Theology of Union Day 2021

 THEME: DOCTRINE OF UNION AS CENTRAL TRUTH OF SOTERIOLOGY

MAY 31, 2021 | By: CALIXTUS OKE

Jesus spoke these words, lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said: “Father the hour has come. Glorify your Son that your Son also may glorify you. As you have given him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as you have given Him. And this is eternal, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. …Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to you. Holy Father, keep through your name those whom you have given me that they may be one as we are.” John 17: 1-3, 11.

Staff and students group photo after Theology of Union Day event at the UTI study centre

Introduction

Thinking through church unity is not a luxury, but required theological homework for any pastor, especially those belonging to inter-denominational theological organizations and institutions and working with various networks and broader ecumenical groups. No matter the abuse and scandal of division, we must conclude from Scripture that the union and happy communion of the saints are precious to God. In the quoted text above of Jesus’ high-priestly prayer, the essence of God’s saving intervention in Christ is to be lived and witnessed among believers through the oneness of faith as a model of the unity of the triune God.

Just as importantly, it’s easy to see how problems of “unity,” even among Bible-believing Christians, continue to baffle and confuse. Can we associate with those who associate with those we wouldn’t associate with? What is the role for denominations? What is the role for broad parachurch ministries or organizations? How should we understand confessional identity? If we are to have unity in essentials, what are those essentials? Where should Christians agree to disagree? Where should churches agree to disagree? What are the right doctrinal boundaries for churches, for denominations, for movements, for institutions and for friends?

Union is central in God’s Salvific Plan in Christ

“So that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me.”

While God has indeed dealt with his creatures under different dispensations (the pre-law stages, the age of the law, the post-law stage, etc, in various and divers forms, now he deals with his creation through His son Jesus Christ who his the go-between man and God. As a manifestation and affirmation of his being sent by the Father, unity of the saved in the world is a necessary condition for affirmation of the unity of God’s (the triune God) redemptive work in Christ. Unity therefore is not some common thing.

Unity is a relational good 

We are called to maintain where true spiritual unity is already present (that is the Church – the body of Christ). Ephesians 4:1-16 is the classic text on church unity (along with John 17) and the most practical for day to day church life. Having just finished explaining how the mystery of the gospel brings together Jews and Gentiles, Paul exhorts the Ephesians to “maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (v. 3). The assumption is that the Jews and Gentiles in Ephesus already share the most important things in common. The goal now is to be patient with each other and bear with one another in love (v. 2). The call to unity is the summons to show in relational practice what is already true in our common spiritual reality.

This spiritual reality on which relational unity is based is described in seven parts: one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all. Paul wants the Jews and Gentile Christians in Ephesus to get along because, despite their historic, ethnic, and cultural differences, they have these deep spiritual realities in common.

No Unity without shared allegiance to Christ

Paul is not exhorting everyone willy-nilly to maintain the unity of the Spirit. Indeed, there is no unity of the Spirit to maintain without, for example, a shared allegiance to our one Lord Jesus Christ and a shared commitment to our one faith. That Paul is thinking of an objective standard of faith in verse 5 (ala Jude 3) is confirmed by his use of “faith” in verse 13. This is an absolutely critical point. Church unity is dependent upon a common set of doctrinal beliefs. If we do not share “one faith” with Mormons or liberals or Unitarians, then we have no unity to maintain. Of course, this begs the question: what core doctrines constitute “the faith”? The ecumenical creeds are a start. A shared understanding of Scripture, justification, the resurrection, the atonement, basic Christian morality, the Trinity, and the person of Christ are certainly some of the non-negotiables. However “the faith” is defined, the important point from Ephesians 4 is that it can be defined and circumscribes our shared unity.

Unity admits and celebrates diversity

Although Paul celebrates diversity in the midst of this unity, but the diversity is not theological. He expects an ethnic diversity (Jew-Gentile) and a diverse array of gifts and offices all working toward the same end (vv. 7-13). In the gospel of Mark, Jesus warns against jealousy and intolerance towards others who do not share our common identity. See Mark 9:38-41. The saying in verse 40 is a broad principle of the divine tolerance. This goes to show that unity is not to be confused with uniformity but union of faith in Christ. 

Christ is our Unity

Unity is something we have (Christ) and share in common; something we maintain; and something we grow into (v. 13). While Paul expects there to be a common faith, he also allows that we will have to mature and grow into this unity of faith. However, there is no command to have unity with those who do not share the same basic elements of our faith. (We can only tolerate them... emphasis mine). If the command to “maintain the Spirit of unity in the bond of peace” is mainly a call to relational oneness in view of spiritual oneness, there is nothing in Ephesians 4 to suggest that Baptists and Presbyterians (for example) must necessarily be in breach of this command because they do not belong to the same ecclesiastical institution.

Conclusion

If the saved or the elect of God are returning to a common father, then union among believers is imperative. The communion in which Christians believe and for which they hope is, in its deepest reality, their unity with the Father through Christ in the Spirit. Since Pentecost, it has been given and received in the Church, the “communion of saints.” It is accomplished fully in the glory of heaven, but is already realized in the Church on earth as it journeys towards that fullness…the “not yet” of verse 13 may, in fact, be our allowance (though not our desire) for some difference of opinion here on earth. 

Hopefully as we love and listen to those who are truly are brothers and sisters, we can increase in our knowledge of the faith and some of our disagreements can be minimized, even if we don’t completely attain the unity of the faith. Like I said at the beginning, we need some of our best pastors, theologians, and historians to help the church understand what it means (and doesn’t mean) to be one. I have only given a little insight. There are too many important issues at stake, and too many opportunities to bring God glory (or bring him dishonor), to ignore the biblical command to maintain the unity of the one Spirit.

God bless us all.