Because of Christ, We Are United as One

Because of Christ, We Are United as One

The foundation of Christian unity rests not on human effort, organizational structure, or doctrinal uniformity alone, but on a singular, transformative reality: the person and work of Jesus Christ. This truth stands as the cornerstone of New Testament ecclesiology, woven throughout Paul’s epistles and Jesus’s own teaching. To understand Christian unity is to understand Christ himself—his incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection, and ongoing headship of the church. Unity is not merely an ideal to pursue or a goal to achieve; it is a fundamental reality already accomplished in Christ that believers are called to recognize, protect, and embody.

The Indivisible Christ as Foundation

The world contains fundamentally two categories of people: those united to God and thereby automatically united to each other, and those separated from God and consequently divided from one another.[1] This binary reality establishes the theological framework within which Christian unity must be understood. Christ himself serves as the primary unifying factor, having come to bring all people under one head.[1] Yet this raises a critical question that Paul poses with rhetorical force: “Is Christ divided?”[1]

The question carries profound implications. The Greek term here means to cut into pieces for distribution, emphasizing that Christ is not parceled out in fragments to various groups—he is either wholly present in a people or not present at all.[1] When Christians divide from one another while claiming allegiance to Christ, they implicitly deny the very foundation of their faith. When Christ is present in a people, those who belong to him also belong to each other, and if Christ cannot be divided, neither can his body—it is indeed one body.[1]

This principle transcends denominational boundaries and theological preferences. The church as the body of Christ is “one” because Christ cannot be divided, though divisions and quarrels may exist within particular congregations.[2] The unity is ontological—grounded in Christ’s nature—rather than merely organizational. It precedes and supersedes human divisions.

The Crucifixion as Unifying Event

The cross stands as the historical event through which Christ accomplished reconciliation and established the basis for Christian unity. Crucifixion represents another unifying factor, as Christ’s body was broken on the cross so that his ongoing body, the church, could be united.[1] This was not incidental to Christ’s redemptive work; it was central to his purpose. Through the blood of Christ, those who were once far away have been brought near.[1]

The crucifixion accomplishes what human effort cannot: the removal of barriers that separate people from God and from each other. “The one man, Jesus Christ,” is decisive for the salvation of “the many,” having died the one decisive death for all; by way of contrast to Adam, whose sin brought curse to humanity, the one man Jesus Christ brought righteousness and life for those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace.[3] This substitutionary work creates the possibility of genuine community transcending every human division.

The Theological Architecture of Unity

The New Testament presents Christian unity as resting on multiple theological pillars that reinforce one another. The one God and Father serves as the ultimate foundation of unity, having created all things and being the source of every spiritual blessing, with unity as his goal, and the one God representing the last and deepest ground of unity as creator and redeemer.[4] From this foundation emerges the role of Christ and the Spirit.

The one Lord Jesus Christ functions as the instrument of God’s creation and redemption and the one in whom God’s people are called in the new dispensation.[4] Unity in the New Testament is always seen from the standpoint of Christ, with Paul writing that “for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.”[3] This formulation represents a revolutionary theological development—the integration of Christ into the very heart of monotheistic confession.

There is one Spirit who unites all in baptism, gives gifts, and seeks to fill believers.[4] The Holy Spirit is particularly set forth in the New Testament as the source and principle of unity, with many things potentially dividing human beings from one another, yet out of their diversity the Spirit creates a unity, and the church is one people because it is filled with the one Holy Spirit of God.[4]

Baptism and the Gospel as Unifying Practices

Baptism represents another unifying factor, with all who are baptized into Christ having clothed themselves with Christ, and therefore those who have put on Christ are one in Christ.[1] Yet Paul emphasizes that the identity of the baptizer matters far less than the reality into which one is baptized. Paul is not suggesting that baptism is unimportant, but rather that there is no mystical relationship between the baptized and the baptizer—who does the baptizing is inconsequential, but why a person is baptized and into whom (Christ) a person is baptized is essential.[1]

The gospel itself functions as a unifying proclamation. Paul writes, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.”[1] This universal scope of the gospel’s saving power transcends ethnic, social, and cultural boundaries. The urgent need for humility, interdependence, and love within the Christian community is grounded in dynamic horizontal unity between members of the body of Christ, a union that overcomes even the most imposing racial and social barriers.[5]

The Body Metaphor: Diversity Within Unity

Paul’s extended treatment of the body metaphor in 1 Corinthians 12 provides the most vivid articulation of how Christian unity accommodates genuine diversity. Paul’s fullest treatment of the theme consists of an extended comparison between the human body and the church in order to emphasize horizontal union among the members of Christ’s body and to demonstrate dramatically both diversity within unity and unity out of diversity.[5] This was not merely rhetorical flourish; the Corinthian congregation desperately needed this teaching.

A church well known both for the giftedness of its members and its toleration of divisions needed to heed warnings against both groundless inferiority and disdainful superiority.[5] Each member of the body has an important, although not always glamorous, contribution to make, and no member experiences humiliation or honor without somehow affecting the rest.[5]

Crucially, horizontal, social relations between members are grounded in the vertical union each member enjoys with Christ, not merely in a memorable metaphor describing community relations.[5] This vertical dimension prevents unity from becoming merely pragmatic or organizational. It is fundamentally christological.

The Eschatological Character of Unity

Christian unity possesses a unique temporal character that deserves careful attention. The passage absolutizes the unity of the church by linking it doctrinally to the one Spirit, Lord and God, yet other parts emphasize the need for Christians to make efforts to preserve their unity and grow into greater unity, perspectives that are not incompatible as long as the unity of the church is understood as an eschatological anticipation of a future reality rather than a present dogmatic fact—something given and yet also something to be striven for.[2]

This paradox resolves the apparent tension between declaration and exhortation throughout the New Testament. Christians should be eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace[1]—not because unity must be created, but because it must be preserved and expressed. The unity already exists in Christ; believers are called to live into that reality.

The Cost of Violating Unity

The severity with which Scripture addresses division cannot be overstated. Whenever Christians divide from one another in attitude and activities, they violate the purpose and meaning of Christ, the crucifixion, baptism, and the preached gospel—it is quite serious to claim to stand for Christ in principles when in practice one stands against what he stands for in his life, crucifixion, baptism, and gospel.[1]

Christians acknowledge allegiance to one Lord, and not to keep the unity of the church means to deny that there is one Lord and that loyalty is only to him.[4] Division becomes a form of disloyalty to Christ himself.

Conclusion: The Imperative of Unity

The foundation and continuity of the church’s unity are grounded in Christ as the one shepherd of the one flock, with Paul expressing this truth through his picture of the one body, in which the members are linked and mutually dependent—the several members cannot live in diversity without the one head.[3]

Christian unity is not an achievement of human ingenuity or organizational skill. It is the gift of Christ, purchased by his blood, established by his resurrection, and maintained by his Spirit. It is time that believers affirm the four foundations for unity—Christ, crucifixion, baptism, and gospel—by changing attitudes toward brothers and sisters in Christ who may have differences in opinions and who may be meeting in different places, but who are indeed united to Christ and are our brothers and sisters in Christ.[1] Because of Christ, we are united as one—not as an aspiration, but as a present reality to be recognized, protected, and lived out in the concrete relationships of Christian community.

[1] Knofel Staton, First Corinthians: Unlocking the Scriptures for You, Standard Bible Studies (Cincinnati, OH: Standard, 1987), 35–37.

[2] John Muddiman, The Epistle to the Ephesians, Black’s New Testament Commentary (London: Continuum, 2001), 183.

[3] Christopher A. Beetham, ed., “Εἷς,” in Concise New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology and Exegesis (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic, 2021), 266.

[4] Everett Ferguson, The Church of Christ: A Biblical Ecclesiology for Today (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 1996), 401–402.

[5] Bruce N. Fisk, “Body of Christ,” in Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology, Baker Reference Library (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1996), 73.