Similarly in our ministry, as we seek to reach out to those around us, we need the relief workers, the Scripture Translators, the Radio people, the evangelists, the disciplers. We need each other if we are going to build the church effectively.
• The head of the body is Christ (verse 15)
• The emphasis is on unity with the words "joined", "held together", and "supporting".

In 1 Corinthians 12 and 14 the various parts of the body have a recognizable function of their own.

Here, and in Ephesians, we are introduced to the ligament, which has a separate function. The task of the ligament is to hold the main body parts together. It joins, it holds together, it supports. It has a very important role in keeping the body together. So perhaps something is needed in the church to hold the different parts of the church body together as well!

God tells us that there is special blessing when his people live, and work, together in unity. (Psalms 133) And the practical expression of living and working together in unity is partnership.