UNITY: A WORKABLE PLAN

C. Ermal Allen

CHRISTIAN STANDARD, 8/15/1982, pp. 12-13

Jesus prayed that all of His followers might be one. He prayed for unity so that the world might believe that the Father sent Him (John 17:20-23). The church has not been too successful in finding that unity. There is only one body (in God’s eyes), but its visible unity is yet to be seen (in recent centuries, at least). How can we find the way?

The approach to unity must be practical (workable) and Scriptural. The two most common approaches, ecumenism and sectarianism, have often been tried, but are neither practical nor Scriptural. The one recognizes as brothers many who are not children of God, whereas the other refuses to recognize as brothers many who are God’s children. The Scriptural plan, however, is practical as well as Scriptural. It will work, because it is God’s plan, not man’s.

In evaluating any approach to unity, four criteria need to be sought: (1) All disciples of Jesus are recognized as being in the fellowship. (2) Personal relationships, not necessarily congregational mergers, are involved. (3) The world can see the effects of this unity. The invisible unity of the Spirit becomes visible. (4) Persons serve together without violating each other’s rights and responsibilities.

 Accept

The first step toward unity is, "Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God" (Romans 15:7). If a person is in fellowship with Christ, then he must be accepted as our brother. We are not to make anything a test of fellowship or brotherhood that God has not made, in express terms, a condition for salvation or sonship.

God loves us and wants us to be saved. It seems only reasonable to expect that His Word would spell out the conditions for salvation in express language—in simple, direct, easy-to-understand words. "Express language" means that the Scripture says it, not "in other words," but "in so many words."

Whatever Scripture says (not just implies) is necessary for salvation, is also necessary for unity; nothing more, nothing less. For example, does Scripture say that one must understand the millennium to be saved? No. Again, does Scripture teach that a person who believes the good news and is immersed into Christ will be saved? Yes, in express language (Mark 16:15,16; Galatians 3:26,27; of course, our translations may muddy the original language).

We must, therefore, search the Scriptures, making note of everything that they expressly say is necessary to become a child of God. If a person has met those conditions, we must accept him as a brother, as a part of our fellowship, even if he disagrees with us on a host of other issues.

Forgive

Accepting as a brother the person who disagrees with us is one thing: many of us can tolerate differences of opinion. On the other hand, it is much more difficult to accept the one who has harmed us, by slight, insult, or even physical injury. Nevertheless, the Word says, "Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you" (Colossians 3:13). But, how can a Christian forgive when the offender does not ask forgiveness or even refuses to acknowledge that he is wrong?

The answer lies in the way God forgives our sins. Forgiveness is not the healing of the wound–only time can do that. Rather, forgiveness is how I treat that person in spite of the wound. Is that not the way God forgives us? He is still hurt by our sins, but He treats us as though we have not sinned because Jesus has paid the price. We must forgive others for the same reason, because Jesus has already paid the price. I must forgive, in order to show God that I understand that forgiveness is not based on merit, but on grace. See Matthew 18:35.

I can forgive, not because I am no longer hurt, but because this person’s sins have been covered by the blood of Jesus. If he has met the Scriptural requirements for God’s forgiveness, then I cannot withhold my forgiveness. After all, is his sin against me greater than his sin against God? If God can be gracious, then I must also be gracious. I can treat him (sincerely) as a brother even though he does not deserve such treatment, for God treats me as a son even though I do not deserve such treatment.

Love

The third step toward unity is found in Colossians 3:14: "And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity." Love is the all-embracing attitude that makes this whole plan for unity possible. Compare John 17:23, "May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me," with John 13:35, "All men will know that you are my disciples if you love one another." Love and unity are almost used interchangeably.

Love is more than acceptance and forgiveness. Love is an attitude that results in action. It is more action than emotion. Love sums up the commandments (Romans 13:9; Galatians 5:14). Love is not a feeling about others as much as a way of treating others. Love is laying down "our lives for our brothers" (1 John 3:16). It is sharing our material possessions with those in need (3:17). It is not so much "words or tongue" as it is "actions and in truth" (3:18).

Agape love means that a Christian treats his brothers as brothers, regardless of how he personally feels about them. When he puts even his "enemies" above himself, he is showing love, even when he cannot "feel good" about them. Many of our intracongregational divisions would be healed if we quit treating our brothers as they deserve to be treated, and started treating them in their best interest, regardless of how we feel about them. The best way to conquer an enemy is still to treat him as a friend, to "overcome evil with good" (Romans 12:21). In other words, love is not feeling (which we cannot always control) but doing.

Serve

The fourth step toward unity is an extension of love: serving. Serving, being active in the Lord’s work, is a way of combating criticism, a very visible sign of division. (It is especially visible to the world.) Too often those who criticize are the ones who are not doing much. It is easy to point out others’ faults when one is doing nothing to which others can point an accusing finger.

Being active in serving the Lord reduces criticism in two ways. (1) On the one hand, a person who is working in the kingdom has little time to turn a critical eye upon the work of others, and (2) on the other hand, a Christian who is working himself realizes how difficult it is for a person always to do everything right and in a way that pleases everybody. An extended period of service in the kingdom tends to make one more humble in his attitude toward others’ shortcomings.

Serving also has a more positive side in effecting unity. Visible unity requires more than accepting, forgiving, loving, and not criticizing. It calls for God’s community to work together. According to Ephesians 4:11-16, the work of leaders is to equip the "person-in-the-pew" for ministry for Christ so that the body of Christ will be built up. From Christ "the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work" (v. 16). Note that each part must do its share of the work.

Christians are to work together, as a body (see 1 Corinthians 12:12-26). Probably nothing will bring the members of the body closer together than being involved together in service. A congregation or even two or more congregations could make plans for ministry that involve an effort to get every individual working toward an overall common goal, ministry project, or activity. Just the logistics of planning by the leaders would effect more unity since they would have to get to know each individual’s ability to contribute to the overall plan.

The most important thing in this plan is not having everyone work on one project (a virtual impossibility for all but the smallest congregations), but in having an overall plan that gives everyone a chance to see how he fits in, how he is necessary to the success of the congregation’s ministry.

The Christian community of the first century offers a challenge to us today. They were threatened with division in many ways, but they maintained "the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace" (Ephesians 4:3). We can recover that visible unity, if we will. May our hearts echo the prayer of Jesus, "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" (John 17:21).