Christian Unity (the book) - The Maranatha Community

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) John 17. 21-23These are key verses in any discussion of Christian Unity as they are the wordsof our Lord. Christians living as one body declare to the world by so doing thatthey are an illustration of the unity in the Godhead, and they authenticateChrist’s ministry and message to the world. As Christian unity is so much at theheart of Jesus’ concern for the manifestation of the Godhead, the pursuit of itcannot be an option for Christians today.c) Ephesians 4.1-6Paul’s words on the unity of believers are equally searching. He says unity has aseven-fold aspect: one body; one Spirit; one hope; one Lord; one faith; onebaptism; one God and Father of all.Six of these aspects seem clear enough, but what is meant by ‘one faith’? Onecommentator says it means ‘justifying faith’, but it seems to me that the term‘one faith’ cannot be limited to one aspect of faith. Rather, I believe that itembraces all that it means to be committed to God in Christ: the phrase is adescription of the tie that binds all Christians together, that distinctive ‘smell’of Christianity that C S Lewis refers to and which we mentioned in the Preface.It is that vision of a redeeming God which all his children have, however limitedthe vision of it is (1 Corinthians 13.12).Paul says this unity is only achieved by hard effort, to manifest what God hasalready given us in Christ. It is a unity made and inspired by the Spirit of God(Ephesians 4.3), but Christians must make every effort to guard it in thebinding power of the Spirit of God. In other words, we must not let the bondsof peace be loosened.How is this to be done in practical terms? Not by never disagreeing with ourfellow Christians, but by having peace, goodwill, benevolence in all ourdealings with one another. It will probably involve our saying sorry (andmeaning it), and letting our feelings or inclinations be ignored or even hurt,though it will not mean setting aside our consciences.The really difficult thing in working out principles of unity between believers isto know when to say ‘no’ to self and one’s own hopes and ideas in the interestPage 227
of the common good, and when one’s own views ought to prevail. I think mostof the squabbles in churches and fellowships have to do with having personalfeelings hurt rather than matters of principle being the real issue.Paul sees unity among believers as a sign of maturity, and his vision is that thismaturity should be entered into by all Christians as they come to know Christbetter and better. We cannot say we know Christ and are ‘attaining to thewhole measure of the fulness of Christ’ (Ephesians 4.13) if we are not at onewith our fellow Christians.d) Acts 15. The Council of JerusalemThere was conflict in the early days of the Church over the place in the churchfor the Jewish Torah. Did Gentiles have to submit to these laws and rituals aswell as their fellow Jewish Christians? It was a crucial issue.Lois Malcolm, in a footnote to her essay in The Ecumenical Future 205 points outthat this passage in the Acts telling the story of the debate of the Council ofJerusalem (Acts 15.1-35) lies at the very heart of Luke’s account of theChristian faith. It is exactly half way through his book. It marks the turningpoint in the early history of the Church. At first most Christians were Jewsbrought up to observe the law of Moses, but soon many Gentiles, particularlyin Antioch in Syria, were brought into the Church. They had no background ofJewish law-keeping. Were these believers now under obligation to keep of allTorah requirements and, more importantly, were they really a part of Israel orstill outsiders as Gentiles had always been considered?The ‘apostles and elders’ of the Church in Jerusalem met to consider thismatter (v 6). Peter, Paul and Barnabas related how they had come to see thatGentiles who believe in Jesus were accepted by God (v 8), and had received theHoly Spirit and had had their hearts purified by faith, implying it was not bylaw-keeping (v 9). They were therefore ‘saved’ without law-keeping. James, theLord’s brother, accepted this position and accepted, moreover, that suchGentiles who had come to Christ were now part of God’s people (v 14), sinceby believing in Jesus they now bore the Lord’s (Yahweh’s) name (v 17).205Ed Braaten, Carl E and Jenson, Robert W, The Ecumenical Future, William B EerdmansPublishing Co, 2004, p 222.Page 228
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Can Christian Unity be expressed ac
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‘In the Trinity the three are one
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Protestants, equally, have to be ab
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When John Wesley said that Christia
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(Geneva) Agreed Statement was issue
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While organised Christian endeavour
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Christian Unity consist?’ We shal
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CHAPTER 1CHRISTIAN UNITY IN THE EAR
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Almost all the heresies in the Earl
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interpreted as being against the la
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was raised by the Novatian schism.
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ArianismArianism was the most impor
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the Person of Christ. This was the
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Nicaea (325 AD), which asserted, ag
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He wrote:‘The ancient doctrines o
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agreement into the terms and ethics
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authority of the local bishop; Cypr
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Protestants. He was born in Tagaste
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guide the affairs of men: the Papac
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The distinction between laity and c
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ule. Christians were allowed to be
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fallen corruption and mortality but
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During the 1917 Communist Revolutio
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his repentance and restoration. The
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just before death, they might recei
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In both the East and the West heres
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The Waldensians were so named after
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CHAPTER 4THE SECOND GREAT SPLIT: WE
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Far more serious criticisms of the
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and the sacraments. He was tried by
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and his discovering that the Script
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denominational allegiances: confess
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aptism and substituting for it bapt
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Vincent de Lérins’ threefold bas
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Charles de Guise, Cardinal of Lorra
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CHAPTER 5QUOTATIONS ON THE THEME OF
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Dr Charles Malik - 20 th Century:
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Nicholas Zernov - 20 th Century:‘
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The restoration of the universal Ch
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Timothy Ware - 20 th Century:‘It
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Basilea Schlink - 20 th Century:‘
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Cardinal Basil Hume - 20 th Century
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Keith A Fournier - 20 th Century:
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concept of a contract between a rul
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harmoniously ordered society of pea
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interesting to note that the disput
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• In the Eucharist, Komensky main
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The Conference opened with much pom
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a growing unity among Christians at
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We cannot leave the 17 th Century w
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CHAPTER 7CHRISTIAN UNITY AND THE EV
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In Dr Woodward’s account of the r
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for Whitefield’s work in America,
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the West, the North and the South.
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‘John Wesley, displeased at not b
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formally, though it may have helped
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In view of all this, Charles Wesley
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Some of the refugees were persuaded
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Isaac Watts (1647-1748), the pionee
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CHAPTER 8VISIONS OF CHRISTIAN UNITY
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hymns and Eastern orthodox spiritua
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eplied with a series of Eirenicons
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positively wrote on grace and love
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hand that pours out sorrow’ and t
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He died in England in 1853 an ‘ec
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assembly, without much hesitation r
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‘Loving all whom Christ loves bec
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says, the Broad Church was ‘a moo
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far greater part for the laity in t
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ehind some of the criticism of the
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came together with the clear purpos
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In subsequent missionary conference
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university formed by a federation o
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credo-baptists to accept the provis
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Horton Davies 137 points out in his
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However, since New Delhi, the WCC s
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(b) The Church of Christ in China (
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the Scriptures as the supreme autho
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In 1970 a similar scheme to that of
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indulgences, were all confirmed str
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however, at a lower level, manifest
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In her study of the Evolution of th
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Even within the Reformed Protestant
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the publisher’s foreword to Gee
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and so I have some golden opportuni
Page 181 and 182: CHAPTER 10 THESE BRIDGES CAN’T BE
Page 183 and 184: ‘Only he - only Christ - was able
Page 185 and 186: c) Justification by Faith and Works
Page 187 and 188: However, in the Credo of the People
Page 189 and 190: f) Purgatory‘Purgatory’ is a na
Page 191 and 192: The Catechism of the Catholic Churc
Page 193 and 194: who love and trust the Lord Jesus C
Page 195 and 196: However, there is a growing awarene
Page 197 and 198: encouraged to receive a blessing al
Page 199 and 200: c) Traduction Œcumenique de la Bib
Page 201 and 202: witness. There is one such Sisterho
Page 203 and 204: Practically all para-church groups
Page 205 and 206: s) Missions and CampaignsMissions a
Page 207 and 208: My Protestant friends say to me tha
Page 209 and 210: Most Christians, in all three tradi
Page 211 and 212: of God may be complete, equipped fo
Page 213 and 214: CHAPTER 12NOW WHAT?This book began
Page 215 and 216: c) For some Protestants ecumenism m
Page 217 and 218: The church at Corinth was full of C
Page 219 and 220: ) It has become clear that, realist
Page 221 and 222: Christians who believe a Catholic d
Page 223 and 224: There are three confessions that ha
Page 225 and 226: ‘The solution to the ecumenical i
Page 227 and 228: k) Christ has left us an example -
Page 229 and 230: day’, the Niceno-Constantinopolit
Page 231: APPENDIX 2FOUR BIBLICAL TEXTS ON TH
Page 235 and 236: eaten, as idols did not exist anywa
Page 237 and 238: 14. That to continue in any known s
Page 239 and 240: What all three traditions have in c
Page 241 and 242: Calvin held that the Gospel of Jesu
Page 243 and 244: Relations between Protestantism, Ca
Page 245 and 246: Brandreth, Henry, R T, The Oecumeni
Page 247 and 248: Hopko, Thomas, All the Fullness of
Page 249 and 250: Rupp, E G and Drewery, Benjamin, Ma
Page 251 and 252: INDEXAAct of Uniformity, 114aggiorn
Page 253 and 254: Frame, John M, 91, 187Francis of As
Page 255 and 256: Richardson, Paul, 239Roman Catholic
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