“Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus …” (Rom. 15:5, NKJV)
From the previous teaching it is clear that unity amongst believers can never be based on what they believe. Teachings, confessional issues, dogmas, whatever defines that faith community, is never the ground for unity.
But then the explicit call to unity that Jesus makes in John 17:21 seems absolutely impossible: “that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me”.
In his doctoral thesis The Holy Spirit as Worker of Unity in the Body of Christ, dr. Jacob Venter examines this theological quandary and finds that in theoretical terms there are more than thirteen different forms of unity that can be identified. Understanding these different types will form the basis for understanding the various arguments that are made (the side commentary is mine):
- Hierarchical unity considers the hierarchical system that developed in the Roman Catholic Church over centuries, and which all members submit to, as unity. The way to unity is thus through obedience to the established authority of the Pope. Christ rules the churches through the Apostles, the bishops that are appointed by them, and the accepted successors of the bishops. The church father Cyprian said: “The bishop is the locus of unity. To leave him is to leave the church, and him who does not have the church as mother cannot have God as Father.”
- Confessional unity is the unity church groups display through professing certain communal confessional issues. This indicates the core values and beliefs of what they consider to be the universal truths surrounding the “general Christian church”.
- Denominational unity points to different denominations that each have their own character, teachings, liturgy, practices, habits and traditions. There is obviously a certain measure of unity within this, but it is a limited, exclusive unity.
- Sectional unity is slightly more inclusive than denominational unity. It is concerned with different denominations that to some extent concur about certain teachings. This is however a form of unity that is still exclusive, as it excludes other ways of thinking or beliefs.
- Dogmatic unity is closely related to sectional unity, but can also be further delineated to a particular church denomination with its various (particular) teachings and interpretations/reading of Scripture. Therefore it is also closely related to denominational unity.
- Ecunemical unity focuses on uniting various church groups and denominations on the basis of certain communal values of a spiritual nature. There is for instance a movement named Chrislam that attempts to create greater unity between Christianity and Islam, based on their common father of faith, Abraham.
- Structural unity is also referred to as collegia, and is relationships that come into being through consensual agreements that are made, with the idea that the “visible” church will be loosened form the “invisible” church. In the end this is a mere cosmetic practice that sidesteps the problematic of unity in a theoretical manner.
- Mystical or invisible unity points to the “invisible” unity that is often nestled within individuals and/or groups who become one with that which is Godly/godly. This occurs through meditation, prayer, contemplation, at times through rituals like baptism, etc. The danger of this is that various religions lay claim to this “unity” which is located outside Jesus the Christ.
- Sacramental unity argues that practising the sacraments brings unity. This is supported by 1 Cor. 12:13: “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.” In the teachings of Days 929-932 we extensively discussed the very problematic aspects surrounding the sacraments (a word that is not even found in the Bible). Just exactly how problematic this is, is clear from Eph. 4:5, where “one Lord, one faith, one baptism” is often erroneously used by various groups to justify their dogma concerning baptism.
- Charismatic unity refers to the unity that comes into being through the gifts of the Spirit (= the “charismata”). 1 Cor. 12:4-6 explicitly speaks of the “one Spirit” from whence the variety of spiritual gifts derive. Yet this does not offer the unity of the broader Body – many Reformed believers believe that the gifts of the Holy Spirit were only intended for the time of the apostles and not for today, as the Bible was not yet in existence then.
- Spirit-unity is related to some of the concepts outlined above, but places particular emphasis on the idea that unity is only possible in the spiritual realm through the working of the Holy Spirit. This is thus more than mere gifts or charismata, but the total working of the Spirit in and through believers. This is then also the thesis of dr. Venter’s dissertation, as he argues that it seamlessly connects the various approaches to unity. Whether this is the case will have to be Biblically verified.
- Unity-in-diversity is a compromise concerning unity, and attempts to gather the diversity of various characteristics of religious groups under one collective umbrella, so that they lose their unique nature and distinguishing features. Ola Tjørhom describes it as follows in her article insightfully titled, ‘A question of balance: unity and diversity in the life of the church’ [in Pro Ecclesia (15 no 2, Spring 2006, pp. 186-204)]: “Unity is not uniformity. Communion definitely includes a rich and open diversity – a diversity that reflects the abundance of the church’s faith treasure as well as its existence as a variegated fellowship. This corresponds with the position of another Catholic-Lutheran dialogue text, Ways to Community, from 1980. Here it is stated that also the visible nature of fellowship ‘by no means signifies a rigid uniformity: living unity in Christ is essentially manifold and dynamic.’ Furthermore, ‘unity does not exist despite and in opposition to diversity, but is given in and with diversity.’ And within communion, differences should not be ‘dimmed, but highlighted and thus made beneficial.’” This seems like it might be the most balanced perspective, but we will need to Biblically evaluate it before we consider this melting pot of faith traditions as “unity”.
In the next teaching we evaluate these perspectives on unity in the light of the Scripture.
- Selah: What is your evaluation and conclusion?
- Read: 24-31.
- Memorise: 28:15.
