The Truth About Our Differences
Our Spiritual Unity and Our Doctrinal Diversity

It is not surprising that the outside world is rather incredulous when we talk about Christian unity.  For how can the man on the street, bewildered by our opposing spires and clashing creeds, believe us when we sing:

We are not divided;
All one body we,
One in faith and doctrine,
One in charity.

     Yes, although we appear to be shattered like a sunbeam on the prism of cold reality, down in our hearts we somehow know that our song is true - that, just as the colors of the rainbow blend within a single ray of light, we too, are one in spite of our diversities.

     But we also know that, notwithstanding our intrinsic unity, we are plagued with adventitious differences, like motes and flecks that clutter the sunshine but cannot disrupt the indivisible glory of the sun itself.  How can we account for this anomalous state of affairs, and what can we do to correct it?

     Anomalous or not, our predicament is precisely what the Bible teaches us to expect; and the Bible also shows us how to hurdle the apparent paradox.

     As for our essential unity, it is sufficiently assured by the simple fact that Jesus prayed that we might be "one" as H e and the Father are "one" (cf. Jno. 17:11,21).  But does this justify the assumption that we are already in full, vital, moral and spiritual accord; or does it present another case in which God "calleth those things which be not [yet] as though they [already] were"?  (Rom. 4:17)   The Apostle Paul, replying with the present tense, declares that "the body is one" (I Cor. 12:12); yet, a little later, without a blush of inconsistency, he tells us that we have still to "attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God" (Eph. 4:13, RSV).  So it appears that, whereas in one sense our unity is a present reality, there is another sense in which it is largely a potentiality which can be realized only in proportion as our faith is perfected.

     Not our personal faith in Christ, in which all of us concur from the start, but 'the faith"- that is, our creedal faith-which embraces the whole body of truth as it is revealed in the Scriptures. Already, we are trusting Jesus as our Savior and Lord; that is what makes us Christians, and to this extent we are even now in perfect agreement. But we can never fully realize our potential unity in terms of unstinted fellowship and cooperation until we are drawn together, inspired, and actuated by a common creed. That-a genuine, thoroughgoing unanimity of heart and hand, not mere panorganizational regimentation - is the true goal of Biblical ecumenism; and, according to the Scriptures, the only thing that will promote and maintain such an achievement is our mutual adherence to "the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints" (Jude 3, RSV). This means that, in large measure, what we believe not only makes us what we are, but also determines what we do and the way we do it. Hence a truncated creed makes for a truncated fellowship; an artificial creed, for an artificial fellowship; a spurious creed, for a spurious fellowship; and the result, in any case, spells out the metes and bounds of our practical cooperation.. It, therefore, follows that we must believe the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, if we are to realize the rapport or the mutual advantages inherent in our calling.

     First of all, we must believe in our basic unity simply because the Bible affirms it, notwithstanding our superficial differences. Then, acting on this premise, we must go on to realize our ideal unity in an experiential way by "working out" the salvation which God has been "working in" us from the start (cf. Phil. 2:12,13); for, after all, it is our salvation that draws us together, and the progress of our salvation is the measure of our togetherness. At present, the unity we profess is embarrassed, not by what we are because we are Christians, but by what we lack in being as Christian as we ought to be, owing to our lingering carnality and spiritual immaturity. But as we grow more and more like Christ, we shall realize more and more the unity which is ours in Him from first to last.

     This is the gist of the Apostle's teaching in Ephesians 4:1-16. First, in verses 1-6, he points out seven vital bonds of union as simple matters of fact to be accepted by faith. Then, he verses 7-16,  he proceeds to show how Christ prepares us for an experiential realization of our inherent unity by nurturing our faith with knowledge, and thus advancing our salvation, until we finally attain to full, spiritual maturity. Meanwhile, according to the drift of this whole passage, we shall enjoy increasing fellowship until it is perfected in love on the basis of a common faith and a mutual knowledge of the Lord.

     As for the sevenfold unity which all of us partake of from the start, it is simply stated as a fact for faith to reckon with: 
     There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. - Eph. 4:4-6.
As regenerate believers, we are all co-members of one and the same spiritual body, the Mystical Church, in which we share a common life and destiny with, and under the headship of, our blessed Lord. We are indwelt by one and the same Holy Spirit, who is gradually transforming us into the image of Christ in order that we may all be glorified together in the world to come (cf. Rom. 8:29; 11 Cor. 3:18). We all rejoice in one and the same sustaining hope (cf. Rom. 5:2; Col. 1:27), assured that, when our sanctification is complete, we shall be clothed with eternal honor, glory, and immortality (cf. I Cor. 15:48-54; 11 Cor. 5:4). We all have one and the same Master, our glorified Lord, to whom we owe our allegiance and look for direction and help. We all concur in the same profession of faith in Christ's redeeming blood and, thus alike, enjoy the riches of His grace as sons and heirs of God. We are all participants in one and the same baptism-not merely a drawn in water, but our Lord's own death and -by which, through faith in Him, we share His over sin and death. And, finally, we all find refuge in one the same God, whose common fatherhood makes us a single graced with His nature, clothed with His character, and by His infinite perfections.

     Surely, as we sometimes sing, such "ties" should "bind our in Christian love." And, despite all appearances to the during our spiritual adolescence, they will bring this to fruition in the course of time. For, as Paul goes on to the plan of salvation entails all the ways and means to the attainment of such a consummation. To this end, our risen Lord endowed the churches with a succession of variously gifted ministers, appointing some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, some to be pastors and teachers, in order fully to equip His people for the work of serving-for the building up of Christ's body-till we all of us arrive at oneness in faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God, and at mature manhood and the stature of full-grown men in Christ.-Eph. 4:11-13, RFW.

     This passage contemplates the whole scope and progress of the salvation-experience-both of the individual and of the Church at large, from start to finish-as the issue of a variegated ministry of the Word. Roughly speaking, such a ministry takes two principal forms: first, a quest for converts, and then, a course of teaching to build them up in the Christian faith. At the outset, the Apostles, with their multifarious gifts, performed both of these essential services. Then, for a while, there were prophets, some local and others itinerant, who served very much the same ends in an auxiliary capacity, though of course with much less recognition and authority. But, in the course of time, the burden of the ministry fell upon professional evangelists, or missionaries who traveled from place to place, and the local pastors who supervised and indoctrinated their several churches. All this was meant to bring about a mutual ministry of edification within the Church, which will eventually lead to "oneness in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God" and, hence, to spiritual maturity. Thus we see that, although the unity which inheres in our salvation may be obscured or hampered by our faults and failures, it is certain to become more appreciable as we grow, and to burst into its final bloom when we at last grow up.

     Meanwhile, we shall do well to keep ourselves on guard against two baneful threats: our own carnality which thrives on ignorance and bigotry, and unscrupulous schismatics who are ever eager to exploit such frailties for their own ignoble purposes. Nevertheless, however long it may take, the truth will finally prevail in our hearts and bring us together in the bonds of peace. For Paul goes on on to say:

We are not meant to remain as children at the mercy of every chance wind of teaching and the jockeying of men who are expert in the crafty presentation of lies. but we are meant to hold firmly to the truth in love, and to grow up in every way into Christ, the head.

For it is from the head that the whole body, as a harmonious structure knit together by the joints with which it is provided, grows by the proper functioning of individual parts to its full maturity in love.-Eph. 4:13-16, JBP.

     In short, although our fundamental spiritual unity is at present by a welter of regrettable differences, the clouds, spawned by the flesh and not the spirit, are transitory and will vanish as we "grow in grace, and in the knowledge of and Savior Jesus Christ" (if Pet. 3:18). This salutary will doubtless cost all of us some sacred cows; but the cost, it is good to know that the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn which shines brighter and brighter until full day. - Prov. 4:18, RSV.