Unity between two or more people receives its virtue entirely from something else. The unit itself is neutral until something else makes it good or bad. So if Herod and Pilate are unified by their common contempt for Jesus (Luke 23:12), this is not a good unit. But if Paul and Silas sing together in jail for Christ’s sake (Acts 16:25), this is a good unit.
Therefore, it is never enough to call Christians to unity. That can be good or bad. The unified vote fifty years ago in my church in South Carolina to ban blacks from attending services was not a good unit. The unified vote of a Protestant denomination to bless prohibited sexual acts is not a good unit.
What makes Christian unity?
Christian unity in the New Testament receives its goodness from a combination of its source, its ideas, its affections, and its goals.
your source
Paul tells us that we must strive “to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:3). I take that to mean that the Holy Spirit is the great giver of unity. “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free. We were all made to drink of the same Spirit” (1 Cor. 12:13).
Your ideas
Paul says that pastors and teachers are to equip the saints “until we all come to the unity of the faith and the full knowledge of the Son of God” (Eph. 4:13). In other words, the unity we seek is unity in truth. Of course, Christian unity is more than shared truth, but it is no less. Paul stacks the words for unity in Philippians 2:2, “make my joy complete, being of one mind, keeping the same love, united in spirit, dedicated to one purpose” (see also Philippians 4:2). Everything to be “according to Christ.” “And may the God of patience grant you to have the same mind towards one another according to Christ Jesus” (Rom. 15:5).
your affections
Of course, unifying love in the body of Christ includes a strong commitment to do good to God’s family whether you feel like it or not (Gal. 6:10). But the experience of Christian unity is more than that. It includes affectionate love, something more than just sacrificing for those we don’t like. It carries a feeling of affection. We are to have affection for those who are our family in Christ. “Be affectionate to one another with brotherly love” (Rom. 12:10). “Since in obedience to the truth you have purified your souls for a sincere love of brothers, love one another deeply, from a pure heart” (1 Pet. 1:22). “In conclusion, be compassionate, brotherly, merciful, and humble in spirit” (1 Pet. 3: 8).
His objectives
The unity rooted in the Spirit, the unity that manifests Christ, the unity that treasures the truth and humbly loves is designed by God to have at least two objectives: a witness to the world, and a proclamation of the glory of God. The apostle John makes the first of these clear: “A new commandment I give you: ‘love one another;’ that as I have loved you, so also love one another. By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (Jn. 13: 34-35).
Jesus’ famous statements in John 17 have their roots in the deep spiritual unity between the Father and the Son, and with those whom God has chosen out of the world (Jn. 17:6). “That they may all be one. As You, O Father, are in Me and I in You, so that they also be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me” (Jn. 17:21). Note that the testimony to the world is that the disciples are in the Father and the Son so that the world may believe. This is much more—profoundly more—than being related through a common organization.
The unity that shines with glory for the world to see is the union with the Father and the Son, so that the glory of the Father and the Son may be a part of our lives. “The glory that You gave Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one” (Jn. 17:22). That glory is due to this: “I in them and you in me” (Jn. 17:23). Out of this union with God, and the glory it gives, shines something that the world can see, if God gives them eyes to see. God’s goal with this vertically rooted unity, this horizontally focused unity, this unity that reflects the glory of God, is that He might “gather into one the scattered children of God” (John 11:52).
The ultimate goal of such Christian unity is the glory of God. Hence Paul prays, “And may the God of patience and consolation grant you to have the same mind toward one another according to Christ Jesus, so that with one accord, with one voice, they may glorify the God and Father of our Lord. Jesus Christ. Therefore accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us for the glory of God” (Rom. 15:5-7).
What implications are there for us?
1. Seek the fullness of the Holy Spirit that creates unity.
“And do not be drunk with wine, in which there is excess, but be filled with the Spirit” (Eph. 5:18). Seek to be led by the Spirit and produce the fruits of the Spirit (Gal. 5:18, 22-23) for these are the gears of the wheels of love. If you are a stranger to the Holy Spirit, you will care little about the unity He builds.
2. Strive to know and spread the truths of Christ and his ways.
It tries to achieve “the unity of the faith and of the full knowledge of the Son of God” (Eph. 4:13). Grow “in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18). Share, by whatever means you can, what you see of Christ. “May the word of Christ dwell in you abundantly, teaching and admonishing one another with all wisdom” (Col. 3:16).
3. Love Christians beyond your theological borders.
Cultivate affection for those beyond your theological borders who are truly your brothers and sisters in Christ. Hate serious mistakes, not sincere brothers. Human beings have never been good at this. And today’s philosophical and emotional environment makes it even more difficult, as statements of truth are only seen as a pretext to gain control. But consider what Spurgeon says and try to become like him. Observe the intensity of hate and love:
Where the Spirit of God is there must be love, and if ever I have known and acknowledged any man as my brother in Christ Jesus, the love of Christ compels me not to think of him as a stranger or foreigner, but as a fellow citizen of the saints. Now, I abhor strong adherence to ‘High Church’ practices, the way my soul hates Satan; but I love to read George Herbert, although George Herbert was a staunch member of the ‘High Church’. I loathe his strong adherence to the practices of that church, but I love George Herbert very dearly, and I keep a warm corner of my heart for everyone like him. If I were to meet any man who loves my Lord Jesus Christ as George Herbert loved him, then I would not ask whether I should love him or not; the questions would not fit, because he could not avoid it; unless he could stop loving Jesus Christ, he could not stop loving those who love him. (Sermons from the Pulpit of the Metropolitan Tabernacle, vol. XII, 6)
4. Serve Christians beyond your theological boundaries.
For the sake of a witness to the world, look for ways to show love to brothers and sisters beyond barriers; both the type of barriers that must be removed, and the type of barriers that commitment to the truth (and unity in the truth) prohibits you from removing. Do this for the glory of God. Let Francis Schaeffer be your guide:
It is in the middle of a dispute that we have our golden opportunity. When everything is going well and we are all standing around in a small circle, there isn’t much for the world to see. But when we get to the place where there is a real difference, and we exhibit an unwavering commitment to the truth, but at the same time an observable love, then there is something the world can see, something they can use to judge that these really are Christians, and that Jesus has indeed been sent by the Father. (Collected Works, vol. 4, 201, emphasis added)
ambiguity and hope
When all is said and done, ambiguities remain. What kind of boundaries should be defined by churches, schools, denominations, conferences, parachurch ministries, citywide prayer meetings, local evangelistic efforts? However we are not adrift. We are not without a rudder and without sails. We have the stars in the sky and our trusted sextant. In dependence on the Word and the Spirit, in humility, we will come home… together.
Originally posted for . Translated by Kevin Larra.