The Unity of the One and Only True Church

The Unity of the One and Only True Church
by H. M. Riggle

God's church is one fold, one family, one body. We want to show from the Scriptures that her divine author demands perfect harmony in all her members, has fully provided for that unity, and forbids all divisions. Not only is the community of God one body, but all divisions of that one body are condemned in the strongest terms. Let us hear the great founder, as he pours out his heart in prayer to the Father, while already suffering the inward pains of death in behalf of his dearly purchased church: "Holy father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are one." John 17:11. "neither pray I for these alone, but for them also who shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one; as thou, father art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me." Verses 20,21. "I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me." Verse 23.

Three times he earnestly prays that all who believe on him through the apostles' word should be one, yea, one even as he himself and the Father are one. Are we Christians if we respect not those deep heart-yearnings of Christ? Do we care for the salvation of this lost world if we are indifferent about this heavenly unity, which the "wisdom of God" foresaw and declared essential to their faith in the divine mission of Christ on earth? The Lord knew very well that the citadel of the human soul is under the control of reason and can admit nothing without the consent of that high functionary. He also perceived that reason must pronounce division, discord, strife, and confusion inconsistent with a religion declared to emanate from God. Hence that earnest and thrice repeated prayer that we should all be one as he and the Father are one, so that the world might believe that he was really sent from heaven to save men from their sins.

The language virtually implies that if this holy unity should not be seen by the world, unbelief would possess their hearts and his death on their behalf would be largely frustrated. And have not his anticipations proved sadly true? Behold, the world is today rushing on to hell; and ever since strife and division has broken the sweet "one accord" of the primitive church, the gospel has been comparatively powerless to convict of sin and the judgment, and turn the souls of men from the ways of death. There is, then, a solemn and awful weight of importance connected with this divine unity. For this cause there is perhaps no one thing more frequently enjoined in the New Testament than the oneness of all believers, no evil more preemptorily forbidden than that of schisms, and no sin more strongly denounced than that of causing division.

The apostles of the Lord, walking in the spirit and footsteps of their Master, continued the same earnest appeal for the unity of all who profess the name of Christ. "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." 1 Cor. 1:10. "For, ye are all one in Christ Jesus." Gal. 3:28. "Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel." Phil. 1:27. "Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be like minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind." Phil. 2:2. "Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be like-minded one toward another according to Christ Jesus: that ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." Rom. 15:5,6. "And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul.” Acts 4:32.

Here are a few more strong texts on unity. In the first the children of God are exhorted to be "perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment;" in the second, to "stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;" in the third, to "be like-minded," "being of one accord" - not like-minded according to some man's mind or creed, not according to the mind of the flesh nor yet the edicts of some conference of preachers, but "like-minded one to another according to Christ Jesus: that ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God." An earnest admonition is, "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." For a refutation of the false statement that people cannot see alike, for the confirmation of the Word and grace of God, and for the encouragement of God's saints in all subsequent time, it is recorded that "the multitude of them that believed, were of one heart and one soul." Not simply a few were enabled to come into this unity for which Christ prayed, but the whole multitude of believers, and they numbered thousands. Now, we confidently affirm that the same salvation will produce the same fruit today.

Not only did the apostles follow their teacher and Lord in demanding perfect unity in all believers, but they also showed a holy abhorrence of all divisions. Accordingly, we are told that "God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honor to that part which lacked; that there should be no schism in the body" (1 Cor. 12:24, 25). Here is a direct prohibition of all schisms, or divisions, in the body of Christ. By the standard of truth all divisions among Christians are sinful. "Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple." Rom. 16:17, 18. "A man that is an heretic after the first and second admonition reject; knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself." Tit. 3:10, 11. "But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not." 2 Pet. 2:1-3.

The foregoing texts, it will be observed, classify together as all the same "a man that causes divisions," "a heretic," and such as bring in heresies. And now we must prove the position correct. The word hairesis is a Greek term, found ten times in the New Testament. In the following instances the word is rendered sect: Acts 5:17; 15:5; 24:5; 26:5 and 28:22. In the first, second and fourth instances it is applied to the sect of the Pharisees. In the third and fifth, the Jews, ignorant to the true and universal character of God's church, called it a sect, the sect of the Nazarenes. As the disciples were nearly all from the Jewish nation, they were very naturally looked upon as another sect of that nation. In all these instances it is clearly seen that hairesis is correctly rendered "sect," which signifies a faction.

There are five more instances of hairesis in the Greek New Testament. In these the word is not, we may say, translated at all, but merely transferred with a slight change of form into "heresy" and "heretic." They are the following: Acts 24:14; 1 Cor. 11:19; Gal. 5:20; 2 Pet. 2:1; and Tit. 3:10. In the last the word is hairetekos, referring to the sectarian instead of the sect. The word in Acts- "after the way which they call heresy" -is translated "sect" by Rotherham, Wakfielsd, A. Layman, Chas. Thomson, H.T. Anderson, Bible Union, Emphatic Diaglott, Young, and the New Version. In 1 Cor. 11:19 - "for there must also be heresies among you" - the word is rendered "sects" by Thomson, Anderson, Bible Union and Young; "parties" by Rotherham; "factions" by Emphatic Diaglott. In the passage in Gal. 5:20 the word for "heresies" is rendered "sects" by Thomson, Anderson, Bible Union and Young; "parties" by Rotherham; "factions" by Diaglott; "divisions" by the New Version. The word for "heresies" in 2 Peter 2 is translated "sects" by Layman, Thomson, Anderson and Young; "parties" by Rotherham; "factions" by Bible Union. The word for "heretic" in Tit. 3:10 is translated as follows: "A man that causes divisions." - Bible Union. "A formenter of divisions." - Wakefield. "A party man." - Rotherham. "A sectary." - Anderson. "A sectarian man. " –Young.

So, then, it is clearly seen that a heresy is a "sect," "faction," "party," or "division;" while a heretic is "a man that causes divisions," foments sects; or he may be simply a "party man," namely, one that holds to, and is zealous for, a sect or party, or, in plain words, as rendered in the excellent translations of Robert Young, of Edinburgh, Scotland, " a sectarian man." So utterly abhorrent in its nature and ruinous in its fruits is the sin of partyism or sectariansm, that God's true children are commanded to reject any one who is guilty of it after the first and second admonition- "knowing that he that is such, is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself." All these translations, even more clearly than the Common Version, prove that there is no sin more utterly abominated by the Word of God than that of sectarianism. Paul declared the Corinthians carnal, because they inclined to be sectish, one saying, "I am of Paul, and another, I am of Apollos." 1 Cor. 3:1-4.

In Gal. 5:20 the word for "heresies" is translated in plain English "sects;" in several other versions the apostle pronounces them "the works of the flesh," and classifies them with adultery, fornication, idolatry, murders, drunkenness, revelings and such like. It is an awful fact, but the Inspired Volume mentions no sin that is more hateful in the sight of God; and it cannot be denied that sects are classified with the very darkest crimes. There must, therefore, be a way to escape this sin and the judgments of God that will be visited upon such as are guilty of it. The dreadful evil is surely not an unavoidable one. The very fact that God renounces it and commands us to reject and withdraw ourselves from sectarians proves that there is a foundation upon which we may stand clear. In the very prayer in which Christ so earnestly and repeatedly besought the perfect unity of all his disciples, and all who would subsequently believe on him we find him laying down the complete basis of oneness.