The book of 1 Corinthians opens with Paul addressing the problem of local church division. Corinthian believers were deeply at odds with one another, with some backing one leader and others supporting another.
One important reason that Paul wrote the letter was to encourage those at Corinth to seek church unity, to understand that ultimately, all believers needed to look to Christ as their leader.
Church Unity - Is Christ Divided?
1 Corinthians chapter 1, verses 11-13 reads: “For it has been declared to me...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?”
It is notable that the issue of division in the local church dates back to Biblical times. And it seems the common roots of the problem — loyalties divided among the leaders — date back that far as well. Emerging leaders in local churches often hope to be agents of positive change. But sometimes their vision of those changes are superficial, ones related to style and not substance, things that would make church more palatable to to their own taste, bringing more influence to the voices of their generation.
Church Unity - Generational Struggles Nothing New
Trouble is, these types of change are really no change at all. Inevitably, as one generation gets started as leaders in the church, there’s already another one coming up behind them. The phenomenon of the older generation battling against the young will repeat itself over and over again throughout history. According to Paul, if believers let this struggle consume them, they will lack the time and energy needed to actually do the work.
Paul's admonition in 1 Corinthians chapter 1 is a reminder that instead of wasting time fretting over petty differences, the local church should recognize that those differences are really nothing at all to fret over, but are actually the very things that make the church work.
Unity in Diversity - The Body of Christ
Looking at the fourth chapter of Ephesians, Paul details some of the different spiritual gifts given to different people, all in accordance with God’s greater plan. Why did God make some apostles and some prophets, and others pastors and teachers? “For the edifying of the body of Christ, 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.” (Ephesians 4:11-13)
He purposefully links unity with diversity because to Paul, it is all part of God’s plan to bring different people together under the banner of Christ. Notice again his language: he speaks of unity of faith and knowledge of the Son of God—meaning all personal differences are simply not important in the face of what all have in common--their need for a Savior and knowledge of their own insufficiency.
Paul references a unit of measure here, something people often do when comparing themselves to one another. But he talks about a different kind of measuring, speaking in reference to the stature of Christ. (Ephesians 4:13)
To Paul, Christians can have all knowledge, be better teachers or more motivated deacons or the most selfless givers of their money, but if they do not know Jesus, all else will mean nothing. Paul urges believers not to waste a second of their time comparing themselves to anyone else. To him, the only measurement that matters is the distance between a believer and Christ.
The Stature of the Fullness of Christ
Paul's belief was that Christians ought to ask themselves whether they reflect Christ's love in their lives. Do they demonstrate characteristics others would want to emulate? Do they live in such a way that they might lead someone to Christ by their example? What are their motives for the things they do in their church: are they trying to glorify God in their work, or are they just trying to make the church in their image like those at Corinth?
Instead of talking about church growth as if there’s some magic potion that just hasn't been discovered yet, Paul thought believers should focus instead on filling their churches with the love of Christ. He writes in Ephesians 4:16, “The whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.”
In the end, Paul's writings suggest that if more believers were focused on doing their part, and less concerned with justifying their part or explaining their part or convincing others of the rightness of their part, they would be able to accomplish more.
Sources:
- Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Jim Whitton - Jim Whitton is a happily married stay-at-home father of two children, a licensed builder and part-time business owner, and a graduate ...
