The Standard
If you have ever attended a symphony orchestra concert, you would likely notice that before the conductor made his entrance onto the stage to begin the music, the concertmaster would enter, face the orchestra, and nod to the principal oboe player to play the tuning note. Once the concertmaster was satisfied with his violin’s intonation, the strings would tune, followed by the woodwinds and brass. All the instruments would tune to an A at 440hz (440 vibrations per second), which the principal oboist would get from bumping his tuning fork on his knee or shoe, and then place against his ear as he played the note perfectly matched to the tuning fork. There are specific reasons for this practice. The note A440 is used because every stringed instrument in the orchestra has an A string, which means that the string plays the note A while open, or without being fingered. The oboe is used because it is the hardest to tune since the adjustment is made on the relatively short length of the reed. The oboe sits in the middle of the ensemble, and it has a timbre that easily cuts through the sound of the rest of the orchestra, making it easy to hear.
I had the privilege of playing with several orchestras, beginning with Grand Rapids Youth Symphony in high school, followed by orchestras in college, and then professionally through my 30’s. I learned through the experience, that without a standard to which all the instruments agreed, music couldn’t be played. Orchestras are made up of a large variety of instruments that have innate tonal qualities that affect the perception of pitch. To have rich harmonies and even purposeful dissonances, each individual had to come under the authority of the standard, A440. No matter which position I played in the flute section, I had to constantly listen very carefully to make sure I was always in tune with either the oboe or the first flute throughout the piece we played. Bad intonation was the mark of an inferior musician and wasn’t tolerated. Not only did I need to listen to the “unison” pitch, but also the “difference tone” pitch which is a phenomenon that happens when the sound waves created by two tones played together collide and create a third tone. When the two original pitches are perfectly in tune, the third tone blends in such a way it is almost imperceptible.
These things are necessary for successful symphonic music: All the instruments in the orchestra need to be in submission to the standard pitch, and also to one another. All the players need to accurately play their perspective parts so the musical score makes sense to the hearer. Each player needs to follow the directions and leading of the conductor to achieve cohesiveness. In the ensembles I was a part of, these things were taken very seriously by everyone involved; there was no messing around.
As we go through our Unity series, I can see some cool parallels between an orchestra yielding to the laws of physics and acoustics and the principles Paul taught in Ephesians 5.
The standard for Biblical unity is truth in the person of Jesus Christ and the written Word. Truth must be paramount because unity cannot exist without it. Unity isn’t unison but is comprised of many different people acting in different roles using many different giftings that are empowered and initiated by the Holy Spirit to achieve the goal-the work ordained for us by God: obedience, sanctification, sharing the gospel, and the building up the body of Christ.
I especially love verse 15 of Ephesians 5: “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise.” It is a cry of my heart to have God’s wisdom, I desperately need to think and behave out of His perspective. James 1:5 reads: “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” Our gracious Father longs to give us all that we need for living life that is empowered by Him and founded in truth-I am so thankful for that! Just as A440 sets the standard for the orchestra’s tuning, Truth itself proves what is genuine by separating away the things that don’t meet the standard. Individually, it informs me where my old nature is ruling instead of Christ’s nature. Corporately, the more the church submits to the standard, the greater the difference between it and the world will be and the brighter the light of the gospel will shine. This seems to me to be a first principle for us to grasp, unity in truth is necessary for us to function as a cohesive organism.
It is God’s truth that meets our deepest needs. When we submit to it, it heals our broken relationships, strengthens families, and gives us stability and order, and when we have that, we flourish individually and corporately.
Christ holds the answer to a lost, confused, and hurting world by providing the means to be reconciled with God. He has chosen the church to be His agents in sharing this answer through the message of the gospel and by demonstrating His love in how we live in relationship with one another. His truth is the standard that provides what is needed for unity so we can all run the race He has set before us.