Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. I Corinthians 1:10 KJV.
In order for Protestantism to exist at all, initially, there had to be a consensus among some regarding the Reformation, and, particularly, regarding doctrine.
How was that consensus arrived at, historically, and what lessons does this have for the present situation of Protestantism being divided into contradictory denominations?
How did the original Reformers arrive at agreements of doctrine and how could this be reiterated now, or in the near future?
However, there were numerous fights between these groups. For example, Calvin persecuted Lutherans and Anabaptists by having some executed, etc. Conferences between Luther and Zwingli ended in stalemates. There were on-going debates particularly about how communion should be practiced and what it meant, which persist today.
As time progressed, further subdivisions emerged such as "enthusiasm" (the basis of the charismatic movement) and many more. Thus, the reformation was never truly united.
I mention all this because herein lies the understanding of what role ‘consensus’ played both in the Church in Corinth, and in the Reformation. When it is clearly seen that something is very wrong in the Church, the need is not to get everyone round a table to agree to changes in administration, or to vote different people in to office, or to produce a list of doctrines from which to form some Creed or other. The need is to identify from Scripture alone the principles that are being violated by the Church, then to lay the axe to the root of that problem. It’s no use trimming the shrubs if they are still hiding the root of the problem. When Luther nailed that paper to the door, it was the first nail in the coffin lid of a corrupt church system. It wasn’t a theological treatise. Theology got thrashed out later.
Huldreich Zwingli, the reformer of Zurich wrote “Commentary on True and False Religion” (1528), a systematic theology with impact. He rejected much of Catholicism, Lutheranism and Anabaptism. (Luther also turned against Anabaptism.) But Calvin’s “Institutes” formed a general consensus. He died in 1564.
By the time the Reformation really got going, the consensus was not about church systems or secondary matters that Paul identified as “disputable” (Romans 14:1) – it was based on a rediscovery of the power of the unadulterated word of God, that was now being translated into the vernacular and put in the hands of ordinary folk in printed form. And that is what needs to be rediscovered today in Protestantism.
“Always Reforming” is the motto many Protestants are supposed to go by. Yet Reformed Christians keep hiding in their comfort zones, not even looking at the modern issues that are corrupting the Church today. How many see the “external and damnable symptoms of so much that [is] inwardly wrong with the Christian teaching of [our] generation”?
You could say that at any one moment in time the Roman Catholic Church (usually) has just one Pope, and Protestantism has none. But it may be better to say that Catholics only have one Pope between them, but Protestants have one Pope each.
For some "Protestant" simply means you are not Roman Catholic. Other Protestants value the freedom to follow their own path, others value the freedom to interpret Scripture without fear of rejection from some religious authority. The truth is the term is so woolly as to be almost meaningless, unless you take it in its traditional sense - the name for those who are protesting against the errors they perceive exist in Roman Catholicism.
It seems to me you have much too great a concern for "consensus". During the (largely Methodist) Evangelical Awakening of George Whitfield, John Wesley, Jonathan Edwards, etc, there wasn't doctrinal consensus between the Whitfield and Wesley - one was Calvinist the other Arminian - but the Lord blessed both and there was a great turning to God nevertheless.
It isn't agreement amongst ourselves that is needed - it is the godly living of believing prayer, lots of faith in our God and Saviour Jesus Christ and love for him, reading and submitting to Holy Scripture, zeal, and lots of love for the lost. It is personal agreement with God that is needed.
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In Korean Protestantism, what is the position of Kwonsa?