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Christoform Unity
“…that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you…”
- John 17:21
Unity is easy to talk about. It’s far harder to live. In a world fractured by ideology, identity, and influence, unity often feels like a naïve dream. But in the Advent story, unity is not idealism, it is Christological.
Jesus prayed that His followers would be one as He and the Father are one. That is not a call for institutional sameness or theological uniformity. It is a summons into the relational life of the Triune God. It is Christoform unity, a unity shaped by the character of Christ, sustained by His Spirit, and practiced in His body.
In AD 110, Ignatius beautifully explained this to the church in Tralles, where he emphasized communal wholeness, not organizational alignment. Early Christians understood that division wasn’t just inconvenient, it was a denial of the gospel. The gospel did not just reconcile people to God. It reconciled them to one another.
The leaders who followed the apostles, people like Ignatius, Polycarp, Onesimus, Damas, were not empire builders. They were shepherds who sought to preserve the fabric of love woven by the Spirit. Unity, for them, was not a strategic necessity. It was a theological imperative.
But let’s be honest. We live in a time when fragmentation feels normal, even expected. The church is often divided by branding, politics, race, as well as secondary convictions and tertiary opinions. Our culture rewards outrage more than it honors humility. Yet Christ’s call remains: “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35).
Unity is not passive tolerance. It is active, self-giving love.
It is bearing with one another in love (Eph 4:2). It is outdoing one another in showing honor (Rom 12:10). It is practicing the Christoform love of Christ in the daily decisions that bind a community together.
Advent is the season of incarnation. And the incarnation reminds us that God did not stay distant from us. He entered our world, took on flesh, and dwelled among us. This is the shape of unity. Not disengagement, but presence. Not suspicion, but solidarity.
If we are to be formed in Christ’s image, then we must commit to Christ’s kind of unity. Not a unity of slogans or superficial niceties, but one forged through confession, forgiveness, and love.
Christoform unity is a witness. It tells the truth about who Jesus is and what He came to do.
This Advent, may we not only anticipate the Prince of Peace. May we embody His peace in how we love, serve, and remain with one another.
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