Triangle of Unity

We are to be united, but we also need to allow for the God-given diversity among us.  But we sometimes get those areas turned around.  We try to force sameness in the diversity among us.

We see many references where the writers of the Bible describe us as buildings and structures of God.  We can represent how we define God’s church in us with the illustration of the triangle of unity. This triangle shows that there is a separation between the areas we need to be united about and those areas were we can celebrate diversity in.

The bottom three sections, Person of Jesus, Biblical Passages, and God’s Principles, are areas that we need to be united on.  We then can celebrate the diversity in our preferences and practices as long as they are built upon the unifying layers.

Person of Jesus, Biblical Passages, and God’s Principles

We start at the foundation of the triangle in the “Person of Jesus”.  In this we must be united.  We cannot compromise on this message.

Paul wants to make sure that like any good builder, that a structure is built on a good foundation.  And we cannot deviate from building our foundation on Jesus.

We are being built up by God on the foundational truth of Jesus.  Not through some activity or religious action.  But through Jesus, the cornerstone.

Again Paul is talking about building our spiritual house on the foundation of Jesus.

Paul is telling Timothy to do all that he could to present himself to God, using God’s standard.  To diligently study biblical passages and truth.

Paul says to keep working with the Bible and what has been learned.  When Paul speaks of knowing from infancy, he is referencing the fact that at some point someone began their learning by being taught by someone else.  We are to continue on in learning but also teaching that what we have learned.

Preferences and Practices

Our expression of our appreciation for Lord Jesus is welcome.  We must allow diversity here.  Can’t we see the danger where we see people trying to dictate and control preferences?  We see people skip all the things learned in the bottom three levels of the triangle to skip straight to preferences.  So then they believe that unity has to exist in preference and practices for us to be connected together.

Some churches try to turn the pyramid upside down.  This leads churches to only allow hymns to be sung, or certain instruments to be played.  They say that only a certain biblical transaction is acceptable.  They build their religious spiritual building upside-down.  They choose the sand over the solid foundation.

This means that our preference and practices are limited only to the unity of the lower levels of the pyramid.  Can you lift your hands in worship?  YES  Can you put your hands in your pockets in worship?  YES  Can you be quite and reserved in your faith?  YES  Can you be outgoing and excited?  YES

When our diversity is built upon our unity, we can be confident that we are in right relationship with each other and with God.