The Cohesive Church

The Great Seal of the United States of America includes these word: E Pluribus Unum, out of many, one

The statement appears on our bills and our coins

Writing on this thought, Southern Baptist pastor and scholar, Tom Ascol has written:

The unity in diversity that characterizes every church of Jesus Christ inevitably results in lives of interdependence among church members. Christians need each other and this mutual dependence is by God’s design for our own growth in grace.

We’re going to examine that concept this morning

After a rather exhaustive...and exhausting...series in Acts, we moving into some thematic preaching

We’ll do a series of messages that we’ll call “one-offs” before our Summer Psalms, and return to another book study in the fall

Not a study of one book or a segment of one book (during Covid, we did a short series on John 1 and on Job 1-2

Also not taking one verse and galloping off away from the text, never to return to the text; t...eisegesis in its many forms

Too often verses are ripped from their context, poorly used and given to prove a point that the verse does NOT teach

Each of the texts will be texts that structurally will stand alone, based on any of several criteria

This morning we clearly see an example of an inclusio (the nerdy term for the morning), within a broader context of church structure and behavior

Think of it as a pair of bookends which allow a small cluster of books to stand upright and distinct, as part of a well-organized bookshelf

The bookends here are vv 12 and 20; both dealing with this concept of unity

Paul was writing the local church at Corinth

Despite its dysfunction...and was truly dysfunctional...Paul loved that church and the people in it

Even that dysfunctional bunch serves as a good illustration of a bad example

So much of what we know about how to “do church” comes from the two letters we have from Paul to them

One of the problems the Corinthian church had was its factions; it was a recurring theme of his letters to them…and speaks into the topic of this morning’s message

Defining the Church

Universal Church

All believers from Pentecost to the Rapture

Scripture does make it clear that members of the Universal church are to be members of the ...

Local Church

A group of believers which gathers in a specific location

It was to local churches that the apostles wrote their letters

Before we get there, we deal with the concept of the Church being the body of Christ

It’s not a strange concept; secular philosophers made reference to similar concepts of individuals being part of the political body of a nation or state

When we speak in this context, we’re speaking of members of the assembly—we are not necessarily separating members—by constitutional definition—from the regular participants who have not joined

Though there are some places that we may have to take exceptions of non-members

But, as for our imagery, we can start with Acts 9 4, when Jesus addressed Saul on the Damascus Rd.

Acts 9:4 ESV

“Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”

Maybe that rather abrupt statement of our Lord is why Paul is the only NT author who makes this specific connection between Jesus and the Church

He makes it not just to the Corinthians

Romans 12:4–5 ESV

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.

Though we acknowledge that here the reference is to the church universal, more than local, the functional aspects of the thought take us to looking at the local church as opposed to the overall CHURCH

This morning, in the context of the local church—not universal Church—we look at the multiplicity of the parts, the diversity of the parts, and the unity of the parts

The Multiplicity of the Parts

The church of Corinth, like the city, was a cultural mixed bag

Major cultural traditions would have been Roman, Greek and Jewish

There would have been aristocrats, slaves, businessmen, tradesmen...quite a colorful bunch

...and a divisive bunch; Paul didn’t wait too long in his letter before he started to address the divisions

1 Corinthians 1:10 ESV

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.

This, specifically, was about divided loyalties—grouped around favorite preachers 1 Cor 1 12

1 Corinthians 1:12 ESV

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.”

There were also sin issues that divided the church there:

Sexual sin, believers suing other believers, sinful behaviors within marriages, disregard for weaker believers, dabbling in idolatry, class distinctions...

Groups were divided in their thoughts regarding these things

Paul spent most of the first 4 chapters on these things!

...and there were different giftings that had become evident, all of which were...

1 Corinthians 12:11 ESV

...empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.

The healthiest body has all its parts, each functioning as designed...

1 Corinthians 12:18 ESV

...God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose.

Part of that is...

The Diversity of the Parts

A healthy diversity...as opposed to the divisiveness seen above

The parts have different purposes

Some deal with the senses, eyes, ears, the skin

Some deal with functions, the legs and feet bring about propulsion; the arms and hands, production

The mouth, communication

Some serve multiple functions; e.g., the hands can build a house, write a letter, enhance communication, serve as a weapon

...but the ear cannot build a house; the eye cannot write a letter

Though a body can function, sometimes quite well, with inoperative or even missing parts, it generally functions best with all components intact and functioning to their fullest capacity

The Unity of the Parts

This is far more than just “plays well with others”

We work together BY GOD’S DESIGN! ...for HIS purpose

Just as the eye, the ear, and other sensory components can both feed information to the brain, so that it can process the inputs and then signal the hands and feet to take an action, so should the parts of the church body interact

All parts operating together for the completion of the mission of the church

There is no room for one part of the body to separate itself, to cease cooperation with the rest of the body because it perceives itself to be not the part it wants to be

The Obligation of the Parts

We are warned by this passage that we must not let divisions enter among us

When we get distracted by divisions, the mission of the church suffers

Taking a step outward for context, what is...

The Mission of the Church

For what purpose did God design and commission it?

If we asked the unchurched, we might get all sorts of answers, but the simple, BIBLICAL answer its:

Matthew 28:19–20 ESV

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

The key component—the imperative—is making disciples...sharing the Gospel and from those new believers, developing mature believers

How Do We Do That?

...within the context of the church

Here’s a short list

Love one another; outdo one another in showing honor; encourage one another; bear one another’s burdens; be kind to one another, forgive one another; stir one another up to good works; encourage one another; count others more significant than yourselves; serve one another...we could go on and on

It seems all about putting our focus on the other parts of the body, abandoning self-interest

The Dangers of a Divisive Church

When a church goes off the rails, it becomes strife-filled, looses its sense of mission, loses its testimony (collectively), even as the individuals lose their personal testimonies

Generally these churches have lost the Gospel, lost the sense of mission, and have become more social gatherings than gatherings of true believers in a Gospel-centered environment

Some Subtle Divisions

Let’s look at members v. non-members who are regular attenders

There are times when people have some semi-legitimate barriers to membership

Let’s look at members who are non-participants—yes, pew sitters, sponges...or sporadic attenders, not really committed

...those who serve grudgingly, not joyfully...if at all

...those who say “since I’m not a [insert your favorite office here], I’m not going to [insert another job here”]

The Joy of a Cohesive Church

We’re given something of an OT perspective on unity in Ps 133, a Song of Ascent...to be sung as the people were headed for Jerusalem to worship in community

Psalm 133 ESV

A Song of Ascents. Of David. 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.

Not a “thing” in our culture to have oil poured out on our head or have it run down onto our beard...

In that culture, it was deemed refreshing

The dew of morning, especially in the arid climate of the region was a pleasant image, just as the freshness of dew in the heat of August is to us

...but in the context of the day this was written all this was to evoke images of peace and pleasantness

It’s an image of contented, peaceful individuals being joined in a worshipping community

Where Do You Stand?

Are you part of the Universal Church? Are you a true believer?

Are you a true component of the local church?