John 17
I had a conversation with a city
official a while ago, and he commented that the divisions of the churches in
our town were a weakness for us. If we were united we would be able to do more
and have a greater influence on our community. I don’t disagree with him.
However, it is worth asking: What are the
criteria for Christian unity?
Jesus prayed that his followers would be
one just as He and the Father are one. He prayed that we would be united in God’s
name. He spoke of giving us the Father’s word. He also talked about being
sanctified in the truth, noting that His Word is truth.
On one level we speak of a mystery here.
There is only one holy Christian and apostolic Church. All those who have been
called by the Gospel, given faith by the Holy Spirit, and enlightened by the
Gospel are one – perfectly united – in Christ. Paul speaks of it as being a
body with Christ as our head, and the body is a single unit. We don’t see this
in this world, even though it is true, so we call this the invisible church.
In another sense, however, we recognize
that the visible church on earth is not united. This is the influence of sin
expressed through sinful people. One of the clearest pieces of evidence of this
is the way that churches have turned away from Jesus’ Word or corrupted His
teaching. It is the Word that communicates God’s will to us and speaks of His
Law and Gospel. It is in the Word that the Spirit dwells to create faith in us.
If we then reject what the Word says, where can we find real unity?
Unity is something we should certainly
strive for. Yet we do not desire unity for unity’s sake. Our unity is an
expression of Jesus’ presence in our lives. It is the fruit of the forgiveness
that sinners gather together to receive. It is the effect of the salvation we
have received through Jesus’ death and resurrection. Without Jesus’ Word and
salvation any unity we have will be fractured at best.
We do well to stand with our fellow
Christians in the world and to encourage one another to be faithful to Jesus
and His Word. We also do well to honestly assess where we and they fall short
of God’s Word so that we may confess our sins together and live in God’s grace
under the cross as brothers and sisters in Christ.
Lord, unify Your people in Your Word and in
faith in Jesus. Amen.
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