A Truly Biblically United Church is Possible

By Khen Lim



Image Source: examiner.com

“Unity” and “oneness” has a profound biblical importance. Psalm 133:1 says unity with others is a ‘good’ thing and it’s ‘pleasant.’ Paul says in 1 Cor 12:27 that unity is integral to church being a ‘body of Christ’ and as such it cannot be disunited or in a state of flux with itself because when it does, the body simply ceases to be. To put that into sharper perspective, Jesus has told us of His plans for His church to be a people united in faith.

The way to unity must start with how we look at ourselves within the construct of the body and then how we view others from where we stand. A good perspective on this is provided in Phil 2:3 where Paul says, “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit but with humility of mind, regard one another as more important than yourselves.” 

The thing about church disunity is that it always leads back to a simple grain of truth and that truth has much to do with our self-centredness. Individual selfishness is all about acting selfishly and thinking we’re better than the others… and then for the others to think they’re better than us.

In the following verse (v.4), Paul explains more: “Do not merely look out for your own personal interests but also for the interests of others.” That is interesting – it is sad but evidently true that churches in disunity are also in conflict and turmoil because they’re often filled with people with selfish needs and who concentrates solely on their own desires and ambitions. 

When we think that such behaviour is more like an unbeliever, we probably need to re-look again because, embarrassingly, we can just as easily be like them despite our avowed heart for Christ. Instead of godliness, the hallmark of a disunited church is worldliness. Just as Paul reminded the church of Corinth, telling the people, “For you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly and are you not walking like mere men?” (1 Cor 3:3)

The Bible commands us to be considerate of the needs of others before our own. In Eph 4:2, Paul exhorts us to be with “all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love.” When a church is filled with like-minded people being all thoughtful, kind, caring and considerate to one another, the ambience is filled with peace, unity and harmony. 

A humbled person sees not the faults of others but those of himself. In light of the perfections of Christ, he sees the glaring corruption scarred in his heart with all the etches of impure motives and evil ambitions and believes that others have hearts purer than his own. When the faults of others confront him, he does nothing but speaks the truth of love and wishes for them their sanctification so that they may be built righteously in the image of Christ.

As Christians, the centrality of our faith is to see one another in the light of the cross upon which Christ died a horrible and painful death in order that His righteous perfection can be exchanged for our sins (2 Cor 5:21). If we truly live our lives based on this principle, how can we not extend to them what our glorious Father always gives us with His love, compassion and grace? Why instead do we demean, criticise, mock and slander even those who, like us, are covered with the precious blood of Christ?

Weren’t all of us in our past enslaved to sin until Christ called us? Weren’t we hopelessly lost and dead to our sins? (Eph 2:1) Now that we are, in Paul’s word, prisoners of Christ, slaves to righteousness and as servants of the perfected Master, our goal is not to be quarrelsome and demanding but to consider that God’s grace and love are not just for us but are also to be available to those who are His by His mercy. 

When a church is finally full of people who all enjoy their ‘common salvation,’ then it will be a truly biblically united church in – and fervently desirous of – the “faith which was once… handed down to the saints” (Jude 1:3).