TGP: United in the Gospel (Essential Doctrine)

Begin by creating a candy tier list together

Essential Doctrine: Unity of the Church

Christ’s desire for the church is that we be unites as one in Him by the gospel (Phil. 2:1-2), reflecting the oneness of our trinitarian God (John 17:20-23). As such, we are to allow for no division to separate us (1 Cor. 1:10), such as ethnicity, socio-economics, nationality, language, politics, or secondary doctrinal beliefs. Our objective is not simply to work around or look past these differences within the body of Christ but to celebrate the diversity of God’s people made one in Christ (1 Cor. 12:12-13; Eph. 4:4-6; 11-13), demonstrating humility (Rom. 12:3,16; Phil. 2:5-11) and freely loving and forgiving one another to reflect the power of Christ who reconciles all things to Himself (Ps. 133:1; Eph. 1:10; 2:14; Col. 3:13-14).

Essential Connecting

In this unit, we saw how the Gospel bagan to spread outside of Jerusalem. The apostles carried the message beyond the borders into the homes of Gentiles. Peresecution rained won once again, but the believers rallied together in prayer and stood united under Christ.

Summary:

Although there is a lot of division in the world, we are called to unity.

It’s our responsibility to establish and keep unity.

The gospel unites all believers.

We should continue to pray for unity among believers.

Main Point: The church is one body, united under Jesus Christ and His gospel.

The church is united under one leader

1 Corinthians 1:10–17 (ESV)

10 I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. 11 For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. 12 What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14 I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name. 16 (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

Talk about divisions in the church and the temptation to focus on human wisdom.

Q. Who are some of the top people you follow on Instagram or Tiktok? Why?

Q. How do we see this same type of division show up in our churches today?

The church is united under one leader

The church is united by one Gospel

1 Corinthians 1:18–25 (ESV)

18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written,

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,

and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”

20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. 22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

Talk about how the Gospel looked foolish to both Jewish people and Gentiles.

Q. What’s the difference between worldly and godly wisdom?

Q. Both Jews and Greeks thought the message of the Gospel was foolish. Why does culture also think it’s foolish?

The church is united under one leader

The church is united by one Gospel

The church is united in one body

1 Corinthians 12:12–18 ESV

12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. 14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? 18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose.

Q. Why is it dangerous to envy another person’s role within the group?

Q. What encouragement do you find in verses 14 and 17-18?

“The implication is that there is no unimportant gift or person in the body of Christ.”

Christ Connection:

Christ’s desire is for His church to united as one to fulfill our mission and reflect the oneness of our trinitarian God. Just as the Father, Son, and Spirit have carried out the plan of redemption in unity, so too is the church to be unified as we carry out God’s plan of evangelism and missions.

Head: In what area of your life are you believing in wordly wisdom over godly wisdom?

Heart: When have you struggled with envying someone else’s talent or role within your group?

Hands: What steps can you take to prevent division within the church?