What is unity in Christ?

Response

Unity is a state of oneness and harmony. All followers of Christ are united in Him. We are in a relationship that connects us with Him and with every other believer.

Jesus prayed for His disciples—everyone who would believe in Him for all time—“that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you” «that they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. », (John 17:21). Some observe the significant divisions among Christian denominations and label this as Christ’s great “unanswered prayer.” Nevertheless, Scripture affirms that all believers are united with Christ due to our relationship with Him and with all other believers. We are all part of the same family, even if at times we do not demonstrate it. Thus, unity in Christ encompasses two aspects—one is an objective reality, and the other is a subjective experience.

Objective and subjective unity can apply to various groups, teams, or families. All members of a soccer team are united by their membership in the team. They do not win or lose games individually. While individuals contribute to the team, it is the team as a whole that achieves victory or suffers defeat—that is the objective truth. However, there may be occasions when the team does not act cohesively. Selfishness and rivalry may emerge, and when this happens, it becomes impossible for the team to function as a unit—this represents the subjective aspect. The conduct of individual team members does not align with the reality of their unity with every other team member.

All who have faith in Christ are part of His body, the church. The New Testament is explicit on this matter. Ephesians 5:30 plainly states: “For we are members of his body.” Regardless of whether a Christian feels like it or not, he or she is a part of Christ’s body.It’s body and therefore unified with every other believer. Paul uses the analogy of the body in 1 Corinthians 12:12–21:

“Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.

“Now if the foot should say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,’ it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. And if the ear should say, ‘Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,’ it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

“The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I don’t need you!’ And the head cannot say to the feet, ‘I don’t need you!’”

The human body is a unified whole. If one part does not work correctly, the whole body suffers. If a person smashes their thumb with a hammer, it is not just the thumb in isolation that hurts. Other parts of the body may hurt, too, and the functioning of the whole body is impaired. This is true even when a person does not know about the malfunctioning part. If an internal organ is not functioning properly, damage may be done to the body before any pain or obvious illness is present.

In the same way, the church has unity in Christ. As part of His body, each member has a particular job to do and a place to belong. When any individual member is not fulfilling their purpose in the body, the whole body suffers. All the members are united, and because of that unity, when one acts in an individualistic or selfish manner (i.e., a

When one member of the body of Christ suffers (or acts as if he is not part of the body), the whole body suffers because, regardless of his actions, the individual member is still in unity with all the others in the body.

Many commands in the New Testament direct Christians to live up to their position and demonstrate their unity in Christ. Christians are not commanded to become one in Christ— that is already an objective reality. Christians are told to align their subjective experience with the objective fact. Paul pleads with the Philippians for this kind of unity: “Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others” (Philippians 2:1-4). If Christians, who are members of the same team, see themselves in competition with each other, then they are not playing as teammates. They are not living in light of the unity that exists.

Unity in Christ means that all believers are in a relationship with Christ and, by extension, with every other believer. All believers are united with each other whether they know it or not, like it or not, or feel like it or not. The challenge of Christian unity is to live up to the truth of that reality. Since we are all members of one body, we need to live like it. This means subordinating our individual needs to the needs of the body at large and using our individual gifts for the good of the whole body.

Unity in Christ does not mean that all differences between churches or denominations need to be abolished. Individual churches and denominations can maintain their distinctives and emphases while still working together.

There are areas where evangelical Baptist and Presbyterian churches agree, such as the gospel and essential faith doctrines. However, due to differing views on baptism, merging these churches into one is not feasible. While a church may remain neutral on infant baptism, it is challenging to advocate both for and against infant baptism simultaneously. Despite the inability to merge into a single church or denomination, these groups can collaborate on various ministry projects, and individuals within each congregation can share fellowship and mutual affection.