God's church

Notes
Transcript
United in Christ: Members of God's Church
United in Christ: Members of God's Church
In the National Church Life survey of 2021, members of this Parish of Holy Trinity identified
Developing a stronger sense of community
and
A clear vision for the church
as two of the top five future priorities for this church.
Then, along with a number of strengths, the questionnaire completed earlier this year by members identified a number of immediate threats. Among them,
a lack of unity of purpose,
resistence to change
and internal divisions.
It’s probably safe to say, that we are not unique in longing for more community and a sense of vision and purpose, whilst at the same time living with the reality of difference.
So how do we grow in community and live with diversity? Is this even a realistic goal?
Some in the global church suggest that unity is only possible if you follow a few steps.
For example - you will gain unity, when everyone agrees on everything and you don’t move forward until they do.
Others believe that you can have unity, when we accept and perpetuate the notion that everyone is right about everything - a concept we call relativism.
Some churches have either, intentionally or otherwise, moved to a place where the church no longer takes a stand on anything in a bid to enhance unity.
Still others approach difference with a determination to just keep papering over the cracks - don’t talk about division and just smile for the camera…diversity looks good for our profile, just don’t do life together and we will all just get along fine.
I wonder, how would you call a church to a place of unity of purpose?
Between now and Holy week, we’re going to be looking at the Apostle Paul’s letter to the church in Corinth.
It was a church that Paul himself had planted - possible as early as 50AD.
If you are interested, you can learn of this beginning of the Corinthian church by considering Acts chapter 18, as Paul embarks on his second missionary journey.
We can confidently calculate that Paul stayed in Corinth for some 18 months and a closer look at his letter shows an Apostle who cares deeply about God’s people here.
Reports have reached Paul that all is not well - and his love and concern prompts him to speak into the difficulties they are experiencing - as they seek to live in faith everyday.
What is also evident is that even more than Paul’s concerns, the health of this church matters to God, and for that reason Paul is compelled to write from Ephesus in about AD54/55.
As we consider Paul’s letter together, my prayer is that in seeing how important the church is to God, we might also be encouraged to appreciate what it means to be members of God’s church and contribute positivly to participating in that which matters to the God we worship.
I don’t think it’s too much a stretch to see that as Paul begins his letter in chapter 1, he hopes that everything else will fall into its proper persective - as he seeks to encourage, exhort and love his brothers and sisters.
Far from adopting some of the strategies for unity mentioned above, notice how Paul starts his letter:
1. Called and Sanctified Together
1. Called and Sanctified Together
1 Co 1:1-3
For all their flaws and difficulties, Paul still describes the church in his letter as precious and blessed.
He can do this because despite everything, they are no less than (as Paul is keen to state) the church of God.
To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours:
Notice, Paul does not call the church here ‘my church’, even though he was as responsible for its birth and life as it is possible for any human to be - it was God’s church.
And so, right at the outset, Paul seeks to reshape our thinking about the church:
It belongs to God.
It is a family of believers, we are brothers and sisters.
As members we have been sanctified (or consecrated, dedicated, set apart for God’s purposes) in Christ Jesus and called to be Holy. How we behave matters.
That as the church, we are made up of all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus; those who believe on him as Son of God and Saviour and come to him for rescue and to be reconciled to God the Father.
Notice how many times Paul refers to being ‘called’ in these opening verses.
He is conscious of God’s initiative in his own calling as an Apostle and in the call of the Christians at Corinth, both individually and corporately.
It is a healthy corrective to note.
How many of our problems I wonder revolve around a mistaken possessiveness towards the church’s life and activities?
Paul here sets the stage for recognizing that our primary identity is in Christ - that is what forms the basis for unity in the church - not our other points of connection or shared interests.
I wonder how viewing each other through this lens, seeing one another as sanctified and called into fellowship, might encourage us to do our part in fostering a community that is built on mutual respect and love?
2. Graced and Gifted for Unity
2. Graced and Gifted for Unity
1 Co 1:4-9
Far from promoting a church where there are no differences and everyone agrees on everything, Paul sets out to thank and acknowledge God for the grace he has given to the Corinthians, through their individual spiritual gifting and unique calling.
Despite difference, God's grace has been abundantly provided for everyone.
For Paul, even in diversity, there can still be unity that comes from gratitude and recognizing God's work in each other, and how this grace strengthens our individual testimony and the bonds we share together.
You see, the Corinthian church is a mess. Full of problems, sin, pride, division and heresy.
Yet Paul is determined to look at this community of believers as it is in Christ, before he looks at anything else that may be true of this church.
How easy it is to examine and lament the warts, the things we don’t like, without at the same time holding on to the vision of what God has already done for us in Christ Jesus?
But here’s the thing - what Paul says is true for the Corinthian church, is true for us in the Parish of Holy Trinity.
Think about it this way, if we were to take away the first 9 verses of this letter, we would be left with a very pessimistic view of the church. Any of the statements of faith, hope and love that come later in Paul’s letter would be nothing but pipedreams.
No, the church first and foremost, before any individualism comes into play, has every spiritual gift within its corporate life. If we don’t believe that - perhaps it is because we aren’t expectant that God can bring them into expression among us.
Notice also how Christ is at the centre and the focal point of the speech and knowledge given to the Corinthians
For in him you have been enriched in every way—in all your speaking and in all your knowledge— because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you. Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.
as a gift of God, this testimony about Christ is confirmed in the lives of the hearers as the work of God’s spirit brings conviction, illumination and faith.
Pauls confidence in the church in Corinth and our confidence in the church as it exists here in Launceston, Windermere, Franklin village Youngtown and Evandale - can only be so as it is founded and built upon the generosity and faithfulness of God.
God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.
As we grasp the high view Paul has of the church, so we must appreciate the grief he must have felt at the reports of divisions that exist amongst the Corinthian Christians.
For now, he only speaks of quarrelling, it will be later in his letter that he will deal with the source of these divisions and factions.
Needless to say, it is not something that Paul can afford to ignore.
In the first instance, this church had not been able to hold together that which mattered most.
Consequently, as the situation deteriorated, cliques had formed and conflict and disunity had taken a grip.
Accepting that everyone was right about everything was not the answer and neither was papering over the cracks.
The problems that had emerged in this church needed to be addressed - the very name and honour of God was at stake and Paul’s calling as an Apostle was such that he could not ignore the reports he had heard.
A difference of opinion was one thing - disunity and its corrosive effect on the church’s ability to proclaim and share the gospel - well, that was quite another thing altogether.
3. United by the Cross
3. United by the Cross
1 Co 1:10-17
And so, right at the outset of this letter, Paul appeals to his beloved brothers and sisters. He urges them to be united with one mind and judgment - that is as he will go on to explain - about the gospel: that is, to have the same conviction about the primacy of the gospel and its importance over secondary issues.
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.
Verse 10 carries with it the sense that Paul is urging the Corinthians to ‘do’ something positive to restore or complete that which God has called them to. Being restored to Christlikeness in the way they conduct themselves will be essential if they are to survive and thrive.
And do you notice in verses 10 to 17 how Paul places the wholeness of Christ, the cross of Christ and the Lordship of Christ at the centre.
Is Christ divided he asks in verse 13 - that is, has he been parcelled out and fragmented amongst different groups within the congregation. Of course not, is the only answer they can give in return.
We cannot have more of Christ than we have already by faith been given.
Perhaps we could reframe Paul’s question and ask ourselves - will Christ have more of us?
The second point Paul makes is around the cross of Christ.
Was Paul crucified for you? Was anyone else who might have your ear the one who died for you?
Our allegience is to the risen Lord Jesus - no other.
Why take our eyes of him and the one who made our reconciliation with God and others possible?
And if these two attempts to refocus us on Christ fail - Paul then appeals to the church via his reference to baptism.
Though he plays down the importance of baptism in his own ministry - he is in effect lifting the priority of baptism as it relates to whom we do belong through this sacrament.
We may be baptised through the ministry of a human being, but our baptism reflects that we have come under the Lordship of Jesus.
Now we don’t have a great deal of information about the specific divisions that have arisen in the church at Corinth. But Paul’s appeal to them so early on and his focus on Christ and having unity of mind and purpose around the gospel seems to indicate that the problem lies in personality and power or control.
What we can see is that Paul chooses not to address the individual factions - but to address the church as a whole and to expose the non-Christian attitudes that have crept in to the church.
And it’s not that disunity is the main problem Paul addresses - all the matters Paul will raise matter!
But what is important for Paul is to appeal to the Corinthians (and us) to keep the main thing, the main thing - so that all other things fall into their proper place, under the light of the gospel of Christ.
It will only be as we recognise that this is God’s church and what matters is our shared identity in Christ, that we will see a greater sense of community shaped by love and mutual understanding grow in this place.
The big idea of Paul’s opening of this letter is that church thrives in unity as we embrace the message of the cross, which empowers us to overcome divisions and live out our calling as the body of Christ.
How might we participate in that which God has already established?
Certainly not by doing away with diversity - but by each taking responsibility to handle our difference in a way that honours the calling to be Holy and blameless.
For some of us that might mean simply praying before we speak - is this really in teh scheme of things an issue that needs to be addressed?
For others, it might be to adopt the process Jesus encouraged when he spoke about conflict resolution - go directly to the one who you believe has wronged you.
Gossiping, slandering, trying to gather your ‘yes isn’t that terrible faction’ is ungodly and the bible speaks only negatively about 6hese things.
For others it might be that we need the courage to say ‘no’ to those who want to bend our ear over some perceived wrong or dispute. ‘No thank you - go and pray about that issue and speak only to the person in question, lest you be found out of step with the Spirit of God’.
Challenging though all of those things may be - the church matters - the church being you and me - therefore, how we behave matters.
Paul would appeal to us through the grace of God given to the church that is precious and loved by God.
May we heed his appeal and come along or listen in next week, as we continue to explore this letter of Paul’s and see in it the power that God gives to His church to accomplish his purposes and plans today.
Let us pray