The Unity of the Christian Faith

I have spent much of my time in the recent years studying the doctrines of the Christian faith. I have been a lifelong Christian. Baptized into the Faith in a Confessional Lutheran Church when I was six weeks old. That was the day Christ named me and claimed me. In all of my resistance, sin and even a short time attempting to deny the faith given me in my Baptism, He has refused to allow me to depart. I finally, a few years ago, began to embrace this gift and embarked on a quest to fully inform myself about this faith that Christ refused all efforts to be stripped from me. I've heard it said by Christians that the "hound of Heaven" finally tracked them down. I think Christ had to specifically dispatch one "hound" to continually herd this wayward Sheep back to the fold. I'm sure there are many other Christians who understand this.

In honest moments, I ask questions like "Why me?" or "Why, in all my sinful wretchedness, does this belief in Christ not fade or disappear completely?" or "In a world full of philosophical and religious 'truths' that seem more appealing, why does my heart cling to THE Truth of Christ?" It is in these moments of reflection that I understand the essence and truth of the saving Grace of Christ as explained in Titus 3:4-7: 

But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

So, what does this have to do with unity in the Church? Well, I think it sheds some light on what Paul means in Ephesians 4:11-16: 

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

We in the Christian Church are very fractured and display a view to the world that there is more disunity than unity. We are significantly divided in this world along denominational and doctrinal lines. Yet, this is nothing new, it has been this way even from the time of the Apostles. We see in Acts 15, which was approximately 49 A.D., the Council of Jerusalem was convened to address the doctrine of the Judaizers. In Acts 18, Apollos is preaching in Ephesus and is corrected on the doctrine of Baptism by Priscilla and Aquila. Paul writes the above passage in the letter to the Ephesians in about 60 A.D. but in 65-68 A.D. he is counseling Timothy and Titus against false teachers. So, the question I ask is, how, 2000 years later, is a Church already beset by heresy, errors and disagreements are sinful humans supposed to find doctrinal unity? The answer is, we won't and we can't, not fully. Our minds, clouded by sin, will not allow agreement across all points of doctrine. Part of this is human arrogance and part is a fear of rejecting what we have come to believe. Both, fear and arrogance, are sin.

So, what is Paul speaking of in this Ephesians passage? How could Paul, who experienced first hand the false teaching and errors arising within the Church and fully knew the corruption of sin in humanity, speak of a potential unity in the Church? 

I think Paul was speaking of two different things in this passage. He is speaking of an earthly ministry resulting in an eternal reality. In verses 11-12 Paul says 

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ

meaning that Christ has instituted the Office of the Ministry to preach the Gospel and Administer the Sacraments through which the Holy Spirit gathers the Church around the Confession of Christ (Romans 10:17; 1 Peter 3:21). Verses 15-16 

Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

Paul explains how the Spirit works when the Gospel is preached (speaking the truth in love) the remaining explanation is the work of the Spirit. We don't grow as Christians by the force of our own will, we grow by the work of the Spirit. Just as our physical body's growth is a natural occurrence, so is our spiritual growth. Just as our physical bodies can be healthy or unhealthy by what we feed them, so is our spiritual growth by that which we "feed" ourselves. So is the same with the Church. The Church doesn't grow by the force of will of it's preachers and teachers, it is grown by the Spirit on the proclamation of the Gospel of Christ. Martin Luther famously stated that all we contribute to our Salvation is "sin and resistance".

So, what is the reality that Paul is describing in verses 13-14?

until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.

Paul is describing the eternal reality that we will see in the new creation (to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ) which is the fulfillment of the promise of God to make all things new (Isaiah 11, Isaiah 65, Revelation 21). 

So, while the pagan world points to the apparent "disunity" in the Church as evidence of the weakness of the Christian faith, we know the truth is hidden behind the sin of we Christians who worship a faithful God in great weakness and unworthiness. Like all things with God, the evidence of our experience contradicts what we know to be the truth in His Word. 

We still have the instructions to admonish false teachers (Titus 1:10-11) simply because they lead people away from the truth and cloud the Gospel of Christ behind other teachings. However, on the Last Day, there will be perfect unity among God's people through the Salvific work of Christ and the Holy Spirit who gives and sustains our faith in Christ. It will be revealed to all when His Church is gathered on the Last Day, despite these earthly differences, and ushered into His eternal Kingdom.