The Unity of the Church
By Ellet Joseph Waggoner
The Bible is full of the idea of unity in the church of Christ, but we do not read so much about uniformity. This unity is to be the unity of life and growth, and not a mere outward connection. In Christ’s prayer to the Father for his disciples, he said, “And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one.” John 17:22, 23. Here we see that the glory of the Lord is to effect the union of believers, and the union is to be that of the Father and the Son. The union of the Father and the Son is union of spirit. We cannot comprehend this union, but we may know that it is not a forced union, but that it results from their very nature. They have one life. Their thoughts and purposes are the same, not because they come together and compare notes and agree to be alike, but because one life is in them both. So the union of believers is to be a vital union, or it is not any union at all. It is not accomplished by strife and debate and decisions of majorities, but by yielding the mind to Christ, and hearing his voice. They are to be united by the mind and Spirit of Christ. The life of the Father and the Son in each member of the church will produce the most perfect union in the whole body. For the human body is the most perfect example of unity, and it is the example that the Bible gives us. Christ is the Head of the body, the church. Eph. 1:22, 23; Col. 1:18. “For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many.” 1 Cor. 12:12-14. In the human body there are many members, and each member has a different office from the rest; there is not uniformity of action among the members, but there is the most perfect unity. All work together in perfect harmony for one object. So it is in the body of Christ. “There are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.” This gives no ground for the idea that there may be divisions in the church of Christ, one division believing one thing, and another division believing and practicing another thing. God has tempered the body together, “that there should be no schism in the body.” 1 Cor. 12:24, 25. “There is one body, and one10Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” Eph. 4:4-6. The apostle’s exhortation is, “that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.” 1 Cor. 1:10. But let it be borne in mind that this union is not artificial, but natural; not the human nature, however, but the divine nature. The unity of belief in the church is not forced by the church coming together, and the majority defining the creed to be believed. The church cannot define doctrine, nor make laws for itself or anybody else. The church of Christ is made up of all who obey the Lord’s commands: it is not a body to issue commands. The Head directs, the body obeys. God speaks; each one must listen to his voice, for faith comes by hearing the word of God, and no one can give faith to another. “It is the gift of God.”