The Unrecognized Unity

W. Carl Ketcherside

[Page 59]

     Did it ever occur to you that the unity for which Jesus prayed might come and we would not recognize it? "The wind blows where it wills; you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from, or where it is going. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." Could this also be true of that unity which is born of the Spirit? "You cannot tell by observation when the kingdom of God comes. There will be no saying, "Look, here it is!' or 'there it is!' for in fact the kingdom of God is among you." Is it possible that the unity of the kingdom will be like the kingdom itself? Will it be in us and dwell among us in a very real sense but free from show and overt demonstration?

     Perhaps the Christian world is like the Jewish world when Jesus came. Here were people who had the word of God. They revered it, studied it and discussed it. Jesus said to them, "You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life." They were familiar with every Messianic hint and prophecy. They had built up great commentaries containing the text of their debates and disputations. But when Jesus came they did not recognize their Messiah. They knew the plan of the scriptures but they did not know the Man of the scriptures.

     Out of their interpretations they built up an idea of how Christ must come and how he must act. But the revelation was one thing and their interpretation was another thing. Jesus came "according to the scriptures" but not according to their ideas of what the scriptures meant. They could quote the scriptures by rote to prove they were right. Of them it was said, "You rely upon the law and are proud of your God; you know his will; you are confident that you are the one to guide the blind, to enlighten the benighted, to train the stupid and to teach the immature, because in the law you see the very shape of knowledge and truth" (Romans 1:17-20).

     The retort to every question would have been, "It has to be this way because that

[Page 60]

is what the Book says!" And when he appeared he came according to the volume but not according to their version. He fulfilled God's revelation but failed in their expectation. They knew only one solution. When there is a seeming conflict between the law and the Lord, the first must be glorified and the other crucified. "We have a law and by our law he ought to die." The law they had was the law of God and they used the law of God to kill the Lamb of God. Clever legalists can legalize anything. They do not deny the cross; they simply nail men to it. To them it is not a means of ridding themselves of sin, but of a Savior.

     When Jesus came "the people were on the tiptoe of expectation" (Luke 3:15). They are that way now on the subject of unity. Interest is at fever pitch. The ecumenical council at Rome and the ecumenical movement in Protestantism -- these have kindled thought and sparked hope in a prospect so vast and magnificent that men whisper their very dreams in awe. Organizations that once seemed indispensable are now ready to be offered upon the sacrificial altar, traditions which were deemed vital are now ready for the scrapheap. This is a period of restlessness, transition and upheaval. New structures are being debated, old structures are being demolished, re-structure is being deliberated.

     In the midst of the maelstrom of activity with the hum of party machinery and the buzz of political maneuvering, I seem to hear the whisper of a still small voice from the bygone centuries, warning as of yore, "If they tell you, 'He is there in the wilderness,' do not go out; or if they say, 'He is there in the inner room,' do not believe it." The unity for which Jesus prayed is not a project of conventions nor a product of councils. It cannot be drafted, dictated or documented. It cannot be voted in, voted out, or even voted on. There will come no hour when men can affix their signatures to a declaration and say, "This is it!" It is true that a cessation of partisan hostilities can be thus arranged, and tired combatants can lay down their factional arms, but this is as far from "the peace that passeth understanding" as the east is from the west.

     We are trained and conditioned to think only in terms of organization. We can do nothing without conclaves and charters, laws and by-laws. And we are tempted to think that because we have been imbued with the spirit of organization that our structures are organizations of the Spirit. In reality we have not been organized to live but we have been organized to death. We have forsaken the simplicity of the One Way for the complexity of our own ways. We have forfeited affection for affectation. Increasingly we hear about "the community image" of the church, little remembering that those who make an image generally end up worshiping it.

     Unity will never come by legislation. It is not the child of conventions nor the seed of synods. It is not sired by sessions nor born of boards. Unity cannot be enforced externally; it must be enjoyed internally. It is a fruit of the Spirit and fruit grows naturally from the substance absorbed by deep roots. It is not explosive or exhaustive.

     When hearts yearn for each other with a deep and abiding affection, when brotherhood is conditioned upon common Fatherhood and fellowship is recognized as the result of mutual sonship, unity will flow forth as a broad and tranquil stream whose crystal waters are furnished by the bubbling springs of thousands of quiet hearts. Then we will not need to argue every action of every faction, nor debate every minor deviation of every dissident party, but love will triumph over trouble and we shall grow together in the bundle of life with the souls of all the brethren, and we shall be tied with the scarlet line that flowed from his lacerated side. This is unity of the Spirit!

     It is on its way! You can sense its throbbing, pulsating presence in the growing revolt against narrow intolerant orthodoxy on the campus of every college in this land. Men are growing tired of bickering over trifles in a world at crisis. They are weary of insane feuds be-

[Page 61]

queathed from generations past which have no relevance in this day of decision. They are sick of being pawns in party struggles for power promoted by jealous preachers. The futility of proclaiming unity while practicing division is freely acknowledged. The parroting of scriptures with partisan prejudice is working its own rebuke. The childish competition and ridiculous rivalry at the rim of Armageddon are being rejected by rational minds. The folly of a church militant against herself is being seen in true perspective in the light of burning "heretics" who were the truest friends of truth.

     The "fellowship of the concerned ones" is growing. The factional defenders of partisan orthodoxy are frightened. A few years ago they laughed among themselves and cautioned each other to ignore what was happening. They comforted one another with the thought that no reform had ever made any impact upon them. The organization was iron-clad and every dissenter was doomed to waste his life away without affecting those inside the wall. They no longer laugh. The hollow echoes of yesterday haunt them like ghosts of the past.

     A new movement is gathering force--a twentieth century restoration movement--linked by kinship to the restoration movements of long ago and yet destined to meet realistically the needs of our contemporary era. Already the roots of the plea for fellowship have penetrated every partisan fence and barrier. Hearts are beating in unison of purpose even while minds are still disturbed by varying opinions.

     Such unity will continue to grow, although unrecognized by factional proponents who dogmatically insist that it must come only by surrender to them instead of to Jesus. It is a unity in depth and will not be attained by shallow compromise. It is a unity of maturity in vision which will offset the childishness of division. It is a unity which will call with compelling voice to the scattered sheep grazing upon the barren slopes of a sterile sectarianism, and they will lift up their heads and listen and hear, and move toward the Shepherd, realizing as they draw closer that "there is one flock and one Shepherd," and there can never be more than one. It is the natural unity which belongs to a divine organism and can never be created by a human organization. It is the spirit of unity produced by the unity of the Spirit--and these can never be reversed!