We are considering N. T. Wright’s newly released Paul and the Faithfulness of God (Christian Origins and the Question of God)
After reviewing Paul’s reworking of the symbols of the Jewish worldview, Wright considers the new worldview that Paul wants to establish.
It is still common to find ‘the church’ and related topics tucked away toward the back of studies of Paul, the assumption being that what mattered was sin and salvation and that questions about church life were essentially secondary or even tertiary. … No: we are simply asking the question: what were the main symbols, and symbols in action, of Paul’s newly envisaged and constructed world? And we are about to find, large as life, on the basis not of a theological a priori but simply by asking this question, scratching our heads, and looking around, that the primary answer is the ekklesia: its unity, holiness and witness.
(p. 384). Wright then goes on to review the Pauline epistles and demonstrate how central to Paul the unity of the church is. And this unity is not merely pragmatic (we can staff so many more soup kitchens!) or an idealization (if only it were possible!) but was worth Paul’s intense, repeated urging and even discipline. Paul didn’t just hope and pray for unity, he spent his career insisting on it and working for it.
Over and over, Paul writes an epistle urging his readers to become as united as God wants. Paul never accepts separate congregations in the same town or even separate meals for Jews and Gentiles, slaves and free. Unity must be real and must be visible.
It’s not good enough to intellectually accept someone as a brother but then to refuse to eat with him, even if that seems to be good church politics (as Paul explained to Peter in Gal 2!). Indeed, church politics cannot stand in the way of the church’s real, visible unity.
Why? Well, we’re the children of God, and there is but one God. We are the body of Christ, and there is but one Jesus. There is one faith and one baptism, and therefore there is but one church.
We are all going to eat together at the wedding feast of the Son when Jesus returns. How can we be separate today if we’re going to be together forever?
Isn’t it astonishing that there are circles within the Churches of Christ today that speak of the “grace/unity heresy” — as though asking for unity is necessarily anti-Christian? We could not have it more backwards.
Jay, give me just a second …. to ask this question…:) It is amazing that the Jerusalem council was able to convince the Jews to allow the Gentiles favor and acceptance without circumcision. Amazing. They gave up their most precious covenant sacrament for the sake of unity. It would be interesting to know WHY you think they did it, some begrudgingly for sure. Was it because of the influence and miraculous power of the leadership? Was it because of their understand of the Grace that had been extended them ? There are some faith heritages that can’t even get over calling themselves a denomination much less give up ANY central theme of their dogma.. Unity is the anathema of Separation from the world !! Absent calling down fire from heaven, how would a group of leaders impact their group to sacrifice privilege for unity ?
It is also amazing that the writings of Paul are finally being discussed in context.
Price,
Beats me. Of course, we know from Paul’s letters that James’ recommended decision did not end the matter. Paul continued to have problems with the “Judaizing” teachers much later. So even the apostles had problems with believers who preferred their traditions to apostolic teaching.