1 Corinthians 1:10-17 “Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe’s household, that there are contentions among you. Now I say this, that each of you says, “I am of Paul,” or “I am of Apollos,” or “I am of Cephas,” or “I am of Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, lest anyone should say that I had baptized in my own name. Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas. Besides, I do not know whether I baptized any other. For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect.”
Last Sunday, Pastor Herk restated just how important the “Great Commission” of our Lord Jesus Christ is to the Christian church and needs to be constantly in the forefront of ministry. Another important element of church is unity because Jesus was a unifier and stressed unity, so we are to be unifiers as Christians. The Apostle Paul was pleading to the Corinthian church for both unity of word and unity of action. It is easier to be critical that it is to be correct, so we need to patiently and wisely hold our judgments and criticism. Paul begs the church to speak “the same thing” (autos). There should be unity of doctrine, unity of word, and unity of action. In matters of ministry, the church body of Christ universal must be unanimously united, or else someone is out of fellowship with Christ’s holy word, will and way. The reason being is that the Holy Spirit does not disagree with Himself. When not in alignment with the Holy Spirit, then Satan has a foothold and we are seeing and reaping that reality today. The old axiom says: If you talk about what you believe, then you have disunity. If you talk about who you believe in, then you have unity.
Ephesians 4:10-16 “He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.) And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.”
As it takes centuries for an acorn to come to full fruition as a mature Oak tree in the fullness of its growth, those graces of God that are most precious and durable to us, are going to take us longer to produce. In ministry, some opportunities spring up quickly and doors open with some worth, but we cannot look for permanence and lasting value in temporal things that come up quickly and easily to us. Our spiritual growth takes time, and it develops a solid character within us. In the church body, the Word of God is expounded upon the saints (those who have been sanctified, consecrated and hallowed) to ministry to others saints.
Hebrews 10:24-25 “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”
Let's continue Pastor Herk's message on "unity in Christ" on the next post.
In Christ, Brian
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