We Are Called to Live Out the Truth of Our Oneness

We are called to live out the unity of the Body of Christ. The Body is already one, but we have a role in making that oneness effective in the world.

Now we have seen that our oneness in Christ is a present fact, finished on the Cross. But we have also seen that it is a present fact for which Jesus prayed a future fulfillment, and that a continuing, foreordained process is involved. So, we might ask, are we passive beneficiaries of this process? Or do we have a role in the process?

            This question was answered in Philippians 2:12-13 (NIV), in which Paul writes:

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfil his good purpose.

Philippians 2:12-13.

            Or, as James wrote:

 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.

James 2:17-18.

            Although Jesus completed our salvation on the Cross, there is a sense in which we must “work it out” through works consistent with it. The word translated “work out” in the Philippians passage (katergazesthe, the imperative of katergazomai) means to “effect” or to “realize in practice.” Although our salvation is complete, an accomplished truth to which we cannot add, it is also clear that it does not become fully effective until we walk it out.

            It is traditional to read these verses in isolation, as instructing believers to show their personal salvation with fear and trembling through works of individual piety—works like disciplines of prayer, fasting, Bible reading, church attendance and church giving. However, in context, these verses are speaking about showing our salvation through works and attitudes consistent with our oneness with each other.

This is most clearly seen from the context of the verse in Philippians, beginning with 1:27 and running through 2:18.  This passage clearly focuses on our communal way of life, the outworking of our unity with each other. In these few verses, Paul expressed at least six times the desire that the Philippians stand together in unity. First he expressed the desire that they stand fast, that they persevere, in one spirit.² We are one in spirit, but the outward unity of the Spirit is easily broken by our own self-centered actions.³. Then, he asked them to continue striving together for the Gospel with one mind.⁴ The word here translated “mind”—psyche—could also properly be translated “soul” or “heart.” Paul was pleading with the believers to strive to manifest the oneness of their spirits in their outward behavior by choosing to labor together with one soul, one mind, a single heart. Then, a few verses later, he states that it would fulfill his joy if they would be of the same opinion, have the same love because they are joined in soul or of “one mind” (sympsychoi, once again referring to the psyche), and all giving their thoughts to only one thing.⁵  Thus, while we all share in one spirit as believers, we must choose to give our hearts, minds and souls to the same thing. It is only in this way that the unity of a single Holy Spirit becomes visible to the world; this is, in fact, the proof to the world of its own destruction, and of our salvation by God.⁶

The centerpiece of Paul’s plea is verses 5 through 11 of chapter 2, describing the mind of Christ, which we are urged to allow⁷ to also live in us.  We are to give ourselves to the mind of Christ. Paul then discusses what it means to let the mind of Christ be in us. The mind of Christ is humility and service to each other. Although Jesus was God, he humbled himself, became a man, became a servant, a servant of God and of the people to whom he was sent^8,9,10, and was obedient to his Father even when led to die for us. He did not claim his rights, but yielded them for us.¹¹ Then, and only then, as Paul explains, because Jesus made himself a servant, God gave him the highest place, the name that is above every name, so that ultimately all will recognize him as Lord.¹² Even Jesus came to the highest place by voluntarily humbling himself and taking the lowest place in serving others.  Paul tells us to let him give us this same mind, and do the same thing in us.

Paul also explains the practical results of letting Christ’s mind be in us. If we have chosen to conform to the mind of Christ, we will be humble servants, we will consider our brothers more important than ourselves, and will look out for each other’s welfare ahead of our own, just as Jesus did.¹³ We will do what we do for each other’s benefit, not to win arguments or to glorify ourselves, and we will not grumble or argue about the things we are given to do.¹⁴ We will “work out” the truth of our salvation with fear and trembling, showing the world the reality of our salvation by our visible unity with each other. The whole context of verse 12 pertains to working out our unity, not to individual acts of righteousness designed to show the world that we are very religious people. It is when people see our unity, our single-hearted love for each other, that we appear blameless and harmless, sons of God without rebuke, and shine as lights in the world.¹⁵ It is God’s light, not our own, that is seen, and it is seen through the way we live together.

            Philippians 2 is not by any means the only passage of Scripture that draws this connection between the outward demonstration of our individual salvation and our works and attitudes in conformity with our oneness with each other. For instance, James 2:14-17 gives as the example of “dead” faith the man who sees his brother or sister naked and destitute but merely says to them “go in peace, be warmed and filled” and gives them nothing to meet their need. Compare, 1 John 3:16-20. Real living faith meets the needs of the brethren. This example, in turn, followed a lengthy discourse against a practice that is still very common in the Church—giving special honor to wealthy and influential church members, while ignoring and marginalizing poor believers.¹⁶ James soundly condemned this practice, and the judgmental attitude behind it. He then stated that faith without works is dead, giving a person who says the right words while ignoring the obvious needs of his brother as the prime example of dead faith. As the members of the human body manifest equal concern for one another,¹⁷ the true test of the reality of our faith is whether we manifest equal concern for one another.

            There are also several other passages in which we are urged to work to maintain peace and outward unity among ourselves. For example, in Ephesians 4:3, Paul pleads with us to endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. By striving to do the things that preserve unity—showing humility, meekness, patience and tolerance for each others’ faults in love—we walk worthy of our calling in Christ.¹⁸ Paul then immediately reminds us that the unity we should be striving to maintain is a reflection of our true state—there is only one Body, and only one Spirit, just as there is only one Lord and one God and Father of all, who is in us all.¹⁹ Similarly, when faced with reports that the Corinthian church was divided into personality cults, with some claiming to follow him and others claiming to follow Apollos or Peter or Christ, Paul begged them that they should all say the same thing about who they follow (i.e., Christ), and that there should be no divisions among them. Instead, he urged them to be perfectly joined together in the same mind and judgment.²⁰   Paul later reproved them for being immature and “carnal,” controlled by the desires of their flesh rather than by the Spirit of God, because of the envying, strife and divisions caused by these personality cults.²¹ The divisions caused by these personality cults in the Corinthian church are in some ways similar to the divisions caused by the operation of denominations in the Church today, in proclaiming their loyalty to living or dead leaders, for instance, or to human organizations or bodies of human-organized teaching, as being either identical to or necessary to loyalty to Christ.

            Paul urges us to strive to keep our unity because it involves a choice on our part. If we have heard what we have been taught in Christ, we are told, we will put off the old man corrupted by its lying desires, and will be renewed in the spirit of our minds and put on the new man.²² We must choose to put off the old man, let our minds be renewed, and put on the new man. The result of putting off the old man and putting on the new man is that we will treat each other in ways that preserve our unity. We will stop lying to each other and start telling the truth. We will control our anger. We will work for our support and give to each others’ needs freely instead of stealing. We will speak good and edifying things to each other instead of things that corrupt. We will decide to put away—to stop responding to—anger and the desire for revenge, words and actions motivated by the desire to be in control or to be first (“clamor”), evil speaking and the desire to hurt people (“malice”), and will instead be kind, tenderhearted and forgiving.²³ Thus, we have a choice to make. Our oneness with each other in the Body, though real, will have no visible effect until the choice is made.

            Christ, the Father and the Holy Spirit are one. We can choose to be one with God by pursuing Him and submitting to Him or choose to act separately from God by not submitting (self-leadership). It is the love of God for us that He gives us this choice, otherwise we would be robots.

            According to the letters of Paul, the key to maintaining our outward unity is to recognize our own position in the Body of Christ and to function wholeheartedly in that position. The twelfth chapter of Romans makes this very clear. The chapter starts with this very familiar passage:

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Romans 12:1-2

            However, Paul does not then leave his readers to guess what the results of having a renewed mind will be, or to read their own interpretations or their church’s rules of personal conduct into God’s instructions at this point. Instead, he immediately explains that people with renewed minds think of themselves “soberly,” “with sound judgment,” realistically, as members of the one Body of Christ, and not with pride that says they are more important or capable than the office or function God has given them in the Body.²⁴ The renewed mind recognizes the measure of faith God has given, the office God has given the person in the Body, and the fact that the Body has many members with many different functions and that we are all interdependent—each member is a member of all of the others.²⁵  Therefore, a person with a renewed mind exercises his office or function in the Body unreservedly, to the full extent of the faith he has been given to perform it.²⁶ Paul then lists as examples or broad categories seven kinds of offices people have in the Body—prophecy (speaking for God, or speaking God’s Word into an existing situation), ministering to the needs of others, teaching, exhortation (speaking encouragement or correction), giving, administration and showing mercy—and separately instructs those with each of these functions to perform their functions to the full extent of their faith.²⁷ Having an attitude that recognizes one’s true place in the Body and is willing to perform the assigned function unreservedly is, thus, the very first sign of a renewed mind.

            Paul then follows these instructions regarding our individual functions in the Body with a list of other commands which are kept by persons with renewed minds. A few of these could be thought of as attributes of personal piety that could be observed separately from the Body—see, verses 9b, 11, 12, 14 and 17. But most of these commands are centered squarely on our attitudes toward our brothers and sisters. For instance, we are to let our love be completely sincere, without hypocrisy (anhypocritos).²⁸ Hypocritos means an “actor;” anhypocritos is not being an actor. Our “love” is to be real, not just an act we put on at church so that we can look good. Our feelings of friendly natural affection for each other (phiolostorgoi) should match the brotherly love (philadelphia) we have for each other, and, as a result we should show honor to each other preferentially over unbelievers.²⁹ We should distribute freely to each other’s needs and show hospitality to each other.³⁰ We should join in each other’s joys and sorrows, and show the same mind to one another.³¹ We should not think lofty, elevated thoughts to set ourselves above others in our pride, but should condescend, coming down to the level of the lowly.³² To the extent it is within our control, we should live at peace with all men.³³  We should not avenge ourselves, but should take care of the needs of our enemies, leaving a place for God’s wrath instead of our own.³⁴ All of these commands are clearly directed outside ourselves individually, at the needs of the Body, and are characteristic of the renewed mind.

            John summarizes the matter of working to maintain our unity in this way: if we love God, we will keep his commands.³⁵ God’s commandment to us is that we should love our brothers.^36,37. If we say that we love God, but hate our brother, or are indifferent to the needs of our brother, we are lying—we really do not love God.^38,39 But if we keep Jesus’ commandments, and love one another, both Jesus and His Father will love us and dwell in us, God’s love will be perfected in us and Jesus will manifest Himself in us.⁴⁰ It is only as we resolve to express our oneness in acts consistent with love that God Himself is visible in our lives. The choice is ours.