One Lord, One Faith, Many Graces

by Tom Johnston

There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Ephesians 4:4-7, ESV

So then, why all the sects, denominations, networks – all the different brands? Why is it that it seems that while God sees us all as one, we are working so hard to try to portray ourselves as different? Why do we feel the need to be unique as a church or denomination? Is sameness bad?

At the heart of this segment of Paul’s letter to the mighty church at Ephesus, the Apostle to the Gentiles is trying to help them see the wonderful nature of God: unity in diversity, and how that is expressed in His Church. God as trinity is One, yet diverse. Paul reminds them of this singular nature of God as a prelude to his discussion of diversity. He makes a clear point of there being only one body, only one Spirit, only one hope, only one Lord, only one faith, only one baptism – and only one God who is the Father of the one family, called the Church.

With all this unity and singularity, why then do we have so many brands? If we are meant to be interdependent, why so much expressed independence in the churches? With more than 3,000 denominations, networks, independent groups and non-denomination denominations today, we seemed to have missed the point of the “one body” et al. somewhere. What we experience is more division than diversity, more isolation than interdependence. Why?

In verse 7, Paul mentions that each member (diversity) of the one body (singularity) was given a grace empowerment for the building up the body of Christ, for bringing us to unity in faith and spiritual maturity. It seems such development equips us for growth in love, and makes us resistant to the shifts brought on by the “winds of doctrine.” Yet, amazingly enough, it this issue – doctrine – which seems to divide us the most. Not necessarily just on the big points: the Bible, the Person of Christ, etc. but on things, well, that seem to us to be less important, things not essential, not core to the Christian faith. Our doctrinal statements and our liturgies become reasons to depart from the unity of the faith, from the bond of peace. Indeed, they have been the cause for wars.

Where then, does the expression diversity come in? In the grace of Christ. The fundamental uniqueness of His grace working through the various streams of the Church and individual people provide us with a display of the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 1:22-23). The multiplicity of Christ’s grace expressed is what imparts us our uniqueness, all of which is meant to function and flow together in oneness – God is one – with one purpose – the building up of the one Body and the extension of the one Faith. At Praxis, we currently have the privilege and joy of serving pastors and denominational leaders from more than 20 denominations, as well as many independent churches and networks. Most of the time when we are together with these dear saints, we can’t tell them apart, because we can see in all of them the grace empowerment of Christ Jesus at work in them.

So, go ahead and hold onto your doctrinal proclivities and creedal statements – we want you to. But hold onto them loosely – and please don’t use them as a hammer on the rest of us – don’t let them divide us. What we need everyone to do is bring their grace to the table – that which Christ has invested in them. We need who He is in each of us. Just don’t go home and take your ball with you, because then we all lose out – and so does the world. We might differ in a few bullet points on our creeds, fliers and websites, but we still need the grace of Christ in each other. It’s the only way the West can be one again for Christ.