The Unity Of Opposites

For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church."Ephesians 5:31-32 NKJV

In today’s issue, we take a little step further into exploring the subject, unity of difference looking at the church as it relates to Christ while carefully unraveling this mystery through the antitype lens of marriage as we know it.

Often times, the Bible employs the act of rhetorical or cognitive-linguistic phenomenon to convey ideas about God relating to specific situations with the hope that, it’s hearers get to make a more deeper connection to the subject matter as it relates to everyday experiences. An example of this practice is a metaphor, which is used to equate two things not because they are the same but for the purposes of comparison and symbolism. Now even more than a metaphor, Apostle Paul’s paraenesis in Ephesians 5:31-32 makes use of a rather downward comparison rightly referred to as a typology which purposefully bears witness to the marriage between Christ and the church as a reality after which the human institution of marriage is patterned not the other way round .This makes the Christ-church union the antitype or symbol from which the pattern of human marriage is typologically drawn from. That being said, this will help us to understand the tangent of Apostles Paul’s pareanesis when he speaks of us, the church, being the body of Christ.

Just as a man and woman regardless of their backgrounds, differences, preferences, opinions etc. are forged together by the bond of marriage through the act consummation into one inseparable flesh, with one goal and one purpose, the church is equally merged inseparably with Christ in- spite our differences, rightly rendered as the body of Christ. Why are people who have been married for years despite their mishaps as couples sometimes willing to overlook their individual inconveniences to forge ahead to make the union work ? It’s simply because, anytime a couple mirrors the heavenly pattern of marriage, they begin to discover even more so clearly that , the strength of a marriage is not predicated on the idea of perfection from both parties but rather their ability to allow their differences and peculiarities harmonize in a way that allows God to fulfill His will through them . In the same way, when we come together as a church, we begin to harness potentials beyond our feeble little minds when we give ear to our differences and peculiarities.

Differences in a typical religious setting can be amplified in many diverse ways, which may present itself in three major forms put together by Dr. Alan Scholes namely convictions, persuasions & opinions . Many of what we differ on is most likely to fall under one or more of these categories. To explain further Dr. Scholes writes;

1. Convictions: These are central beliefs of the Christian faith that are crucial to salvation. For example, Paul identifies the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ as of first importance in 1 Corinthians 15:3–5. Other examples of conviction level doctrines would include the authority of the Scriptures, the doctrine of the Trinity and the full deity and humanity of Christ.

2. Persuasions: These are beliefs about which we are personally certain about but can still fellowship with other Christians who disagree since they are not matters central to the gospel and/or the historic Christian faith. Examples of persuasion level issues would be forms of church government, modes of baptism (sprinkling vs. immersion) and the nature of God’s providence. Many denominational distinctives fit into this second category.

3.Opinions: These are beliefs, desires, or even wishes which may not be clearly taught in Scripture over which believers may legitimately differ. Implicit in this third category is the assumption that there may be more than one correct "Christian"view on an issue. An example of an opinion level doctrine could be the order or style of Christian worship.

I’m pretty sure you could add on to the many convictions, persuasions and opinions present in our church settings today. From not wearing or wearing ornaments & jewelries, to women not allowed into public ministry service, to not playing instruments in church and even to the big one, once saved forever saved. I mean the list goes on and on. There’s always something to disagree on or have a different view about but nevertheless, throughout the course of history , the church has gained some grounds despite our differences through harnessing strengths domiciled in our peculiarities and views helping us to somewhat forge ahead in our collective faith . I must admit, there’s an enormous way to go as a church if we want to experience an overturn of the kingdoms of this world over to the kingdom of our God. We must begin to re access the things that truly matter to our faith and begin to work together as a body.

In my few years of being a believer, I tend to realize that many of what we differ or disagree on as Christians sometimes are merely opinions shrouded in the likeness of indisputable doctrine born out of a probably vague text in the bible. As Dr. Job Jindo mentions in his work “Metaphor Theory and Biblical Text”; biblical texts are said to elicit all sorts of ideas and significances not otherwise made plain in the text". Equally, when a text in the Bible is taken out of context, it subjects that text to all kinds of varied opinions and interpretations which may trigger all sorts of unnecessary disagreements between believers .Romans 14:1 AMP writes"As for the one whose faith is weak, accept him [into your fellowship], but not for [the purpose of] quarreling over his opinions." Rather than quarreling over opinions or disputable matters, Paul admonishes believers to develop the character of being welcoming & accepting of individuals with dissenting views or believes which deals with the conscience of people.

THE WAY FORWARD:What do we do as a church to maintain unity especially when uniformity is not in sight? Like a brilliant article I chanced upon online puts it; we must begin to distinguish between disputable and indisputable matters. Our inability to draw the lines is what breeds consternation and strife within our ranks. Understanding what really is a negotiable or non-negotiable of the Christian faith either doctrinal or moral issues keeping at the back of our minds that cardinal or central doctrinal or moral imperatives risk a great distortion to our Christian faith when we also become overly open to different opinions in that regard .

Ernest Kobby Baah