Christ is All: Tearing Down Walls and Building Unity

Have you ever found yourself caught up in a heated debate where you leave disliking the other person more? If so, Colossians 3:11 is the verse that will shake you free from those dividing lines.

 

“Here there is not Gentile and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.” (ESV). Or, as the NLT beautifully says: “In this new life it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.”

 

When Paul wrote these words, he was calling out the labels and barriers that kept people apart in his day. Ethnicity, cultural identity, and social status had no bearing on a person’s worth in the body of Christ. Instead, Paul reminded believers that in Christ, we are all one body, with one focus, and one purpose: Jesus. If we let this truth sink in, it’s a game-changer.

 

Fast forward to today. Imagine Paul writing this verse in modern terms. Would he say: “There is no Calvinist or Arminian, no post-trib or pre-trib, no Pentecostal or Baptist, but Christ is all that matters and he lives in all of us”? Perhaps he would. Because at the heart of the gospel is Jesus, not our labels. Yes, theology and doctrine are important. Paul himself spent plenty of time teaching truth. We should imitate Paul (1 Corinthians 4:16), so we should seek to uphold the truth about who Jesus is and what a life in him is all about. Yet time and time again I’ve seen inconsequential differences become walls that separate rather than bridges that unite.

 

Christ didn’t come so we could form factions or argue over secondary issues. He came to unite us in himself. He came to show us that nothing – no culture, no class, no denomination – compares to his worth.

 

Think about this, Jesus is perfect theology. If we fix our eyes on him, many of the disagreements that divide us will fade in importance. That doesn’t mean we won’t have differences, but it does mean we’ll remember who matters most. For instance:

 

What would happen if Christians spent less time debating and more time loving each other as Jesus commanded (John 13:34-35)?

What if our focus wasn’t on being “right” but on being Christlike?

What if our unity wasn’t rooted in perfect agreement, but in perfect submission to the one who is all?

The world doesn’t need more examples of Christians arguing. It needs a Church united around Jesus – showing love that can only come from him.

 

The key to unity lies in having “doves’ eyes.” Doves have a singular, undistracted focus. As Christ followers, we’re called to fix our eyes on Jesus in that same way. When Christ is the center of our worship, our focus, and our lives, he becomes the glue that holds us together. When he becomes everything, there’s no room for secondary labels to define us.

 

Are you Pentecostal? Awesome – keep your eyes on Jesus.

Are you Baptist? Great – fix your focus on him.

Are you Calvinist, Arminian, pre-trib or post? Perfect – join the family of believers all centered on the same Savior.

It’s not that differences don’t exist, but in light of Jesus, they lose their power to divide.

 

How do we live this out practically? Start with Christ and Christ alone (1 Corinthians 2:2). Make him your abject focus. Spend time in the Word, in prayer, and in worship all with the purpose of seeking to know not a set of rules or some doctrine better, but to know him more. And, when discussing differences amongst those from other denominations, exercise humility in not trying to win the discussion like its some fight. Instead, ask questions to learn why they believe what they do and always make it your end goal to find common ground in Christ. After all, they are your brothers and sisters in Christ. Treat them like it. Which brings us to Jesus’ command to love your brothers and sisters in Christ with the same love Christ showed us; for that’s how the world will know we’re his followers (John 13:34-35). And, how are we to love with Christ’s love unless our focus is on Christ in the first place? It goes back to the need to make him your abject focus.

 

Remember the words Jesus prayed, that his Church be one so that the world may believe that God sent him (John 17:21). Unity in his Body is incredibly important. So important that he prayed about it. Make it important in your life as well by seeking to know Jesus over knowing the pros and cons of each denomination or theological difference. For it is he who unites.

 

At the end of the day, Colossians 3:11 reminds us that Jesus is the answer. He’s the unifier, the focus, and the one who breaks down every wall. When we keep our eyes on him, we’ll find ourselves more united than divided, more in love than at odds, and more like him in every way.

 

So, let’s live like Christ is all – because he truly is.