Lack of Christian unity: a perplexing problem since the days of Paul

Issue was focus of his first letter to the Corinthians

Image by James Lee, licensed by Unsplash.

Sometime during the 50s CE when he wrote his first letter to the Corinthians, the apostle, Paul faced a problem, one he mentions from the beginning: The nascent church was divided.

After introducing himself and getting past the formalities, Paul brings up division as his first topic

¹

:

Now I beg you, brothers and sisters, through the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfected together in the same mind and in the same purpose. For it has been reported to me concerning you, my brothers and sisters, by those who are from Chloe’s household, that there are contentions among you.

He doesn’t go into details here over what the arguing was about, although some of the divisions related to believers identifying with those who had baptized them. He laments

²

: “Now I mean this, that each one of you says, ‘I follow Paul,’ ‘I follow Apollos,’ ‘I follow Cephas,’ and, ‘I follow Christ.’ Is Christ divided?” So dismayed is Paul by the divisions that he says he is grateful that he baptized almost none of his readers.

And this was when the church was only 20 years old! Can you imagine how Paul might feel today when the followers of Christ are divided into literally thousands of groups, many of which claim they have a monopoly on the truth and devote much of their efforts to boundary maintenance, declaring who is in and who is out of the body of Christ?

Obviously, the differences between the Christian landscapes of the 50s and the 2020s are substantial. But in a Christianity of division, his words remain relevant.

After writing about specific issues of the time, such as the disagreement over whether it was acceptable to eat meat that had been sacrificed to idols, Paul looks at the wider picture. He writes

³

:

Now there are various kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are various kinds of service, and the same Lord. There are various kinds of workings, but the same God who works all things in all.

Then in one of the most famous passages of his epistles, Paul explains how different people have different spiritual gifts: Some are given wisdom, some are given faith, some are given the ability to perform miracles, some are given discernment, and so on.

Not everyone can be an eye, Paul points out, and not everyone can be a foot, but all parts of the body are important.

While in the immediate context Paul is speaking of personal spiritual gifts, is it that big of a stretch to frame his remarks in the context of different groups of Christians? For groups of Christians each have their own strengths: Although I’m not Catholic, I have been inspired during my travels as I visited beautiful cathedrals that encourage me to confront the forgiveness of Christ. I have seen how the Salvation Army has provided care for the homeless. I have LGBTQ friends who have found spiritual homes in mainline Protestant denominations when they felt unwelcome elsewhere. The evangelical denomination I grew up built and operated hospitals as the key component of its missionary efforts. Many denominations, including my own, subsidize higher education, even in secular subjects, for countless college students. Others promote Biblical scholarship. And the list goes on.

Despite their significant flaws, all these Christian groups seek in various ways to carry out their missions of being part of the body of Christ. And yet, in too many cases, we see these same groups doing what Paul advised against as they focus on their differences.

Two practical approaches to division

What’s the alternative? I’m not proposing structural unity; the differences are too great, and even structural unity wouldn’t end divisions unless it were some kind of dictatorship. I’m suggesting instead two complementary approaches:

First, we can strive to learn from those who have come to different theological conclusions than we have; in today’s interconnected world, it isn’t hard to find religious leaders and other thinkers who can challenge us even though they come from different faith traditions. For example, I have found inspiration from Richard Rohr (a Franciscan priest) and Philip Yancey (an evangelical writer who has focused on grace).

And second, we have the words of Paul. After discussing spiritual gifts, Paul points to “a most excellent way

⁴

” in some of the most eloquent words written in the first century. We all have a incomplete knowledge, Paul suggested, and the way to deal with that is to love.

Whatever we bring to the table fails, but, wrote Paul, love never will. He reinforces the words of Jesus, who, speaking about 20 years before Paul, called upon his students to love each other: “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.

⁵

”

This isn’t a unity that papers over differences, and Paul wasn’t suggesting that. Instead, love can provide the type of unity that allows us to find the best in each other.

---

This commentary on 1 Corinthians is a part of our Bible for Modern-day Saints series, published to roughly coincide with the schedule of the Come, Follow Me curriculum of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Views expressed are solely those of the author. Biblical quotations are adapted from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain.

1. 1 Corinthians 1:10.

2. Corinthians 1:12a.

3. 1 Corinthians 12:4ff.

4. 1 Corinthians 12:31, detailed in the 13th chapter.

5. John 11:35.