UNTIED OR UNITED?
Some time ago I wrote an essay using this quote: “To profess faith in Christ is to be united with him, and if we are united with him then we are united with his body, the Church.” The problem with writing a 15-20 page paper is that the little details are lost on eyes that are scanning for mistakes. We have become dependent on our “spell checker” to illuminate with red underlining the spelling mistakes we make. Even the eye can be fooled into thinking it sees a word spelled correctly when in fact it is not.
So it happened that I lost marks for a spelling mistake in this quote. You saw what I intended to write but this is how it turned out: “To profess faith in Christ is to be untied with him, and if we are untied with him then are untied with his body, the Church.” According to spell-checker “untied” is spelled correctly; spell-checker does not detect idiocy.
There is a lesson in this little glitch of mine. The difference between being united as a church or untied from the church is where you place the “I.” When “I” have the wrong attitude, when “I” want my way, when “I” consider myself to be more important than others in the church, then there is disunity. Then we are untied instead of united.
Unity is a constant concern for the Church in any time and at any place. Paul wrote to several churches passionately pleading with them to work on their unity and to avoid those things that divide. He implored the Church at Philippi to be of one mind; he encouraged the Church at Ephesus to maintain the unity of the Spirit. Now we read that the Church at Corinth was facing division over certain issues.
When we consider our own church today we could find many things to be divided over. What is there to maintain unity in a church our size? How do you nurture unity among 300 when sometimes 2 do not agree? What do we need to guard against to protect unity? Do we have enough in common to appreciate the differences and still be a church?
The Challenge to be One
This is Paul’s challenge to the church, the challenge to be one:
“I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.”
Among all the problems the church at Corinth was facing, division is the first Paul addresses. All the other problems flow out of a congregation that is divided. They were divided over spiritual gifts, over worship, over their ethics and more. But these were the results of a much deeper schism, a root of all the rest.
On the strength of the name of Christ, for there is no other name that commands such attention, Paul makes this appeal: be perfectly united in mind and thought.
Wouldn’t it be nice if we all thought the same way about things? Wouldn’t it be great if you all thought like me? But unfortunately some of you are stubborn and choose to be independent-thinkers. What’s up with that? Seriously, I am glad you do not all think like me because we could be in big trouble if you wise people had let me do all the things I wanted. My first mentor in the ministry, Ralph Unger, always used to say, “You could do it my way or you have the right to be wrong.” That went over well.
Being united in mind and thought is not about everybody thinking alike. What Paul said to the Philippians helps us here: “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 2:5). And then he goes on to describe the mind of Christ, which is a willingness to give up rights and personal privileges and to take a lower place, the place of a servant.
This is the mind Paul speaks of to the Corinthians. When everybody decides to put the things of Christ first and are willing to suffer loss for Christ’s sake, that is what brings harmony to a church. The unifying of mind and thought is a mind that does not consider itself the most important thing.
In a congregationally run church this is a difficult thing to achieve. It would be easier to have an executive run church where the leaders make all the decisions. Congregational churches do have the advantage though in that everyone has a say and decisions are our responsibility, not the burden of only 2 or 3. There is more of a “we” this way than “what they did”. But even congregational churches face trouble unless we are unified in mind and thought, the way Paul describes it.
That which divides us…
Paul got word from friends that there were troubles in Corinth. A church without troubles can expect that peace to be broken at some point. It’s only a matter of time…
“My brothers, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, ‘I follow Paul’; another, ‘I follow Apollos’; another, ‘I follow Cephas’; still another, ‘I follow Christ.’”
Various parties had emerged among the Christians at Corinth. It is important to understand the different parties because they all recur regularly in the Church. Clement of Rome, writing 40 years after Paul, mentions the same parties and divisions. That which divides us does not go away that easily. Isn’t it amazing that we inherit the troubles of those that pass on the church to us? What happened 30 years ago still affects us today.
Consider these 4 parties and the attitudes that divide us:
a) The “Looking back” party – This is the “I follow Paul” party. Paul planted the church in Corinth and so some saw him as a spiritual father. They were nostalgic and remembered the revival that brought them to faith. Some wanted to relive those days and keep the feeling alive. Barclay suggests that this group emphasized Christian freedom and the end of the law. But that does not fit since there is a hint of personality problems, not theological ones.
That is key considering that this division and perhaps all division in the church is more about who we don’t like than about doctrine. Personality clashes indicate more of a failure or refusal to let God’s love change us in our attitudes to others. When people don’t like each other and sit down to discuss matters they will find things to disagree on. If I have a relationship with someone I am less likely to pick a fight – that’s a fact.
Those that want to relive the ‘old days’ will find progress to be a threat. It’s hard to leave the past behind when the present doesn’t fit your mold or model.
b) The “Young & Intellectual” party – This is the “I follow Apollos” party. Apollos came from Alexandria in Egypt, which was like saying he studied at Oxford and Yale with a Doctorate from Trinity. He was a great speaker, had a wonderful intellect, and was able to passionately and accurately preach about Jesus that blew people away. Paul was considered a little boring to listen to (remember Eutychus fell asleep and fell out of a window) so did not measure up to the fiery Apollos. Some say that Apollos unwittingly introduced an intellectual elite into Corinth. Young Christians were drawn to him and it is easy for them, sometimes for all of us, to take our teaching only from a chosen guru. (Hybels, Warren, etc). The problem with this party was their drive for change without consideration for the feelings of others and for due process. I have noticed how young people hate bureaucracy.
c) The “Traditionalist” party – Similar to the “I follow Paul” party, the “I follow Cephas (Peter)” party looked back as well. But their emphasis was more on keeping traditions. These are the people who have been in the church the longest, have given the most money, and cherish the traditions of the past. They don’t like change, especially if it means giving up a style or way of doing things in the church, particularly if the pushy young intellectuals are behind it.
If Peter had visited Corinth, he would have left some with the impression that there are certain things Christians do and don’t do. There is nothing wrong with having traditions, but often times the meaning of the traditions are lost and we are left only with the traditions. No one knows why we do this but don’t you dare change it.
d) The “Anti-hero” party – The “Christ” group was and is the hardest to deal with. With the excessive attention to these personalities, Paul, Apollos, and Peter, this group would have formed as a counter to any human leadership. They reject this “hero” worship and claim to follow only Christ. So would we, except that they become a very anti-authority type of group that rejects any instruction: “Don’t tell me what to do.” These people eventually would consider the others too unspiritual and form their own church. They are a scary party too because they are likely to use the phrase “the Lord told me”. And how do you argue with that?
In each party, there is that annoying little letter: “I”. There is the divisiveness that fractures the church. The challenge to be one, to be an individual with the power to choose my own way, stands in opposition of the challenge to be One, to be united with others in the name of Christ. I must give way and submit to the needs of the body. But how do we do that?
Only in Christ is it possible…
In response to this cliquishness Paul asks three questions which call our focus back to Christ.
Is Christ divided? To allow such divisive parties to exist is like chopping Christ up into bits and to parcel him out as though his person and work came in different packages. You can’t do that. If you have Christ you have all of him. Some churches emphasize the grace of God, others the holiness of God, and still others are socially active helping the poor. But Jesus cannot be divided. The complete package involves all of these aspects of Jesus. We say we want more of Jesus but this is not the real need. The truth is that we have all of Jesus and what we need is to allow Christ to have more of us. Christ is whole; we are the ones who are in need of that wholeness.
Some groups follow the teaching of a particular preacher and shun all the rest. No one, not even Paul the Apostle had the complete view of Christ. That’s why we have four gospels. None of the disciples could capture the complete Jesus on his own. The reason we have each other is that God has designed that there be many teachers and many viewpoints in a church. So that when we come together as one we are more whole than apart.
Was Paul crucified for you? With this question Paul challenges us to drop the personality cults or private crusades and to focus on Christ. Really this is the heart of the matter since what brings us together is the cross. We tend to overemphasize the significance of a human leader or of our personal causes and forget that Christ is why we are here.
We could ask the question this way: Was _____ crucified for you? Fill in the blank…Was our worship style crucified for you? Was Sunday School crucified for you? Was the building program crucified for you? Was tradition crucified for you? Was Darryl crucified for you? No! Only Christ was crucified for you. Salvation is dependent on none of these things or persons, but only on Christ.
And only Jesus can unite men and women and does so through the cross. There is no class distinction at the cross; the intellectuals have no advantage, the charter members have no prestige, the traditionalists are no further ahead – because before the cross all are on equal ground. We can never move on from the cross of Christ for this is the place where we are made one in him.
Were you baptized in the name of Paul? Why after the cross is this important to think about? To be baptized in someone’s name was to have one’s life signed over to that person. When you were baptized into Christ you were baptized in his name and you became his possession. Our allegiance is to Christ alone. Were you baptized into the name of Kleefeld? No! Or into the name of Menno Simons? No! You were baptized into Christ. That means that he is Lord of your life. It also means that everything else, including denominationalism, takes second place to being a Christian.
Why do these things divide us as a church? In each instance it is because we have taken our eyes off of Christ. Christ is our wholeness. Christ is our salvation. Christ is our Lord. If we ever take our eyes off of him and concentrate on other people, programs or political ambitions within the church, we will have division.
“To profess faith in Christ is to be united with him, and if we are united with him then we are united with his body, the Church.” Where do you place the “I” in the church? Are you untied, loosed from the responsibility of loving your brother or sister in the church, free to push your feelings and thoughts without concern for others feelings? Or are you united to the body, willing to be a servant like Christ for the sake of unity in this congregation? Where do you place your allegiance? If Christ is your Lord then you know that the people of this church are a gift to you to fill in your blanks. Where you are weak, someone else is there to be strong. If Christ is your Lord then your salvation at the cross binds you to these people too, who have the same salvation. That makes us family. If Christ is your Lord then there is no other name which can command such power and unity among us. I appeal to you brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to be perfectly united in mind and thought. AMEN
