Unity from the Top Down

What is unity from the top down? Let's look at Psalm 133:2
"It is like the previous oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes!"

As Aaron is anointed to the priesthood here, the picture is of this blessing of unity beginning at the top of Aaron’s head and making its way down throughout his entire body and ending up on the fringes of his robes.

Psalm 122:3
"It [unity] is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion. For there the Lord has commanded the blessing, life forevermore."

The image is of the water of Mount Hermon, which is located far in the north, making its way down through the entire country and nourishing Mount Zion in Jerusalem. In both images the we see the blessing of unity coming down from the top to the bottom, in fact the same Hebrew word is used in verses 2 & 3. In verse 2 it translates “running down” and in verse 3 it translates “falls.”

Both of these images point to an important spiritual truth: Unity in the church begins at the top and it flows down throughout the body. When the leadership in a church is united, that unity will naturally spread throughout the whole body. When the leadership in a church is full of factions and divisions the church will be full of factions and divisions. The old saying is true, “Like Shepherd, like sheep.” There is a tremendous responsibility on the part of the pastors and elders of a church to be united. This does not mean that we always agree with one another all the time or that we simply acquiesce to the majority opinion, but it does mean that we dwell together in unity around the common foundation of the gospel. It means that we always think the best of each other, giving each other the benefit of the doubt, and that even when we disagree we still walk away as brothers. Unity in the church begins at the top and it flows down throughout the body. I am tremendously privileged to serve in a church where the leadership models this Psalm 133 form of unity.