The Body

The last couple years God has really been teaching me what it means to unite with all those who believe on His name – The Church, or the Body of Christ – despite our differences.

The Bible defines “Believer” as one who has accepted the gift of salvation, as defined in Romans 10: 9-10:

9That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

Anyone who accepts Jesus as Savoir is a Christian – there is no other criteria.

Yet somehow as Christians we divide ourselves in so many ways. By denomination. Geography. Race. Class. Political party. Countless other ways. We go as far as redefining “Christian” to include only people who share our specific traits or beliefs.

Recognizing the flaw in division is not to ignore the fact that, in particular, there are distinctions in beliefs warranting some separation. Denominations exist in part because there are very real and important differences in biblical interpretation that influence our ability to understand and grow in Christ. The Bible warns us that there will be many wrong teachings in the world and we need to be very cautious about the beliefs we embrace and have a sound understanding of His Word.

But valuing The Body is not about agreeing with every Christian, but instead uniting to encourage each other to love and serve the God we all claim despite our differences. We are not to be defined by our disagreements, but our commonality in Christ.

The New Testament provides the blueprint for Unity in The Body. In it the Early Church struggled with many of the issues our churches do today (go figure!). For example, they fought over which leaders to “follow.” They wrestled with which customs to uphold, such as what day to "hold sacred" and worship on and what kind of food to eat. Yet Paul and others admonished them to focus on encouraging each other to grow in Christ rather than on distinctions that ultimately detracted from the goal. In another letter, Galatians, Chapter 3, Paul declared:

28There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Abraham from The Old Testament, known as the “patriarch” of ancient Israel and a model of righteousness, is named in the verse to highlight that Jesus’ death on the Cross gives life to all who believe, making us “heirs” to the same promise of eternal life with Him regardless of our backgrounds. In fact, while on earth Jesus himself prayed for the unity of all believers as a means of drawing the world to Him.

So what does unity look like? A famous passage on it, I Corinthians 12: 12-31, says it must involve us valuing and using our diverse gifts in tandem to serve Him. Hebrews 10:24 says it should cause us to “put our heads together” to come up with ways to love others and do good deeds. In Galatians it encourages Christians to do good to all, especially “to those who belong to the family of believers.” All these instructions require Christians of varying backgrounds to snuggle up!

Lessons on Unity

There are so many aspects of our faith that should cause us to shelf our differences to promote Unity.

An area God has used to show me the need to unite with believers of different denominations is sexual purity (yes, I have learned so much from this pursuit!). A few years ago I was first given the opportunity to team with some fellow Christians who share my passion for purity but have certain beliefs that land us in different buildings on Sunday morning. The differences were highlighted at some group gatherings. Early on in the partnership I had to really consider if those distinctions should determine my participation. God convicted me that in the context they should not. I am so thankful I listened to His calling – I have had the chance not only to encourage others in this area, but also to get the kind of support in purity that is often hard to find in even my more comfortable Christian circles. God has a purpose in us pursuing unity, and He blesses us when we embrace it!

Another area that I have been reminded of is the importance of racial and ethnic unity in Christ. Growing up most Christians I worshipped with were a different race or ethnicity, which has generally made me welcome the physical diversity of The Body. Yet over time I had settled into admittedly more comfortable circles of Christians that more closely resemble me. Although our societal norms can make it difficult to pursue fellowship with believers of different racial or ethnic backgrounds we should actively do so – regardless of how we think others might react. This does not necessarily mean that we have to switch churches; we can take other opportunities to partner with Christians from all over the world. The fact that overcoming racial and ethnic barriers is addressed prominently in New Testament accounts of the spread of the Gospel is an indication of how important it is for us to step out in this area. When we do, we find that our commonality in Christ is greater than many of our seemingly “insurmountable” differences!

In Unity

The Body of Christ is not just the people we go to church with, but the entire family of believers - in all corners of the earth. Imagine how much more effective Christians would be if we all embraced Unity as He intended! We would show the world that knowing Christ can shatter supposedly impenetrable boundaries, reaching more people for Him! We would also experience more of the edification that He intends for us as a Body.

When we all get to heaven, we won’t have nametags separating us by our differences. Instead, believers from every nation, tribe, people and language will join in worshipping The Creator. While on earth let’s find ways to fold division and pursue The Oneness to which we are called. Our Body will be much healthier for it.