Early in 2020 I wrote a Bible study that dived into the questions of “What can oneness and diversity really look like among Christians?” and “How do oneness and diversity reflect the heart of The One, True and Living God?” This post and those that will follow are what I discovered in my journey of writing and spending time in God’s Word. For those who are journeying with God as believers in Jesus, I pray my reflections invite you to discover more of the Lord through His Word. If you are curious about faith in God, I hope this study provides you with a clearer view of Him, through His own words.

God’s love of diversity through creation and humanity is displayed cover to cover in the Bible. Cultural diversity in the body of Christ and beyond the four walls of the church reflects the heart of God. Through the unifying love of Jesus Christ, all human divisions are destroyed, and followers of Jesus are one in Him. Believers become a family of brothers and sisters, equals in our standing before God because of what Jesus did on the cross to reconcile us back to God first, and then to one another.

We can live out our faith in this area of oneness and diversity through the action of growing regularly in cultural intelligence, then cultural competency and our awareness of those different from us. Doing so helps us fully appreciate and recognize the ethnic and cultural journeys of other image-bearers of God. And it provides tangible tracks to build authentic relationships of proximity that express our oneness in Christ, not solely from a theological position but lived out in actuality in our lives.

Cultural Diversity Reflects the Heart of God

One of the gifts in cultivating a culturally diverse life is experiencing the blessing of sharing your journey with others as you also learn from theirs. While there’s perceived safety and comfort in living in a monocultural environment, the reality is much different.

Sameness can be incredibly limiting, muting the colorful potential of your growth and development because there aren’t other cultural voices intersecting with your life — spiritually, theologically, relationally, and emotionally.

Genesis 4:20-22 is an example cultural diversity in the Bible. We get a look into the life of Jabal, who fathered nomadic herders and his brothers Jubal, who fathered those who played the lyre and pipe and Tubal-cain, who was the forger of all instruments of bronze and iron. This example shows the presence of varying cultural expressions present in the biblical narrative.

Also Genesis 11:1-9 is another example of cultural diversity, through the creation of languages by God at the Tower of Babel. Through cultural diversity, God moves his purposes forward to fill the earth with human beings who reflect His glory.

Genesis 4:20-22 ESV

Adah bore Jabal; he was the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock. ²¹ His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all those who play the lyre and pipe. ²² Zillah also bore Tubal-cain; he was the forger of all instruments of bronze and iron. The sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.

Genesis 11:1-9 ESV

Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. ² And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. ³ And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. ⁴ Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” ⁵ And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built. ⁶ And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. ⁷ Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech.” ⁸ So the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. ⁹ Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused^[a] the language of all the earth. And from there the Lord dispersed them over the face of all the earth.

Questions: Observation + Interpretation + Application

1. Why do you think seeing and understanding different expressions of culture and ethnicity are important?
2. What are the benefits of sameness?
3. What are the drawbacks?
4. How can understanding and valuing cultural and ethnic diversity help us grow relationally with others?

Why Jesus Destroys Divisions

The power of Jesus’ atoning work on the cross not only redeemed us back to God but it addressed the relational brokenness in our fallen world between believers.

Prejudice, the sin of racism, theological divisions, and differing temperaments can frequently blur people’s vision as we live in this world. Believers are not immune to these strongholds and can easily become offenders, hurting people in the body of Christ and beyond the church if we don’t submit ourselves to Jesus daily. Jesus brings us together as people, making us one in Him, which is illustrated in Ephesians 2:11-16.

Ephesians 2:11-16 ESV

¹¹ Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— ¹² remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. ¹³ But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. ¹⁴ For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility ¹⁵ by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, ¹⁶ and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.

Questions: Observation + Interpretation + Application

1. How does it make you feel to know you’ve been united with Christ?
2. Why is Jesus’ sacrifice for you so powerful? How did it change your life?
3. Why is it significant to know that Jesus Himself brought peace to different people groups and provides unity for us to live from?
4. What can it look like, in your opinion, for different people groups to become one body in Christ?
5. If Jesus’ death thousands of years ago on the cross put to death the hostility between believers, why do you think divisions and racism still thrive today in the church? What does it look like to work this out in the church and outside of the church?

The Reconciliation of Christ for Relationships

Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross not only restores the relationship between God and those who believe in Him. His sacrifice also provides fertile soil for the seed of unity to grow and flourish through the relationships of believers throughout the body of Christ, as shown in Ephesians 2:18-22.

Because of the unity and reconciliation created by Christ’s death, believers are uniquely positioned to lead out the pursuit of reconciliation and healing the wounds caused by division in the broader culture.

Ephesians 2:18-22 ESV

¹⁸ For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. ¹⁹ So then you are no longer strangers and aliens,^[a] but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, ²⁰ built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, ²¹ in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. ²² In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by^[b] the Spirit.

Questions: Observation + Interpretation + Application

1. When you think of the word unity, what comes to mind?
2. Why is it important for Jesus Christ to be the cornerstone that our faith is built upon?
3. Why do you think unity in the body of Christ is such a powerful witness to an unbelieving world that is watching God’s church?

Unity in the Body of Christ is a powerful witness…In my next post in this series, I’ll examine what it looks like to begin building that kind of unity.