your church is too small 3
Chapter Four: The Jesus Prayer for our Unity
Chapter Five: Our Greatest Apologetic
Chapter Six: Christ the Center
John Armstrong in these next three chapters of your church is too small starts to explore what is meant by ‘unity.’ And his attention turns to the longest recorded prayer of Jesus: John 17:20-23.
As John states, Jesus is praying for the entire church. And He is praying for something more than the “invisible unity” of the church (which is already true). Jesus is praying for relational unity – a unity that is rooted in Christians relationships with one another. As we share in the divine life of the Trinity; as we live daily with our lives centred on Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit, then “the church will be a visible example of the relational and spiritual unity of the triune God.”
Our author then explores the role of love. Jesus’ prayer for unity is “really a prayer about God’s love in action” (John 17:23; 1 Pt 4:19-21; 1 John 4:19-21). Francis Schaeffer believed that the truest identifying mark of Christians was love. The challenge for all followers of the Lord Jesus is to accept those who are accepted by God and belong to Him.
So how can we work together in Christ’s mission? John briefly explores models of unanimity, uniformity and union (one visible, united church) and concludes that none of these understandings of unity “truly fit the context of the New Testament.” The early church was focussed on evangelism in which they cooperated. What is the means for our cooperation? Keeping Christ centre.
Our unity is in Christ alone – not in visible structures or particular practices of individual churches. Our author presents a helpful image: think of the world wide church as a large circle with Christ at the centre. As we move inward we grow closer to one another. Excellent!
For John Armstrong, he is seeking to practically live this out by:
- being willing to work with all Christians, including those he does not know well;
- engaging in relational and cooperational unity with Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox churches.