Only One Foundation: Christ Alone, the Center of All Things
Every road that leads to Christ converges in unity.
Devotional Source Credit:
Excerpt from In Christ by E. Stanley Jones
Photo Credit:
Unsplash
E. Stanley Jones points us to a reality often lost in denominational dialogue: the unity God desires is not founded on forms, doctrines, or offices—it is founded solely on Christ Himself. In a world cluttered with well-meaning but man-made attempts at church unity, Jones clarifies that God's plan was never to gather us around practices or polity, but around a Person.
Our Father’s eternal plan is unfolding toward one goal: the summing up of all things in Christ (Ephesians 1:10). This includes both heavenly and earthly things, meaning nothing escapes this divine convergence. In the face of divisions—doctrinal, organizational, or cultural—the Spirit invites us to stand in awe of the simplicity and power of God’s design. Jesus is not just at the center of our personal salvation; He is the hub of all cosmic reconciliation.
We are not called to unite around baptism, sacraments, denominational titles, or leadership structures. These are peripheral at best and divisive at worst. When they become the center, they fracture the Body. But when Christ is central, unity flows from the shared life of the Head to every member.
So when we look around and see the Body splintered, we are not disheartened—we’re reminded that true unity has never been ours to manufacture. It is already established in Christ, and as we yield to Him, we begin to experience what already is: oneness in Him.
Journal Entry – Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture
I have not called you to organize unity—I have already established it in Myself. Your calling is to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, not to create it through human strategy or doctrinal consensus. You are joined to Me, and therefore joined to all who are in Me.
I am the Head, and you are My Body. There are not many bodies—there is one Body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope. The unity of My people is not achieved by negotiation, but by recognition—recognition of what is already true in Me. When you fix your eyes on Me, when you live from My life, you will find your heart moved toward others who are doing the same.
Put aside the temptation to draw circles based on theological detail or worship style. Those things do not anchor your identity—I do. The same grace that brought you near brought them near. The same blood that reconciled you to the Father reconciled them. Do not build walls where I have torn down the dividing wall of hostility.
I am gathering all things—things in heaven and things on earth—under My Lordship. This plan is already in motion, and it cannot fail. Let Me live My life through you in such a way that unity is no longer an effort but an overflow. It is not your responsibility to make the Church one—it is your privilege to live as one who already is.
Scriptures: Ephesians 1:10, Ephesians 4:1–6, Colossians 1:18–20, John 17:20–23, 1 Corinthians 12:12–13, Romans 15:5–7, Galatians 3:26–28, Philippians 2:1–2, Hebrews 2:11
Real-Life Analogy
Imagine standing at the center of a roundabout, where every road leads to one central point. You watch as vehicles from the east, west, north, and south all merge into one unified flow—not because they all started at the same place, but because they were all drawn toward the same center. That center is what gives the roundabout its function. Without it, traffic would be chaos.
Likewise, the Church becomes one not by aligning every route we travel, but by arriving at the same destination—Christ. He is the only convergence point strong enough to hold us together. Trying to unite around anything else is like trying to organize traffic without a central guidepost.
Today, if you find yourself distancing from others because of differences in expression or emphasis, pause and turn inward. Ask the Lord: “I trust You to express Your unity through me today. As I yield to You in this conversation, in this disagreement, in this tension, speak, respond, or remain quiet in me?” In that moment, unity becomes a Person living in you—not a position you need to defend.
Prayer of Confidence
Father, thank You that You have already united me with every believer through our shared life in Christ. You are not asking me to build unity, but to enjoy it—to rest in the reality that Christ is the Head and we are one Body. I praise You that no structure, no label, no tradition can fracture what You have sealed. Let me live today as one who is already joined—already embraced—by every brother and sister who is in Christ. I trust the indwelling Spirit to make this unity visible, not through striving, but through yielded love. Amen.