I s there a grave danger involved in pursuing Christian unity? Can Christians be "contaminated" by other Christians of differing doctrinal persuasions? How about churches and denominations that may contain unconverted people just "playing at being Christian?" What happens if we find ourselves in the company of "false brethren?" Before the discussion proceeds any further, every Christian should keep in mind that the apostle Paul quoted Jesus, in Hebrews 13:5, as saying, "I will never leave you, nor forsake you." Also, no person or created thing can "...separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:35-39). These key assurances should quell most of our fears in the matter, especially those that have to do with our personal concerns over the spiritual "safety" of the members of the church.
I n the apostle Paul's first letter to the Christians at Corinth, he is inspired to describe God's view and intent concerning oneness among Christians. Paul wrote concerning Christian "Communion," or "the Lord's Supper," or "Eucharist," or whatever name we choose to call the sacrament of the shared bread and the wine, "The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ: The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ: for we being many are one bread, and one body, for we all are partakers of that one bread " (1 Cor. 10:16-17). This bread represents the Bread of Life, Jesus Christ, who said, "I am the bread of life, he that comes to me shall never hunger, and he that believes on me shall never thirst" (John 6:35). Jesus' body is likened to bread, given for the spiritual sustenance of the world, so that people can live forever who "eat" of it (John 6:50). Jesus also said, "He that eats my flesh, and drinks my blood, dwells in me, and I in him" (John 6:56). Jesus Christ is embodied in his church. "For as we have many members (of our own bodies), and all members don't have the same function, likewise, we (Christians), being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members, one of another" (Romans 12:4-5).
T hat is where the bread of life is found today, and that is where the blood of Christ stands for the redemption of all Christians of the New Covenant. Jesus Christ's body is the bread of life, and the church is the body of Christ. It is sad that we have learned to justify eating and drinking the bread and wine of Christian communion, without pursuing the complete communion, the oneness in Christ, that communion represents. Hence, Paul's incredulous question in 1 Corinthians 1:13: "Is Christ divided?" This should be a question that all Christians ask today, as we look around in amazement and dismay at the fragmented church. (For a refresher concerning the institution and continuing practice of this sacrament of the bread and the wine in the church, see, for example, Mark 14:17-24; Luke 22:16-20; 1 Corinthians 11:20-28)
V irtually all Christian churches believe that the receiving of the bread and the wine are, among other things, a spiritual communion with the Lord Jesus and with other Christians. Sadly, by the time Paul wrote his first letter to the Christians at Corinth, hardly more than twenty years after Jesus Christ's crucifixion, he had to write that "...when you come together in the church, I hear that there are divisions among you..." (1 Cor. 11:18). Then, addressing the problem, he explained to them that Christians have a variety of gifts. For example, he writes, there are different levels of administration in the church, different operations of the church, but it is the same God working in all of us (1 Cor. 12:1-6). Then he says (in verses 7 through 11) that each person (not every denomination ) is given gifts (and he then names some of the gifts), one gift to one person, one to another, dividing to every person (not every denomination ), as the Spirit wills, "For the body is one, and has many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body....but now God has set the members every one of them in the body (not a body, not just one of many), as it has pleased him" (1 Cor. 12:12,18). It is not correct to justify denominational divisions along the line of spiritual gifts, such as those who speak in tongues versus those who do not.
I n verses 13 through 17 of First Corinthians, the church is described as consisting of many Christians, variously described as the feet, ears, eyes, and nose of a functioning body, its "members." Christians are each intended to be an integral part of one body, working together with the other parts of the same body. Denominations and sub-groups, by whatever name, when they attempt to function alone and reject the other parts of the body, are only marginally effective. As a metaphor, it could be said that we tend to attend churches where we are the most comfortable, with people who have similar gifts...something like crowding into one "hand", separated from the feet and eyes and ears and the other members.
T here is no valid argument for the separation of the various gifts into various denominations apart from one another. There is no scriptural authority for attempting to identify each denominational grouping as "part of the body, and "just one of the many members" that constitute the whole body. This is a position that cannot be defended from the plain teaching of the Bible, if indeed we trust the Bible to decide the matter. It is individual Christians, not groups, that are referred to as "members of the Body" in these passages. The Bible teaches us two things that we just can't seem to get around, no matter how hard we try: 1) each Christian is a member of the Body of Christ, and, 2) each member is to function in harmony with every other member. There is nothing wrong with meeting in groups, but there is no place for artificially contrived sub-groups of Christians, operating completely apart from all the others.
O ne of the objections to seeking unity among Christians is the fear that we will somehow be contaminated in the purity of our relationship with God by fellowshiping with false brethren. The Bible indeed warns us that false brethren and teachers will be found in the church. However, if members are found to be living in an ungodly, sinful and unrepentant life-style, the Bible teaches us how to handle it (See Matthew 18:15-17; 1 Corinthians 5:1-13). These people are to be disfellowshiped from the congregation. Even then, when they repent, they are to be, quickly and without reservation, received back into the arms of Christian love (2 Corinthians 2:4-11, speaking of the person mentioned in the first letter). But we are nowhere instructed to attempt to virtually disfellowship entire denominations of Christians whose sincere beliefs in the "finer points" of doctrine differ from our own. By "finer points" I mean all doctrine that is not essential to the message of salvation, our own "sacred cows" of denominationally detached exegesis and hermeneutics.
I n a parable, Jesus Christ spoke of tares (false brethren) growing in the same field (the world) with the wheat (true Christians). The workers are instructed to refrain from pulling up the tares because of the danger of mistakenly rooting up the wheat. Tares look like wheat on the surface, but they are not. The tares represent false brethren. The separation between the two will be made in the end (The parable is found in Matt. 13:24-30). This parable guarantees that the true church will not always be filled with true Christians only...not "neat and clean" but somewhat "messy." It is not the time to separate out those groups that we perceive to contain some "tares." By so doing we will often be committing grave error by rejecting the "wheat" that grows there. Remember, this is not advocating tolerating those who would teach their followers to commit sin while falsely claiming authority from God. This speaks concerning those who have given their lives to Christ. These believers are not to be shunned by brothers and sisters in Christ for any reason, other than those explicitly given in scripture.(Note: some say that the "tares" in the above parable do not represent false brethren. They say, because the "field" represents "the world" rather than the church, that the tares simply represent everyone else but Christians, including atheists, agnostics, muslims, buddhists, etc. If this were so, then they would not appear to be identical to the wheat, or true Christians, and it would not be a problem to separate the wheat from the tares. These tares look just exactly like the wheat.
The field represents the world because it would not be appropriate for it to represent the Body of Christ, the church, because these tares cannot truly "be in" the Body of Christ, they can only appear to be in the Body of Christ. They are not in the Body, because they do not have the Spirit of God dwelling in them. They are to be found in a situation where they can appear to be "wheat." These "tares" sit in the congregations, they claim to be Christians, and they look like Christians. The tares are in the world, and they are of the world. Christians are also "in the world, but they are not "of the world" (John17:11,16), so are also rightly represented as being in the same field, "the world," with the tares. The tares are those who are in the field, the world, and appear to be in the Body of Christ. The wheat are the Christians, in the same field, but they are the true members of the Body of Christ.)
T he fragmented church is bearing false witness. It does not glorify the name of God by it's open and festering schisms. God promised that his church would be given blessings, blessings that are not seen today to the extent that they were promised. There is a reason. We cannot receive blessings of the spiritual power and knowledge and wisdom and understanding and love that was promised to us while we exist in this state of disharmony. That would be like God putting his stamp of approval on our sin. And the church divided is certainly sin. The word, "sin," in the Bible, variously comes from words meaning "error," "missing the mark," "failure," "fall/trespass," or "go astray." Division is of Satan, not of God.
I f we cannot "handle" unity, it is not God's fault, it is ours. We can't continue to say, "I believe that we will be one, but now is not the time. We just need to 'wait upon the Lord.'" No, the Lord is waiting upon us. The instructions throughout his Word are very clear. Oneness has been prayed for, by Jesus Christ himself, as recorded in John 17:20-23. Oneness has been taught in the Holy Word for almost 2000 years. Oneness is a command of God. Jesus can well ask, "...why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and yet don't do the things which I say?" (Luke 6:46)
T he church unified in love will be able to serve as a true witness of the God that dwells in it. (Let it be! Father, use us to bring it about! Amen!) There will be miracles and works of power as never before. Jesus said, "...he who believes on me, the works I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do ; because I go to my Father. And whatsoever you ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you shall ask anything in my name, I will do it." (John 14:12-14) The church is the Body of Christ. He intends to work through the people of the church to glorify his name as the true Messiah (John 17:21).
T he unified church will be given the gift of truth as never before, truly knowing the will and mind of God, asking and receiving from him because we will ask according to his will, in the oneness and power of the Holy Spirit. The promises of the above verse have never materialized. We should be wondering why. Could it be that we have never learned to obey the Great Commandment? ...Love God, love neighbor (Matthew 22:34-40), especially the brethren. In 1John 3:22-23, it says, "...whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight, and this is his commandment, that we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment." Also, in 1John 4:12,20, "No man has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwells in us, and his love is perfected in us....if a man says, 'I love God,' and hates his brother, he is a liar. For he that doesn't love his brother, whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?" Finally, in 1John 5:1, "Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone that loves him that begat also loves him that is begotten of him." If a Christian brother or sister believes that Jesus is the Christ, then that person is born of God. Everyone who loves God, who is the Father, the one who begat, loves the one who is begotten of him. When we shun a child of God, we shun Jesus Christ who dwells in them. We cannot dwell apart from other Christians in the Christian community and please God.
R emember what was said in the first paragraph? That Christ will never leave us nor forsake us, and that nothing can separate us from God's love? Even with these assurances, our carnal nature still fears to put the plain truth of the scripures into action. We must work for oneness, but we must do it because we love the brethren, not simply because we hunger for the promises. We must strive to love one another as God intended, then we will be able to love one another without fear of consequences. "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, because fear has torment. He that doesn't fear is made perfect in love" (1John 4:18) But remember: whatever we do as a Christian, including working for oneness, must be motivated by love, or it is spiritually worthless and cannot produce good spiritual results. God teaches in 1Corinthians 13:1-3 that speaking in tongues of men and of angels, having the gift of prophecy, understanding all mysteries and all knowledge, having all faith, giving everything we have to the poor, and giving up our lives to martyrdom are without any personal value or profit to a person, if we don't have love. "Charity", as is used in the King James Version in place of the word "love" used here, is translated from the Greek word agape, which means the highest form of love. The same word is used in the following words from Colossians 3:14-15, words that seem to say it all:"And above all these things, be clothed with love, which is the perfect bond, and let the peace of God, to whom you were called in one body, rule in your hearts, and be thankful."
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