Christian Unity
The Nicene Creed says "I believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church." What does the one here mean? What is the unity of the church supposed to look like? As a Baptist, I have been raised with a firmly congregationalist understanding that unity in the church is spiritual unity. Congregationalists usually speak of "the invisible Church" and "visible churches." One of the main themes in Christianity today is unity--unity of structure, unity of purpose and mission, and, to a much lesser degree, unity of doctrine. If the Church really is one, what does its unity mean?
First, we must affirm that the church really is unified, by definition. The Church (a Baptist would say the invisible Church) is the totality of all the redeemed saints throughout history and across the world. Their unity transcends time and place, for despite the chasms between ages and cultures, they are united as the holy Bride and Body of Christ.
We must also affirm that this unity, though spiritual, is real. The modern mind would say that spiritual unity represents the ideal, or the theory of Christian unity, but the mere presence of scores of denominations indicates that the theory isn't reflected by practical reality. This is nothing but modern shortsightedness. The unity of the Church in Christ is the most real unity possible. The blood of Christ, not social association or even common confession, makes any visible unity possible and meaningful. Though invisible, the veracity of this unity will be made plain for all to see at the end of days, when all the saints are resurrected from the dead and brought together at the marriage feast of their Bridegroom, the Lamb of God.
Is this real-though-spiritual unity the end of the story? Or is the Church called to display visible unity as a witness to the spiritual reality of its members' new identity in Christ?
The New Testament (to say nothing of the Old) consistently says that outward actions and character reflect inner spiritual realities. This is a theme of the epistles of Peter and Paul. For example, in 1 Peter the apostle writes to a group of Christians wondering how they ought to act--whether, since they were facing persecution, they were doing something wrong. In reply, Peter doesn't start by telling them what to do, but by reminding them who they are. He argues from their identity as God's elect, redeemed in Christ, to how they ought to live. This is characteristic of much of the New Testament.
One might argue, then, that this pattern applies to the unity of the Church as well. Spiritual identity and unity ought to manifest visible, outward unity. The Church should display unity in her devotion to Christ as a witness to the world, ultimately for the glory of her Lord.
One passage that might seem to back up this idea is Christ's great High Priestly prayer in Gethsemane in John 17. In verses 20-26 Jesus prays for the Church, and the main thing he prays for them is that they would be one.
Now, Christ may be praying, in keeping with his prayer "Thy will be done," recorded in Luke 22:42, that God would fulfill and accomplish His purposes by spiritually uniting Christ's disciples and all future believers through the atoning work He was about to perform on the Cross and His subsequent resurrection and establishment of His Church. As such, it may be that Christ's prayer here is simply an affirmation of the future reality of the spiritual unity of believers in Christ.
This reading, however, doesn't seem to do justice to the plain meaning of the text. The meaning of Christ's prayer, understood simply, seems to be that believers would be visibly, actively unified. He is praying that they would display God's glory and the power of Christ's work by acting, living, loving, worshiping, believing, and obeying as one.
This visible unity isn't such a big deal when it's just the Disciples, Mary, Mary Magdalene, and the few others who were devoted to Christ in the days leading up to and following His death, burial, and resurrection. In the context of the post-ascension, post-Pentecost Church, however, the idea of unity is staggering. When thousands are being added to the Jerusalem church on a daily or weekly basis, and when the Gospel is going out from Jerusalem to Judea, Samaria, and the Gentile world, visible unity of all believers in Christ is truly an amazing testimony to the power of the Gospel and life- and world-transforming impact of the Kingdom of God.
If visible unity is to be a characteristic of the true Church, what should it look like? The answer of the historical Church has been organizational unity, the accountability of individual Christians and local congregations to higher authorities like popes, bishops, synods, or presbyteries. This has been the case, it seems, from the earliest years of the post-apostolic Church, and I have a hard time believing that the Church was in error on this point for over 1500 years.
If, however, there is a biblical form of church government (and I believe there is), and if it is congregationalism (for which I see some evidence in the New Testament), then visible unity would look very different from the organizational unity that has been emphasized through most of Church history. It would look more like the modern-day Southern Baptist Convention or other Baptist associations: independent local congregations cooperating for the spread of the Gospel, doctrinal articulation and confession, and some degree of accountability. On the other hand, the great Presbyterian theologian Charles Hodge saw, in the tendency of congregationalists and independents to form associations, the result of an inward drive for visible, tangible, organizational unity that stems from the very nature of the Church.
To sum up, though Christians are really and truly unified spiritually in Christ, I think that the Church is also called to display a visible, outward unity as a testimony to her spiritual state and a witness to the nations. I just don't know what that visible unity should look like.
First, we must affirm that the church really is unified, by definition. The Church (a Baptist would say the invisible Church) is the totality of all the redeemed saints throughout history and across the world. Their unity transcends time and place, for despite the chasms between ages and cultures, they are united as the holy Bride and Body of Christ.
We must also affirm that this unity, though spiritual, is real. The modern mind would say that spiritual unity represents the ideal, or the theory of Christian unity, but the mere presence of scores of denominations indicates that the theory isn't reflected by practical reality. This is nothing but modern shortsightedness. The unity of the Church in Christ is the most real unity possible. The blood of Christ, not social association or even common confession, makes any visible unity possible and meaningful. Though invisible, the veracity of this unity will be made plain for all to see at the end of days, when all the saints are resurrected from the dead and brought together at the marriage feast of their Bridegroom, the Lamb of God.
Is this real-though-spiritual unity the end of the story? Or is the Church called to display visible unity as a witness to the spiritual reality of its members' new identity in Christ?
The New Testament (to say nothing of the Old) consistently says that outward actions and character reflect inner spiritual realities. This is a theme of the epistles of Peter and Paul. For example, in 1 Peter the apostle writes to a group of Christians wondering how they ought to act--whether, since they were facing persecution, they were doing something wrong. In reply, Peter doesn't start by telling them what to do, but by reminding them who they are. He argues from their identity as God's elect, redeemed in Christ, to how they ought to live. This is characteristic of much of the New Testament.
One might argue, then, that this pattern applies to the unity of the Church as well. Spiritual identity and unity ought to manifest visible, outward unity. The Church should display unity in her devotion to Christ as a witness to the world, ultimately for the glory of her Lord.
One passage that might seem to back up this idea is Christ's great High Priestly prayer in Gethsemane in John 17. In verses 20-26 Jesus prays for the Church, and the main thing he prays for them is that they would be one.
Now, Christ may be praying, in keeping with his prayer "Thy will be done," recorded in Luke 22:42, that God would fulfill and accomplish His purposes by spiritually uniting Christ's disciples and all future believers through the atoning work He was about to perform on the Cross and His subsequent resurrection and establishment of His Church. As such, it may be that Christ's prayer here is simply an affirmation of the future reality of the spiritual unity of believers in Christ.
This reading, however, doesn't seem to do justice to the plain meaning of the text. The meaning of Christ's prayer, understood simply, seems to be that believers would be visibly, actively unified. He is praying that they would display God's glory and the power of Christ's work by acting, living, loving, worshiping, believing, and obeying as one.
This visible unity isn't such a big deal when it's just the Disciples, Mary, Mary Magdalene, and the few others who were devoted to Christ in the days leading up to and following His death, burial, and resurrection. In the context of the post-ascension, post-Pentecost Church, however, the idea of unity is staggering. When thousands are being added to the Jerusalem church on a daily or weekly basis, and when the Gospel is going out from Jerusalem to Judea, Samaria, and the Gentile world, visible unity of all believers in Christ is truly an amazing testimony to the power of the Gospel and life- and world-transforming impact of the Kingdom of God.
If visible unity is to be a characteristic of the true Church, what should it look like? The answer of the historical Church has been organizational unity, the accountability of individual Christians and local congregations to higher authorities like popes, bishops, synods, or presbyteries. This has been the case, it seems, from the earliest years of the post-apostolic Church, and I have a hard time believing that the Church was in error on this point for over 1500 years.
If, however, there is a biblical form of church government (and I believe there is), and if it is congregationalism (for which I see some evidence in the New Testament), then visible unity would look very different from the organizational unity that has been emphasized through most of Church history. It would look more like the modern-day Southern Baptist Convention or other Baptist associations: independent local congregations cooperating for the spread of the Gospel, doctrinal articulation and confession, and some degree of accountability. On the other hand, the great Presbyterian theologian Charles Hodge saw, in the tendency of congregationalists and independents to form associations, the result of an inward drive for visible, tangible, organizational unity that stems from the very nature of the Church.
To sum up, though Christians are really and truly unified spiritually in Christ, I think that the Church is also called to display a visible, outward unity as a testimony to her spiritual state and a witness to the nations. I just don't know what that visible unity should look like.
posted by Jeff at 1:52 AM
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