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The Lord Jesus was concerned with the unity of the entire body of believers. This was so that the world would know and believe that Jesus was the anointed one, sent by the heavenly Father into the world as its Messiah (John 17:21).
Yet today, the Christian church is fragmented than ever before. The Great Schism of 1054 broke the church into two – the Greek-speaking Orthodox church of the East and the Roman-Latin church of the West. About 500 years later, the Western church itself would be shaken and splintered by the Protestant Reformation led by men such as Martin Luther and John Calvin, dividing the Western church into Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. Within Protestantism itself, a novel denominational concept arose, giving rise to Lutherans, Presbyterians, Anglicans, Baptists, Methodists, Pentecostals etc. Today the situation is actually far more complex with the emergence of trans-denominational movements such as Evangelicalism and the Charismatic Movement.
In the light of Jesus’ concern with the unity of believers, how are we to understand the situation of the church which seems to display a singular lack of unity that is more pronounced today than ever before?
Firstly, Scripture as a unified whole has to be listened to and obeyed in dealing with this issue. The prayer of Jesus for unity in his church has to be tempered with the primacy of truth, as taught in the Bible. Truth is never to be compromised (Acts 20:30, Rom. 1:18). Departure from the truth is destructive (2 Tim. 2:17), and must be corrected with discipline imposed on those who seek to be divisive (Tit. 3:10).
Secondly, the unity of the church is not achieved by hunting for the lowest common doctrinal denominator. It comes about by adherence to the common apostolic gospel and by love that is joyful and self-sacrificing. These are marked by resolute commitment to the shared goals of the mission charged by Jesus to his followers, and by dependence on God himself for life and fruitfulness. This unity must be manifested amongst all genuine believers and transcends denominational boundaries. It is a unity that will one day be brought to perfection (John 17:23).
Thirdly, the theological enterprise that some are called to, as academics and researchers in Bible Schools, Seminaries and Universities must never be minimized. We need to listen afresh to Scripture as it speaks to us in the 21st century, over and against the heavy and complex baggage of past doctrinal disputes, socio-political and cultural differences and historical prejudices if the current impasse is to be overcome.
