A few years ago my presbytery was embroiled in a particularly heated debate over issues related to the formation of what came to be known as the Confessing Church movement. At the time, “peace, unity, and purity” still referred primarily to an ordination vow and not to a theological task force. Some of my colleagues argued that unity is more critical than purity, while others argued the exact opposite point. Their positions looked a little bit like this: (1) “If we have to give a little on purity in order to be united, so be it,” and (2) “We need to establish clear boundaries that define who we are. If that means that we lose unity, so be it.” In other words, a lot of people thought that you can’t have both unity and purity. Pick which is more important go with that.
I disgreed with this zero-sum way of approaching the issue. And I continue to feel uncomfortable when this same dynamic plays out in other arenas. Neither fractured purity nor sham unity strike me as worthy goals for our church. In such situations, I am guided by the instruction I find in Ephesians 4 which points us in the right direction.
The chapter begins (verses 1-6) with a powerful but an almost monotonous description of our Christian unity. We are one in so many ways! Unity is obviously a vital component of our identity as the people of God. It is worth working and struggling for. At the same time, the chapter concludes (verses 17-32) with some of the strongest language in the New Testament that calls for believers to purity, both ethical and doctrinal. This chapter offers potential proof-texts for both unity advocates and purity promoters.
Instead of mining Ephesians 4 to find ammunition to support our preconceptions, we ought instead to attend carefully to how it draws together what we may be tempted to view as separate goals of unity and purity. For me, the admonition in verse 15 offers the key to the whole dilemma: “speaking the truth in love.” If we can figure out how to do that, we’ve solved the dilemma. Some of us are intent on speaking the truth (or our concept of the truth), but don’t put much effort into doing so in a loving way. Others of us are so concerned about being loving and respectful that we’ll accept everything that comes down the pike so that we don’t offend or exclude anyone. Neither of these approaches lives up to the challenge of “speaking the truth in love.”
If I’d ever form an advocacy group in our denomination, I’d have my eye on Ephesians 4:15 and call it “Presbyterians Expressing Truth and Encouraging Respect.” I don’t think I’ll ever do this, because of the rather vain acronym “PETER.” I’m convinced, however, that this is the goal which practically all of us aspire to. How can we respectfully express our understanding of the truth to one another in a way that encourages both unity and purity? This isn’t a trivial concern; it’s something we all vowed to do when we were ordained.
As a number of wise people have pointed out in the past, the choice between unity and purity is a false one. You can’t be united if you’re not pure, and you can’t be pure if you’re not united. Ephesians 4 concludes in verse 32 with a description of how being pure encourages unity: “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
