![]() ![]() Where division might normally reign, unity should instead lead to an uncommon love, where believers listen to and bear with one another. ![]() It’s why he wrote to the Corinthians: “I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment” (1 Cor. That’s why Paul told the Ephesian Christians to be “eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph. Unity is a critical manifestation of a Spirit-empowered church. When the rest of the world can’t seem to agree on anything or bear to be around people who are different, a church where natural enemies become siblings in Christ is a powerful alternative. This is especially true in a world as fragmented and divisive as ours, where countercultural unity among diverse people stands out. For Paul this is a tangible expression of the uniting of Jew and Gentile as “siblings in God’s eternal family.” And “alleviating a brother’s poverty is, first and foremost, a family responsibility.”Ī unified church is one of the strongest evidences of the truth of the gospel. For Paul, the church is a family as such, unity must prevail.” One way this is practically embodied is in material solidarity (e.g., 1 Cor. As Joe Hellerman notes, “If there was one place in the ancient world where a person could expect to encounter a united front, it was in the descent-group family of blood brothers and sisters. Paul had much to say about the importance of unity as product and proof of the gospel, and he underscores it in his regular use of sibling and family language when he’s dealing with divisions in churches, whether it be the Jew-Gentile divisions of the Roman church or the status divisions of Corinth (e.g., 1 Cor. one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” Their unity was rooted in Christ’s own unity with the Father, an idea Paul picks up in his own writings about unity and oneness, for example Ephesians 4:4–6: “There is one body and one Spirit. Why? “So that the world may believe that you have sent me,” he prayed (v. Jesus passionately prayed that his followers would be one and “may be brought to complete unity” (John 17:21, 23 NIV). Why? Here are just three reasons why unity is a value we must pursue: ![]() Unity amidst such diversity is one of the most brilliant and yet challenging things about Christianity.īut it's a challenge we must continually take up. The shape of Christian practice in a Korean megachurch, thus, looks different than a Pentecostal church in Appalachia. This means that local cultures and contexts create a multiplicity of Christian identities and permutations. Unlike other more regional religions which are buttressed by shared geographical or cultural identity, Christianity has since the beginning been global and transcultural. ![]() The importance of getting Christian belief and behavior right, coupled with the open-to-interpretation nature of much of Scripture, leads to VERY strong feelings and uncompromising convictions on all manner of Christian theology and praxis.Īnother challenge to unity is geographical and cultural diversity. Unity in the Christian church has been a challenging thing since the earliest days of Christianity. ![]()
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