Updated and enlarged November 27, 2006 (first published October 18, 1995) (David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org; for instructions about subscribing and unsubscribing or changing addresses, see the information paragraph at the end of the article) -

The Bible speaks of unity in two different ways. (1) A FALSE UNITY BASED UPON MAN'S DESIRES AND GOALS INDEPENDENT OF GOD (Gen. 11:1-9). The Bible condemns any proposed unity that is not founded in and God’s truth and true to the Scriptures. The cry of the hour is tolerance and unity, but that is the false unity of the antichrist (Rev. 17-18) and should be resisted by God's people. “Ecumenical” means the whole world, and it is the spirit of the end-time apostasy. (2) THERE IS ALSO A TRUE UNITY BASED ON APOSTOLIC TRUTH. True Christian unity is the believers of a sound New Testament church united together in mind and faith and purpose to serve Jesus Christ and fulfill the Great Commission under the direction of their duly ordained leaders (Rom. 15:6; 1 Cor. 1:10; 2 Cor. 13:11; Eph. 4:1-13; Phil. 1:27).

EPHESIANS 4:1-6 -- “I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.”

In this passage we see true biblical unity and it is far removed from the ecumenical philosophy!

First, it is a unity of the Spirit (v. 3). This means that it is a unity involving those who are regenerated by and led by the Spirit of God. Contrast this with the ecumenical concept of bringing together everyone that names the name of Christ regardless of whether or not they are regenerate Christians. At a large ecumenical conference in St. Louis in 2000 (the North American Congress on the Holy Spirit & World Evangelization), I asked many of the people who were manning ministry booths, “When were you born again?” Not one gave a scriptural answer. Some said they were born again when they were baptized. Some, when they had a charismatic style experience. Others weren’t familiar with the term. Yet all of these people are intimately involved in the ecumenical movement.

Second, it is a unity of the one faith (v. 5). Biblical unity is impossible apart from the one true and settled faith taught by the apostles. God’s people are called upon to “earnestly contend for the faith once delivered unto the saints” (Jude 3). There is no unity between those who believe and follow the Bible and those who do not. Note that “the faith” is not divided into cardinal and secondary issues. In Matt. 23:23 Jesus taught that while not everything in Scripture is of equal importance, everything has some importance. Nothing clearly taught in Scripture is to be despised and set aside for the purpose of unity. In 1 Tim. 6:14, Paul taught Timothy to keep all of the apostolic doctrine “without spot” until the return of Christ. Spots are small, seemingly insignificant things. Thus, Paul was teaching Timothy to value everything in Scripture. The theme of 1 Timothy is practical church truth (1 Tim. 3:15), church government (1 Tim. 3), the woman’s role in church work (1 Tim. 2), the widows (1 Tim. 5), etc. These are the very things that are typically ignored in ecumenical ventures, because they are considered of “secondary” importance. Yet Paul taught Timothy to keep all of these things without spot. Timothy was instructed to allow “no other doctrine” (1 Tim. 1:3). That is the strictest kind of standard for doctrine, and when one holds that standard of doctrine it is impossible to be ecumenical even in the mildest New Evangelical sense.

Third, it is a unity that has as its basic unit the New Testament assembly. The command in Ephesians 4:3 is addressed to the church at Ephesus (Eph. 1:1). It was not addressed to the worldwide body of believers or to all of the believers throughout a particular region. It is possible to practice biblical unity within the assembly because doctrine and righteousness can be enforced and preserved there. Outside of the assembly, though, there is no biblical discipline, leadership, or oversight. When Christians attempt to practice interdenominational and parachurch unity, there is always compromise because an attempt to respect every aspect of the New Testament faith causes division rather than unity. I am not responsible to maintain a unity with every professing believer in the world but with the believers in my assembly, in my local body, and with others with whom I am truly likeminded. The Bible says we are to glorify God “with one mind and one mouth” (Rom. 15:6). That is not a description of any type of ecumenism! This is only possible in the New Testament assembly, where believers can be united together in doctrine and spirit and purpose in a way that is impossible apart from the assembly.

PHILIPPIANS 1:27 -- “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.”

First, biblical unity is a function of the local church. This instruction was addressed to the church at Philippi. True Christian unity is not a parachurch or interdenominational issue.

Second, biblical unity means having one mind. It is not an ecumenical unity in diversity. Compare Rom. 15:5-6; 1 Cor. 1:10; 2 Cor. 13:11.

Third, biblical unity means total commitment to the one apostolic faith. The New Testament faith is not many separate doctrines but is one unified body of truth into which all doctrines fit. It is unscriptural to think that only a few "cardinal" Bible doctrines are crucial while other New Testament teachings and practices are tertiary and can be ignored for the sake of unity. The apostle Paul instructed Timothy to keep every aspect of biblical truth “without spot” until the return of Christ (1 Tim. 6:14). This refers to the details of the Word of God. It is impossible to stand unequivocally for New Testament truth in all its aspects and to be ecumenical at the same time. As one wise pastor observed, we will limit our message or we will limit our fellowship. The choice is clear. If one is faithful to the New Testament faith, it is impossible to have a wide fellowship, and if one is committed to a wide fellowship he must limit his message.

WHAT ABOUT JOHN 17?

“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” (John 17:21).

The modern ecumenical movement has taken John 17:21 as one of its theme verses, claiming that the unity for which Christ prayed is an ecumenical unity of professing Christians that disregards biblical doctrine. The context of John 17 destroys this myth. In John 17 the Lord plainly emphasizes that the unity He desires and the unity for which He is praying is one based on salvation and Truth and separation from the world.

“I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and THEY HAVE KEPT THY WORD. ... For I HAVE GIVEN UNTO THEM THE WORDS WHICH THOU GAVEST ME; AND THEY HAVE RECEIVED THEM, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me. ... I HAVE GIVEN THEM THY WORD; AND THE WORLD HATH HATED THEM, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. ... Sanctify them through THY TRUTH: thy word is TRUTH. ... And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified THROUGH THE TRUTH” (Jn. 17:6, 8, 14, 17, 19)

This is not a unity of true Christians with the false. It is not a unity that ignores doctrinal differences for the sake of an enlarged fellowship.

In fact, there is nothing in Christ’s prayer to indicate that man is to do anything whatsoever in an attempt to create the unity described herein. John 17 is not a commandment addressed to men; it is a prayer addressed to God the Father, and the prayer was answered. It describes a spiritual reality that was created by God among genuine believers who are committed to the Scriptures, not a possibility that must be organized by man.