Unity : The Particular Church and the Universal Church

I've been rereading "Being The Body", written by Charles Colson and Ellen Vaughn. Among the many things I learned the first time through the book (besides the fact that Colson was a reformed Southern Baptist) was the difference in the definition of unity when applied to the universal church and the particular church (or the invisible church and the visible church if you are reformed like me).

The universal church is THE CHURCH of Jesus Christ. It is the sum total of all people saved by His grace. In essence it is all the people who will make up the group that will be with Him for eternity. The particular or visible church is the church on earth everyone sees. It is made up of everyone who claims to be Christian, whether saved or not.

The Bible commands us to be united in the church universal. What exactly does this mean and what are the ramifications? Colson and Vaughn have an excellent chapter on this issue. I would encourage anyone who wants to know the role of the true Body and their place in it to read this book. I saw it on the discount shelf at the Christian Book store at Northcross, beside Harris Teeter for only $4.99, great deal.

They title this particular chapter "One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism". They make the case that not only is unity a requirement for us, one to another as it was for Jesus being one with God, but that it's a prerequsite for evangelism (John 17:21). Unity of the universal church is what is most important. When the outside world sees a Christian, they don't care what denomination we are, they will use any lack of unity on our part to discredit ALL of Christianity.

The ultimate case they make is that in the universal church we must set aside the "smaller" doctrinal diffrences, but not all. Any church must agree and abide by the fundamental doctrines that make us Christian, such as the resurrection to be included in the universal church. So, the universal church must practice unity with diversity. We must agree on and abide by the fundamental biblical doctrines of Christ, but quietly disagree and abide with our own different doctrines (like baptism methods, but, not the need for baptism) and come together as one in the eyes of the world.

The church particular on the other hand MUST never waiver from its unique doctrines. To be one in mind and spirit completely with one another on Sunday morning, every member of a church must believe in the same doctrines and submit to the same church authority and government. If you believe in baptism of infants and sprinkling, then you should be in a church that agrees with you or you dilute the unity of the church particular you are in.

C. S. Lewis expounds greatly on the unity of the universal church in his classic "Mere Christianity", in fact he calls the doctrinal truths that the Universal Chruch must hold to be just that, mere christianity, they are the things that make us Christian.

I believe we must study the great works of others of different particular churches than ours. Until we converse and exchange and discover the differences and why we believe what we do, can we really say we believe them? I look forward to your comments on this issue. An active interchange of idesa is important, whether applied to the Universal or the particular church.

The Rule of Faith, the core set of beliefs all Christians must share:

-God, the creator exists in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
-Born of a virgin, He suffered, died, rose again, and was exalted at the right hand of the Father from whence He will come again
-The Holy Spirit brings the benefits of Christ's saving work to people who believe in Him
-Christians are expected to unite with a local church, submit to the authority of bishops and elders (deacons), and live a holy life conducive to the spread of the gospel
- God will judge the world and receive His own at the end of history
the above quoted from "Being the Body"