Modern minds struggle with the idea of “one church.” To many people “church” means “denomination,” some part of a divided Christianity. Anyone insisting that he belongs to “the church” draws suspicion. Either he thinks that only his sect is right, or he is out of touch with modern reality. Another possibility, which is often overlooked, is that he may be in touch with the theme of Ephesians.12
Our problem is similar to that of children from broken homes. These children have little or no idea how a united family works. How does a husband keep on loving his wife? How do they solve their conflicts? Many children think there are no good answers, for they have never seen answers. Their own marriages, when they grow up, are likely to fail for lack of models to follow.
In the same way, we all grow up in a world of religious “divorce.” Every religion has its own sects, and competes with other religions. Strife, division and competing voices seem just as bad in Christendom (that quarter of the world’s population that claims to follow Christ). So, when Scripture speaks of unity, we hardly know what that means, much less how it works. We understand so little, and our world offers no good example to follow. Jesus speaks of the kind of love and unity most of us have never seen. The temptation is strong to dismiss it, saying, “That is ideal, but not true for my world.” While we think that way, we prolong our patterns of spiritual separation or apartheid. The time has come to hear what Jesus is saying, and to follow His lead. He knows how “to bring all things together,” beginning with you and me!
12. Research subject – “The church”: Ephesians 1:22; 3:10,21; 5:23-25,29,32 cf. Colossians 1:18,24; 4:15-16; see Study Note Three: Ekklesia.