The leaders of Wittenberg 2017 come from different Christian traditions, nationalities and generations. We do not fully agree on all matters of doctrine or practice; however, we are bound together by beliefs that we see as most central and vital to our Christian faith.
Mark 12:28-31
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The Two Great Commandments One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?"
"The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." NIV | Mark 12:28-31 |
John 17:20-26
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My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.
May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one --I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them. NIV text | with our formatting |
The Nicene Creed
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Our Hope for Christian Unity is Rooted in the Love of the Trinity |
The Scriptures reveal that God is One, and simultaneously Three. God is a personal plurality of oneness ... a fellowship ... a communion. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit do not experience unity and plurality as antithetical. (Deuteronomy 6:4; 2 Corinthians 13:14)
Each Person of the Trinity relates to the others in harmony, submission, honor—agape love. The Son is submitted to the will of the Father. The Father has entrusted all authority to the Son. The Son departed to make room for the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit does not draw attention to Himself, but to the Son. There isno dishonor, competition, jealousy or unkindness among them. The Persons of the Trinity would simply not tolerate it.(Matthew 26:39; 28:18; John 16:7, 13-14)
But we violated our relational oneness with God, and in our sin relationship with other humans was broken. Pervasively damaged by being separate from God, humans chose alienation from each other. Jealousy, violence, mistrust and misunderstanding entered into marriages, families, neighborhoods, societies and nations. They found their way intoin the story of Israel. Division came to characterize the Church.
Diversity does not cause division. Diversity expresses God's unbounded creativity. Hefashioned a diverse universe, a multifaceted human family. Hence the Church is diverse. No culture, organizational structure or Christian tradition can contain God. Diversity is an expression ofGod's being; division is an expression of man's sin.
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The nature of the Trinity is a mystery beyond our comprehension, but we are invited to contemplate this mystery, and relate to each Person of the Godhead. In order to meditate on the Triune God, we must think in terms of the characteristics of personhood. Persons possess the capacity to live in relational oneness with other persons. God is three Persons in eternal, holy, loving, indivisible relationship.
God created man—male and female—in His image. Human beings are designed for relational harmony with other persons—with God, and with fellow humans. This does not only apply to the marriage relationship between man and wife. A deeper pattern is also revealed for all human relationships, including family, society, local churches/parishes, and the global Body of Christ. This deeper pattern is that relational oneness with God actualizes relational oneness with others. Harmonious relationships are deeply and beautifully fulfilling for every person. (Genesis 1:26-27; 2:24)
"Behold, I make all things new." The Son came to redeem and reverse the effects of sin. By his death He paid the penalty for our guilt, and by His resurrection He released into redeemed, healed and transformed human lives the power to initiate relational reconciliation. (Revelation 21:5; Isaiah 53:5; 2 Corinthians 5:17-19)
Divisions among Christians are antithetical to Trinitarian love. Father, Son and Holy Spirit form one communion into which God has incorporated redeemed followers of Jesus. As this one fellowship, composed of both God and man, grows in visibility, it will also grow in influence. It will foster the healing of human divisions. And mankind will know that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. (John 14:20-23; 17:20-23)
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