Tag: unity

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1 Corinthians Devotionals

What’s most important

1 Corinthians

It strikes me that as much as Paul is talking about the spiritual gifts, it is not his primary concern. He never goes into details on the gifts as he would have if the gifts themselves were his primary concern.

His concern is that the schisms in the church be taken out.

He reminds them again and again, “You are one body. You share the same Spirit, the same Lord, the same God. The gifts you have are to benefit all in the church. You need each other. You are to honor each other.

“Is one of you suffering? Their pain is your pain. Is one of you honored? Rejoice with them! They are part of you and you are part of them.

“You desire all these spiritual gifts. Great! But remember that you are one. So cast out the divisions among you.”

And that leads straight into 1 Corinthians 13.

How about you?

Do you value God’s church and the people in it as much as Paul did?

Or are you thinking like the Corinthians?

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Romans Devotionals

A prayer for the church

Romans

One of the things that I do daily is pray for the church. Not just the one I go to, but for God’s church in this world.

In particular, I pray for God’s church in Japan (where I live), and God’s church in the States (where I am a citizen).

Perhaps that’s why Paul’s prayer for the church in Rome really stood out to me today.

Now may the God who gives endurance and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, according to Christ Jesus, so that you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ with one mind and one voice. (Romans 15:5-6)

In chapters 14-15, Paul admonishes the church to strive for unity, and then wraps up his admonishment with that prayer.

In many ways, it echoes our Lord’s prayer for the church.

I pray not only for these (disciples), but also for those who believe in me through their word.

May they all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I am in you.

May they also be in us, so that the world may believe you sent me.

I have given them the glory you have given me, so that they may be one as we are one.

I am in them and you are in me, so that they may be made completely one, that the world may know you have sent me and have loved them as you have loved me. (John 17:20-23)

As I look in the world today, there is a lot of division in the church. We see division inside individual churches, and division between churches.

But Paul’s prayer and Jesus’ prayer was that we would be one. That we would glorify God with one mind and one voice.

Only then will we see this dying world be saved.

So let us welcome each other in love as Christ did with us. (7)

Let us build each other up, looking out for each other’s good. (2)

Let us instruct each other in God’s word. (14)

Let us strive together in prayer. (30)

And let us live in harmony with one another, glorifying God with one mind and one voice. (5-6)

That was Paul’s and Jesus’ prayer for the church in this dying world. Let’s make it ours as well.

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Acts Devotionals

United in prayer

Acts

Recently, I’ve been thinking of the importance of God’s people praying together. And so verse 14 really struck me today.

They all (the Christians) were continually united in prayer. (Acts 1:14)

How often are we, God’s people, united in prayer? How often do we pray with each other on Sunday?

I’m not just talking about the pastor praying up front. I’m talking about people taking the time to pray together before and after the service.

How often do we pray with each other during the week, praying with our wives or husbands?

How often do we call or LINE or video chat with somebody and pray with each other for our pastors, for our churches, for our communities?

Do we take the time to not only pray with people in our own church, but with our brothers and sisters in other churches?

Can I make a suggestion? Contact someone this week. Pray with them.

At church on Sunday, instead of just chatting with your friends before service starts, pray with each other.

Pray for the pastor that God would speak through him during the message.

Pray that God would use you to touch first-time visitors to your church.

Pray that he would use you to touch other people who will come to church that day, and are hurting.

As God’s people, let us unite together in prayer.

One last thing: men, read 1 Timothy 2:8. Memorize it. It is an extremely important word from God for those of us who are men.

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Philippians Devotionals

The affection of Christ

PhilippiansHope

For some reason, this verse struck me as I read it.

For God is my witness, how deeply I miss all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:8)

Oftentimes, we talk about the “love of Christ” for us so much that we almost become numb to it.

Perhaps that’s why Paul’s word choice struck me.

The word he uses for “affection” usually refers to the intestines, which may seem strange to us.

But in the Greek culture, the intestines were considered the source of compassion, tenderness, and love, much as people talk about the heart today.

In other words, Christ has a deep emotional connection towards us. When he sees us, that is his heart towards us.

And Paul told the Philippians that he shared that same affection toward them that Christ himself had for them.

The question is, how often do we see our brothers and sisters in Christ with that same affection, compassion, tenderness, and love?

Although there doesn’t seem to be the same level of disunity in the Philippian church as there was in the Corinthian church, there did seem to be some friction among some of the brothers and sisters in Philippi (see 4:2, for example).

And so Paul urged them to lay that aside their pride and selfishness, and with the same affection they had received from Christ (2:1), to be one with another, humbly serving  each other.

Instead of grumbling against and arguing with one another, Paul called them to act as children of God, who shine out in a world where there is so much friction and conflict between people. (2:14-15)

That’s what it means for the people of God to “work out their salvation with fear and trembling.”  (2:12)

For Paul, this was not merely an individual working out of one’s salvation (although that is important too). It was God’s people working out the salvation they had received in their love for one another.

How about you? How do you see your brothers and sisters at church? Do you see them with the same affection that Jesus has for them?

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Philippians

Maintaining unity in the church (Part 2)

PhilippiansHope

It’s hard to tell, sometimes, the flow of what Paul is saying.

Did he mean to divide his thoughts between verses 3-4.

Or did he mean to to keep verses 3-5 as a set?

Or perhaps the whole line of thought flows together all the way through verse 9?

I’m not sure, but as I was reading this passage, it struck me that Paul had Euodia and Syntyche in mind even as he was writing verses 4-5.

He says,

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. (Philippians 4:4-5)

In other words, “Put your focus on God. You all have put your focus on yourselves, and that’s why you can’t get past your own personal pride and settle this dispute.

“So refocus your life on God. Remember what he has done for you. Rejoice in the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross on you. And let it affect your attitude toward each other.

“Let your gentleness (ESV — “reasonableness”) be evident to all in the church as you deal with each other.”

Then he says, “The Lord is near.”

And that’s something to remember when we are in disharmony with a brother or sister in the church: the Lord is near.

For one thing, he is there present within the church. He sees your dispute with your brother or sister, and he is heartbroken by it.

How then can we continue to fight in his presence, knowing how much he has sacrificed, not only to bring us peace with God, but with each other?

For another thing, he is coming soon. He will return to this earth physically and take us to be where he is.

But if he were to come back today, and you were to stand before his throne for judgment, what would he say to you? Would he say, “Well done, good and faithful servant?”

Or would he say to you, “Why did you waste so much time fighting with your brother? Why did you waste so much time bickering with your sister?

“There was so much to do, and instead of working together to touch this world for me, you let anger and bitterness stand between you.”

What will happen to all our arguments, to all our pride when we stand before Jesus on that day? How much shame will we feel?

The Lord is near. So let us be at peace with one another and fight for unity within the church.

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Philippians

Maintaining unity in the church

PhilippiansHope

I wonder how much, as Paul was writing this letter, he was thinking about Euodia and Syntyche.

These were two women who he had worked with closely in ministry and cared about deeply. And yet there was a divide between them.

What it was that caused that divide we don’t know.

Paul certainly doesn’t take sides. Instead, he simply says,

I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to agree with each other in the Lord. (Philippians 4:2)

Throughout this letter, he had been saying things like he wanted to see the Philippians standing firm in one spirit, fighting side by side for the gospel. (Philippians 1:27)

That they should be, “like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose,” and following the example of Christ in His spirit of humility. (Philippians 2:2)

More, he encouraged them to stop complaining and arguing with each other that they might be bright lights to those around them. (Philippians 2:14-15)

He then reminds them to put aside their personal pride on who they are and what they’ve accomplished and to focus their eyes on Christ.

They were to make knowing him their chief goal. To remember that they are all citizens of heaven now and that they should live that way. (Chapter 3)

And now, having said all this, he pleads with Euodia and Syntyche to put aside their personal pride. To put aside their personal differences, whatever they may be. And to accept one another. To start working with one another once again.

If Paul were alive today, I wonder how often he would repeat those words if he saw the people in the church today. People who love the Lord and are trying to serve him, and yet because of their pride are at odds with others in the church.

I look at these words, and I feel the pain Paul is feeling. Because too many times, I see this kind of division within the church.

But even as people seeing this happen in the church, we cannot just stand still and let the problem fester. Paul said,

Yes, and I ask you, loyal yokefellow, help these women who have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life. (Philippians 4:3)

Who this “yokefellow” was, we don’t know. But Paul said, “Please help these women reconcile. Step in and do what you can to bring peace between them.”

Too often, instead of bringing peace, we take sides. Or we start to spread gossip. But if we are to have unity in the church, neither is acceptable. As Paul told the Ephesians,

Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. (Ephesians 4:3)

Are you doing that?

Or are you letting your pride get in the way of making peace with those who have hurt you or those you yourself have hurt?

When you see your brother or sister fighting with another in the church, are you letting your personal loyalty to them get in the way of trying to bring peace between them and the other party?

Too often, people don’t settle their differences. Instead, they let things simmer until things eventually blow up or one of them leaves the church. But does that bring glory to Christ?

The church is to supposed to glorify Christ and show the world who he is. But we can’t do that when there are fissures within the church.

Are you one of those fissures?

Or are you one that brings healing to those fissures?

Which one are you?

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Philippians

Living lives worthy of the gospel

PhilippiansHope

When you look at today’s title, “Living lives worthy of the gospel,” what do you think it means? To be a good Christian witness? To be sharing your faith? To live holy lives?

Certainly all these things are true. But I think that Paul has something else in mind as he wrote to the Philippians,

Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.  (Philippians 1:27a)

More than anything, he’s talking about something we’ve talked about a lot recently: unity in the church.

That phrase “conduct yourselves in a manner worthy” actually has the idea of behaving in a manner worthy of one’s status as citizens.

The Philippians had great status as citizens in the Roman empire. They had some special privileges of land ownership and were even free from having to pay certain taxes. As a result of all this, they were quite proud of their status as Roman citizens.

But Paul says, “As proud as you are of being citizens of Rome, be even prouder of the fact that you are citizens of heaven. And live that way. Live in unity as fellow citizens so that,

…whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you.  (Philippians 1:27b-28)

And Paul warned, “You will be opposed,” telling them,

For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him, since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.  (Philippians 1:29-30)

That’s a strange phrase, “It has been granted you, that is, you’ve been given this privilege of not only believing in Jesus, but also suffering for him.”

But that is exactly how the apostles saw suffering. They saw it as an occasion to rejoice.

You see this in Acts 5 when they were beaten for preaching the gospel. And you see it in Paul throughout the book of Philippians as well. They rejoiced because,

…they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name [of Jesus].  (Acts 5:41)

So part of living lives worthy of the gospel is also suffering for Christ’s sake.

But the thing is, while we may at times have to face adversity alone for the sake of Christ, Paul is primarily talking of suffering adversity together with the other believers in the church.

And he tells them that as they stand together, showing no fear, but unity in their love for God and their love for each other, that it is a sign to their opponents of their coming judgment and the Philippians’ salvation.

In other words, as their opponents saw the life that was in the Philippians through their love for Christ and each other, they would see the death that reigned in their own hearts.

But what exactly should their opponents have seen in them?

People encouraged by their union with Christ. People comforted by the love of Christ in the midst of trial. People walking in the leading and power of the Spirit.

People who are tender and compassionate even to their enemies, but especially to each other. People like-minded, loving each other, and one in spirit and purpose.

People who do nothing out of selfishness or conceit, but humble, not looking out for their own interests but for the interests of others. (Philippians 2:1-4)

That’s what it means to live lives worthy of the gospel. The question is, are we living that way? Not just as individual Christians, but as a church?

We, the church, will never make an impact on this world as long as we live as mere individuals, serving only ourselves.

It’s time to stop thinking of ourselves as mere individuals, and start living as citizens of heaven.

Remember the prayer of Jesus the night before he died.

I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.

May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me…

May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. (John 17:20-21, 23)

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Ephesians

Standing in the face of attack…together

Fighting together

We are in enemy territory. I don’t know if you know that, but we are. Paul says,

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. (Ephesians 6:12)

“This dark world.”

This world occupied by the enemy. But not human enemies. Spiritual ones. Satan and all his demons occupy this territory, and it’s because of them that we dwell in “this present darkness.” (ESV)

You don’t have to look far to see it. Morals are collapsing. What is right is considered wrong, and what is wrong is considered right. Exactly as Isaiah once talked about when he wrote,

Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. (Isaiah 5:20)

Paul said something similar to Timothy.

For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine.

Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. (2 Timothy 4:3)

We are here. This is the world we live in. This is why Paul admonishes us,

Put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. (Ephesians 6:13)

The day of evil. What does he mean by this?

I can’t help but think that he’s talking about a time of persecution. A time when Christianity will no longer be tolerated.

Already, we find it under attack in America. In Canada, there are things Christians simply cannot say on the radio or be shut down for violating “hate crime” laws.

The question is, as a church, how do we fight back?

Not through our own strength. Rather, Paul says,

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. (Ephesians 6:10)

Nor are we to rely on human weapons to fight, whether it’s literal weapons, political weapons, or weapons of mere human rhetoric. Instead, Paul says,

Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. (Ephesians 6:11)

Again, we’re not fighting humans. We’re fighting the spiritual powers behind this present darkness we are facing.

The thing I keep coming back to throughout the book of Ephesians, though, is vitally important here as well.

While certainly God calls us individually as Christians to take up the armor of God and take our stand against the devil, Paul is telling the church to do this.

Put another way, “All of you. Put on the full armor of God so that all of you, standing together, can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.”

Jesus said,

Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall. (Luke 11:17)

And if the church is divided against itself, we have no chance to stand against the enemy.

So again we come to the question of unity. God has joined us together as one body under Christ.

Satan, however, is trying to tear us apart. It’s much easier to destroy a church that is coming apart at the seams already than to destroy one that is in complete unity.

And it’s much easier to pick off a lone Christian than it is a group of Christians supporting and protecting one another.

So as we face attack in this dark world, how will we do it?

Divided? Weak? Fighting in our own strength with human weapons?

Or united as one, fighting with spiritual weapons in the strength of the Lord?

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Ephesians

Unity in marriage

happy couple

I have never really thought of this before, but as I’ve been going through Ephesians, it seems to me that this passage is merely an extension of what Paul has been saying throughout.

That is, in Christ, the church has become one, with the dividing wall of hostility that was between us being torn down.

So often, in marriage, however, the wall of hostility seems to remain. (Albeit Paul is specifically referencing the wall of hostility due to the law in Ephesians 2:14, not the wall of hostility in marriage).

We see the beginnings of this wall in Genesis chapter 3, following the fall of Adam and Eve.

God said to Eve,

Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you. (Genesis 3:16)

The words are strikingly similar both in English and Hebrew to Genesis 4:7 where God tells Cain,

Sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it. (Genesis 4:7)

God told Cain, “Sin desires to take control, but you must be the one that rules over it.”

And in the same way, ever since the time of Adam and Eve, many women have desired to take control of their marriage relationship contrary to the plan of God.

But in the end, many found themselves being the one submitting, not out of voluntary love, but merely because of their husband’s physical strength and ability to force them to submit.

And unfortunately, too many husbands do use violence and abuse to wrest control from their wives. Their wives, in turn, fight to get out from under that kind of abusive control.

The result: a completely fractured marriage, with a wall of hostility between husband and wife, even though they are both supposedly one in Christ.

What’s the solution?

Paul says,

Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior.

Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. (Ephesians 5:22-24)

We saw in Ephesians 1:22 that God placed Christ as the head of all things for the benefit of the church. And as we yield to him, we find blessing.

In the same way, God has placed the husband as the head of the wife for her benefit. And so just as the church yields to Christ, a wife is to yield to her husband.

More specifically, as a wife yields to the Lord, she is to yield to her husband. For it is in doing so that she will find blessing in her marriage.

There are many women, however, who fight their husband’s headship because they’re not finding blessing in submission. Why aren’t they finding that blessing?

In most cases it’s because we husbands forget something very important: God has not given us the leadership role in our marriages for our own selfish benefit. Rather it is for our wives’ benefit that God has given us this trust in order that we might bless them.

Paul makes this crystal clear in the next few verses,

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word… (Ephesians 5:25-26)

The ironic thing in all this? In Christ blessing the church, they become a blessing to him; they in fact become one with him.

And in the same way, when we husbands bless our wives, they become a blessing to us, and we truly become one with them as God intended from the beginning. More on this next time.

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Ephesians

That we may be one (part 2)

Ephesians

Words are powerful. They can build up. And they can tear down.

For this reason, Paul said,

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. (Ephesians 4:29)

That word, “unwholesome,” could also be translated, “putrid.” Don’t let any “putrid” words come out of your mouth.

What are putrid words? He tells us in verse 31. Words of bitterness. Words of rage. Words of slander. Words of malice.

These types of words grieve the Holy Spirit. Why? Because they tear apart the body of Christ.

Again, remember the whole key to this passage is keeping the unity of the body. And we cannot do that when we are biting and devouring each other with our words (Galatians 5:15).

So what kind of words should come out of our mouths? “Only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”

Two key points here. First, we need to really be thoughtful about the words we speak. We need to look at the people around us and think about their needs.

Too often we speak without thinking, and as a result cut and tear into the people around us. But if we take the time to think about the other person and what they need, we’re much less likely to do that.

Second, our words need to be full of grace. When it says, “that it may benefit those who listen,” it literally means, “that we may give grace to those who listen.”

What kinds of words are coming out of our mouths? Words of judgment? Words of accusation? Or words of grace?

But not only should our words express grace, so should our actions. Paul tells us in verse 32,

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. (Ephesians 4:32)

That’s not always easy. Some people are not easy to be kind and compassionate to. Some people are not easy to forgive.

But here’s the thing: neither were we. We were “children of wrath,” and under God’s judgment. And yet God poured out his kindness and his compassion on us, forgiving us our sins.

So Paul tells us,

Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. (Ephesians 5:1-2)

When we live as his children, sharing his love and kindness to those around us, we become a fragrant offering to God just as Christ was when he offered himself on the cross for us.

And when we love others, even those difficult to love, we show ourselves to truly be God’s children. As we do so, that’s when we truly become one in him.

How about you? Are you showing yourself to be a child of God each day, loving and building up those around you?

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Ephesians

That we may be one

Ephesians

As I’ve been looking at these passages this time around, I’ve been seeing them in a whole new light.

Up until now, I’ve always thought of these verses as merely touching my personal life. But as we have seen, Paul has been speaking in the context of the church.

He said that the dividing wall that stood between Jew and non-Jew was torn down, and now all Christians are to be one body in Christ, with nothing dividing us.

With that in mind, he says what he does in this passage. And his whole point is how to maintain unity within the body of Christ.

He emphasizes this right off the bat in verse 25, saying,

Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. (Ephesians 4:25)

It’s hard to be one with someone you are not truthful with. This is true in friendship, in marriage, and within the church.

I think sometimes we take the truth too lightly. We’re too quick to tell white lies.

Or we see sin in the lives of our brothers and sisters, and we fail to speak truth to them for fear of their reaction.

But as we saw in verse 15, we are to speak the truth, in love, so that they may be built up.

By the way, that’s an important point. Many people pride themselves on being “brutally honest.”

But what is the purpose of being “brutally honest”? For most, it’s to tear down the other person. And if that’s your purpose, you’re better off keeping your mouth shut until your attitude is right.

When you can honestly say before God, “I’m telling them this because I love them and want to build them up,” then that’s the time to speak.

Paul then says,

“In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. (Ephesians 4:26-27)

It’s okay to be angry. But how do you deal with it? Do you unthinkingly just blast the other person? Or do you let it simmer in your heart, letting bitterness take root within you?

Both are wrong, and by doing so, you let Satan have a foothold in your life.

But again, Paul is talking primarily to the church. And the thing to remember is that when people in the church let anger take root in their hearts, they are giving Satan a foothold in the church itself, to divide and destroy it.

Paul then says,

He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need. (Ephesians 4:28)

Here we see an important principle: It’s not good enough to stop doing evil to one another; we are to do good to one another, and again, the goal is the building up of Christ’s body.

I’ll stop here for now and continue this tomorrow, but for now, here’s the thing to think about: Are your actions unifying Christ’s body, or dividing it? Are your actions building up Christ’s body or tearing it down?

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Ephesians

Keeping our unity

Ephesians

Paul has spent the last three chapters talking about how we have all been made one in Christ. That though Jews and non-Jews had been divided under the Old Covenant, in Christ, the dividing wall was smashed and we are all now one body under one Head.

And in that context, Paul then says,

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. (Ephesians 4:1)

Again, it would be helpful to remember that these are plural “yous.” He’s saying, I urge you all as a church, to live a life worthy of the calling you all as a church have received.

What calling is that? To be one body in Christ. To be a body in which God declares his wisdom and glory to the world.

And all the rest of the book is with that idea in mind. How do we live as that body? How do we be a body in which we can declare God’s wisdom and glory to the world? Paul tells us.

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. (Ephesians 4:2-3)

Be completely humble. That one’s a tough one for me. It’s so easy for me, having been a Christian for as long as I have, and having learned all that I have over the years, to become proud.

But the truth is, I’m still learning. I still make mistakes. I still fail. I still sin. God reminded me of that this past week. And so as I deal with others, I need to remember these things about myself.

With that humility should come a gentleness as I deal with others’ mistakes, failings, and sins. And a patience as well, knowing that God has been utterly patient with me.

That means I need to be bearing with others’ mistakes, failures, and weaknesses, loving them all the while, and not looking down on them or despising them.

He then says, “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit.”

We are one. God has made us one.

But it takes effort to remain one and not break apart. Because of our sinful tendencies, unity is in constant danger of entropy. And it takes a vigilant watchfulness and effort on our part to keep it all together in the bond of peace.

I like how the ESV puts it, be, “eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit.”

Are we eager to do that? Or are we rather eager to put others down, to tear them apart for their weaknesses and failures?

Paul reminds us again,

There is one body and one Spirit–just as you were called to one hope when you were called– one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. (Ephesians 4:4-6)

In short, we are all one body. We share the same Holy Spirit who dwells in us all. We share the same hope in Christ. We share the same Lord Jesus who saved us.

We share the same faith. We share the same baptism into Christ. We share the same Father who rules over us all, who works through us all, and is in us all.

So how can we then tear each other apart?

Satan delights in a divided church. A divided church cannot display the wisdom and glory of God to the world.

So let us put away a divisive spirit among us. God has made us one. Let us make every effort then to remain one.

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1 Corinthians

Gifts given to unite, not divide

1 Corinthians

As I read this passage, I can’t help but think that Paul still had in the back of his mind the problems of division within the Corinthian church.

He had already dealt with it twice in this letter, and though he doesn’t specifically criticize the Corinthians for being divided about spiritual gifts, I think he saw a very real danger of that problem seeping into the church.

I can hardly question his judgment because we see that kind of division today.

So from the very beginning, he makes clear that our gifts should not be used to divide the church but unite it.

He says,

There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord.

There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. (1 Corinthians 12:4-6)

I don’t think I’ve ever noticed this before, but we see the Trinity in the gifts of the Spirit very clearly here.

Different gifts, same (Holy) Spirit.

Different kinds of service, same Lord (Jesus).

Different kinds of working, same God (the Father).

And I think Paul’s point was that just as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have different functions and yet remain the one God, so our gifts may be different, but we should remain one as a church in heart and mind.

He makes this crystal clear in the very next verse, saying,

Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. (1 Corinthians 12:7)

Notice here that the gifts are not given to us for our own personal benefit, as most gifts are. Rather, each gift was given to us to benefit the people around us, especially our brothers and sisters in Christ.

And so once again, there should be no selfishness in our thinking when we consider the gifts of the Spirit. Rather, we should always be thinking, “How can I use these gifts God has given me to benefit others?”

What does this mean for us practically? There’s no room for pride or jealousy when it comes to spiritual gifts.

Paul says on one hand,

If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body.

And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. (1 Corinthians 12:15-16)

Yet some people in their jealousy for others’ gifts act this way.

They get bitter because they don’t like the gifts that God has given them. Or they see others that seem to have the same gift they do but in greater proportion.

As a result, it drives a wedge between them and God and between them and that other person.

Paul then points out the opposite problem,

The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” (1 Corinthians 12:21)

In this case, people look down on others with “lesser” spiritual gifts or gifting and basically brush them off as being unnecessary or unimportant.

Both attitudes are wrong, and both attitudes bring division in the church. And ironically, it all comes about because of gifts that were meant to unite us.

This is getting long, so I’ll continue this discussion in the next few blogs, but for now, ask yourself, “What is my attitude toward others? Are my attitudes concerning my gifts and the gifts of others causing unity in my church, or division?”

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1 Corinthians

Communion with Christ and each other

1 Corinthians

This is a passage that people often hear during communion. Paul writes,

For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.”

In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” (1 Corinthians 11:23-25)

It can be easy for us to take communion mindlessly, to treat it as a simple religious ritual. And for the Corinthians, that’s exactly what they did, leading them to defile the communion table by how they treated the poor among them.

But Jesus said, “When you do this, when you take the bread and drink the wine, remember me.

Remember that I gave up everything for you. Remember that I poured out my blood so that your sins could be covered and we could be reconciled.”

As we remember what he did for us, though, we need to remember that he also died for our brothers and sisters as well. That they are precious in his sight too.

So then, communion should be a time that not only brings us closer to Jesus, but closer to each other as well.

And while we should remember that Christ died to reconcile us to God, we should also remember that Jesus died to bring us reconciliation with one another, that we should be all one.

Paul wrote in Ephesians,

For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility. (Ephesians 2:14)

Now to be clear, Paul was talking about the barrier between Jew and Gentile, the barrier being the law of Moses and all its requirements.

But the principle still stands, there should be no division between any Christian, whether it’s because of race, social status, or whatever.

Paul goes on to say,

His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. (Ephesians 2:15-16)

Again, Paul’s point is that whether Jew or Gentile, all now come to God through the cross, not the law. And because of that there should be no division between Jew and Gentile.

But it is no stretch to say that Christ not only died so that Jews and Gentiles would be one, but that all believers would be one.

For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.

Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household. (Ephesians 2:18-19)

None of us should be considered outsiders in the church of Christ.

Whether Jew or Gentile, as Paul is primarily saying here, whether rich or poor, whether high in social status or low, Christ died that we might be one with God, and with each other.

Part of our remembering Christ during communion is remembering this one crucial truth.

Do you? When you take communion, are you only thinking about your relationship with God? Or are you thinking about your relationship with others?

As you take communion, how is your relationship with your brothers and sisters in the church? Not just in the local congregation you attend, but with all the brothers and sisters you are in contact with?

I’m not just talking about discrimination. I’m asking if your relationships are right with the Christians around you? Or are you holding hurts or bitterness towards anyone?

If so, you need to get it right. To not do so, and then to take communion would be to eat and drink judgment on yourself. (1 Corinthians 11:27-29)

How about you? Are you one, not only with Christ, but with your brothers and sisters as well?

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Acts

Unity, power, and grace

Acts

What is the church supposed to look like? I think we get a picture of it here.

Unity.

All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. (Acts 4:32)

How many churches can say this of themselves? One in heart and mind. One to the point that they didn’t even see their possessions as their own.

All they had belonged to the Lord, and whenever they saw need among their brothers and sisters, they shared what they had to the point that there were no needy persons among them.

But nowadays, many people in the church don’t think that way. When they hear about tithing, they get offended, and say, “It’s my money. All this about tithing is Old Testament law. It has no relevance to me.”

I’d agree that tithing is Old Testament law, and that we are not bound to it.

But to say that it’s your money is not true. God ultimately is the one who made you able to earn your money, giving you your gifts and your talents. So anything you earn off of those gifts and talents ultimately belong to him.

The early church recognized this, and because of it, they were generous with what God had given them, and as a result, there was much…

Grace.

As it says in verse 33,

Much grace was upon them all. (Acts 4:33b)

God, of course, shows much grace to us directly, forgiving our sins, and showering his blessings on us every day.

What we need to remember, however, is that God desires us to be agents of his grace. He wants us to share the grace we have received with others.

But when we are self-centered, holding on to the things God has freely given us, the pipeline of grace gets clogged.

On the other hand, if we get our eyes off ourselves and on to others, grace flows freely within the church.

Power.

With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. (Acts 4:33a)

Power included miracles as well as the Spirit-infused power of their witness turning them from ordinary, uneducated fishermen into people that turned the world upside-down.

The same Spirit that did that back then can do it today. We need to be praying for that. Not only for the miracles of healings, but for the miracles of changed lives as the Spirit speaks through those who bring us the Word.

A pastor’s words are nothing if they are not infused by the Spirit of God. So let’s pray for our pastors that they would be filled with God’s Spirit, and that he would speak his words through them.

But let’s also pray that God would speak through us as well as we touch the lives of those around us. After all, we are God’s priests to the world too.

Unity, grace, and power. May Christ’s church be filled with these things like it was 2000 years ago.

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Acts

Together and in one accord

Acts

As I wrap up this section, the words that strike me are in verses 44 and 46: They were “together” and in “one accord” (KJV).

It comes back to what was said in verse 42, really.

They devoted themselves to the…fellowship. (Acts 2:42)

They considered time with each other to be important, and so they made it a point to be together with each other.

This does not just mean once a week at the temple. They were meeting daily, not only at the temple, but at each other’s homes.

More, they truly cared for each other. If they saw other brothers and sisters in need, they were quick to help them.

And they were in one accord. I really like that translation in the King James. It gives the idea that the Christians lived in harmony with one another. Or as the NASB puts it, they were of “one mind.”

Does this mean they always agreed? No. Does this mean they never fought or argued? No.

But in the end, they were able to look past their differences and see each other as brothers and sisters. They were able to see that they actually needed each other. And they devoted themselves to each other.

So often Christians say that married couples need to be committed to each other even during the hard times. Even through their disagreements. Even through the hurts they sometimes cause each other. And this is true.

But how often do these same Christians walk away from relationships from each other, and it never crosses their minds that God calls us to be committed to each other too.

We are to be committed to each other even during the hard times. Even through our disagreements. And even through the hurts we sometimes cause each other.

Like a marriage, this requires commitment. It requires hard work. But like a marriage, if we are committed to each other and put in the hard work, the rewards are vast.

Ultimately, we will be blessed by staying committed to each other. But even more than that, the world will see the love we have for each other and be attracted to Christ because of it.

That’s what happened in the early church. Because of the love and unity among God’s people, and all that God was doing among them,

The Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. (Acts 2:47)

The church has many problems; that is true. As long as the church has people in it, there will always be problems.

Why?

Because Jesus didn’t come for perfect people. He came for the sick. He came for the broken.

Pastors and leaders will make mistakes. People in the church will hurt each other.

But will you commit yourself to them anyway? Will you lay aside your pride, and put in the hard work needed to work through the problems you have with others in the church? If not for your sake, for Jesus’ sake?

Let us always remember the words of our Lord.

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.

By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another. (John 13:34-35)

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Acts

Devoted to praying…together

Acts

Before I get into today’s topic, a note.

I’ve been thinking about the last few blogs I’ve written, and praying about whether I’ve been perhaps too harsh on those who are “Dones.”

I’m honestly not sure.

Here’s what I can say: I know that there are many people who leave the church because they have been hurt by others in the church. On that level, I have sympathy for them.

But to me, the answer is not to abandon the fellowship of believers. Learning to forgive is difficult and painful. But if we truly love and desire to follow Christ, it is a lesson we need to learn.

Why? Number one, to live in bitterness, anger, and unforgiveness grieves the Holy Spirit. (Ephesians 4:29-32)

And you know that if you’re grieving the Holy Spirit, you’re grieving the Father and Jesus too.

Second, if we don’t learn to do this, what message are we sending to the world when Christ’s own people can’t love and forgive each other?

I suppose the people who I have the most problems with are the “Dones” who have hardened their hearts to the Word of God, and the “Dones” who simply feel they don’t need the body of Christ.

People who in the words of Paul, say to the “hands”, “feet”, and other parts of the body, “I don’t need you.” (1 Corinthians 12:21)

If there was one person who might have been able to say that, it was Paul.

He was out in the world doing ministry. He was spreading the gospel, going here and there to do God’s work. In that sense, I don’t think he had a “home church” that he went to every week.

Nevertheless, he had a passion for fellowship. He always longed to be with his fellow believers. (Romans 1:10-12, 2 Corinthians 1:15-16; Philippians 1:8)

His main reason? He wanted to give to them what he could. (Romans 1:11; 2 Corinthians 1:15)

In other words, he recognized they needed him.

More, he affirmed his need for them, especially in their prayers, but also in their encouragement. (Ephesians 6:19-20; Colossians 4:3; 1 Thessalonians 5:25; 2 Thessalonians 3:1-2; Romans 1:12)

For a person to say, “I don’t need the church,” is both arrogant and selfish.

Arrogant in the sense that we all need each other. Selfish in the sense that even if they feel they don’t need us, we need them. We all have a part to play in the body.

Anyway, back to the passage from Acts. It says that the people were devoted to prayer. It occurs to me that this does not mean just in their prayer closet. In the context, the idea is of people praying together.

Why is it important to pray together, not just by yourself?

I think the main reason is that in doing so, not only are we aligning ourselves with God, but we are aligning ourselves with each other.

We are fulfilling the words of Christ when he prayed that we would be one as he and the Father are one. (John 17:20-21)

This was the practice of the church from the very beginning. (Acts 1:14)

And when the church is united, we can do great things for the kingdom of God.

But when we are divided, saying we don’t need each other, and biting and devouring each other, we are rendered weak and powerless to Satan’s great delight.

Let us not be that way. Let us be united as Christ’s church.

We don’t always have to agree on everything. We don’t always have to do ministry the same way. But let us declare our love and need for each other.

And as we do, Satan’s kingdom will be brought to its knees, and Jesus Christ will be exalted in our lives and in this world to the glory of God the Father.

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John John 17

Jesus’ desire for us

John

I wonder just how much people in the church really know the deepest desires of Jesus?

We saw one of those desires a few days ago, that he really desired an intimate relationship with us. That eternal life is all about drawing close to him, knowing him, and being known by him.

But that’s not his only desire for us. He desires us to be in complete unity with our brothers and sisters in Christ. He prayed,

My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.

May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me.

May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. (John 17:20–23)

Jesus desires that we have the same kind of relationship with each other as he does with the Father. A relationship where we are one. What does that mean?

Part of that means unity in purpose. That we are all working together toward the same goal: the preaching of the gospel.

But I think it also means a relationship where we are honoring each other above ourselves. Where we’re looking out for each other’s interests above our own. (Philippians 2:3–4)

But too often, we don’t live that way. And when people walk into the church, they see the same bickering, resentful spirit that they see outside the church. The result? They walk away.

Meanwhile, the people in the church are so self-involved, they don’t even notice what just happened. And because of that Jesus grieves.

How much do you grieve Jesus by how you treat others in the church? By the jealousy, the backbiting, and the resentment you hold in your heart.

Not only are we hurting him, but we hurt ourselves. Worse, we cause the world around us to continue stumbling in the dark because they’re convinced they won’t find any light in the church.

How about you? Are you one with those in your church?

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Proverbs

Learning from the small and weak

It’s very easy for us to look down on people or things that appear small or weak.

But Agur was not one who would make that mistake.  He looked at four small creatures, and from them found wisdom.

From the ant, he learned the wisdom to plan ahead.  To work hard storing up food in the summer, to make sure they would have enough for the lean times in the winter.

So often, people don’t have the wisdom to do this.  They spend all that they have on the pleasures of the here and now, and when trouble strikes, whether it’s a bad economy, a sudden layoff, or whatever it may be, they find themselves in deep trouble.

From the coney, he learned the need to find a place of safety because he realized his own weaknesses.

A coney can do little to protect itself from its enemies, and so it hides out in the crags where its enemies can’t get it.

In the same way, we too are weak.  On our own, we can’t fight the enemy of our souls.

And so we hide ourselves in the “rock that is higher than I (Psalm 61:2),” and make God our refuge and strength.

In His strength, not only can we survive the attacks of the enemy, we can overcome.

From the locust, he learned the importance of organization and unity.  By operating this way, they are capable of doing great damage.

In the same way, the body of Christ can do great damage to the kingdom of hell if we will just organize and walk together in unity.

Unlike the locust, however, we do have a King, and it is under his orders that we march.

From the lizard, he learned cautiousness and elusiveness.  Though it is small enough to be captured by a hand, it is cautious and elusive enough to avoid being caught.

In the same way, we should be careful to avoid the hand of the devil in all his schemes against us.

Peter put it this way,

Be self-controlled and alert.  Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.  (1 Peter 5:8)

The thing to remember is Satan doesn’t play fair.  And it’s especially in your times of weakness that he’ll attack.  But we also need to be aware in our times of “strength.”

For it’s in our time of strength that we can become complacent, and unwary.  (Just think about David in 2 Samuel 11).

So let us pray as Jesus commanded us,

Deliver us from the evil one.  (Matthew 6:13)

How about you?  Are you as wise as these creatures?

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Psalms

Unity

Psalms

As the pilgrims continued their ascent up to Jerusalem to worship at the temple, they sang about something that is vital for the church today.  Unity.

David wrote,

How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity! (Psalm 133:1)

Unity truly is a beautiful thing in the church of Christ.  Disunity and dissent, on the other hand, is an ugly stain on the church.

When people can walk into the church, and see a people united in the love of Christ, it draws them in and makes them want to become a part of it.

But when people walk into a church and see complaining, bitterness, gossip, and backbiting, nothing will chase them away faster.  It leaves a foul taste in their mouth, as they ask, “Is the church any different from the world out there?”

That’s why Jesus told his disciples,

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.

By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.  (John 13:34-35)

Later, Jesus prayed for the church asking,

…that they may all be one ; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.  (John 17:21)

Through unity, those outside the church see Christ in us, and can come to know God’s blessing.  But not only are those outside the church blessed, so are those inside the church.

David writes,

It (that is unity) is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron’s beard, down upon the collar of his robes.  (Psalm 133:2)

The oil referred to is the anointing oil of the priests, a very pleasant mixture of myrrh, cinnamon, calamus, and cassia.

David writes that for the priest (Aaron, of course, was Israel’s first high priest), unity is like being anointed with that mixture.

And for pastors today, to see a church united under Christ, loving each other and serving each other as Christ commanded, brings joy to their hearts.

Oil is also a sign of the Holy Spirit.  And as people are led by the Spirit, we see the fruit that comes from him leading to unity.  Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control.

A united church is filled with this kind of fruit.

David goes on to say,

It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion.  (3a)

The picture is of dew from a higher mountain (Hermon) descending on the lower (Zion).  A dew that refreshes and cleanses.

That’s what unity does in a church.  It refreshes all who go there and leaves them feeling clean, touched by the hand of God.

David closes by singing,

For there the LORD bestows his blessing, even life forevermore.  (3b)

For the church that is united under Christ, God’s blessing is upon them.  And all who walk in their fellowship will find the life that comes from God.

What kind of church are you going to?  Are you going to a church united under Christ, bearing his fruit?  Or to one divided?

Are you contributing to your church’s unity?  Or are you tearing it down?