Articles
Reasons For Uniting (3)
For the past two weeks, we have considered the apostle Paul’s Divinely-inspired answers to the division that then existed within the church at Corinth, and we conclude our look this week. Let us each examine ourselves to see if we are contributing to the unity of the church here by doing these things.
Love. (1 Cor. 13:1-13; 1 Cor. 16:14) We really cannot understand the placement of chapter 13 unless we consider the context leading up to it, and the context that follows. In chapter 12, Paul addressed the erroneous attitudes toward their spiritual gifts, and the erroneous attitudes and judgments that existed because of those misconceptions; in chapter 14, Paul sought to instruct the brethren there as to the proper use of those spiritual gifts. It is in between those two chapters we find Paul addressing what might seem to be out of place: the matter of true love. But, friends and brethren, the matter of love had everything to do with the surrounding chapters!
As it was, the brethren in the church at Corinth were (1) making judgments about their brethren who had different spiritual gifts, and (2) using those spiritual gifts to gain some perceived advantage or prestige, or merely to draw attention to themselves. In short: They were doing it all wrong! In all they did regarding the spiritual gifts they had and how they used them, what was lacking was love. A brief look at the description of love (1 Cor. 13:4-8) would show that to be true, for they were apparently doing the exact opposite. We should not be surprised to then read Paul’s admonition later in the letter that was as direct as could be: “Let all that you do be done with love” (1 Cor. 16:14). Paul wrote this because that was the very thing they were not doing.
Brethren can certainly learn some important lessons from this admonition today, for the lack of love is quite often the reason for strife, division, and trouble within many churches today. When brethren seek their own desires, they lack love; when brethren fail to demonstrate longsuffering or kindness, they lack love; when brethren act boastfully and cannot show basic courtesy to their brethren, they lack love; when brethren look for ways to find evil motives in one another and hold grudges for a lifetime, they lack love. We could go on, but the point is made; sometimes, we just simply lack true love for one another. If I might borrow the words of James: “My brethren, these things ought not to be so” (Jas. 3:10).
I am sure I don’t need to remind most of you who are reading this that love is the foundational characteristic of the disciples of Jesus Christ — or should be. Jesus said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34, 35). Let’s make sure we are doing our part to do just that, and unity will naturally result.
Considering Others. (1 Cor. 10:24, 32-33; 1 Cor. 12:25) As Paul concluded his address of the issue of brethren eating meats offered to idols, with no concern for their brethren or their conscience, he made this simple statement: “Let no one seek his own, but each one the other’s well-being,” and, “Give no offense, either to the Jews or to the Greeks or to the church of God, just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.” I hope we can see within those statements that Paul was essentially saying we should demonstrate one of the very characteristics of love by not seeking our own, but the well-being — and even the salvation — of others.
In the midst of his address of their wrong attitudes regarding the spiritual gifts, he used the analogy of a body to illustrate the fact each member had a place within the church and no one was expendable or useless, and admonished them, instead, reminding them “that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another.” Obviously, that was not happening and needed to be corrected. I don’t have to tell anyone that when you don’t feel like you are valued or even considered by others, you don’t really have any motivation to want to work together with them, and that was exactly the case in Corinth.
Love, again, is the motivation behind this, for it is love that moves us to have a genuine concern for others, and to not be only thinking of self and what we want or like. There is nothing wrong, in itself, with looking out for self, but it should never be only self that we look out for. Paul’s admonition to the brethren at Philippi was clear: “Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of other” (Phil. 2:4). A church with members who are always looking out for one another will be unified, while a church with self-centered members will be very fractured and not anything close to being unified.
Doing All For Edification. (1 Cor. 14:26) Let us note, first, that edification is the act of building up the spiritual strength, knowledge, and maturity of others. That itself tells us that this is something we do for others, which requires personal knowledge of one another and interaction with one another. If we have the afore-mentioned concern for one another, we will be ready and willing to help strengthen them where they need strengthening because we are genuinely concerned for them and seek to help them become stronger and more effective, as disciples.
A desire for edification should be within each and every disciple because we know the future — the very existence — of any church depends on the strength of its members, and no individual member can stand up in place of the church as a whole and expect to withstand attacks from the outside or error from the inside. Let’s heed the words of the wise writer, who reminds us, “Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken” (Eccl. 4:12). It takes all of us — working together — to do this, and this means every member needs to be as strong as they possibly can be. That means we all need to be edifiers!
And when we are each edifying one another, a further benefit will become obvious: We will see the genuine care and concern and love that others have for us, and we will be more motivated to work together in unity to accomplish the work of the Lord. Our attitudes will be drastically different than the ones who feel like their brethren are trying to tear them down! We will each become stronger, and we will each be contributing to the strengthening of others and the church, as a whole, will become stronger and ever closer.
For the past few weeks, we have considered various reasons for the division within the church at Corinth, and we have considered God’s answers to that division, as written by the apostle Paul in his first letter to them. Now, we have a choice to make: Will we practice the things that create or maintain division, or will we do the things that will bring about unity, maintain unity, and strengthen our unity? The choice is ours, but let us be honest with ourselves; if we are not doing the things that foster unity, then changes need to be made.
Jesus sincerely and vehemently desires our unity (cf. John 17:20-23), and we should desire it just as strongly. Let us do all we possibly can to be unified in Christ. Souls depend on it! — Steven Harper
