Unity In The Universal Church

"Jesus Christ is the great cornerstone upon which the Church is built. He is the foundation of all Christian experience, and the Church is founded upon Him... Jesus proclaimed Himself to be the founder of the Church, the builder of the Church, and the Church belongs to Him alone. He has promised to live with, and in, all those who are members of this Church. Here is not only an organization but an organism that is completely unlike anything else that the world has ever known: God Himself living with, and in, ordinary men and women who are members of his church...(if) you have accepted Christ as your Savior and put your trust and confidence in Him, you have already become a member of the great universal Church. You are a member of the household of faith. You are a part of the body of Christ. Now you are called upon to obey Christ, and if you obey Christ, you will follow His example of joining with others in the worship of God." (Billy Graham)

God plans to show himself to the world through the universal Church - the body of Christ. We as individual 

Christians are many, but we are one. We are one body with many different parts, each with a unique set of gifts to bring to the body of Christ, with Christ as our head. Since this is our God-ordained identity, the world looks to the universal Church for its opinion of Christ. This is why in John 17  we hear Jesus so fervently praying during his last hours before his crucifixion that his body of believers would be sanctified. The world is rightfully looking to the Church to be like Christ. As we continue to be sanctified as a body we should expect to see unity rather then division amongst the universal Church. We should desire this and pray for it.

Unfortunately though, the world often sees the sad aspects of the universal Church - bickering and slander between different denominations over non-fundamental issues, to name just one. The heart behind the arguing can often be personal preferences, upbringing, religious traditions, cultural differences and proud opinions rather then genuine biblical conviction. Don't get me wrong - there is a time and place for correcting and rebuking one another when it is done in a loving and relational way. However, we need to stop arguing over less crucial matters such as how church meetings are run, the style of worship music, and the different ways of doing mission. If this is how the world views the universal Church, no wonder they believe our message of love and grace sounds like hypocrisy! As Ghandi so famously quoted "I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. They are so unlike your Christ"... Ouch, doesn't that cut you deep in the heart!

When I read the second greatest commandment "love your neighbor as yourself" I see that the way I am able to do is by looking to Jesus who displayed the ultimate example of love - by dying on the cross for me so that I may have life to the fullest although completely undeserved. I find my motivation to love others by casting my hope on the great standard of grace that Jesus has already set. Every member of the body of Christ needs to meditate on this principle. We love because Christ first loved us. We need to see the universal Church loving each member as Christ loved us, before the Church can fully extend that love to the rest of the world. When we see unity driven by love amongst the universal Church, then we will see more people put their hope in Christ because they will have seen with their own eyes that Christ's love transforms lives.

One of Jesus' final prayer request while on earth was "that they (the body of Christ) may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me". I hope this post provokes you to look at your attitude towards the Church. Are you bickering with other denominations? Are you speaking ill about your brothers and sisters in Christ? Have you given up on the Church because you don't think it reflects Christ? Rather than abandoning the Church or allowing yourself to grow bitter towards it, I hope you will join me in continually praying for unity amongst the body of Christ. We should expect to see increased fellowship, love and doctrinal unity amongst the universal Church, as this was Christ's prayer for us - that we would become more like him so that the world may know him.