Everyone Has A Part

Paul continues his theme of unity in Corinthians, by discussing the design of God's family.

The word for church in the original language (ekklesia) literally means "the called-out ones". It was generally used to refer to a group of people, assembled to perform a particular task. A town's city council was referred to as an ekklesia.

God's people are called out to complete his mission in the world. To proclaim the gospel, and bring into his family, people from every nation, every tribe, every people group, and every language. To complete this mission, there are numerous jobs, assignments, and responsibilities.   New ground, without the gospel, needs to be identified, and reached out to. Areas need to be saturated with the gospel. Areas need to be saturated with prayer to alter the spiritual climate. New ones need to be grounded in God's Truth, and introduced to a new way of life. Lifestyle changes, corrections, and adjustments, need to be identified, and implemented. People's spirits need to be encouraged, loved, consoled, and comforted. And there are physical services: household repairs, meals, medical care, and rescue from disasters.

God's mission is not one thing. It is the creation of a community, a family, in tune with Him, and one another. As a result, there are a multitude of needs to meet. And God has developed his body to meet those needs. He gives his Spirit to each new family member. And the Spirit empowers each member with a gift. And each gift is the ability to complete one of the functions, one of the assignments, in God's family. And without that function working, God's family will not work as God intended.

So, we can look around at all the people in our local family of God. Each one has a place in the family. Each one has a role in the family. Each one has an assignment, that when completed, makes God's family function better, brings God's mission closer to completion, and demonstrates God's character to the world, because it expresses the love, and unity, of God's family.

It may not be the same as our role, and assignment. But that does not mean it is not needed, or valuable. If it is needed by the body of Christ, then we all need it, for our good, and our growth, and the growth of God's Kingdom.

It may not take place on Sunday morning. It may not take place in the Sunday meeting. It is still necessary for God's mission.

Not one person is the same. Not one gift is given to all -- except the gift of the Spirit, who gives all gifts. If they are in God's family, we need them, the church needs them, and the world needs them.

Lord's Supper

Paul wrote his letter to the Corinthians, because they had gotten off track in a number of ways. Paul brought the gospel to the city, and it was received with joy. But then cultural practices got mixed in with the gospel.

Now, God created culture. So, expressing allegiance to Jesus through cultural expression is not necessarily wrong. Scripture can be translated into a people group's heart language. Praise, and worship, can be offered using a particular cultures art forms, music, dance, or poetry.

Jesus translated the Lord's Supper from the Passover. The Passover is celebration of deliverance from slavery in Egypt. The Lord's Supper is a celebration of deliverance from slavery to sin. Jesus took the symbols of Passover -- bread and wine -- and applied them to the context of the new covenant. Unleavened bread, eaten in haste, to his body. Blood on the doorposts and lintels to his blood.

The problem came when the Corinthians connected the Christian celebration with the celebrations done before Christ, and the gospel, came to them. They would have celebrations for the other gods. They have to be the same, right?

Of course, they were not the same. The pagan feasts focused on me having a good time. The Lord's Supper focused on everyone's need, because of sin in everyone's life. The Lord's Supper focused on Christ's work of redemption, which we all need, and which we all received.

So, if someone is more concerned about how much food is piled on his plate, while others have none, then we have one more symptom of division. If we are all part of God's family, then it should matter than some of the children are provided for, and some are not.

A prominent theme in this letter is unity. How meetings, and other practices, are handled, demonstrates how all people are viewed. And we need to look at ourselves, make sure our hearts are right before God, so we act, and respond, rightly, with love, and unity, toward others. 

No Division

Paul urges agreement, and no divisions, in the Corinthian church. The people are quarreling about who to follow. Paul, Apollos, Peter? Is it any different today? Luther, Wesley, Calvin? (Or IV, Cru or Navs?)

I think we should be grateful for these individuals, and groups. They have reminded us of truths, principles, attitudes, and practices that were forgotten. God's family is better for all of them. But they did not die for our sins. We are not save by agreeing with their teachings, and putting faith, and trust, in them.

It is Christ, and the gospel, that saves, and transforms, us. It is holding onto one truth as the most important, that divides God's family, and dishonors Christ, and the gospel, before the world.

Jesus says that if we love one another, we demonstrate to the world that we follow him. How we live in community, and how we live our lives individually, testifies to the reality of Christ, the cross, the resurrection, and salvation by faith, as much as preaching the gospel. (Which we should be doing also.) Hypocrisy is one of the charges hurled at God's family. And it is the main reason, many people reject the gospel.

This is especially tricky nowadays. Not only are there groups of Christians, who stress different parts of God's truth, but there are different groups of Christians, who reject different parts of God's truth. And there are groups, who call themselves Christian, but reject the cross, the resurrection, the grace of the gospel, and the divinity of Christ. 

I am certain that God wants his family to love, and be united, with his family. All parts of it. I am not sure how that works with quasi Christian groups, or pseudo Christian groups. But doing a good job of loving, and demonstrating unity, across lines of genuine Christins would at least be a good place to start.

A Role In One Another's Lives

Paul begins his letter to the Corinthians by identifying himself, and Sosthenes. He identifies himself as an apostle, a messenger, of Jesus Christ.

He brought the gospel to them. He was commissioned, and entrusted, by Jesus, not only to bring the message, and begin the church, but also to define the limits of life in the church, because they were given to him by Jesus.

We are all to bring the gospel. We are all to be involved in planting, and establishing, churches. But we are not all given authority to define what life in the church should be like. (Now, I do not mean whether or not we should sing 3 or 4 hymns. Or how long the message should be.) Rather Jesus defines the church as a community. And he defines how his body should live as individuals, and as a community. And he has given messengers, and the scripture, to communicate those definitions. Current day leaders are to take those definitions, clarify them, and help apply them.

Paul, also, mentions Sosthenes. He does not say who Sosthenes is, because everyone in Corinth should know him, as one of their local leaders.

If you have read 1st Corinthians, you realize that the church has gotten pretty messed up. This letter is Paul trying to get the church back on the right track. So, it seems like Sosthenes, seeing things go from bad to worse, tracks Paul down, and informs him about what is going on. So, Paul mentions Sosthenes to let the church know that he is not inventing all of the stuff he is about to say. He has an eye witness, who he trusts, and who they all know.

The Bible encourages all the followers of Jesus to give one another positive instruction, and encouragement, in living with God, one another, and those outside of God's family. But it can also include reproof, rebuke, and correction. As we see in this letter.

There are many places in Scripture, where wisdom is praised. And part of wisdom is in receiving correction. But there is also wisdom in giving correction.

One part of giving correction wisely is being sure of the facts. That is why Sosthenes is important. He is a witness to the problems of the Corinthian church. He is a trustworthy witness. And someone who is trusted by the Corinthians.

Another part of wise correction is a focus on the positive. The first thing Paul does in this letter is to praise the church for the good in them.

If all we recognize is bad in someone, and hammer away at that, do we communicate any message of hope, and worth, in that person.

The purpose of correction is to communicate wrong areas of thinking, speaking, and acting. But it should also communicate how to do those areas rightly, and why. And it should communicate motivation to change.

None of us are perfect. So, we all need correction. If all we hear about is how wrong we are, we will have no motivation to pursue what is right. Communicating worth, value, and where we excel can have as much effect in enabling us to move in a right direction, as pointing out our wrong direction. It gives hope, and encouragement.

The gospel reminds us, we are all condemned sinners. But the gospel also reminds us that we are loved, and redeemed. It is the second part that moves us to repentance, and pursuit of a new life, a new way of living.

Ambassadors and Priests

Peter writes to the churches that they are a royal priesthood. Paul uses another metaphor. He says those who follow Jesus are his ambassadors.

The point in both places is that the people of God are intermediaries, representing God to people, and people to God. This means that all of God's people are pastors. All of God's people are evangelists. All of God's people are church planters. And all of God's people are missionaries.

We might not all function in the way most christians understand those terms today. Many think that only leaders, and the more spiritual, should practice these things. But God has commanded all of us to practice these areas. A large part of the role of leaders in God's family is to equip, train, and enable all of God's family to grow, and complete, those functions.

For example, all of God's family should be involved in producing, and facilitating the growth, of disciples. This includes instruction, encouragement, equipping, as well as reproof, and rebuke. All of God's family may not be involved in a formal, or structured, way. But our hearts should be filled with God's word, and love for one another, that we should be open, and alert, to give what we have to stir up, to encourage, to ground, and to promote growth in one another.

And we should be similarly involved in the other areas too. We need to learn to recognize opportunities for the gospel. We need to learn how to transition from one conversation into another that brings the gospel into focus.

The gospel moves into new areas by connecting to people, creating disciples, and planting churches. We generally refer to planting churches in new areas that involve crossing boundaries of language, culture, and ethnicity, as missions. And indeed, there are different issues to be faced, and so new skills to develop. Still the command is given to all of God's family to be concerned, and involved, in both of these areas. Again, a particular individual may not be on a church plant team, or move into another culture. But the hearts of all the family of God need to be given, and invested, in these areas, as much as those who are involved in person.

Now, we are not all going to be experts in these areas, but we should be growing in these areas, we need the experts to promote growth in these areas for all of us. And there should be those, in our churches, who can be resources to promote growth, and equip, in these areas. As well as ones who help promote other avenues of involvement. Like prayer, and support. Both of these are vital to promote the gospel -- locally, and around the world. And both are needed as much as person to person connection with people.

Jesus' Prayer

John records a prayer of Jesus's during the Last Supper. Jesus realizes his death, his resurrection, and his return to the Father are all near, and that the work of his Kingdom will fall to his disciples. So, he prays concerning the future of his followers.

He is thankful for those, who received him, and who will have a relationship with them -- Father and Son -- forever.

He prays for their continuing faithfulness. Not only are they entrusted with his Word, but they are now part of his family. So, they represent him in the world; and as a result, the world hates them, and is against them. So, he prays for protection. Especially that they maintain the truth.

And he asks for continued love, and unity. Not only among those who followed him directly, but also among those who follow Jesus through his disciples' testimony. Which means you, and me. He prays their unity would be like the unity of the Father and the Son. He prays that the unity of the family of God would be like the unity of God and himself. It is impossible to be more united than that.

Jesus says there are two important results of this kind of unity. This type of unity demonstrates that God sent Jesus. It also demonstrates that God loves those who follow Jesus with the same love as he loves Jesus.

Unity is a testimony of the truth of the gospel. In a world, where there are a million different types of Christians (twenty types of Baptist alone), I am not sure what this will look like. I am sure that many of the differences emphasized by these different groups are important aspects of God's truth. But I am also sure that Jesus' message about unity in his family, unity among those who give him their allegiance, is equally important. It is something which needs to be obeyed with as much intensity, and fervor, as any other teaching of Christ.

Jesus commands us to love one another to show we are his disciples. Jesus commands us to be united to show Jesus was really sent into the world by the Father. And it is the lack of these things, not manifested by the people of God, that most other people point to, as the reason why they are not followers of Jesus.

I do not think l love, and unity, necessarily mean we need to become one organization. But we do need to remember that all who give their allegiance to Jesus are one family. And we need to act like a family.

Grow in Love

There is a passage in one of Paul's letters, where he states: "And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment." (ESV) At first, it looked like Paul was praying for growth in love, knowledge, and discernment. But, with a little more consideration, it looks more like Paul is praying for an increase in love, characterized by greater knowledge, and greater discernment.

Why would you need knowledge, and discernment, to love someone?

Well, first, do you know what love is? Nowadays, it seems like most people define love as complete acceptance. But I think the Bible defines loves as wanting, promoting, and working for the best for someone.

To love like Jesus, we do need to accept people. We can list of bunch of people, Jesus accepted:

• The women at the well.
• The women caught in adultery.
• Zaccheus.
• The rich, young ruler.

Jesus accepted them. But, because he loved them, he did not want them to stay where they were. It would be better if they moved on, gave allegiance to the Father, and live in a relationship with him.

So, we need to learn what love is. We need to know how to express it. And we need to discern what to express. Sometimes the best way to express love is with a hug. And sometimes the best way to express love is to tell someone they are messing up, what they need to do to clean up, and how to move forward.

We need knowledge, and discernment, to express love. And if we grow in knowledge, and discernment, we can express love more, and better.