False Unity and the Work of Testing
When Peace Is Mistaken for Agreement in the Church
Scripture commands the church to be diligent to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Ephesians 4:3 LSB). Paul defines that unity through truths revealed by God Himself: one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father of all (Ephesians 4:4–6 LSB). The unity of the church is therefore covenantal, doctrinal, and Christ-centered. It does not rest in shared sentiment or continued association but in the truth God has made known in His Son.
Paul continues by showing how this unity is preserved and matured in the life of the church. Christ gave apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers for the equipping of the saints, for the work of service, and for the building up of the body of Christ, until the church attains to the unity of the faith and of the full knowledge of the Son of God (Ephesians 4:11–13). Unity is therefore joined to growth in truth. Christ does not preserve His church through doctrinal indifference. He governs His church through the ministry of the Word so that His people would grow in shared faith and shared knowledge.
This requires testing. Scripture commands, “But examine everything; hold fast to that which is good” (1 Thessalonians 5:21). John commands believers to test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world (1 John 4:1 LSB). Elders must hold fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that they will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict (Titus 1:9). Testing is part of the church’s ordinary obedience. It belongs to the preservation of truth, the protection of the flock, and the maturity of the saints.
For that reason, testing is not peripheral to unity. It serves unity by clarifying what the church confesses. When doctrine is examined, truth is strengthened in the church, error is exposed, and believers are further established in the knowledge of Christ. This is the very direction of Paul’s argument in Ephesians 4. The church is to grow into maturity so that it is no longer carried about by waves and blown here and there by every wind of doctrine, by human trickery, by craftiness in deceitful scheming (Ephesians 4:14). Doctrinal stability belongs to the church’s maturity, and doctrinal testing serves that end.
Much of the modern church has neglected this work. Doctrinal differences often remain in place without open examination or resolution. Peace is preserved externally while confession remains undefined. Teaching may be heard regularly without being weighed carefully by Scripture. Questions may be tolerated only so long as they do not require public clarity. In such conditions, error gains room to remain, and the church gradually learns to treat unresolved doctrine as a normal feature of Christian unity.
That pattern does not reflect the order Christ established for His church. If unity is the unity of the faith and of the full knowledge of the Son of God, then a church that leaves doctrine undefined cannot claim faithfulness merely because it remains outwardly connected. A congregation may continue in fellowship while lacking the shared doctrinal maturity Paul describes. It may preserve the appearance of peace while failing to do the work by which Christ strengthens His body.
Scripture does distinguish between different kinds of disputes. Romans 14 addresses matters of conscience where believers must refuse to bind one another beyond what God has spoken. In such matters, patience, restraint, and mutual reception are required. Yet Scripture also commands the church to mark those who cause dissensions and stumbling contrary to the teaching learned, and to turn away from them (Romans 16:17). A factious man is to be rejected after a first and second warning (Titus 3:10). These texts do not conflict. They establish that the church must handle matters according to their nature, with patience where Scripture allows liberty and with firmness where truth is being subverted.
The neglect of testing has done real damage to the church. It has weakened doctrinal clarity, lowered the church’s expectation of discernment, and trained many believers to treat correction as a threat rather than a duty of love. Yet Scripture presents correction as part of the church’s fidelity. The servant of the Lord must correct those who are in opposition with gentleness, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the full knowledge of the truth (2 Timothy 2:25). Correction serves restoration through truth. Refutation serves the preservation of the flock. Both belong to the church’s obedience to Christ.
The church must recover the work of testing as a necessary part of its life under the Word. Teaching must be examined. Doctrine must be judged by Scripture. Elders must be willing to exhort and refute, and they must also receive faithful correction with humility when Scripture shows their own teaching or judgment to be in error. Believers must be willing to receive correction where the Word of God has spoken. Through these means Christ preserves His church from instability and grows it into maturity.
Unity endures in the church as the truth of Christ is confessed, taught, defended, and received. Christ gave His Word and His officers so that His body would attain to the unity of the faith and of the full knowledge of the Son of God. Any peace that leaves truth undefined falls short of that end. The unity Christ gives is upheld through the holy labor of testing, correction, and growth in the truth He has revealed.