Brandon Withrow, writing at Resurgence about Edwards and the ‘millennium’ , points me to a comment that captures Jonathan Edwards’ desire for the church to be clearly and visibly one:
I hope the time is hastening, when God’s people… shall become more sensibly, as it were, one family, one holy and happy society, and all brethren, not only all united in one head, but in greater affection…
— Jonathan Edwards
I am encouraged by Edwards’ desire for all Christians to be outwardly and visibly united. How refreshing that would be! But I am struck by Jesus’ prayer for his disciples, with its focus on a very different sort of unity: a unity that remains strong even when the Church is torn by divisiveness and discord. Jesus prayed:
I do not ask for [my disciples] 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… I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.
— John 17.20-23, 26 (ESV)
It would be a bold man to say that Jesus had not received an answer to his prayer. So what exactly was he praying for? There seem to be three types of unity that he seeks for all Christians:
- Being in God. All Christians are ‘in’ God. We have a share in everything that Jesus deserves: new life, joy, peace with God. For example, Paul confidently argues that we have been united with Jesus in his death and his resurrection (in Romans 6.5). Peter also greets those who are ‘in Christ’ (1 Peter 5.14): that is, Christians.
- Having Jesus. All Christians today have Jesus’ Spirit. It is something that unites us and, according to Jesus, shows that the Father loves us!
- Loving Jesus. The love the Father has for Jesus we should have too. All Christians should love Jesus.
John is much less concerned with rigid categories than some other Bible writers. But the principles seem to come across as he relates Jesus’ wonderful prayer for Christian unity.
Edwards seems to be alluding to this unity that Christians share; he wrote of Christians as one body under one head. If he is referring to Paul (Colossians 1.18) then he is talking about the unity all Christians have in Christ. But Edwards desired that the unity of God’s people should go beyond what we already have. He desired that we should be more sensible of what we are, more filled with affection for our brothers and sisters in the family of believers. What a desire!
But it is difficult to achieve. Often we don’t want to care for other Christians. Sometimes we want to say that we are caring for others by being concerned about their Bible teaching. We want to say that we are loving them by objecting to their theology. But although any genuine family will try to care for each other—by correction if necessary—nonetheless that correction comes in a framework that has already been established of love and care for each other.
That is why I am so glad to see events like this one, where churches come together in visible love for each other.
May 21st, 2006 at 4.31 pm
Thank you for this, which is most encouraging – particularly the Jonathan Edwards!
I am not, however, encouraged by Love Oxford, to which you link, not least because that event unites not just Christians in the historic Protestant denominations, but also extreme charismatic groups and the Church of Rome. For a church in the Reformed tradition, be it Anglican, Presbyterian or Baptist, to cancel its meetings in favour of a meeting shared with groups which deny the finished word of Christ in Scripture and his finished work at Calvary, is at best unwise and at worst wicked. Rather than honouring our Lord’s prayer in John 17, it undermines it.
May 21st, 2006 at 8.49 pm
Just to let you know, I’ve replied to this point on my ‘blog and echo Liam’s thoughts.
May 22nd, 2006 at 2.32 am
You should read Evangelicalism Divided.
May 22nd, 2006 at 9.38 am
Julian Bidgood is currently preaching a series on Ephesians at the 6:30. One emerging theme has been that we as Christians should treat one another in a way that reflects the unity that we already have in Christ: “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” (Eph. 4:3) The Jonathan Edwards quotation, with its use of the phrase “more sensibly,” seems to echo that principle.
Glad to see your blog as well — I shall enjoy reading it!
May 22nd, 2006 at 9.43 am
When it is it appropriate to be united with other Christians? That seems to be the question we are answering. But it is out of our control. We are united with other Christians. We are one family.
That does not mean we always agree with them. And it would not be appropriate to deny our own beliefs or attempt to compromise in order to achieve an artificial unity of opinion!
But it does mean that, sharing the unity of the family, we should also share the love of the family. We should love other Christians even as we disagree with them. If Christ died for them, then surely we can love them. As John writes:
Let us by all means discuss what is the best way to show that love for Christians in other denominations. Maybe Love Oxford is not the best way. But it strikes me that it is an effort towards showing that love.
May 22nd, 2006 at 10.12 am
[...] Daniel, I very much enjoyed watching your admirable performance on Mastermind this past Thursday. Good knowledge!I do hope you won’t be offended by my recent post on Christian unity. It isn’t meant as a criticism of your reaction to Love Oxford!But do let me know if you’d be interested in discussing the topic of visible Christian unity online. I think that a discussion might be a good thing. [...]
May 22nd, 2006 at 11.28 am
Surely the problem with ‘Love Oxford’ is simply that some of the people (and I’m sure by no means all) with whom evangelicals are uniting are not actually Christians. They are not believers with whom we disagree, but unbelievers, enemies of God. To unite with such churches is as bad as to separate from Bible-believing churches.
Of course, I agree, unity with other Christians is out of our control. But who are we to take those enemies of Christ who call themselves ‘Christian’ as our brothers and sisters, when they pervert the truth about his character and work? The Lord Jesus himself, when faced with the religious leaders who twisted the truth, roundly condemned them, and Paul pronounced them as accursed. It sounds harsh, but who are we to do otherwise?
Controversial maybe, and I’d love a response, but we MUST be clear on this one, else we pretend that Christ died in vain.
May 22nd, 2006 at 11.50 am
Daniel, I’ve added a further comment to this on my ‘blog – it’s hard work keeping an eye on the same discussion in two places at once!