Christian Unity That Transcends Division, 1/25/26

Today, from the book of 1 Corinthians, we have

an exhortation to Christian unity. That is, Christian

unity that transcends division. I'm going to

read today from verse 10 of chapter 1 through

verse 18. Hear the word of God as he speaks through

the Apostle Paul. Now I plead with you, brethren.

by the name of the 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 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.

For the message of the cross is foolishness to

those who are perishing, but to us who are being

saved. It is the power of God. Let's pray and

ask God's blessing on this time. Father, we thank

you, Lord, for this passage of Scripture, for

the clear and direct words from the Apostle Paul.

Lord, as we realize that as they were written

to the church at Corinth at the same time, Lord,

we realize that they are speaking to us. This

is your word to us as the saints of God. We pray

that we would take heed to these words. Lord,

help us to understand them. We pray, Lord, that

you would renew us in fervor, in vision, in clarity,

and Lord, in love for one another. And we pray

this in Jesus' name. Amen. I've read and preached

on the introduction and opening prayer to this

book in the last two sermons. And we've seen

that Paul loves the Corinthians. He loves them

quite dearly. And he began with a greeting as

brethren and an eloquent prayer of thanksgiving

for them, acknowledging that they have received

many wonderful gifts. From God. And that they're

eagerly waiting for the revelation of the Lord

Jesus Christ. In verse 9 he asserts the faithfulness

of God. And that they have been called into the

fellowship of Christ. The Son of God. Indeed.

As Paul tells us elsewhere. It is Jesus who is

the head of the church. And they've been united

with him. And they're called into this fellowship.

It is Christ's church. It is the called out ones

who have been bought by Christ and who are now

called into fellowship, into union with Christ

and love for the brotherhood. But alas, this

love is waxing cold. It not all is well at this

church in Corinth. There are problems. Between

one another and thus problems in the body of

Christ. This fellowship with Jesus Christ, which

also means fellowship with his body, is disjointed

and it is out of order. After this introduction

and prayer, Paul opens up with a foundational

thesis, a statement. That actually is the statement

or the summarizing statement of at least the

first four chapters. The body of believers has

developed severe dissensions and disagreements

between them which has become a source of conflict,

division, and argumentation that disrupted the

unity, the friendship, the worship, and the fellowship.

These things which were to be evidences. of God's

work and of God's grace among them. And so he

begins with a plea. And this plea is the same

that as John writes in the book of 1 John 3,

1 John 3:14

verse 14, we know that we have passed from death

to life because we love the brethren. He who

does not love his brother abides in death. When

that love and unity were disrupted, All sorts

of ills and problems entered the church. And

the testimony of Christ was sullied. It was made

dirty. And it brought disrepute. Not only on

them, but on the testimony of Jesus. Paul begins

with an appeal. It's an address. A call to the

brethren in verse 10. And this word Adelphos,

which is the Greek word for brethren, it can

mean brothers having the same father, but it

also refers to both men and women, those from

the same womb, those belonging to the same people.

We as Christians have been born again. We have

been united to Christ, and therefore we have

a close association with one another. As fellow

believers and Christians, we are united to one

another by bonds of love and affection, both

men and women. And since this is being disrupted

in this congregation here in Corinth, which could

be fairly large by this time, we don't know the

size, but it's possible, Paul deals with it head

on, and he writes plainly about this problem

in this letter, which is to be read in a congregational

meeting. One can imagine the congregation receives

this letter and they all gather together as a

church to hear from the beloved brother Paul,

Apostle Paul. Slaves, bondmen and bondwomen,

middle class and the rich, possibly even slave

owners are gathering together. The party spirit

that is among them has not yet reached such a

point that they have separated ways. Thank God.

And so he writes to them as a congregation. One

of them, probably a leader, reads this letter.

And we are privileged to have this letter in

our possession to enter into it and to hear it

as it was read to the congregation of Corinth.

As the first lines are read, the warm greeting

and the prayer and the acknowledgement of the

gifts. of God that are in them and the affirmation

that they will be confirmed to the end and stand

before the Lord Jesus Christ as blameless in

the day of Christ. That sounds wonderful. That

warms the heart. It feels good hearing this from

our beloved brother, the Apostle Paul. But then,

as their father in the faith, he speaks to them

directly just as fathers need to do sometimes.

He begins, not with harsh denunciation and flaming

rhetoric, but with a plea, a plea, an appeal

as brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

And now we'll read this verse in our first point,

the call to have no divisions and to be perfectly

joined together. This thesis, this is the word

from Paul that will guide the subject for the

next several chapters. Now I plead with you,

brethren, he says, 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. He begins with

the word plead. He says, I plead with you. I

appeal to you. This is a call to unity and address

to the ones causing and living in division. It's

an admonishment and an entreaty. I beseech you.

Paul seeks to see this Christian community continue

well. He seeks to see it established and to continue

to prosper, to be a faithful witness of Jesus

in this worldly and idolatrous city. Because

this city belongs to Christ. And he wants to

see this congregation prosper and have a wonderful

effect so that the word of God goes out through

all of the city and through the country surrounding

it. Paul wants to see the glory of Christ exalted.

And so he writes to dissipate, to bring to peace

this conflict that is in the Christian Corinthian

community. He attempts to persuade them by this

appeal. He says, I plead with you in the name

of the Lord Jesus Christ. So this appeal is given

not just in the name of Paul, not just a good

idea that Paul has about them. It is given weight

and it is given authority by Paul speaking in

the name. of our Lord Jesus Christ. By invoking

the name of Jesus, he brings the word of the

Lord of heaven and earth to bear upon them regarding

this matter. Doing this in the name of the Lord

Jesus Christ invokes the authority and the power

of Jesus himself. The scripture refers to doing

things in the name of Jesus Christ many times.

And this is because God has highly exalted Jesus

and has given him, what does Paul say in Philippians

Philippians 2:9

chapter 2 verse 9, a name that is above all other

names. Therefore God also has highly exalted

him and given him the name which is above every

name. That at the name of Jesus every knee should

bow. Of those in heaven and of those on earth

and of those. Under the earth. And that every

tongue should confess. That Jesus Christ is Lord.

To the glory of the Father. We see the authority.

We see the weight. The gravity. Of speaking in

the name of Christ. He who is Lord. Over all.

And before whom. All will bow. And acknowledge

his authority. And rulership. Furthermore this

is the name. That they were baptized into. Acts

Acts 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2 gives us an example in verse 38. Then

Peter said to them, Repent and let every one

of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ

for the remission of sins, and you shall receive

the gift of the Holy Spirit. It is through the

name of Jesus that great signs and wonders had

been done. The apostles prayed during a time

of persecution in Acts chapter 4 verse 29 saying,

Acts 4:29

Now Lord, look on their threats and grant to

your servants that with all boldness they may

speak your word by stretching out your hand to

heal and that signs and wonders may be done through

the name of your holy servant Jesus. It is in

the name of Jesus Christ that demons and evil

spirits were cast out of people. And as this

was done, the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.

Because of the humiliation and the suffering

of Christ, Paul says again in Philippians, it

is because of that, because of his suffering,

that God highly exalted him and gave him the

name that is above every name so when Paul speaks

and appeals to them in the name of Jesus Christ

it's not just some added filler words no it's

calling them to authority it's calling them to

bow before the one who stands over them in complete

rulership and authority and in his name Paul

speaks and calls them to obedience in this matter

Now he goes on. He says that you all speak the

same thing and be perfectly joined together in

the same mind and in the same judgment. Being

perfectly joined together is one word. It means

to repair or to mend, to be fitted together and

be made complete or that is mended what has been

broken or rent. The same word is used in Matthew

Matthew 4:21

4, verse 21, for an example, where the sons of

Zebedee were mending their nets. The nets had

been broken in the process of fishing, and they

were mending them. They were sewing them back

together, joining them together so that the net

would fulfill its purpose. A tearing was taking

place in the church, for schism, dissension,

divisions, strife, and envy had set in, and they

were being torn apart. Through this. This needed

to be healed. And God's people perfectly joined

together again. And so Paul appeals to them.

In the name of Jesus Christ. That they be mended.

That they be perfectly joined together. In the

same mind and judgment. So being in the same

mind and judgment. Means speaking the same thing.

This is. They were to have a common understanding.

A uniting of faith and belief. Of faith. Belief

and practice, yes, through which Christians are

one body. And this is to take place in any good

congregation of people. We are to have a common

understanding of God's word, a common confession

of who Christ is and of what we believe. This

is a uniting of faith and belief in which Christians

we are to exist and to live with one another

as a body. A body of Christ. This is biblical

unity. Now, biblical unity is not just parenting

one another. When Paul says speak the same thing,

he's not saying that you say something to one

person and you hear the same thing from everybody.

No, we're individuals. We know that. But we're

to be like -minded in faith and we're to speak

the same thing in faith and doctrine. And that

we practice. Though it can vary in exactly how

we practice things, it's all to be done in the

name of Jesus Christ and for the glory of God.

We're not to all go around just babbling the

same thing, just repeating one another in just

everyday language. We all have many different

gifts. Yes, Paul's not speaking about that here.

He's saying, in these matters, you need to be

of one mind, that you love the brethren and you

love the Lord Jesus Christ. Biblical unity is

to be where we take the various gifts that God

has given to us and they are for the edification

of all. That we do not have these gifts with

pride and division or with contention and factions.

Biblical unity refers to the oneness, the harmony

and the mutual love that God desires among his

people. It's not just a superficial agreement

or a lack of conflict or a forced uniformity.

No, it's a rich tapestry of God's gifts being

exercised in the body, but with a common faith

and a shared relationship with God through Jesus

Christ. By the Holy Spirit. That is biblical

unity. It is not a unity at all costs. It is

not fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness.

Or with false teachers. But among Christian believers.

And especially in each congregation. We must

have a unity of love of our triune God. And for

the brothers and sisters that he has placed us

with. Sovereignly. placed us with all of you

are here today by the sovereign appointment of

God where he brought you together here and he

is knitting us together and we are called to

have unity and union one with another where we

love one another fervently with a pure heart

and this is what was amiss it was being torn

asunder by factions It was being torn apart and

this needed to be mended. Now the scripture speaks

much of biblical unity. David exclaims in Psalm

133 in verse 1. Behold how good and how pleasant

it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.

Jesus prays for this unity. In his high priestly

prayer in John chapter 17, he prays this not

John 17 · chapter mention

only for his disciples, but for all who believe

in Jesus through their word, which includes us.

He says, he prays, I do not pray for these alone,

but also for those who will believe in me through

their word. What does he pray? That they may

all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I in

you, that they also may be one in us, that the

world may believe that you sent me. John 17,

John 17:20

verse 20 and 21. And as Jesus prays this prayer

in the Garden of Gethsemane just before he is

going to be arrested and tried and crucified,

then how important Must this be. It is very important.

Paul also beseeches the Ephesians. The Ephesian

Christians. In chapter 4 verse 1 through 6. He

says. I therefore the prisoner of the Lord. Beseech

you. Here again. Same thing. I beseech you. Walk

worthy of the calling with which you were called.

With all lowliness. And gentleness. With long

suffering. bearing with one another in love,

endeavoring to keep what? To keep the unity of

the spirit in the bond of peace. He goes on and

says, there is one body and one spirit, just

as you were called in one hope of your calling.

One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and

father of all. who is above all and through all

and in you all. This is the basis for shared

unity right here. It's one body, one spirit.

So brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

let us at Grace Reformed Church of Weezer speak

the same thing and let there be no divisions

among us and let us be perfectly... joined together

in the same mind and in the same judgment paul

then moves on to our second point a statement

of the problem at corinth in verse 11 through

13 this is the problem for it has been declared

to me says paul 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? Now the report from Chloe's

household, this passage is the only place in

the Bible where we hear of this woman. She was

probably a prominent member of the Corinthian

Christian Church and either had family or business

connections with Ephesus. Some of her people

were there. Could have been children, could have

been household, like employees or family in some

way. Then they were over in Ephesus, which is

across the Bosphorus Sea. Corinth being in Europe,

in Greece, and Ephesus being in Asia, in Western

Asia, just across the Bosphorus. And so they

went over there, and there they met Paul. They

conversed with him, and they reported the problems

that the Corinthian church was having to Paul,

who was living there at the time of the writing

of this letter. The problem was that of contention

and division. So division came through contentions.

This division, again, as I mentioned last week,

it's a schism. It's the word for schismata, I

believe it is. I don't have it written down again.

It's a tearing apart, this rending apart. And

it came how? Through contention. So what is contention?

It is strife. It is wrangling. It is often inspired

by envy. as chapter 3 brings out. It's where

you get into arguments and strife with one another.

And all of this is inspired by pride. As Proverbs

Proverbs 13:10

13, verse 10 says, By pride comes nothing but

contention, but with the well -advised is wisdom.

We know that pride was an issue because in chapter

4, verse 18, as Paul is wrapping up this particular

section, he says, now some are puffed up as though

I was not coming to you. In other words, pride

is an issue here. So we have pride and envy,

as chapter 3 brings out, and all of that is producing

this strife and wrangling. Now let's just move

over to chapter 3 briefly in verses 1 through

7 because this problem is recapitulated. Paul

deals with it again, but he speaks here very

plainly to them in a bit of a larger measure.

He says, And I, brethren, could not speak to

you as to spiritual people, but as to carnal,

as to babes in Christ. I fed you with milk and

not with solid food, for until now you were not

able to receive it. And even now you are still

not able, for you are still carnal. For where

there are envy, strife, and divisions among you,

are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?

For when one says, I am of Paul, and another,

I am of Apollos, are you not carnal? Who then

is Paul? And who is Apollos? But ministers, ministers

through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to

each one. I planted. Apollos watered, but God

gave the increase. So then neither he who plants

is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives

the increase. You are all wadded up tightly here

in dissension and strife with one another, setting

these ministers of Christ against each other

in these factions, and you are being carnal.

You are envying one another. You have strife

and you have these divisions. Now this word is

associated with other things as well in various

scriptures. We're going to briefly take a look

at them. What else is associated with strife

or what does strife produce or what kind of people

have this strife? Romans 13 verse 13 and 14 speaks

Romans 13:13

of it. Let us walk properly as in the day, not

in reverie and drunkenness, not in lewdness and

lust. not in strife or envy. Same word, not in

strife, but put on the Lord Jesus Christ and

make no provision for the flesh to fulfill its

lust. So here in this passage, strife is together

with lust, with envy, with lewdness, with revelry,

with drunkenness. In 1 Timothy chapter 6, verses

1 Timothy 6:3–5

3 to 5, False teachers stir up this strife. If

anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent

to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord

Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords

with godliness, he is proud, knowing nothing,

but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over

words, from which come again envy, strife, reviling,

evil suspicions. useless wranglings of men of

corrupt minds and destitute of the truth who

suppose that godliness is a means of gain. From

such, withdraw yourself. Strife is coupled together

with some other really bad things that can occur

in a group of people. Strife is also associated

with unthankfulness and with all of the sins

listed in Romans chapter 1, verse 29. As we read

Romans 1:29

of the degenerate nature of man that sinks lower

and lower, beginning with unthankfulness and

then going down and down and down into the real

dregs of sin. Paul describes that, which God

gives them over to a debased mind to do things

that are not fitting, he says, being filled.

with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality,

wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, full

of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil -mindedness.

They are whisperers, and on he goes. And finally,

there's another warning in 2 Corinthians 12,

2 Corinthians 12:20

verse 20. Even after they took care of some of

the things that Paul had written to them about

in the first chapter, there were still some who

were having a major issue. And Paul says this

in the second letter, verse 20, For I fear lest

when I come, I shall not find you such as I wish,

and that I shall be found by you such as you

do not wish, lest there be, what, contentions,

jealousies, outbursts of wrath. selfish ambitions

backbitings whisperings conceits tumults lest

when i come again my god will humble me among

you and i shall mourn for many who have sinned

before and have not repented of the uncleanness

fornication and lewdness which they practice

here again is this strife or contentions as it's

translated here truly this is no little matter

Now what was happening here, let's look at the

party spirit or the factions that had entered.

This congregation, this contention manifested

itself in a party spirit. It was in which the

congregation had developed certain factions over

against each other. These were parties of affinity

with... with certain teachers, and they differentiated

themselves with pride in their associations.

And they also fought each other with these. You

know, it was a source of, I'm of this particular

one, or I'm of that particular one. It was a

contentiousness among them. It was not just an

affiliation, not just an association of, I'm

thankful that the Lord led Paul to reveal this

truth to me. And Apollos, he ministered to me

so much, and so I have a... special warm place

in my heart for apollos but i love paul too and

i love the brethren no no no this was a real

here's a real battle between them it was there

was a lot of contention and pride in lifting

themselves up as one party over another this

was not genuine disagreement over biblical interpretation

but it became kind of like rooting for one's

home team or political party now note that many

of our founding fathers in the United States

feared this very thing in the U .S., that factions

would tear apart this new nation. John Adams

feared the party spirit would prioritize party

victory and power over truth and conviction.

that it would foster blind zeal, revenge and

division and would harden people against reason

and justice. In George Washington's farewell

address in 1796, he noted significant, he devoted

significant space to the condemning of the spirit

of party as one of the greatest threats to the

young republic. He described it as a baneful

or poisonous. and warned that excessive partisanship

would lead to several things. One was the alternate

domination of one faction over another, sharpened

by the spirit of revenge, that there would be

frightful despotism where parties seek power

rather than the common good, that there would

be regional divisions, foreign influence, and

weakened national strength, and that it would

blind, it would... Bind loyalty to party over

truth and blind them to justice and to country.

My, was he a prophet or what? As we look around

us, of course, right now we see this in really

an excessive manner. So look at Minneapolis and

the various things that are happening there.

This same thing, this same danger that they warned

of, of our body politic, is something that we

also must be warned against in the body of the

Lord Jesus Christ, in his church. And that's

exactly... What Paul is addressing here. The

same kind of thing. A domination of one faction

over another. Even having a spirit of envy or

revenge. Having divisions and a weakened congregation.

And blind loyalty to party over truth. Oh yes,

it's very possible that in a congregation the

same things can happen when factions develop.

Now, let's take a moment here and look at who

was Apollos. Apollos is mentioned here. Now,

so is Cephas, which is Peter. But it seems like

Apollos was a little bit more visible here. So

Apollos first comes on the scene in Ephesus.

It's recounted in Acts chapter 18 and verse 24

Acts 18 · chapter mention

through 28. He was a certain Jew born in Alexandria,

and he was a very eloquent man. He was mighty

in the scriptures, and he came to visit Ephesus.

He had been instructed in the way of the Lord,

and he was very fervent in spirit. He spoke and

taught accurately the things of the Lord, although

he had not yet received the Holy Spirit. He only

had the baptism of John. So he came into the

Jewish synagogues, and he began to speak boldly.

Then Aquila and Priscilla, who were co -laborers

with Paul, they heard him, so they took him aside,

and they explained the word of God to him more

accurately. When he desired to cross to Achaia,

the brethren wrote and they exhorted the disciples

to receive him. And when he arrived to Achaia,

he greatly helped those who had believed through

grace. Why? Because he vigorously refuted the

Jews publicly, showing from the scriptures that

Jesus is the Christ. God had his hand on Apollos.

He was a mighty man of the word, able to speak

in wonderful words that persuaded people. He

was a gifted man. The Corinthians... prized the

ability to speak well and to argue points not

just the church here this was known in the land

they they prized that that of sophistry and being

able to give great swelling words of wisdom this

is one of the reasons why when we go on in this

chapter Paul's going to be speaking about the

wisdom of the wise versus the wisdom of God contrasting

the the eloquence of which they were known for

with the simple truths of God's word. We're going

to be looking at that, Lord willing, next week.

The cross of Christ and the foolishness of the

cross compared to the wisdom of the world. But

Apollos, he had some of those abilities that

they admired. And so, consequently, they developed

a faction after him. I am of Apollos. Now, others

did the same then for Paul. And then some also

did for Peter. And there was even a Christ party.

Perhaps it was those who for selfish reasons

exalted Christ as being, as they were the ones

who were above the fray. We're the party that's,

we're above it all. We don't get into this. We

are of Christ and down with all of the others.

We don't know. It could have been an indicated

superiority. The scripture does not tell us.

So we just simply can imagine what. The Christ

party was. Now, let me go on quickly to say that

there is no proof that those who identified,

who were identified with the factions, had any

part to play with them. Paul, Apollos, Peter,

Christ, they were not responsible for fomenting

these. factions now that can happen in certain

places where a man or a leader or a person who

is eloquent or or who is admired can foment that

but that was not the case here this is something

that they cooked up that they desired that they

brought about through their own selfish lusts

or desires for uh well it was desires against

each other in order and provoked envy amongst

them all of the men listed here were using the

gifts that God had given to them, and they were

doing it well. The offenders used the opportunity

and pride to foster envy and division amongst

God's church. And this shows us how people can

use good things, good and wonderful things, or

good and wonderful people, but in a bad way.

This does not denigrate the people that they

are denigrating, using in a bad way. These men,

like I said, were solid and good men. They were

chosen by God. They were well endowed with gifts

by the Holy Spirit. The same thing happens today

with prominent men or with leaders of churches

or denominations or businesses or political leaders.

Now, some will incite and promote this, and that

is wrong. But others are simply gifted leaders

that God puts in a very visible place. And so

they have this position of visibility and they

attract some who foment this kind of dissension

and party spirit. So a good leader thus seeks

to put that down or to diminish it, not diminishing

his gift, but making sure that he in no way is

fomenting this kind of envy, this kind of factions,

and in fact speaks against it. And in all of

this, pride is certainly a temptation and must

be guarded against. Now there must have also

been here a misunderstanding of baptism and its

significance in verses 14 to 16 because Paul

deals with this. We're supposing here, and again

this is a supposition, that there was a mystical

understanding of baptism. That whoever baptized

them was their leader or that they had special

gifts. Because of the one who baptized them.

Perhaps it was the ones who were baptized by

Apollos who were longing for that kind of giftedness

themselves. I don't know. It's just Paul deals

here especially with baptism. And he says, I

thank God that I baptized none of you except

for these few. Crispus, Gaius, the household

of Stephanas. Besides that, I don't know if I

baptized any other. He thanks God that in God's

providence he has not baptized many of them.

Now Paul is not diminishing the need for baptism

here. Not at all. But rather that he was not

sent to baptize lest a faction should deliver.

should develop after him and so there was this

misunderstanding and he clears this up here that

the cross of Christ is the central thing that

has happened and Christ is the one that we are

to hold to we are to believe in because it is

Christ who died for us Paul didn't die for them

Apollos didn't die for them Peter didn't die

for them no They were baptized into Christ. And

so it did not matter who baptized them into the

Christian church as far as one versus the other.

And they didn't receive some special miraculous

gifts because of the one who baptized them. That

seems to be what was going on here in this misunderstanding.

Paul then moves on to the preaching of the gospel

and the efficacy of the cross of Christ in verses

17 and 18. He says, Christ sent me to preach

the gospel, not with the wisdom of words. In

other words, not with great eloquence, not with

the ability to move men by the power of his word,

but rather that it would be through the cross

of Christ. He did not in any way want to take

away from the power and the impact and the effect

of the cross of Christ. Because, he says, the

message of the cross is foolishness to those

who are perishing, except to those who are being

saved. It is the power of God. After the statement

of the problem, Paul turns to the message of

the cross of Christ, that cruel instrument of

death on which our Lord was murdered. And he

glories in the cross. The message of the cross

is that death brought forth life. And it brings

forth life in us. The cross is the power of God

to save his people. It is the demonstration of

the power of God to forgive sins. Having placed

them on Christ who died for our sins. The cross

was a shameful way of death. In the Roman time,

it was reserved for those who were really bad.

And so the effect of the cross could not be diminished

in that Christ went that way. He died the death

of the cross as an atonement for us. Lest we

should glory in ourselves, no way. We glory in

Christ alone. Is the driving message here. And

so he beseeches them. Be perfectly joined together

with the same mind. And in the same judgment.

Be reconciled to one another. Be the body of

Christ. Not a collection of factions. And so

we hear that today as well. Let's consider. a

few applications in closing. Number one, we as

believers in Christ are one in Christ and Christ

is not divided. Note that we do not get unity

by focusing on unity. But we get unity by exalting

and worshiping and serving Christ. He is the

central figure. And as we look to Him, and as

we believe in Him, and we trust in Him, we are

drawn together. And we have fellowship with one

another. He is the central figure. Not any of

the prominent leaders in His church. It must

be Christ and Christ alone. Unity is destroyed

when there are contentions, when there is envy,

and when there is strife. And so we must repent

of these when we fall into these sins and look

to Christ to bring back that unity. We are one

in Christ, and Christ is not divided. Number

two, the whole context of this passage, though,

is not speaking about false teachers. I want

to make sure that that is emphasized here. Because

false teachers are to be avoided. They are to

be confronted. They are to be taken out of the

assembly and not listened to. And so this unity,

this brotherliness, this faithfulness together

is not speaking about being joined together with

false teachers. It's very important to understand

that. This is speaking of those who are in Christ.

There is no common unity with those who are false

teachers. The same Paul writes in Galatians chapter

Galatians 1:8

1 verse 8. But if we or an angel from heaven

preach any other gospel to you than what we have

preached to you, let him be accursed. In other

words, he's saying, let him be damned. Very,

very strong language. And this was written to

a church who was being attacked by false teachers.

And they were being swayed. And Paul was very

jealous about them. And so he speaks these strong

words. Elsewhere, later in Galatians chapter

Galatians 5 · chapter mention

5, he says, I could wish that those who trouble

you would even cut themselves off. For you, brethren,

have been called to liberty. Only do not use

liberty as an occasion for the flesh, but through

love serve one another. So it's important that

we understand that there is a false unity by

which all just join together and say, oh, we're

all one. And that could even extend like, have

you heard the thing? Oh, we all worship the same

God. Jews. The Jews worship the same God. The

Muslims worship the same God. The Buddhists and

all of these. We're all just one. We're all children

of the Father and all seeking Him in our own

way. No, Jesus is the truth. He is the way. And

you cannot get to the Father if you do not come

through Christ. We must be careful to maintain

those distinctions very strongly. Christ is the

way. We have no common unity. with those who

are not in Christ. Oh, there might be some things

that we can do in the community together. You

know, there are some, you know, for example,

there are some who are outside of true Christian

faith, and yet we have some common interests

with them. We might be able to work with them

politically or even for the good of the community

because of common grace. But we are not united

together in Christ. We must maintain that distinction.

This passage is not speaking to false teachers.

Number three, well, what do we do? Why do we

disagree with one another? We have this problem.

We don't all see alike. We understand the scripture

in various ways. Later in this book, in our study

of this book, we're going to get into two things,

one of being liberty of conscience, another being

religious liberty. And there's a distinction

in them, and I'm not going to get into it all

right here, but there is a liberty to the children

of God, and it's something that we need to grant

one another. There are some, for example, Paul

speaks of the eating food offered to idols, that

there are some who cannot in good conscience

eat food that was offered to idols, even if it's

being sold in the marketplace. Their conscience

is defiled. There are others who can eat it and

say it's fine. I give the Lord praise for this.

It's God who created the food. And so there's

a disagreement about this, and yet you have to

live together as the people of God. Now this

could be a whole message in itself, and I'm not...

I don't have time to get into everything today.

I would just say that when Christians disagree,

we need to pray together. We need to be able

to give a good defense of what it is that we

see and do to it without acrimony or without

hatefulness. But in other words, to appeal to

the word of God, to persuade. There needs to

be discussion from God's word. But we also realize

that... Not all disagreements of biblical interpretation

can live together in the same local church body,

and yet we can still be Christians. There are

some things where we seek to understand one another,

but there's various understandings, especially

of secondary issues in Christ's church, and it

doesn't necessarily work real well together in

the same church body. I'll give you an example

here just in a bit. But we must at all times,

to fellow Christians, extend Christian liberty

and the liberty of conscience to one another.

Which brings me to the fourth point, and that

is, is there a time to leave a church to a local

body of Christ's church where you can believe

that they are Christians, that they are Christian

believers, but it's not a good fit for us? Is

there a time to leave a Christian church? And

I think that in the interest of peace and unity,

there are times when one should leave a church

body and associate with another. This is especially

the case where there are practical outworkings

of Christian doctrine. For example, it's one

that we use fairly commonly, such as baptism.

Should baptism only be for believers who confess

the Lord Jesus Christ with a testimony? Or is

there such a thing as household baptism, a covenantal

baptism of whole households? How that is practiced,

there are some that will see it in a different

way. Now, to the one, it can be practiced, and

yet, you know, especially comes down to leadership.

If the leadership says, Yes, we will baptize

upon belief and faith, but we will also baptize

in a covenantal baptism. Then, you know, the

views can get along as long as we accept one

another. But if a leader says, no, I absolutely

will not do covenant household baptism, then

it's more difficult for the person who has a

family and is at that church because they really

desire and believe that their children should

be baptized. You have to weigh these things,

and there are some other things like this. The

church has practices for how some of these things

work, and it may or it may not work out for your

family. Back in 1998, we left the church over

doctrinal differences, some significant ones.

Having been convinced that some of the Anabaptist

beliefs, such as non -resistance or pacifism,

as it is commonly known, was a requirement for

membership. And we no longer held to that. So

we were no longer able to maintain or to be members

of that particular congregation. We were not

in agreement with their requirements for church

membership. But they were still Christian believers.

And we still love them. And I still interact

with them to this day. But. I could not be a

member of their congregation because of these

things. When this happens, we must still treat

one another as Christian believers and not leave

with ill feelings out of spite or with hate in

our heart for our brethren. What about denominations?

That question often comes up in this because

aren't denominations factions just like this

with, you know, Paul and Peter and Cephas? They

can be, but they are not necessarily. It's actually

just a little bit of a larger frame of what I

just talked about as far as whether it's right

to leave a church or not. There are a way to

maintain our unity in Christ in all of the essentials.

but to also then dwell together in congregations

that are aligned with each other in common agreement

on secondary issues or areas that affect the

whole body, such as the method of church government

or the practices of the church regarding the

sacraments of the Lord's Supper and baptism and

a common confession regarding great doctrines

of the Bible. Now, this is something where we

long to see greater unity in the body of Christ.

But until we reach that point, by God's grace

and sovereignty, and whatever that looks like,

it seems that denominations can be, or not always

are, especially if they become very exclusive

and say, well, we're the only true church of

Christ. But they can be a way of working peacefully

with the disagreements that... and yet we have

a number of congregations that are of the same

mind in some of the secondary matters. This is

where I think the creeds and confessions are

helpful. The great ecumenical creeds, such as

the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed, and Athanasius,

they are a summary of biblical teaching on essential

Christian... doctrine which must be believed

in order to be a christian again it says they're

not scripture they are a summary of scripture

this is who christ is this is who god is this

is who the holy spirit is and so forth confessions

of faith though are then summaries of a common

understanding of various biblical teaching some

of which not all true christians are in unity

at this present time We long for the day when

we will mature in the faith in a greater way

and the Holy Spirit brings us together in a closer

union. But in our current state, it is my understanding

and practice that denominations are helpful to

maintain the distinctions that are important

while yet maintaining a Christian unity of all

Christian believers. And for this, we long. Ephesians

Ephesians 4:13

4 verse 13. 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. Christ's church may

yet be in its infancy or in an adolescent stage.

There is much we need to grow in. Much in how

we must love each other and grow in faith with

humility. And we long for the day, for the time,

when we all come to the unity of the faith and

the knowledge of Jesus, to a perfect man in Christ.

Oh Lord, hasten this day. Let's pray.