*Edited July 10, 2015*
John 17:20-23, "I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word, that they may all be one, just as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You have sent Me. The glory that You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one even as We are one, I in them and You in Me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that You sent me and loved them even as You loved Me."
These beautiful words that Jesus prayed on the night He was betrayed were not only for His disciples, but also for us ("those who also believe in Me through their word"). What did He pray for? For us to be united so that the world may believe in Him. What's the benefit of believing in Him? Freedom from our original bondage to sin and the promise of salvation. Sadly, however, we're not united. There is a plethora of divisions among us, so many different denominations — Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, Pentecostal, Episcopal, Lutheran, Catholic, Roman Catholic, and heretical sects like Mormons, Calvinists, and the Westboro Baptist Church. These divisions amongst us have created a spirit of enmity among some (not all) churches, which was no doubt Satan's influence. Because of our minor theological differences (and major ones for the heretical sects), not only have we divided ourselves, but some also take pride in their denomination as if that is their identity as a Christian. Rather, our identity is in Christ alone. St. Paul spoke against such nonsense. He wrote to the Corinthians:
"I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgement. For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. What I mean is that each one of you says, 'I follow Paul,' or 'I follow Apollos,' or 'I follow Cephas,' or 'I follow Christ.' Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptised in the name of Paul? ...For Christ did not send me to baptise you but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power" (1 Corinthians 1:10-13, 17).
Today, we are no different than these Corinthian Christians. The current condition of the Church is this: we take pride in saying, "I follow the [place your denomination here] church," or "I follow John Calvin," or "I follow Martin Luther," and so on. (Let me make it clear that John Calvin is heretical and Martin Luther is not.) Paul asks the rhetorical question, "Is Christ divided?" The way this question is asked in the Greek is asked with the expectation of a negative answer: No. It's a rhetorical question. Paul writes a little later in First Corinthians, "What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one. I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth" (3:5-7). Because Jesus gives them the opportunity and the ability, our leaders (pastors and other leaders) plan and water the Word, but God is the one who causes it to grow in our minds and hearts, for Jesus Christ is the Word (John 1:14), of whom we are all under.
Jesus Christ was crucified for us, and we are baptised in Him. Therefore, despite our differences of opinion, we are all under the grace, mercy, and judgement of Christ. Just like all of us "ordinary Christians," our leaders are only sent to preach the Gospel. When pastors baptise us, they baptise us in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19), not in their own names. When we put the words of our leaders above that of Christ, or attempt to be imitators of them rather than Christ (Ephesians 5:1), then our focus is no longer on Him, but on our leaders, and the power of the cross thus becomes void because we have followed a path of heresy or false doctrine. Paul points out to the Corinthians that they were neither baptised in him, or Apollos, or any of the other teachers; but rather, they were all baptised into Christ. Likewise, it doesn't matter if you were baptised in a Baptist church, or a Lutheran church, or whatever church it is. Again, you were not baptised in the pastor's name or whomever it is that started the church (e.g. John the Baptiser, John Calvin, Martin Luther); you were baptised in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. For example, as a Lutheran, Lutherans are not baptised under the name of Martin Luther, but rather we are baptised into Christ in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I was baptised at a non-denominatioal church years before my Lutheran confirmation; I was not baptised under the pastor's name, but the Holy Trinity. We are all under Christ.
The core dilemma is that we are divided instead of united, and now I'm going to discuss what problem it has caused. Going back to Jesus' prayer, He prayed that we be united so that the world may believe in Him, according to His commission: "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you" (Matthew 28:18-20a). The purpose of Christendom is discipleship, and it's easier to do that when we're untied. We assume that having logical arguments and debates with atheists is legitimate and plausible and will eventually win them over, but Jesus said that the world will be convinced by our unity. How will they know by our unity? Jesus said, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:34-35). In the secular world, loving one another as we love ourselves sounds like the Golden Rule in life, which stems from the Law of Moses that states we must love our neighbours as we love ourselves. It's not really a new commandment if that's what Jesus is saying. What makes this commandment new is that we love one another as He has loved us. That's what He says. Even when we hated Him, He loved us and saved us through His death. Now, Jesus commands us who have been saved by Him to love one another as He has loved us. This type of love for one another is how people will know of our unity, but that unity will never happen so long as different denominations exist, which to me seems like will be the case until Christ returns. I think we've all heard from unbelievers that a big reason why they don't believe in God is because of the divisions of the Church — all the different denominations. Looking at it from their perspective, I can't really blame them. After all, why would anyone want to be part of a people so divided? This is a problem.
This is why I am calling for the need to change our division. There are a number of individual churches that are united within their congregation, which is great; but we are called to be united on a global scale! And we're not. So I urge you, put aside your denominational differences and just love others as Christ has loved us because set against eternity, what does your denomination matter?
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