Homeschool Doctrines of Faith Part II: The Spiritual Unity of All Believers

Why this article?

When a family joins WCFS, they sign our statement of faith. That statement includes this declaration: “We believe in the spiritual unity of all born again people and that the Spirit of God enables believers to walk in truth, humility, and love with others of like precious faith, though there may be minor differences of belief in areas non-essential. (Eph. 1:10; 4:4; 1 Cor. 1:10-2:5; 12:12,13)” This article is my personal testimony as it relates to the concept of the spiritual unity of all believers.

In a non-sectarian way, WCFS has been blessed to serve professing believers of nearly every stripe during the last 40 years! It has been a remarkable experience to have been able to walk together in unity with believers as we have focused on preaching Christ, and Him crucified. God’s design for hardship – beginning with the family – has provided a crucible of opportunity that mixes education, real life, and genuine faith in a relationship of trust and accountability.

Why I am a practicing, small “c” catholic

“But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that ask of you a reason for the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.” (1Pe 3:15 KJV)

I belong to the holy catholic (universal) church of Jesus Christ, His church – His whole church composed of every one of His saints that He has received because they have believed on Him, the Only Begotten Son of God. Jesus makes up the membership roster, and whosoever is found in His Book of Life belongs to Him and is a 100% member of His Body, the church1.

My profession gives you permission to hold me accountable to standards of holiness established by Jesus for the church found in Scripture, but you have no ability nor authority to make any definitive declaration or assertion as to whether or not I truly belong to the one true holy catholic church of Jesus Christ. That authority is vested in and reserved for the Lord Himself – alone, period. “Nevertheless the foundation of God stands sure, having this seal, The Lord knows them that are his. And, Let every one that names the name of Christ depart from iniquity.” (2 Timothy 2:19)

Most Christians have heard the phrase, “The One True Church.” It is most often used in an attempt to establish one particular professing “Christian” denomination above all of the rest. While the assertion may give some assurance and peace of mind to the outward adherents of their particular denomination, thus giving them a confidence so they can “rest assured that they are in the right church and on the right path towards eternal life,” the phrase is divisive by its very nature and wrong on its face. This preference effectively claims that group to be "the one true church," whether it actually proclaims it or not.

This is a sectarian practice. The primary duty of the believer is to walk in unity and love as children of the Heavenly Father. False teachers and false teaching must be condemned in the proper Scriptural manner; however, aligning yourself with a preferred group2 whom you believe to be “the best of the best” has no warrant in Scripture and provides no help for walking in unity with all who call on the name of the Lord. “And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Act 2:21; Rom 10:13 KJV)

Such sectarianism is fully condemned in Scripture.

“Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you. Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.

Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?

... For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling-block, and unto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.

... That, according as it is written, He that glories, let him glory in the Lord.” (1Co 1:10-13, 21-24, 31 KJV)

Being perfectly joined together in the same mind and the same judgment is the goal of church unity, not being divided into subsets of believers who are following men and persuasions of well-crafted, differing doctrines. Unity is a primary focus of catholic church membership. Unity is preserved through preaching the cross, not in fanciful wisdom nor impressive signs. This is a really hard standard to follow – especially when it is so easy to have myriads of various interpretations of Scripture by well-meaning believers. This discussion is intended to be a simple explanation of one believer’s efforts and practical perspective on how to walk in unity – even when

there is a substantive diversity of views and understandings of what Scriptures says and means.

So, why am I a small “c” catholic? The short answer is because the universal or “catholic” church is made up of every individual who has been born-again by the Spirit of God as described in John chapter 3 – and I choose to embrace every one of them as my brother or sister in Christ in every practical setting possible. Jesus plainly said, “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. …No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. ... Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believes on me has everlasting life. (John 6:37, 44, 47 KJV) If Jesus won’t cast out the sheep who have come to Him; surely I do not have the spiritual right to do such a thing in my association with professing believers.

So, the one true holy catholic church is made up of all individual believers in Jesus – believers whom He alone acknowledges them to be. Jesus includes everyone who truly believes on Him as members of His holy catholic church. We call this all-comprehensive group the Universal Church; it includes every single believer from every age in time and space. It is my personal aspiration to embrace everyone in this true church as long as our differences are not based on Scripturally- condemned false teaching nor approving iniquity condemned by Scripture.

Christ is the Hub

Paul taught that unity is created by a central focus on Christ3 – and Him crucified! Like the spokes of a wheel fastened firmly in the hub, the individual believer finds unity with all others only as we relate to Christ. A wheel is useless if all positions on the rim try to relate to each other directly – that’s impossible and chaotic! They must all relate to the hub!

Now we know that the church is spread by believers making individual disciples of Jesus, who will do whatsoever He has commanded. Jesus is seeking to build His church with “sheep” from every tongue, tribe and nation – He calls these various groups “other folds,” “And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.” (John 10:16) This claim by Jesus that there will be one fold and one shepherd is the cornerstone of the Universal Church of Jesus Christ, and a watershed of practical practice of welcoming incredibly wide and diverse cultural groups4 of individual people.

Now there is one important principle to keep in mind when trying to imagine the comprehensive size of His Universal Church – you and I cannot fathom it. We can only experience a microcosm of connection with those with whom we are privileged to fellowship. Furthermore, we must remember that it is the Lord alone who knows for certain who belongs to Him. He does not give that determinative task to any man5. From this text, we can understand that determining the certainty of the membership in the Universal Church is exclusively the business of God. We who profess to belong to the church are responsible for demonstrating our profession by departing from iniquity.

Remember, not every professor is a true believer! Jesus said it this way, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. ... And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine.” (Mat 7:21-23, 28)

It is not given to man to determine who is or who is not a member of Christ’s Universal Church. We can only mark out those whose walk does not resemble their talk. “Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.” (Rom 16:17)

Profession and Fruit

So we are left to look upon the outward evidences of those who profess to believe; however, we must remember that our evaluation is superficial in that we can only examine the outward walk of the professors of Christ to see if their walk is consistent with their profession. “Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? ... Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.” (Mat 7:16, 20 KJV) This evaluation is not the primary focus of this discussion, but suffice it to say that the unity of the one fold under the one Shepherd does require individual and group reflection by which decisions must be made as to who is included in the fellowship of church members and who is to be excluded. However, the unity of the church is the focus of any necessary actions of inclusion or exclusion. Sectarian adherence is anathema.

Who is in, and who is out? How do we recognize and respond? The classical text on this topic is from the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 4.

“I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,

With all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love;

Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;

One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.” (Eph 4:1-7)

How can the believer live locally and be sensibly connected to the Universal Church? It begins and ends with recognizing that the other sheep in other folds answer to the Good Shepherd, not to their fellow man. Paul elaborates on this practically in Romans 14.

Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations.

... Who art you that judges another man's servant? to his own master he stands or falls. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.

... For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dies to himself. For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living.

... For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. ... Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.

... Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemns not himself in that thing which he allows. And he that doubts is damned if he eat, because he eats not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin. (Rom 14:1, 4, 7-9, 11-12, 19, 22-23 KJV)

What has been described here is the personal work of God by the indwelling Spirit transforming lives through faith in the Living Word of God. We are to receive everyone in the faith, and not for the purpose of disputing our differences. This type of fellowship is most pronounced in that the church does not micro-manage the progression of faith of the individual believer; rather, he allows God Himself to do it. In practice this may be awkward and somewhat difficult; however, I believe that it is part of the first foundation stones or pillar that we lay as we pursue unity in the church.

There are many other practicable matters that do require appropriate Scriptural consideration and action. However, except for sin and outright heresy, the pursuit of these questions can be graciously engaged in with all due respect for the conscience of those who differ from our outlook, practice or understanding. There’s room at the cross for us all! Be intentional about making room at your table for those whom God brings across your path – regardless if they appear to be orthodox on every view of Scripture that you hold sincerely. This is a good foundation for building unity in the church.

(1) And at that time shall Michael stand up, … and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. (Dan 12:1 KJV)

Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name. (Mal 3:16 KJV)

And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship [the beast], whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. (Rev 13:8 KJV)

The beast that you saw was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world. (Rev 17:8)

And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. ... And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. (Rev 20:12, 15 KJV)

And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defiles, neither whatsoever works abomination, or makes a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life. (Rev 21:27 KJV)

(2) It is not the need to choose a local church that is of concern here, the danger is an exclusive mindset that can creep into one’s attitude that one group can be set up categorically as better than another, focusing on separation from others by one’s wrongly motivated preference. ie. I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. (1Co.1:12) ie. “I belong to the best group!”

(3) See 1 Corinthians 1

(4) “After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; and cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.” (Revelation 7:9-10)

(5) 2 Timothy 2:19