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How important is it that the Christian Church stay unified? Have you ever wondered why so often in scripture you find its writers referring to believers as “one” or “one body”? The more I think and study about the “mission of God” the more that this concept of “unity” comes up.
Emily and I have a small group that we meet with every other Thursday. Honestly, the people in that group have become more like family than friends, and we’re so grateful for the unity that we have with one another.
Recently we all got together to celebrate a birthday, and the longer that we’re together the more apparent the importance of unity becomes. The longer we are with one another the easier it is to contend with one another. The better you know other believers, the better you know the God who created them.
Yet, there seems to be another matter around which “unity” among believers is necessary, and I’m coming to believe that it is found in our communal Christian witness before the nations: the world and the mission of God.
I just had the privilege of listening to one of my closest friends preach a message about how we, today, are currently living between the 1st and 2nd comings of Chirst, thus earth is neither home nor heaven – we are in a transitional period. And this concept hit me as I studied through John 17 as Jesus is about to leave his disciples and he prays for future believers. His prayer is this: “That all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” Did you catch the “so that” – it was “so that the world may believe that you have sent me” (John 17:21). Then just one verse later Jesus says this: “May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me” (John 17:23).
What is the importance of unity? It’s not for the church’s sake, not even for Jesus’ sake. It is for the sake of the world – specifically so that “the world may believe.” John uses the Greek in one of his most favorite ways of showing purpose by employing the hina + the subjunctive. Essentially, John records Jesus as declaring that the goal of how believers contend with one another in unity is for: (a) that the world may believe correctly about Jesus, and (b) that they would understand God’s love correctly.
I’m reminded, this is not home, not now, not yet. The whole reason that unity is worth maintaining is because of God’s mission for mankind’s redemption. What does the world see when it looks at the Church? Hypocrites? Weak rejects hiding behind religion? Judges? Or do they see God’s love correctly displayed; do they see and believe correctly about what exactly Jesus did?
So why keep/maintain unity at all costs? Why did Jesus pray this for all future believers, why is scripture filled with being “one” (Rom. 12:4-5, 15:5; 1 Co. 10:17, 12:12, 13, 20; Eph. 2:16, 3:6, 4:3-4, 13, 25; Col. 3:14-15), and what difference does it make? As far as God’s mission for the nations is concerned… it makes all the difference.