In the last week of class, my professor posed this question: How important do you believe Christian unity is to the life of the Church?
Picture this:
Turning to look behind you at the rumble of red and blue in the stands, you notice a recruiter from a top university that met you a day prior. Looking forward at the tied scoreboard, this next moment could mean your college education.
The coach gives you the code: Red, forty, trips right. You repeat this to the team, and every man knows what to do next.
You can see the smoke rising from the jerseys of both teams as you set your feet behind the Center. Breath is visible, lights are tangible, sounds are deafening, but you enter into a state of complete focus. Tunnel vision—you can only see your men and the enemy. Limited hearing—the soft grunts of the men lined up before you drown out the roars of the crowds behind. And suddenly, it all begins.
With the ball now in your hand, you look out towards a field of complete chaos. Two of the lineman begging for a pass, one has seemingly fallen asleep, and the others are doing the best they can to hold the line. Anxious, you glance up at the receivers, who look in no better condition, confused on where to go and how to get there.
Suddenly, a barrel of a man slams into your left side and, dropping the ball as you fall, the other team recovers the fumble and travels the complete distance of the field to score the winning touchdown.
How important is Christian unity? Vital for victory.
In Ephesians 4, Paul provides the struggling church at Ephesus some practical steps for walking in unity. He starts by imploring the people to "walk in a manner worthy of the calling which you have been called" (Eph. 4:1). As believers, we serve as ambassadors and representatives of the name of God. The God who lives in a perfect trinity does not have issues with unity. Likewise, Paul beckons the church at Ephesus to walk in "humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love" (4:2). As believers, we must "be diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" (4:3).
Further down, Paul begins talking about how every individual has a part to play in the success of the church. In the same way that the football team all claimed to know the play but did not carry out their individual parts, a church that claims to know their identity in Christ but does not serve with their individual gifts will not effectively reach the lost or grow in Christ (4:7-13).
There is a wordy sentence in Ephesians 4 that is possibly my favorite part of this passage. After speaking about the individual pieces, Paul explains that every part contributing to the whole in unity is important "for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ..." (4:12). In other words, when we all carry our load, the entire group is equipped to reach out and serve and to reach in and grow. Unity of the body is all for the sake of inward and outward growth. We become equipped to serve and grow.
How important is Christian unity? Vital for victory.
May we all be "fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causing the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love." -Ephesians 4:16
