Feels Like Home: Keeping the Family Together (Unity)

UNITY IN THE FAMILY

The Distate for Divisions (10a I appeal…)

The book of 1 Corinthians contains Paul’s addressing MANY PROBLEMS:

Pride, Sexual immorality, incest, brothers and sister’s suing each other in court, false worship,

Out of all of the Problems that the church he chose to address disunity first before them all.

The importance of the Family (10a: I appeal to you brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ…)

The NT after Christ ascends is solely focused on the local church. After the gospels, the book of Acts recounts the beginning of the church at pentecost, then follows to movements, one with Peter and one with Paul. What are they doing? Spreading the gospel and arranging the new believers into churches. Once a church is established they move on to the next place. Peter and Paul are the main characters in the book of Acts and in the rest of the new testament after the gospels, they are responsible for 56% if the New Testament 9 Paul (13 epistles) and Peter (2)) (65% if you take out the gospels and 68% if you also take out Acts)

The books that Paul writes are all to (1) specific local churches (Romans-2 Thessalonians) or pastors/leaders of local churches (1 Tim-Philemon). Even the renown book of Revelation contains 2 chapters specifically dedicated to various local churches.

Psalm 133:1–3 “Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! It is like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes! It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion! For there the Lord has commanded the blessing, life forevermore.”

The Distate for Divisions (10a I appeal…)

The book of 1 Corinthians contains Paul’s addressing MANY PROBLEMS:

Pride, Sexual immorality, incest, brothers and sister’s suing each other in court, false worship,

Out of all of the Problems that the church he chose to address disunity first before them all.

The Humble Example (Christ and Paul 1 cor 4)

The Central Question (Is Christ Divided?)

Keeping the Family Together (Thoughts on Unity)

You must unify towards something (become known for the positives [unified toward something good] rather than the negative [only critiquing the bad])

1 Corinthians 1:10 “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.”

Philippians 1:27 “Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel,”

2 Corinthians 13:11 “Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.”

You external factors do not matter (no ethnic, legal, or socioeconomic categories carry any meaning in this family)

Galatians 3:28 “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

Acts 4:32 “Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common.”

Philemon 15–16 “For this perhaps is why he was parted from you for a while, that you might have him back forever, no longer as a bondservant but more than a bondservant, as a beloved brother—especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.”

You are not more important than the others (no hierarchical level is more respectable than another)

Philippians 2:3“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.”

Romans 12:4–5 “For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.”

You must make progress (new born’s must mature)

Ephesians 4:13 “until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,”

Romans 14:19“So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.”

Romans 12:16 “Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight.”

You fail apart from Christ (no unity can exist without divine intervention)

John 17:23 “I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.”

Romans 15:5–6 “May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Questions:

In your own experience, how has persevering in a church when it might have been easier to leave affected your Christian maturity?

What church events/customs do you think promote the most unity, fostering a sense of togetherness?

Lord’s Supper, Feetwashing, general weekly gathering (Sunday AM primarily), Christmas service, christmas play, christmas eve service, church picnic, church meals, craft auction

Does congregational size (numerical) affect (positively or negatively) the UNITY of that church?

it can

Does technology help or hinder church UNITY?

it seems like it could, but hasn’t proven to play out that way

Resources:

https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/why-is-christian-unity-so-hard