Denominations – Necessary Evil or Necessarily Evil? – Part 1

Unity is essential for the body of Christ. Paul, in Ephesians 4, speaks of a unity that goes beyond the unity found among a close knit group of Christian friends who associate with one another on the basis of common interest.

Paul is crystal clear about the expected unity of believers and the basis upon which that unity is expected. “Making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (4:3) is part of Paul’s instructions to “live worthily of the calling with which you have been called” (4:1). Paul goes on to explain the basis of these instructions: “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you too were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all” (4:4-6).

We have every reason to be unified among believers and every reason to avoid disunity at all costs. Disunity is always the result of selfishness and immaturity (4:14), yet somehow we sanctify divisions in the church as necessary. As believers, regardless of our denomination, race, language or personal preferences, we need to unify around the basics of the faith. We place our hope in one living God who alone has power over sin and death. There is only one means of salvation and our Christian life is all about him. Certainly we can find every reason to be unified around those central truths!

The unity of the body is crucial to the life of the church. When one part of the body is living in sin (i.e. not using their God given spiritual gifts to their potential) then the whole body suffers. “As each one does its part, the body grows in love” (4:16). Christ is the head of the body and he is the one who equips various parts of the body to do their part in building it up. Would Christ give spiritual gifts to various parts of the body in order to create disunity? It would be absurd to give gifts whose purpose is to create disunity. In fact his ultimate aim is to build up his body to complete unity (4:15-16).

Paul’s instruction to live in holiness is only possible within the context of a unified body (4:17-31). He includes these instructions immediately after teaching on the importance of unity. Our faithful obedience is meant to spur others on to maturity. Our sin causes disunity and therefore dysfunction in the church, “for we are members of one another” (4:25). Living as the world does is an indication that we are cut off from the life of God (4:18). What a desperate situation it is when the church looks as though it has been cut off from the very Life it proclaims!

Much distracts us from unity. Our immediate context is complex enough. We often fail to realize the significance of our actions on a global and an eternal scale. Adding language, cultural, economic, racial and geographical barriers to our inability to process much more than what is currently in front of us, and we have a recipe for serious disunity. Restoring unity is an enormous task, but our One God has the whole world in his hands. He is building his church. Jesus is the head of that church and he desires to equip the body to be unified down to the last supporting ligament (4:16).

Our choosing to live in sin hurts not just the people immediately around us, but it hurts the entire body of Christ. Our choosing to not fellowship with believers of other denominations or local churches simply on the merit that they are not our personal preference hurts the entire body of Christ. Please understand I am not saying there are not legitimate reasons for breaking fellowship with an individual or even a group of people. However, we draw divisive lines where divisive lines should not be drawn. In my view those lines include matters of preference in practice that are not mandated by Scripture and particularly denominational lines that refuse to work in unity with other denominations that hold orthodox beliefs in the essentials of our faith.

In closing, Paul’s words in 4:4-6 again form both the reasons for unity and the boundaries for disunity: “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you too were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” Those that believe these words find unity with me and all believers based upon a common faith in our Trinitarian God. I will not let our differences otherwise divide us within that framework. Are you with me? More importantly, are you with US?

* Note: all scripture quotes come from the NET Bible (www.bible.org).