UNITY IN CHRIST
Every three years, InterVarsity
Christian Fellowship sponsors the Urbana Conference, which challenges
university students to get involved in world evangelization. About 16,000
students from around the world attended the 2009 conference. After the main
session each evening, students would leave the larger conference auditorium to
meet in smaller groups for prayer and reflection. In one of the banquet halls, a
small group comprised Chinese students, another group of Taiwanese students,
and another group of students from Hong Kong.
Large dividers stood between the
three. These walls were necessary because historically, these three peoples
have “harbored bitterness and animosity toward one another.” They felt it was
best to pray and worship with their people. But as the Chinese students were
praying one night, they told their leader they wanted to invite the other
countries to join them.
When the Taiwanese students received
the invitation, they prayed and sang a little while, and then they opened up
the wall divider. It wasn’t too much longer before the students from Hong Kong
pulled back their divider, and some 80 students mingled together. “In Christ,
we are all one family,” said one leader. “And [Christ] breaks down political
boundaries.
In Christ, we have the desire to
make the first steps to connect.” The Taiwanese students asked the students
from China and Hong Kong to lead them in worship. The next night, they invited
the Korean and Japanese groups to join them, nations which also had experienced
fierce animosity”[1]
What brought down those damaging walls of hostility and division among the
Intervarsity students? They let go of what divided them from the others and embraced
the truth that in Jesus, Christ, now they are a family. In the passage, we read
the Apostle Paul was urging the Corinthians believers to break down the
dividing walls and cultivate Unity in the Church.
I
PAUL’S APPEAL TO THE CHURCH
Vs.
10, “I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord
Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in
the Church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose.” What made Paul
write this letter of correction?
Chloe, probably a prominent member
in the Corinthian house church who had written or come to visit Paul to tell
him of the Church. It looks like the Unity of the Corinthian Church was at
stake. Factions were going on. People were taking sides rather than working
together. They either forgot or ignored the fact that they were brothers and
sisters in Christ. The Apostle Paul urges them to do two things and not to do
one thing. Let’s find out what they are.
I.
LIVING IN HARMONY WITH EACH OTHER
Vs.10a, “I appeal to you, dear brothers
and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with
each other.” In the light of the report, Paul strongly urges the believers by
the authority of Jesus Christ to live in harmony. Why is living in unity essential?
We heard the statement, “United we
stand, divided we fall.” This phrase can be traced back some 2,600 years to the
6th Century B.C. In modern times, the first attributed use is by one of our
nation’s Founding Fathers, John Dickinson, in a song he wrote, “The Liberty
Song.”
Politicians use this phrase to
excite and inspire their base to work together, and pastors use this to
challenge their churches to live in Unity. We can achieve a lot when we live in
harmony with each other. Consider these Biblical texts that call for the
importance of Unity.
At the tower of Babble’s
construction, God came down to see people building the tower against His will.
After seeing their agreement, He said, Gen 11:6, “Look!” he said.
“The people are united, and they all
speak the same language. After this, nothing they set out to do will be
impossible for them!” God is not impressed with all Unity; this is one of such
kind of unities. God is pleased by Unity among his people. Psalm 133:1-3, “How
wonderful and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony! And there the Lord
has pronounced his blessing, even life everlasting.” When God’s people live
together in Unity, there is life and blessing. Christians are not supposed to
live in isolation.
In his high priestly prayer, Jesus
prayed to the father that we would be united as He was one with the father.
John 17:11. We live in a country called the United States of America. Yet, we
are conflicted and divided on various matters concerning life, religion, and
freedoms. As Martin Luther King Jr noted, “We must learn to live together as
brothers and sisters or perish together as fools.”
The Apostle Paul’s charged the Corinthian
believers to live in harmony with each other. The same charge applies to all
churches in the 21st century, including Hope Church in Sharon. What
disturbed the Unity in Corinthian Church can disturb ours too if we don’t pay
attention.
II
NO DIVISIONS IN THE CHURCH
Vs. 10b, “Let there be no divisions
in the Church.” What caused divisions in the Corinthian Church, hence
disturbing the Unity? They quarreled among themselves. They were divided
into at least four factions, each one having its emphasis, following its own
leader, and acting in antagonism to the other three. How often we see such
cliques in local churches today?
These four factions claimed a
special relationship with a particular leader. Some were following Paul. Some
were following Apollos, that learned and eloquent preacher from Alexandria.
Others said they followed Peter. Yet others claimed they only follow Christ.
Paul corrected their wrong mindset
by raising three questions, Vs.13, “Has Christ been divided into factions? Was
I, Paul, crucified for you? Were any of you baptized in the name of Paul? He
diverts their focus from following leaders to following only Christ and His
leadership. He raised the issue of Baptism to show them the priority of
preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Paul’s admonishment not to follow
Church leaders, including himself, comes as a warning to Christians in our
time. There are thousands of cults in America, some harmless and some that can
be very dangerous. By the 1970s, America was filled with violent faiths and
deadly cults; names such as Charles Manson, Reverend Jim Jones, David Koresh of
WACO, Warren Jeff of the Mormon Church became familiar American household names.[2]
A cult-like following exists among
Evangelical Christians. Some Christians follow their leaders and pastors
blindly without checking the truth, which amounts to idolatry. That was Paul’s
concern then and indeed a problem today. However great a Pastor, Christian, or
political leader that we may come to like, our ultimate loyalty and adoration
is reserved only to Christ.
III
ONE MIND AND PURPOSE
The Apostle Paul lays out a path
that would help us avoid divisions in our Churches and ultimately lead to
spiritual Unity. Vs.10c, “Rather be of one mind united in thought and purpose.”
Being united in thought and purpose is one of the Kingdom citizens’ qualities.
He writes about how that kind of Unity
works in his letter to the Philippians. Christians are called to be united in
thought and purpose for these reasons. To stand and fight together for the sake
of the Good News. (Phil 1:27). For our struggle against our enemies who seek to
destroy our faith in Christ. (Phil 1:28-30). To bring joy to our pastors and
leaders.
Phil 2:1-2, “Is there any
encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any
fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? Then
make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one
another, and working together with one mind and purpose.” The oneness of mind
and purpose, in other words, “spiritual unity,” benefits all, both in and
outside of the Church. How is spiritual Unity achieved?
IV.
UNITY IN CHRIST
People are united all the time,
some for noble purposes and others to do evil. However, for the followers of
Christ, Unity of mind, and purpose can be achieved only at the feet of Jesus. While
writing to the Ephesians, the Apostle Paul notes how Christ keeps His Church
together.
Ephesians,
4: 14-16, “We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever,
they sound like the truth. Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in
every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the Church.
He makes the whole body fit together
perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts
grow so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.” Not only
Jesus holds the Church together but also “the whole creation together.” (Col
1:17)
Jesus is the unifying factor of this
world and our lives. Outside of Christ, everything will fall apart. E. Stanly
Jones, An American missionary to India, once noted, “Talk about what you
believe, and you have disunity. Talk about Who you believe in, and you have unity.”[3]
What does Unity in Christ mean? It
does not mean uniformity, that we all look alike, dress alike, and speak the
same language. The body of Christ is very diverse and colorful. See how diverse
we are at Hope Church. We are a microcosm of Jesus’ universal Church.
How does our functional Unity in
Christ look like? As the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit live and work in
perfect harmony, we are called to live and work in Unity with each other. We
may disagree on preferences yet work together on Biblical principles.
We make allowances for each other’s
faults because of our love for one another. That love will prove to the world
that we are Jesus’ disciples. Jesus prayed that we will live in unity. That is
our goal, and we will make every effort to be United in Christ. Amen!
