The Church's One Foundation #375

Intro:

When we talked about the spiritual disciplines back in January we discussed how there is a personal and corporate dimension to how we work out/walk out the christian life

The hymn this morning speaks globally to us a the Church and personally to us as a church

There is a word here this morning for us (AMC) but also even more broadly to the Church as a whole

We have this as our Mission Statement:

We are a fellowship of believers united by faith in Jesus Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit. We bring honor to our Heavenly Father and further His Kingdom by being a people of worship, discipleship, community and mission.

That is not that special, I feel 100% confident in saying that there are other churches in this valley and area who would agree with that, who are attempting to do the same things...

WHY? Because the FOUNDATION is the same- We are a fellowship of believers united by faith in Jesus Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit.

So when we talk this morning about the church’s foundation I think it is healthy for us to remember that the church is much larger than just a single location in Allensville, Pa , and I think we probably know that but these things creep slowly into the subconsciousness

Suddenly instead of being one in the same, it feels like we are in competition with each other- that we begin to strive to be better than…that’s not healthy nor is it right

The reality is the FOUNDATION is/should be the same- as we’ll see 1 Corinthians 3 tells us there is only one

Within that there is room for “artistic expression” that is to say that we have differing ways of practicing our faith- the worship, discipleship, community, and mission

That is why you are here and not somewhere else-you found a community here that works out its faith in ways that connect with you- i.e. dress, music, structures

These are kind of like picking different siding colors, the “bones” are still the same.

There is nothing wrong with that, I do think its good for us to be stretched at times- for example my 4 years in a Pentecostal environment

But we don’t agree on everything, and I’m glad we don’t- that how/when growth happens-the iron sharpening iron idea

The art of the disagreement- or having healthy dialogue over differing opinions on views on things has been completely been destroyed

Background:

Why do I say all of that? I am setting the table for the message of the hymn and for the truth of the scripture that we are going to look at this morning

Because this hymn was written as a response to a church argument “schism”

Schism- a split or division between strongly opposed sections or parties, caused by differences in opinion or belief.

In 1863, John Colenso, the Bishop of Natal in South Africa, was deposed by his metropolitan, Bishop Robert Gray of Cape Town, because of various heretical views inspired by higher-critical approaches to Scripture. As Ian Bradley notes in The Book of Hymns, “The Colenso affair reopened long-standing divisions between liberals and conservatives within the Church of England.”

A recently ordained curate in Windsor (the home of Windsor Castle) was deeply disturbed by the controversy. Three years later, at the age of twenty-seven, the young priest, Fr. Samuel John Stone, expressed his concern about divisions in the Church by publishing Lyra Fidelium: Twelve Hymns on the Twelve Articles of the Apostles Creed (1866). The ninth article is “The Holy Catholic Church; The Communion of Saints.” “The Church’s one foundation” was the hymn Stone wrote to reinforce the Creed’s statements about the Bride of Christ.

The church exists in a constant state of controversy and potential schism. In many ways, this text articulates feelings that are as fresh as ever.

That is a reality certainly for the church as a whole, but also for the local church for us at AMC

The elephant in the room-

British hymnology scholar H. E. C. Stapleton offers insight into the hymn’s popularity: “The strength of the hymn lies in the simplicity and directness of its message, the vividness of its metaphor, and the deliberate and distinct echoes of words and phrases from Scripture. In Lyra Fidelium there are no less than four biblical quotations annotated to each verse; in one, seven. It was hailed in Stone's own time as ‘the battle-song of the Church’” (Stapleton, “The Church’s One Foundation”).

More than twenty years later in 1888, the popularity and influence of the hymn was manifest at the Lambeth Conference, assemblies of the bishops of the Anglican Church held every ten years and convened by the Archbishop of Canterbury. Accounts indicate that it was sung with vigor at all of the major services of the Conference. Australian hymnologist Wesley Milgate records the effect of the hymn on those who sang it in A Companion to Together in Song: “Sung by a large congregation, some people say this hymn was really more than they could bear. It made them feel weak at the knees, their legs trembled, and they really felt as though they were going to collapse” (Milgate, 2006, 335).

The hymn originally included seven stanzas, which were reduced to the present five when the hymn was published in Hymns Ancient and Modern (1868) and set to the present tune, AURELIA. The hymn was shortened by eliminating the original third stanza (displayed in italics below) and by combining the first four lines of stanzas six and seven into a single stanza.

Biblical Citation:

Throughout the collection of Hymns taken from the articles of the Apostles Creed there are no less that 4 biblical quotations annotated to each verse

In the 1st Stanza here is how this would look

1 Corinthians 3:11 (NIV)

For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.

John 3:5 NIV

Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.

Ephesians 5:25–26 NIV

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word,

Acts 20:28 NIV

Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.

1 Corinthians 3:1-23

1 Corinthians 3:1–4 NIV

Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans? For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere human beings?

What is our maturity level?

This is a measuring stick not a declarative statement about AMC

There is both an individual and corporate component

1 Corinthians 3:5–9 NIV

What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.

This is the who does what, in the relationship- what is our role what is God’s

When we get it twisted I think it leads to quarrels-why?- because we are trying to make seeds grow

There is a progression-field, building, co-worker

This is not just limited to pastors

1 Corinthians 3:10–23 NIV

By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames. Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple. Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise by the standards of this age, you should become “fools” so that you may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness”; and again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.” So then, no more boasting about human leaders! All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God.

Its an evaluation of our discipleship methods- are we building on worldly wisdom that will change and perish or on the foundation that has been laid

What we build with will ultimately be revealed

We have a responsibility to continue to build on that foundation in ways that align with the word of God

When we think generationally…

I have been the beneficiary of the building that has been done in the past

My children and grand children will be the beneficiaries of the building that we continue to do

The Visual Is Literally in Front of Us!

Let the physical building project serve as a reminder to us of the important work of building we are called to do, the planting and the watering,