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Many people today make the claim that doctrine divides. Certainly, this can be true if we turn secondary, minor, or complicated doctrines into the litmus test of true Christianity. Yet this should not cause us to overlook how central doctrine is for maintaining true Christian unity.
This is what the Apostle Paul emphasizes at the beginning of chapter 4 of his letter to the Ephesians. After he had written three chapters establishing what God had done for them in Christ Jesus and how through God’s sovereign grace believing Jews and gentiles are now one in Christ, he begins instructing the Christians about how they should live. Paul’s very first exhortation is the call
to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. (Eph. 4:1–3)
Today many people would suggest that to maintain unity, we should downplay doctrine and just try to get along. But God’s Word teaches the opposite. Paul goes on to emphasize that to maintain unity we need unity in doctrine:
There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. (Eph. 4:4–6)
As Christians, we are called to maintain unity, and in order to do this we need to be reminded of the central Christian doctrines, and we need to grow in our understanding of them. Christian unity is rooted in what God has done for us. His church is the one body to which we all belong. All Christians have received the one Spirit who unites us. We all live with the one Christian hope, eagerly waiting for what is yet unseen. In all this we are united in one Lord—the Lord Jesus Christ. We will never be done getting to know Him better and better.
At the end of Ephesians 1, Paul had prayed that God might open the eyes of the hearts of his readers so that they would know Christ more deeply. The more we come to know Christ, the more we will love Him and the more His love will fill our hearts, enabling us to love one another. This is what Paul prayed for the Ephesians in his next prayer at the end of chapter 3.
Ultimately, faithful doctrine doesn’t divide, and it is not boring. True biblical doctrine, taught faithfully and well applied, will strengthen our faith and will stir our affections. We all still have to keep growing through a healthy diet of sound doctrine. Recognizing this will help us walk in humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another in love.