Universal truth is always true for everyone everywhere. It is truth of first importance (see 1 Corinthians 15:3). It provides us with true north.
Note: This is the fourth installment in the “What is Truth?” series. Previous articles are always available at http://www.webbweekly.com.
There is truth that is not always true for everyone everywhere. It is communal truth, or truth of second importance. As such, communal truth can never contradict universal truth. Communal truth provides us with magnetic north.
True north is a fixed position on the globe that never changes and is the standard reference point for navigational maps. It is always true for everyone everywhere on Earth. The position of magnetic north, however, is constantly changing in response to Earth’s shifting magnetic field. As I am writing this paragraph, the magnetic north is in the Arctic Ocean north of Russia and is slowly drifting toward Siberia. If I were navigating from Russia to the North Pole, my compass would begin pointing south after passing magnetic north, and I would be lost and confused. In traveling, as in life, it is vital to know the difference between true north and magnetic north.
While true north is exact, constant, and fully reliable, a traveler can’t always see enough topography to verify their exact location on the map. In those times of uncertainty, a compass is invaluable for gaining a sense of direction. Communal truth is important.
Communal can be defined as relating to a community of people who share a common reality. It can be a group of people who share in a bloodline, a location, or a set of interests, goals, and beliefs. You likely participate in several communities, and in each one, there will be truth that applies only within that shared common reality. That is the nature of communal truth. For example:
I am a Pennsylvania deer hunter. It is universally true in my state that legal shooting hours are from one-half hour before sunrise until one-half hour after sunset. What is not universally true across the state is the exact time of sunrise and sunset. The sun rises and sets about twenty minutes earlier on the eastern side of the state than it does on the western side. The one-half hour rule is universal, but the exact start and end of legal shooting time is communal because it is based on a hunter’s specific location in the state and only applies to the hunters who share in that common reality.
It would be silly for a hunter near Philadelphia to argue with a hunter near Pittsburgh over legal shooting times. We already know those times will be different based on their common reality. If those hunters focus on exact shooting times (communal truth), they will be locked in endless debate. If they focus on the one-half hour before and after sunset rule (universal truth), they will enjoy the peace of full agreement – and a lot more time for hunting.
Do you believe all Christians should adhere to your communal truth? Are you locked in endless debates with other Christians? Are you unwilling to live in unity with Christians who believe differently than you? If so, then you have a problem with Jesus.
In John 17, Jesus established a universal truth: all Christians must live in unity. If you are allowing differences in communal truth to divide you from other Christians, then you are living in disobedience to Jesus. Here is Jesus’ prayer statement about unity:
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. (John 17:20-23)
It is a universal Christian truth that unity is required to please Jesus and to successfully accomplish his redemptive mission on Earth. If we defy this truth, Jesus is displeased, and his redemptive mission suffers.
The hard reality is this: the mission of God is failing in America, and the likely reason is widespread Christian disunity. Our endless and fruitless debates over disputable matters (see Romans 14) leave little time or energy for celebrating the truths that unite us. American seekers don’t know whom to trust because Christians don’t trust each other.
The Pew Research Center is mapping the startling decline of Christianity in America. From 1970 to 2020, adults identifying as Christian declined from 90% to 62%. How can the most powerful force in the world be failing so miserably? There may be many reasons, but Christian disunity likely tops the list.
God wants all people to believe in Jesus, but Christian disunity keeps them from hearing and seeing the miraculous love that confirms the authenticity of the gospel message. Jesus said, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35). This is why believers must be able to identify the difference between universal and communal truth. If we focus on universal truth, we will enjoy the peace and unity of full agreement, and we’ll have a lot more time to invest in the Great Commission (see Matthew 28:18-20). If we focus on communal truth, we will remain locked in endless and meaningless debate, and the mission will continue to suffer. The choice is ours to make, and according to Jesus, we would be wise to choose unity.
