Essay 73 (5-14-05)

PRINCIPLES OF CHRISTIAN UNITY

Those of us who have been concerned for unity, both in our own Stone-Campbell heritage and in the community of faith at large, have blessings to count. There is now broad support for this cause. We are coming to realize that our Restoration roots grew out of an effort to "unite the Christians in all the sects." We are rediscovering principles of unity forged by our pioneers on the rugged American frontier, and we are beginning to realize that our heritage is one "born of a love for Christian unity," as Robert Richardson, our first historian put it.

Listed below is a review of some of those principles, along with others gleaned from ecumenists in the church at large. Some of the principles are influenced by my own thinking through the years, wrought in the crucible of unity conferences. They are given here in view of keeping the conversation going, and to provide resource and encouragement for the various unity efforts now in progress.

Jesus prayed for the unity of his church.

It should impress us profoundly that our Lord, even in his last hours, should pray for the oneness of his disciples (Jn. 17:11-23). That alone should make divisions among Christians intolerable. And should it not also lead us to pray for the unity of all God’s people, including prayers in our assemblies?

Unity is mandated by the apostles.

Unity isn’t simply a good idea or an advantage, but a command of the chosen envoys of Christ. And along with the command for unity (1 Cor. 1:10; Eph. 4:2-4) is condemnation of division. In fact, Gal. 5:20 lists "factions, parties, divisions" as works of the flesh that will bar one from the kingdom of God.

Unity is a gift to be received, not a condition to be achieved.

Ecumenical gatherings and unity forums have their place, but unity in Christ is not realized by human ingenuity, however well-intentioned. It is a gift of the Spirit – "preserve the Spirit’s unity in the bond of peace" (Eph. 4:3). The means for accepting the gift – forbearing love – is also of the Spirit, a fruit, to be distinguished from a gift (Eph. 4L2l;Gal. 5:22). It is our forbearing love for each other – not agreement on dogma – that "binds us together" (Col. 3:12-13).

Unity is by its very nature diverse.

This is true of unity in any dimension – in matrimony, in a family, in the human body, in a picture. It is the diversity – a man and woman in marriage or the variety in the human body– that gives meaning to the unity. How much more in the body of Christ: "For as the body is one, and has many members, and all the members of that one body, being many are one body; so also is Christ" (1 Cor. 12:12).

Tensions and difficulties are always a part of unity, and only unity can deal effectively with them.

This is why when Paul pleads for unity he calls for forbearance (Eph. 4:2). If unity meant conformity – no differences -- there would be nothing to forbear.

All human relationships are fraught with tensions, difficulties, problems – whether running a business, conducting a war, or doing family. A united family may have as many problems as any other, but it is unity that enables it to deal with them constructively. Generals planning a campaign may have serious differences on strategy, but that they are united enables them to utilize their differences to their advantage.

There will always be tensions in the church – a tension of such polarities as liberal/conservative – but the love that unites exploits the tensions and employs them for creative progress.

Christian unity and evangelism are interrelated.

Jesus made this strikingly clear in his prayer for unity, even implying that a divided church cannot effectively evangelize. The church is to be one so the world can be won! "May they be one . . . so that the world will believe" (Jn. 17:21). Could this be why – even though we have the most powerful message on earth – that after 2,000 years the Christian faith is a minority religion. Can a divided church win a lost world?

7."The Church of Christ upon earth is essentially, intentionally, and constitutionally one."

This powerful affirmation, coming out of our Stone-Campbell heritage, goes far in identifying the nature of the church and its unity. It is by its very nature as the body of Christ one. It cannot be other than one. "Is Christ divided?" the apostle asks in 1 Cor. 1:13, making a divided church an oxymoron.

This means that our mission is not to restore the church’s unity, but to realize that as the body of Christ the church is already united. The church’s unity is real but not realized. It is like a marriage in trouble. The couple – by the holy bond of matrimony is one. Their task is to realize the joys and blessings of that unity.

Thomas Campbell, who crafted the above statement, did not yet have a single congregation that came to be known as "Church of Christ" when he wrote that line in 1809. He understood that "the Church of Christ upon earth." consisted of "all those in every place who confess their faith in Christ, and who obey him in all things according to the Scriptures."

That was the church then and it is the church now – all those who are in Christ, wherever they are, even among the sects. The sects are not the church; it is those "in Christ" that are the church – and they are all one in the body of Christ. We are united in a Person – not in dogmas, not in sects, not in denominations.

"In essentials, unity . . ."

This was part of a slogan crafted during the Protestant Reformation, and adopted by our pioneers in Stone-Campbell. It points to the only possible unity – the core gospel centered in Christ himself. The fewer essentials, the broader the unity; the more essentials required, the narrower the circle of unity. It is sometimes pointed out that it is "multiplying the essentials" that causes divisions.

The rest of the slogan says, "In opinions (and methods sometimes added), liberty; In all things, love." We can never unite on opinions. We can unite only on the basic truth of the gospel, allowing for opinions as private property – and not imposed on others. Alexander Campbell rightly named "the tyranny of opinionism" – making opinions essentials – as the cause of divisions..

Notes

We are pleased to report that our daughter Phoebe, now in her fifth week in ICU, continues to improve. She now requires less frequent dialysis, and the doctors hope to have her off the respirator soon. We thank you for your prayerful concern.

It is good news that the first printing of The Stone-Campbell Encyclopedia soon sold out. A new printing is now available and we can send you a copy for $53.10, including postage. This monumental publication – a handsome volume of 900 pages – is a tribute to our heritage. We can also supply my autobiography – A Lover’s Quarrel: My Pilgrimage of Freedom in Churches of Christ for $15, postpaid. Send check made out to Leroy Garrett to 1300 Woodlake Dr., Denton. TX 76210.

If you live in the College Station, TX area it would be good to see you at the A&M Church of Christ this Sunday. I will speak at both assemblies, starting at 9:30 and will teach combined adult classes in between, and I will speak at the evening service.

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