Jesus spoke of Christian unity what does thus mean to you?

[Neostarwcc]

Jesus spoke of Christian unity but yet, many of us are divided. What does this mean to you? That people who are ununited are not really Christians? That we won't be united until after he comes? That we are so divided because of sin? What is Christian unity to you?

 

[Abaxvahl]

Jesus spoke of Christian unity but yet, many of us are divided. What does this mean to you? That people who are ununited are not really Christians? That we won't be united until after he comes? That we are so divided because of sin? What is Christian unity to you?

His prayer that the Church be one as He is one with the Father was certainly answered, the Church is one, holy, universal, and apostolic. The thing is simply to find it. Christian unity as spoken of by Jesus in that passage exists, and it is in reference to the Church. There are separations from the Church because of sin. Those separated may or may not be true Christians.

 

[Albion]

Jesus spoke of Christian unity but yet, many of us are divided. What does this mean to you? That people who are ununited are not really Christians?

No.

That we won't be united until after he comes? That we are so divided because of sin? What is Christian unity to you?

Being in agreement concerning the essentials of the Faith.

 

[PloverWing]

What is Christian unity to you?

I see Christian unity as loving each other (where "love" means being concerned for the well-being of the other person and actively working for the other person's well-being) and working together to embody God's love and extend that love toward our neighbors in the world.

It doesn't require uniformity; Jesus called both Simon the Zealot and Matthew the tax collector to be disciples, and Paul talks about members of the church being like the different parts of the body, hands and feet and eyes and ears all working together. It's more like harmony than unison. Working in harmony with people who are different is part of the challenge, but also joyful when it actually happens.

 

[.Jeremiah.]

Of course, Jesus wants unity.

Only unity can exist in heaven.

And unity is possible ONLY between those people who have the Lord’s truth within them.

Truth is absolute.

Truth doesn’t change.

All who know truth are in unity.

Un unity shows that truth is missing.

It’s possible in this world, but not easy.

And not possible, when dogma trumps truth.

imo

 

[spiritfilledjm]

Jesus spoke of Christian unity but yet, many of us are divided. What does this mean to you? That people who are ununited are not really Christians? That we won't be united until after he comes? That we are so divided because of sin? What is Christian unity to you?

Honestly, questions 3 and 4 are completely correct. We won't be of one accord because of the sins of pride and arrogance until He comes. At that point, all of those stupid things causing division will be made clear and we'll be too happy and busy worshipping God to care.

 

[Tolworth John]

Jesus spoke of Christian unity but yet, many of us are divided.

How did Jesus speak about unity?
Did he actuall say we had to be part of one organisation?

How are Christians to deal with big disagreements over the bible and understanding what the bible says?

Israel was to have been an example of how people could live by Gods laws, yet they failled wanting to be like other nations and have a King.

Christian unity is in Jesus.

 

[Maria Billingsley]

Jesus spoke of Christian unity but yet, many of us are divided. What does this mean to you? That people who are ununited are not really Christians? That we won't be united until after he comes? That we are so divided because of sin? What is Christian unity to you?

We only know in part. One persons unity is another persons disunity. The Kingdom of God dwells in the true beliver. The wheat will be gathered and by His winnowing fan, He will separate those He made His home in and the chaff, those who never knew Him. Unity will never happen through the flesh only through the Spirit. Many walk without Him. Blessings.

 

[Neostarwcc]

How did Jesus speak about unity?
Did he actuall say we had to be part of one organisation?

How are Christians to deal with big disagreements over the bible and understanding what the bible says?

Israel was to have been an example of how people could live by Gods laws, yet they failled wanting to be like other nations and have a King.

Christian unity is in Jesus.

I'm referencing his prayer to the Father in John 17. Specifically John 17:21-23.

Christ prays a lot about truth what is truth?

 

[anna ~ grace]

Jesus spoke of Christian unity but yet, many of us are divided. What does this mean to you? That people who are ununited are not really Christians? That we won't be united until after he comes? That we are so divided because of sin? What is Christian unity to you?

That’s a good question. I sincerely believe that as the end draws closer, everyone will get back together. My husband is deeply informed by Baptist and Evangelical theology. I am deeply informed by Catholic theology. I do my best to love him, understand him, agree with him where I can, and be thankful that at least we’re both Christians who are fairly to deeply conservative, and who can pray for each other. That’s good.

 

[Tolworth John]

what is truth?

Jesus is The Tuth. All we really need is unity in him.

A simple answer with very complex implications.

 

[bling]

Jesus spoke of Christian unity but yet, many of us are divided. What does this mean to you? That people who are ununited are not really Christians? That we won't be united until after he comes? That we are so divided because of sin? What is Christian unity to you?

I feel the unregistered (or underground) Church in Communist China is united the way Christ wants us to be. They are all separated and independent house churches, but teach the same thing thanks to the communists. They only have and use the Bible. Early on the Communist made public a list of what Christian Churches could not teach like: Jesus is the son of God, Jesus rose from the dead, Jesus died for our sins, Communion is a memorial to the life and death of Christ, Adult believer emersion baptism, Heaven, hell, the need to evangelize, the Holy Spirit and so on. These became the list of what the unregistered Church taught, so they all teach the same stuff.

 

[TheWhat?]

One of my favorite subjects as of late. We can speak about any kind of unity we want, but the unity spoken of by the Apostles I believe was not simply a togetherness, or mere agreement.

[1Co 14:1 NKJV] 1 Pursue love, and desire spiritual [gifts], but especially that you may prophesy.

[1Co 14:24-25 NKJV] 24 But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an uninformed person comes in, he is convinced by all, he is convicted by all. 25 And thus the secrets of his heart are revealed; and so, falling down on [his] face, he will worship God and report that God is truly among you.

[2Pe 1:21 NKJV] 21 ... for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke [as they were] moved by the Holy Spirit.

[Eph 4:11-13 NKJV] 11 And He Himself gave some [to be] apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ...

[Eph 4:15-16 NKJV] 15 ... but, speaking the truth in love, [we] may grow up in all things into Him who is the head--Christ-- 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

[Act 15:13-17 NKJV] 13 And after they had become silent, James answered, saying, "Men [and] brethren, listen to me: 14 "Simon has declared how God at the first visited the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His name. 15 "And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written: 16 'After this I will return And will rebuild the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down; I will rebuild its ruins, And I will set it up; 17 So that the rest of mankind may seek the LORD, Even all the Gentiles who are called by My name, Says the LORD who does all these things.'

[Zec 12:8 NKJV] 8 "In that day the LORD will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; the one who is feeble among them in that day shall be like David, and the house of David [shall be] like God, like the Angel of the LORD before them.

Bear in mind, to be "as God" was said concerning one other, a well-known prophet:

[Exo 7:1 NKJV] 1 So the LORD said to Moses: "See, I have made you [as] God to Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother shall be your prophet."

According to Athanasius:
"The Son of God became man so that we might become God"

In my opinion, what we experience now, in churches and elsewhere is merely a foretaste of the unity described here, when heaven, the city of God and the new Jerusalem, descends to earth.

 

[Neostarwcc]

Interesting replies, keep them coming.

 

[Hazelelponi]

Jesus spoke of Christian unity but yet, many of us are divided. What does this mean to you? That people who are ununited are not really Christians? That we won't be united until after he comes? That we are so divided because of sin? What is Christian unity to you?

Personally that's one I've yet to figure out.

I know that there are issues that are salvific, and issues that aren't. Those that aren't we shouldn't divide upon, they aren't worth it.

What I've yet to decide is what exactly those are. I know if you start in the wrong theological place, you can end up so far off base that it becomes a serious matter to ones salvation...

The problem is finding the right place to discuss upon, and the wrong place... Where is that perfect place where God wants us to be? I cant say I'm yet convinced where it is exactly. But Christian unity depends on knowing...

 

[Neostarwcc]

Jesus is The Tuth. All we really need is unity in him.

A simple answer with very complex implications.

Considering we're so divided in that truth, yeah.

 

[TheWhat?]

Considering we're so divided in that truth, yeah.

It's amazing considering we all have the same book. But of course, here in the West, what do we do with it? The truth must adhere to logic. It must be concretely factual. So we make assumptions about the nature of truth, and we proceed to analyze, extract, systematize, formulate and construct some semblance of an idea we perhaps all can worship. We assume we must be done, until we have disagreements. We're fairly good at keeping ourselves busy.

But what if the mind of Christ is really a mind? How do we access it and what kind of mind is it? Is it concerned only with itself? What are we supposed to do with it then, and what are we supposed to do with our intellectual constructs?

We Westerners have a long history of being so absorbed by our own magnificent ideas that we seldom stop to think about what precedes us. We don't care to, I think we've missed some of the most spectacular benefits of Christ as a result, and christian unity has suffered for it.

 

[TheWhat?]

Perhaps one of the more tragic quandaries that follows from this reasoning, is, if Christ is real, and He has a mind, have we protected ourselves from constructing a system which excludes Him from us, as a non-christian by our definitions? How would we, and have we? Have we any guarantees, and what would be the consequences if we condemn Him?

None of this is to say that scripture teaches anything other than the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit being consubstantial, coeternal, etc., etc., but when the Son is real, there's structure to the truth that, frankly, I don't see many Westerners pondering, perhaps for fear of condemnation.

But don't mind me I'm just a thinker who meditates on the things that are important to me.

 

[Fidelibus]

Being in agreement concerning the essentials of the Faith.

I don't think you completely answered Neostarwcc's question Albion when she asked...

Jesus spoke of Christian unity but yet, many of us are divided. What does this mean to you? That people who are ununited are not really Christians?

And...

That we won't be united until after he comes? That we are so divided because of sin? What is Christian unity to you?

With your response....

Being in agreement concerning the essentials of the Faith.

With this response of yours, the question still remains....Of all the different Protestant/non-Denominational churches and sects, which one has the effective method of determining which beliefs constitute essentials and which do not?

Think about it Albion, if just one of these Protestant/non-denominational churches or sects decides that a particular doctrine is essential or non-essential, then other groups have no effective way of refuting it. Would you not agree?

I mean, they could of course, appeal to Scripture, but presumably the interpretation of the relevant passages is under dispute, and Scripture does not tell us which of its teachings are essential and which are not........ Right?

Have a Blessed day!

 

[Albion]

I don't think you completely answered Neostarwcc's question Albion when she asked...
And...

With this response of yours, the question still remains.

That's true, I now see. In answer to the question about someone possibly not being a Christian because of doctrinal disagreements, I did say that unity is a matter of agreement on essential doctrines, but as for other issues, they are not inherently destructive of unity between believers.

Of all the different Protestant/non-Denominational churches and sects, which one has the effective method of determining which beliefs constitute essentials and which do not?

Of course the same could be asked of all the different Catholic denominations as well, and the answer is still as explained above.