Unity and Diversity of the Church

Pursuing Humility

I believe that the greatest problem in our culture today is the problem of narcissism. We think to highly of ourselves. We value how we feel, how we feel, and how we choose to live our life.

The greatest sin in our culture is disagreeing. If you disagree with my thoughts, my believes, my values, my worldview, then you are my enemy and I hate you. This is because we live in a narcissistic age.

Narcissism is defined by “excessive interest in oneself...”

This displays itself in many different ways: selfies, stories, timelines, streaks, etc… it’s seen in our #selflove movement…we live in a world that is obsessed with the self. So much so that the greatest sin of our culture is disagreeing. Anything goes…as long as you agree with me, but if you dont…then it means war. Even today, we see this playing itself out. We have our thoughts and ideas about the CoronaVirus—some of us believe that it is the most deadly virus ever and that we should be very worried. Others believe that it is all a product of mass media sensationalizing and a big over reaction...

And there’s no room for disagreement on the issue…if you think Im wrong you’re an idiot...

And unfortunately these attitudes arent just how the world behaves…but often times this is how we behave inside the church as well.

Im good…as long as you agree with my theology, as long as we sing the songs I like, as long as the preacher preaches the way I want him to preach…Im good as long as you don’t move my Bible Fellowship class, im good as long as I dont have to see “that person”…those types of attitudes come from a place of pride…and it makes us no different than the culture that we live in....

And this is where I believe this particular passage of scripture becomes so helpful for us tonight.

The Unity and Diversity of the Church...

Here are the things that unify us:

We all have the same faith from God

This means that noone can boast about the amount of faith that they have. Faith is a gift of God…no one has ever earned faith. It is God’s gift.

tell us that we were all at one time, spiritually dead. Meaning we were without faith…but verse 4 tells us “But God, being rich in mercy…made us alive together with Christ Jesus.”

This means that no one is entitled to look down on a brother or sister thinking that they are more valuable, or more spiritually mature, or more important in the church.

At the end of the day, anyone who is a member of the body of Christ is no different than anyone else…we are all people who were at one time spiritually dead—deserving of the full wrath of God—and we were all made alive with Christ—saved by grace through a measure of faith that God gave us according to his rich mercy!

Our faith...

In Christ--We are all just as unworthy as the next person…and In Christ—we are all invaluably worthy…just like the next person...

We are all apart of the same Body

We are all In Christ…meaning that the worth that we have is found in our corporate identity

Outside of Christ we are cutt off from every blessing that we have…but in Christ we have all been blessed with every blessing in the spiritual places.

We all need each other

Every part of the body of Christ is put there to make up the rest of it.

So no matter what your gift is, you are important...

Just like the human body cannot function without a healthy ear-drum…the body of Christ cannot function without you…no matter what your gifting is...

Therefore, we are all equal in value and worth…AND therefore, shouldnt think more highly of ourselves than we ought to think...

The Diversity of the Church

We all have different measures of faith (but every measure is a gift…and therefore cant be boasted in)

We all have different functions in the body

So here is the application…we should all celebrate the things that make us the same AND the things that make us different.

So in the church

Understand that we were all saved the same way...

romans 12:

Romans 12:3 ESV

3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.

Romans 12:3 ESV

3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.

The greatest sin in our culture is disagreeing. If you disagree with my thoughts, my believes, my values, my worldview, then you are my enemy and I hate you. This is because we live in a narcissistic age.

Narcissism is defined by