On the night before Jesus was crucified, during the Last Passover Supper; he prayer for unity for all his disciples and believers. When you embrace Christian unity you embrace the heart of Christ for all his people. The practice of spiritual maturity according to the divine pattern of Christ in the New Testament is also the solution to practicing Christian unity; not a system of select commands, examples, inferences and preferred interpretations that we can never completely agree upon. The day of unity will never arrive so long as the unspiritual mind prevails, choking the Christian brotherhood with sectarian arguments and prideful judgments against any who reasonably disagree. However, the spiritual mind of Christ overcomes the fleshly nature that breeds unspiritual interest in controversies over the Biblical pattern. What then can Christians do to help all who sincerely call upon the name of the Lord to realize more of the unity that Jesus himself prayed for? First, Christians must seek the spiritual mind of Christ. Christ’s mind would enable mature and proper judgments — not infallible — regarding all matters of spiritual things expressed in spiritual words. Whatever differences existed between various groups, the mind of Christ would help them to approach one another with the common goal of unity in Christ. Second, Christians must build upon the one foundation of Jesus Christ with care to edify and not to destroy. Christ’s mind is marked by spiritual maturity. Those with Christ’s mind are also builders of spiritual maturity and unity, the precious metals. But the reality is that others, who are fleshly in mind and divisive in their pride, build with weaker and less precious materials. God will judge the quality of each one’s work at judgment; but the work, for better or worse, remains a part of the living and growing temple, the church. God did give a perfect plan and a perfect pattern, but perfection is not the edifice built by Christians in this age. Spiritually minded Christians build model churches, but none build perfect churches. As I applaud Christians for avoiding sectarian judgments; I commend churches for guarding against false doctrines. We should restore the basic facts and principles of the apostolic church, and instill diligence in practice of the sound doctrine of Jesus Christ. I do believe that in spite of our disagreements that most believers are sincere and good in heart, and do love the Lord and His church. The church in every age has a great responsibility to exercise the caution of pure doctrine as it promotes the spread of the gospel, its spiritual blessings and freedoms. But our responsibility never elevates us to judge that we are the only Christians; for this sectarian attitude frustrates the call of our Lord to be one just as he prayed. In Jesus’ prayer, the very standard and ideal of unity for his disciples is the personal and perfect relationship that he had with his Father. Therefore, this prayer expresses the church’s pilgrimage; and we must persevere in this quest with a stewardship arising from a bond of peace and spiritual maturity. Who are we? We are the body of Christ, but we do not have exclusive rights to the name of Christ. We bear a common name, Christian, which honors our Lord and promotes the unity for which he prayed. We are Christians, but we are not the only Christians. We do not wear this name in the spirit of sectarian ownership, for the name Christian is an honor to wear and we are thankful that we belong to Christ. As Christians we seek God’s eternal thought and plan for His creation. We seek to imitate Christ, to grow in Christ’s mind and to transform into Christ’s image, the image of God. Christ is God’s eternal thought for us. What a great pattern and destiny we have! [NOTE: “Christian Unity” is comprised of selections from my essay, “Pilgrimage to Christian Unity,” copyright © by D. Bryan Buttram, November 2006, with substantial revision in June 2007. Please find the complete essay here: Essay on Christian Unity. I exhort you to be noble-minded and search the scriptures. See Acts 17:11. Some of the Biblical basis for the thoughts in these excerpts may be read in John 17, 1 Corinthians 1-3, and Ephesians 4.
Buttram, Bryan. “Christian Unity Excerpt.” WordPress.com: 2007/06/20.