The church is a place of radical unity; at least, it should be!
The local church should be a radically united group of people, the kind of community that cannot be found anywhere else. We have such unity because of Jesus that this should flow into real unity between diverse people in our churches.
It is not always like this. The Galatian church was deeply divided. It was made up mainly of people of non-Jewish backgrounds who had come to trust in Jesus, with a minority of people of Jewish background who had come to trust in Jesus. These two groups were now one, united group. And this led to some practical problems.
A key issue was to do with eating meals together. The Jewish Christians had been brought up to keep the food laws in the Old Testament. They did not associate with people who were not Jewish; you could do business with a Gentile, but you could not enter his house or share a meal with him. Gentiles were seen as ceremonially unclean. So, if a Jewish person became a Christian, they needed to change a lifetime of behaviour. They knew that their Gentile brothers and sisters were sinners like them, equally saved by Jesus alone. They needed to make a decision to share meals and go to each others’ houses. This was right, for Jesus had brought down the barriers that once divided these groups.
This unity was generally seen in the church in Antioch, until Peter withdrew from eating with the Gentiles due to the fear of those who felt differently on this issue. Paul’s public and impassioned response shows us that this withdrawal is a major gospel issue, not just catering to Jewish sensitivities.
Later on in Galatians 2, Paul expanded this unity in the gospel that crosses demographic boundaries with these famous verses:
27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.
(Galatians 3:27-29 ESV)
This doesn’t mean that there are no differences at all between men and women and slaves and free; that’s not the point Paul is making. The point is that the church should be united across these demographic lines that often do divide people. In the church, men and women are equal, sinners saved only by Jesus. In the church, Jews and Gentiles, slaves and free will be together as equals. This is something radical that simply cannot exist without the power of the gospel.
I think that this is a real challenge not just to a group of churches in ancient Turkey; this is a challenge to the modern church. There are a great many churches that essentially divide their services along demographic lines. There are services for the older people and different services for the young adults. There are small groups only for youth and there are small groups only for those with children. There are ministries for men and ministries for women and ministries for children. We love to segregate people based on similarities.
I think this is a problem. Don’t mishear me; there might be a good reason for a few groups that aim for a specific group due to a specific reason, like a youth group that deals with issues specific to teenagers. I don’t want to ban all demographic groups altogether. However, I do think that we should make every effort to be as united across demographic groups as we can. Part of the wonder of the gospel is that it unites people. Those of wildly different backgrounds can be in the same spiritual family, equally heirs of God due to Jesus. We need to express this as much as possible.
After all, you can gather like with like for all kinds of reasons, can’t you? You could gather a group of young adults together around popular culture. You could gather a group of football fans together. You can get women together around shared interests. Yet the church should be more than this! We are radically united with people nothing like us because of Jesus. So, we should know them and share church and life with them. Where else can you see a teenager and an eighty-year-old talking together? Where else can a refugee have a meal with a medical professional, or a couple with children be close friends with a middle-aged single man? This kind of unity is not just sociology, but due to the gospel.
The home group I am part of is a joy because of this. Last Friday night, we met with a very diverse group of Christians. The youngest was 13 and the oldest regular member is in their 60s. We had men and women present, including some married and some not. We had people from India, Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, and even the odd Australian. This range of backgrounds lead a rich discussion on any text for we see the world quite differently from one another. It is a visual demonstration of the gospel.
Segregation of the church based on demographics also prevents some ministry we are commanded to do in the Bible. Older men and women are supposed to mentor younger men and women; how can this happen if the two groups never see one another? How can we build one another up as one body with many parts if we keep certain types of people in a separate place from other types of people?
Even if your local church or home group is made up of diverse people, that doesn’t necessarily mean that the unity is as deep as it should be. It is possible to be polite and friendly but not close friends with someone. A good test is who you share meals with; in any culture, this means friendship. If the only people you share meals with are people in a demographic like your own, is that truly unity around the gospel? Or is it being friends with people you would be friends with anyway even if you were not Christians?
The local church has a great opportunity to live out the gospel through deep unity between diverse people. All Christians are sinners saved by Jesus, regardless of our culture or gender or socioeconomic status. Let’s cross the usual demographic barriers our society sets up. Let’s be such a united community that it can only be explained by the power of the gospel.