We are One in Christ

Context

This Season: Growing Together.

Guide: Paul: writing to new churches. His words will be relevant to us. As we make changes ahead, such as combining our two worship services into one, we are like a “new” church.

If we can embrace the faith ideals Paul presents we will go a long way to being the congregation God is calling us to be.

Today’s reading from Paul’s letter to the church he had founded in Galatia.

He preached to them the gospel of Jesus Christ.

That in accordance with the ancient promise made to Abraham — the father of faith in the book of Genesis —

and as prefigured in the Law of Moses which came later —

and as foretold by the prophets later still —

the Son of God, Jesus Christ the Messiah, had come into the world. He had died for sin and rose to open the Kingdom of God to all people — Jew, Gentile, male, female, anyone — who will trust in him.

But after Paul left to continue his missionary efforts, other preachers had come in and started teaching the congregation that

NO, faith alone was not sufficient for the new community: non-Jewish Christians had to become Jewish and adopt all the rites of the Mosaic Law in order to inherit the promises of God.

This false teaching was unsettling and dividing the Galatian congregation.

So, Paul, in his whole letter, and the portion I read for you now, is guiding his flock back into a right understanding of the gospel

Text

Galatians 3:23–29 NRSV

23 Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed. 24 Therefore the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, 26 for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. 27 As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise.

Introduction

Wouldn’t it be nice to live in concord and harmony with one another? If people, different though we are, were each and all of us recognized, and valued and included.

An impossible utopian vision?

As elusive as attaining it may be…It is the Christian vision. Paul’s vision of the church in Galatians.

Ancient Problem

Paul had founded the church on the gospel of faith alone as the basis for Christian identity.

Created an unusual congregation. Men, women, slave, free, Jew and Gentile, all worship together, a miraculous occurrence in the first century, which was not nearly as egalitarian as our own.

Later, teachers came who undermined Paul’s message by saying: in order to be Christian you have to be circumcised. A Jewish rite applied to males. Presumably, there were other requirements that also presented as normative for the whole congregation.

The essence of the teaching: you have to become Jewish to be a Christian.

Result that the congregation was

Confused: about the nature of the gospel they had received from Paul — can we be part of the community of Christ by faith alone, or are there Jewish rites we must enforce?

Conflict:

Some who sided with the alternate teaching

some who sided with faith alone.

They had been brought together in Christ, but now they were uncertain and at odds with each other.

“WE” CHURCH HAD SPLINTERED INTO “US AND THEM” CHURCH.

Current Problem

We should not be hard on these ancient Christians. We may not fully understand the significance of circumcision, but we do understand division in the church.

Called together in Christ with very clear message: faith in Jesus Christ, forgiveness of sins, eternal life.

But issues get in the way.

In the 1st ce. this issue was whether one had to be Jewish to be Christian.

Down through the ages other issues have come up.

In 4th c. When Christianity was legalized and made the official Roman religion — some Christians said we have to reject this co-opting of the faith, other said no we should embrace it. So some built churches and others fled to the desert.

In the 11th c. disagreements flared over authority in the church…and the church split into East and West.

In the 15th c. Christians debated the nature of the sacraments. What is the bread and wine? Should only adults be baptized, or children too?

Current church: Christians are struggling over issues related to sex and gender and…what kind of music should be used in church.

The “We” Church that Christ envisioned has a tendency to become a church of “Us” and “Them.”

Example: I was once traveling in another country. I attended a Christian worship service. When it was time for communion, I knew that I wasn’t supposed to go up. I understood myself to be a sincere, informed, experienced Christian…but that wasn’t enough. So, as all the others went up; and I sat there.

Maybe you have experienced something like that…or maybe we’ve been the ones who left someone sitting along the sideline.

Division among Christians, should be a point of sorrow and concern for Christians.

Hinge

It was a sad and alarming situation for Paul to see the Galatians struggling and splitting over the issue of circumcision.

To heal and help them Paul takes a step back and looks at the big picture of what God is doing.

In the big picture, the calling of the church becomes clearer.

Ancient Solution

Paul reminds the congregation of the first and greatest hero of faith in the Hebrew Scriptures: Abraham.

In the book of Genesis: God called Abraham to set out for an unknown land and promised that if he did so God would make his offspring as numerous as the stars of the sky and he would be the father of many nations. Through his descendants a Messiah to save all humanity from sin would one day come.

The highest compliment a Jew could receive was to be known as a child of Abraham.

Much later (450 yrs) God sent Moses to give the Law to Abraham’s descendants. This Law was given to teach them about sin and righteousness and to expect the Messiah.

Jews were quite proud and thankful to have the Mosaic covenant.

But the role model of faith was never so much Moses, but Abraham.

In Jesus’ day, the Pharisees would claim “we have Abraham as our father”

To be a child of Abraham was to be a person of faith and therefore someone will inherit the great promise of the coming Messiah.

Paul reminds the Galatians of this sweeping plan.

Then Paul turns his attention to the present moment.

The gospel news was that: Jesus the promised Christ had come. He died for sins and rose again from the dead to offer new life to all.

Paul teaches that Jews should be ready to put the Law of Moses in the backseat to the Messiah.

Now: the Law could be recognized as a temporary guardian.

Now: The calling to the Jews was clear: You only have to have faith, like Abraham did.

Yet, Paul reminds the congregation, God made a very broad promise to Abraham that he would be the father of many nations. That is to say, of many people who were not Jewish in the flesh, but were ready to have faith.

This promise refers to all the Gentiles in the Christian church.

Amazing conclusion from Paul: Therefore Gentiles too deserved to be called Abraham’s sons and daughters.

+++Gentiles in the church is not an error but a confirmation that God’s promise to Abraham is being fulfilled.

Jew and Gentile together. Confirmation of the promise. That is the work of God.

Some circumcised, some not. Together. The work of God.

Slave and Free, male and female, now brought together. The work of God.

Awkward, conflict, at times, sure. But they are to see each other as children of Abraham all. “In Christ”.

Their unity in diversity, their refusal to split into “Us” and “Them”, would be proof that Christ is really Messiah who calls all people to himself and his kingdom.

Current Solution

Paul’s guidance to the Galatians is relevant to us today.

Periodically, we need to step back and look at the bigger picture.

God so loved the world, that he sent his only son, that any (all) who believe in him would not perish but have eternal life.

Prayer of Jesus, I pray that they might be one, even as you and I father are one.

A person who has that sincere belief and desire to live for Christ is rightly called a child of Abraham and child of the kingdom…and full member of the church.

Our constitution says the same thing

(G-1.0302) … The Gospel leads members to extend the fellowship of Christ to all persons.

Since God calls all people to himself in Christ, it is to be expected that there will be people in church who are different than yourself…whoever you are.

That is a good thing because it shows that God is actively filling his kingdom with all people.

CONSIDER ALTERNATIVE: If there were only one kind of people, all the same perspective, all the same values, all the same appearance or modes of living, it would suggest that God only loves some people, not all people. Or that God is not powerful enough to save all kinds of people. Or not wise enough to engage with them all.

That is not the gospel we believe or that we would even want to believe.

Rather we want to believe in the God who can really bring everyone together, create a community in which everyone is seen, valued, included. This IS the God of the Gospel:

F-1.0403 In Christ by the power of the Spirit, God unites persons through baptism regardless of…race, ethnicity, age, sex, gender, orientation, disability, geography,…any worldly condition.

Inasmuch as we allow faith in Christ to unite us, we are showing with our lives, that Christ is at work among us.

Paul was writing to a new congregation. In some way we will be like a new congregation late this summer. We plan to unite our two services into one. Instead of “Traditional” worship and “Contemporary” worship, we are going to have a unified worship service.

Aptly and simply called “Lord’s Day Worship.”

Uniting our two services is a way for us to show and to experience that we are one in Christ.

There will be things we will miss about CS. There will be things we miss about TS.

But the leadership of this church believes that we will be enriched by bringing ourselves together — Style of music, our ways of praying, our ways of being in the space together.

But more importantly we will be enriched because we will see in ourselves a sign of the Kingdom of God — that God brings us together and holds us together.

Fond memory: Singing out a song in church. I thought you didn’t like that song. I don’t. But I know a lot of other people do, and we’re all the church…WOW! that’s the Spirit of Christ.

There is not more than one kingdom of God. There is only one. We will all be together in the kingdom. And we should be making every effort to live that way now.

Blessing of community.

We become assured of Gods love for us through one another.

Mission trip. Getting to know members in a more intimate way through time and work together.

I had skills in talking. Sometimes a little less useful on the work site. Excellent that we had those are expert in the trades.

Some of us older get tired. Younger full of energy.

Some: we need a plan; some: let’s just go with it.

Step back and look at the whole day. We could see how we fit together and are used together by God. Each of of us necessary and seen and valued.

Our unity and diversity was a gift to all of us.

That is how we as Christians are called to see each other

Something we are called to do not just on mission but in all ministry.

Conclusion

Wouldn’t it be nice to live in concord and harmony with one another?

Not an impossible utopian ideology.

It is the Christian vision. It is our vision.

Pastoral Prayer

VBS teachers and students

Rick and Joyce Dawson

Jay Pitts

Frank C