P1 What you need for healthy Christian discipleship - Pastoral Ministry

Ephesians 4:11-13 "And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ."

1 Timothy 4:6 "In pointing out these things to the brethren, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine which you have been following."

Introduction:

Christian leader Joseph Stowell made the following observation about the great Renaissance artist Michelangelo in his devotional book: "Day by Day with Jesus - Strength for the Journey": "Michelangelo is said to have often painted with a brush in one hand and a shielded candle in another to prevent his shadow from covering the masterpiece he was creating. As God works through us to craft His glory and gain, we must be careful that our shadows are not cast across the canvas of His work."

Today's post and the next couple of posts will deal with a very important subject: what you need for healthy Christian growth in discipleship. The clearest definition we find for "discipleship" is where Jesus expresses in Luke 9:23-24 "And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. 24 For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it." To be a disciple means to follow Jesus in attitude, in mind and in heart for the goal of becoming like Him. As a pastor, I am convinced that the hindrances to our Christian growth stems from us doing what Michelangelo in the quote above tried to avoid: namely casting our own shadows on God's continuing work of making us more and more like Jesus. 

We often will cite Ephesians 2:8-9 as one of the clearest Biblical definitions of salvation - and rightly so. In that text we see defined salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. However very few people go onto Ephesians 2:10, which deals with why the Lord calls and saves sinners: "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them." 

Healthy Christian growth is not optional for the Christian

Oddly enough, many Christians today seem satisfied with little or no progress in their Christian walk. God chose, called and convicted sinners by His Spirit to believe on Christ apart from good works for the purpose of growing up in a salvation that is to abound in good works. The overall pattern and design of the Christian life is to grow onward and upward in the Lord. Such growth may experience seasonal declines, however the vast majority of the Christian life ought to witness advances and an overall pattern of change. Passages such as 2 Peter 3:18 explicitly command us to grow up in our walk with Christ: "but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen." Peter also writes in 1 Peter 2:2 "like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation." Like the Apostle Peter, the Apostle Paul also explains the need of healthy Christian growth. Romans 12:2 is but one example - "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect." All of these passages urges Christians to pursue healthy Christian discipleship.

The urgency for healthy Christian growth is not up for debate in the scriptures. The question is: what and how do Christians grow in their Christian lives? The premise of these next few posts will be that healthy Christians make for healthy churches. God has prescribed three main ministries in the local church to ensure the spiritual healthy of Christians. Solomon writes in Ecclesiastes 4:12  "And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart." We will be exploring two chapters (Ephesians 4 and 1 Timothy 4) to discover what I am calling "the 3-braided rope" of healthy Christian growth in Christians and the church, which includes the following:

1. Pastoral ministry (1 Timothy 4; Ephesians 4:11-12)

2. Church-body life (Ephesians 4:13-24)

3. Small-groups (Ephesians 4:25-29)

So let us look first of all at how God has prescribed pastoral ministry for the healthy Christian growth of the Christian and the local church.

God has ordained pastoral ministry to be one of the three resources for healthy Christian growth

It is appropriate to be drawing these posts from Ephesians 4 and 1 Timothy 4, since both letters were written to the same church. Paul's letter to the Ephesian church was written in 60 A.D to the Ephesian congregation, urging them to be enriched in every spiritual blessing in Christ. Paul's letter to Timothy was composed 2 years later, urging him as a pastor to grow spiritually (1 Timothy 4:16) and to lead the Ephesians in ongoing spiritual growth and conduct (1 Timothy 3:15). 

When we come first of all to 1 Timothy 4, we see in general outline form the importance of pastoral ministry in the life of the Christian and the local church. Paul's point of the importance of pastoral ministry in 1 Timothy 4 can be summarized under four headings that spell out why Christians and churches need pastoral ministry for their Christian growth. We will consider these in alphabetical form:

1. Anchoring of people in God's truth. 1 Timothy 4:1-6

Christians and churches need men who will courageously and compassionately preach the truth in love. Moreover, pastors need to love their people by being present and interactive in their lives. A good pastor can provide an anchoring point for a church or a Christian who is experiencing seismic shifts. The pastor's ability to do so stems not from himself, but rather Christ working in and through him (see Colossians 1:27). 

2. Building godliness into people's lives. 1 Timothy 4:7-8

Jesus desires not only a loving church, but a loving church that love's His holiness and expresses holy love. pastors need to regularly urge their congregations onto holy lives that bear witness of God's love and transforming power (1 Peter 2:9-12; Hebrews 3:12-13; Hebrews 10:24-25; 1 Peter 5)

3. Communicating the Gospel. 1 Timothy 4:9-10

Five times in Paul's pastoral letters (1 Timothy, 2 Timothy and Titus) we find reference to these "statements worthy of all acceptance". In 1 Timothy 4:9-10 we find one of the clearest statements summarizing the Person and work of Jesus Christ as communicated in the Gospel. A pastor not only needs to feed His flock but also evangelize sinners both inside and outside the church. His purpose is undoubtedly to equip the saints to be witnesses of Christ wherever they live and work. Yet too, the pastor himself ought to be about looking for opportunities to share Jesus in personal daily interactions with people. Such practices enable the pastor to urge his people to communicate the Gospel.

So thus far we have seen how God uses pastoral ministry to encourage healthy Christian growth: anchoring people in the truth, building godliness into people's lives and communicating the Gospel. Now lets consider one final element as to why pastoral ministry is necessary for healthy Christian growth, namely....

4. Demonstrating healthy Christianity. 1 Timothy 4:11-16

If a pastor is to be effective in urging his congregation to healthy Christian growth in discipleship, he himself must live it! Paul writes in 1 Timothy 4:15-16 "Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all.16 Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you."

Closing thoughts

As we have seen today, pastoral ministry is necessary for Christian growth in discipleship. Pastors have been called by God to anchor people in His truth (1 Timothy 4:1-6); build godliness into people's lives (1 Timothy 4:7-8); communicate the gospel (1 Timothy 4:9-10) and demonstrate healthy Christianity (1 Timothy 4:11-16). In turning quickly to Ephesians 4:11-12, we find an inspired summary of why pastor ministry is among the three God-ordained methods for healthy Christian growth in Christians and the local church: "And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of thesaints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ."

How the nature of the believer is affected in their union with God in Jesus Christ

1 Peter 1:23 "for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God."

The themes of forgiveness or being made right with God are often found in discussions about the Gospel. To know that the sinner can be made legally right with God by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone is the celebrated truth of justification by faith. However, salvation does not deal only with one's legal standing before God. When one studies the New Testament's teaching on salvation, one discovers that a genuine change on the inside has occured. In salvation, the sinner is united by faith to Jesus Christ through the agency of the Holy Spirit's work of Spirit baptism (1 Corinthians 12:12-13). Spirit baptism simply refers to the point and time in salvation that the Spirit of God takes the sinner out of "Old Adam", positionally and experientially, and places them positionally and experientially in Jesus Christ. This idea of "union with Christ" is so many times overlooked and yet is central to understanding the Christian life from its inception at regeneration in saving faith and justification (i.e conversion) to the post-conversion Christian life that is to be lived out everyday (what the Bible calls "sanctification").

A far does the change within the Christian go?
According to the Apostle Peter - we are born again not by corruptible seed, but incorruptible. Many older Christian writers from the first few centuries of the early church saw an incredible truth being developed by Peter and the biblical authors as it pertains to this theme of incorruption or "non-decay".
These older Christian writers, called "the church fathers", described Christian salvation, and the effects of the change that occurs in the believer's ongoing union with Christ as experiencing the "incorruptible" life of God within the Christian. This-is-to-say, incorruption refers to how God's very life affects your life

One of those ancient writers - Athanasius (late fourth century), a very godly man who was a champion for the Christian faith, illustrates this point with a piece of straw. A piece of straw is by its nature a flammable substance. If you bring it close to a flame - it will catch fire, i.e it is subject to corruption. However if I take that piece of straw and soak it in a fireproof substance (such as asbestos), that straw will draw into itself the asbestos, taking up into it the very nature of the asbestos. Now the straw is still frail and quite small as it was before - however its nature has been changed. It is different, taking on the characteristics of an inflammable substance.

How scripture describes the Christian's humanity being affected by union with Christ
Peter writes these words in 2 Peter 1:4 "by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust." As Christians we by faith have taken into our very spirit the very life of God Himself. He lives in our human spirit. One writer has defined a Christian as a the very life of God penetrating the human soul.

To think that God Himself, in the person of the Holy Spirit, is indwelling me and affecting me as I even write this blog - is truly exciting. Through our union with Jesus in His humanity, we experience the wonderful fellowship He eternally enjoys with the Father and Spirit in His Deity. In like manner, because the Father, Spirit and Son have been forever united together, all Three Persons as One God enjoy the company of Christians by way of the Son's post-Pentecost humanity. As we saw in Athanasius' quote earlier, Christians are the little frail, pieces of straw that have been enabled and empowered by the Spirit of God to draw up into themselves the very life of God through Jesus Christ. Is it no wonder John writes in 1 John 1:3-4 "what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.4 These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete."

The importance of Jesus' post-resurrection and post-Pentecost ministries for you today

Philippians 3:9-10 "that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death;11 in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead."

What Jesus could do in His post-resurrection ministry and is doing in His post-pentecost ministries

In yesterday's post we considered how Jesus Christ in His exalted state at the right hand of the Father experiences the sufferings of Christians and empathizes with them as man while knowing all things about them as God. We explored a little bit about grasping this profound truth through the Biblical doctrine of the believer's union with Christ. 

When Jesus raised from the dead, His physical humanity experienced a radical change that enabled Him to do things that He could not do while ministering prior to the cross. Indeed, Jesus retained and still does possess a physical human nature. That nature is the one He assumed in the virgin birth/conception upon His entry from eternity into time (Luke 1:35; Hebrews 10:5-7). However, in His post-resurrection appearances, Jesus could walk through physical objects (John 20:19) and change His physical appearance (Luke 24:16) while clearly retaining a physical body (Luke 24:40-43; John 20:27). Those 40 days of post-resurrection ministry demonstrate an alteration in Jesus' humanity that gives us a glimpse into what we can look forward to as Christians when we ourselves are physically resurrected and/or transformed in our humanity at His Second coming (1 Corinthians 15:50-57; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).

The glory of all that has been said thus far is that it gets even better when we speak of Jesus' post-Pentecost ministry - i.e His current activities following His ascension into Heaven in Acts 1:10-11. As Jesus ascended into Heaven, He went into Heaven to be seated at the Father's right-hand. It must be understood that Jesus still to this day, and forevermore, will retain His physical humanity. He did not become some phantom or angel. Jesus Christ is to be forever God in human flesh. 

We saw that his human nature was altered as a result of His resurrection from the dead. However in His ascension, the wonder of what He could do in His humanity was even more expanded. 

Jesus' union with believers and their union with Him, all made possible by His post-Pentecost ministry

Time and time again the scriptures indicate that as a result of the coming Holy Spirit in Acts 2, the Person of Jesus Christ in perfect union of Deity with the Spirit could somehow communicate His glorified humanity to Christians. 

The Evangelical  Dictionary of Theology notes the following about the significance of Jesus' current union with Christians: "Current figures are employed in Scripture to illustrate thus union and identification. The vine and the branches is employed by Christ Himself in John 15:1-6. Here the union is manifested by communion, spiritual life, and fruit as a result of the union of branch and vine. The branch is in the vine and the life of the vine is in the branch. Another figure is that of the head and the body (cf. Eph 1:23-23; 4:12-16; 5:23-32). Here also there is organic union of the body and the head, depicting the living union of Christ and the church."

Life practical application of Christ's union with us and us with Him

This incredible union between the Lord Jesus Christ and believers is an amazing subject to consider. Not only is the believer's union with Jesus a profound theological truth, but moreso a practical reality regarding the believer's identity. To know that Jesus Christ is not sealed off from us in history, or in heaven, or in the pages of sacred scripture, is an exciting realization. Furthermore, Christians living down here on earth as the church militant are not sealed off from their Lord in the day-to-day struggles of life nor in times of suffering for the faith. As the God-man, Jesus Christ "gets us" and "empathizes" with us more now than He could had ever done even while here in the days of His first coming. The Post-pentecost Jesus is able by the Spirit to communicate not only His Divine presence to us but also His physical post-glorified humanity in such a way as for there to be a real union between us and Him. 

When we read the passage quoted at the beginning of today's post, Paul is expressing what amounts to an experience of Christ becoming His own. At salvation, Paul had experienced what it was like to die and rise - the old life died and the new life begun. The former Saul of Tarsus died on the road to Damascus and the New Saul of Tarsus was raised out of the tomb of sin and hatred for God to a life of living and loving God. The post-Pentecost Jesus called His name and Saul became Paul. However Paul indicates that the ongoing reality of experiencing Christ's sufferings and resurrection power includes Jesus' current experience of what believers the world-over were experiencing and how His resurrection power could transcend time and be ever available. Paul's point is to state how these amazing truths are central to being a follower of Jesus Christ. 

As we noted yesterday - whenever Jesus suffers, we suffer. Conversely, whenever we suffer, Jesus in His post-Pentecost humanity at the Father's right hand empathizes and enters into our plight. Without affecting Who He is as God, the Son takes His infinite knowledge of what our pains are and will be and chooses in His glorified humanity to experience them with us right now. I beg readers to let that final point sink in - since when you really think about it - Jesus understands! 

Explaining the Union between The Sufferings of Christ and Christian Sufferings

Acts 9:4-5 "and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” 5 And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” And He said, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting."

Introduction: The sufferings of Christ: accomplished and currently experienced by Himself and believers

Before the Apostle Paul was ever called Paul in the New Testament, he went by his birth-name "Saul". Saul of Tarsus was the sworn enemy of the early Christian movement. The events of Acts 9 occur little more than a year following Jesus' ascension into Heaven. Jesus Christ had came to earth in the virgin birth in the miracle of the incarnation or enfleshment of the Eternal Son (i.e the Eternal Son taking upon His Person a second human nature). As the God-man, Jesus Christ lived for 33 years on this earth and then suffered once and for all for sins (1 Peter 3:18). 

Scripture is very clear that the cross was a one time event, never to be repeated again. When Jesus raised from the dead, He retained His physical earthly body (albeit a glorifed resurrected body). Forty days following His resurrection, Jesus Christ ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father with Whom He has forever shared the same Divine life (Acts 1:10-11). As Jesus is now in heaven, He ever retains His glorified human body while being ever eternal Deity at the same time (Romans 1:3; 9:4-5). This truth is important, since to be our Mediator (1 Timothy 2:5), Jesus the Son must be very God and very man to represent God to believers and believers before the Father (1 John 2:1-2). 

Now why rehearse these truths about Jesus the Son? The text of Acts 9:4-5 has Jesus revealing Himself to Saul of Tarsus as a physical post-resurrected Jesus. Although Saul of Tarsus set out to persecute Christians and thus the early church, Jesus tells Saul in this appearance that his persecutions are affecting not the church - but the Son Himself! The question is: how so? Hasn't Jesus Christ already provided the sufficent basis for salvation by dying and rising from the dead? Yes. Yet Jesus Christ never intended to remain distant from the sufferings of subsequent generations of the church following His ascension into Heaven. 

The Key to Understanding What is meant by "the sufferings of Christ" is the union between Himself and Christians

When Jesus states here that Saul of Tarsus is persecuting Him, He is speaking of the way in which the Holy Spirit enables believers and their Lord to share in sweet fellowship through the mystical union that occurs in salvation. At salvation, the Holy Spirit takes me in my humanity and transfers me from Old Adam into New Adam and thus unites my humanity to Christ's as an official member of redeemed humanity - of which He is the Representative Head (Romans 5:14; 1 Corinthians 15:22,45). 

The union of the humanity of Jesus with my own and other Christians is a mysterious but nonethless real union, making us in affect related to Him as adopted brothers and sisters (Romans 8:14-16; Hebrews 2:11-15). The great 17th century Theologian Stephen Charnock explains the significance of Christ's union to us and us to Him:

"He had therefore a nature that could be compassionate towards us and victorious for us. A nature that could empathize with us, and another nature, to render such empathy (to be effective) for our relief. He has the deep feelings of a man to us and the power of God for us. A nature to disarm the devil for us and another nature to be not discouraged by the work of the devil in us and against us. If he had been only God He would not have had the experience of the sense of our misery; if He had only been man, He could not have vanquished our enemies. Had he been only God He could not have died and if He had been only man He could not have conquered death."

Life practical applications of Christ's sufferings and your sufferings

Such a close connection to Jesus Christ in His humanity means that whatever Christians go through here on earth is experienced somehow by Jesus in the heavenly realms. It is hard to say what degree and manner of suffering Jesus is undergoing in His current experience of glorified humanity. We know that Jesus is ruling and reigning as King of Kings over His church and that as our King, He chooses to be directly involved in the plights of Christians the world-over.

With regards to His Divine nature, the Son executes His Sovereign purposes and ministry to believers not in response to their suffering, but in anticipation of it. As the Person of the Son performs His work as the believer's Eternal High Priest as God, He knows exhaustively what each suffering each Christian is going to undergo - whether it be related to day to day suffering or the ultimate sufferings associated with the Gospel. 

I find it amazing how the Son through His Deity, knowing full-well what we will suffer, chooses to enter into the experience of our sufferings by way of His glorified humanity. I am sure if you're anything like me, we would prefer for Jesus to remove difficulties completely from our lives. However, the goal of our Christian walk is to be made like Him in attitude and actions. Suffering is a necessary ingredient in our becoming more like Him. In other words, when we suffer - He suffers, because when He suffered, He did so to provide sufficient grace for our own. 

It may be hard for us to wrap our minds around this these truths - however to know that as Christians we are not alone nor separated at any point from Jesus Christ is truly comforting. 

A strategy for addressing debilitating problems in American churches - Prescriptions for the problems

1 Corinthians 1:10 "Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment."

Introduction:

Over the past two posts we have been offering a strategy for addressing debilitating problems in the American church from 1 Corinthians 1. We saw that the first step had to do with focusing on the positive working of God (1 Corinthians 1:1-9). Yesterday we looked at the second major step - namely the problems needing to be addressed (1 Corinthians 1:10-17). Whenever we read the epistle of 1 Corinthians, we are reading as-it-were Jesus' prescription pad for his people. With the diagnosis in hand, what prescriptions can be offered. Paul's strategy as it was composed under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit is amazing in that it begins with the positives of God's work and ends with some prescriptions stemming from Christ's finished work. Let's briefly consider the three main prescriptions.

1. Go to the cross. 1 Corinthians 1:18; 2:1-2

We read in 1 Corinthians 1:18 "For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." Then again in 1 Corinthians 2:1-2 "And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. 2 For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified." The cross is the ground-zero of the Christian life. Not only is the cross the place the Spirit of God directs us to at salvation, but it is to be the center-of-orbit in the post-conversion Christian life or sanctification. At the cross, division, disagreements and any other unholy activities have no place. The flesh will dress itself up, nod-the-head and act spiritual before ever going to the cross. Only at the cross can the works of the flesh and the carnal tendencies towards self-centeredness be crucified (Galatians 2:20; 6:14). 

2. Emphasize the Word of God. 1 Corinthians 1:19-25

Word ministry. Plain and simple. Unless the Word of God is regularly communicated in teaching settings, preaching services or devotional times, there will be no power. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God (Romans 10:17). In the Word I hear the Savior's voice. 

3. Get involved in evangelism. 1 Corinthians 1:26-31

We read in 1 Corinthians 1:30-31 "But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, 31 so that, just as it is written, “Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.” To "boast in God" is the biblical way of saying "testifying about what God has done". When we share the Gospel - we are boasting in what the incarnate God, Jesus Christ, has achieved. I have found that when I or God's people are regularly involved in praying for and engaging in the regular evangelization of lost people, much of what passes for divisions in the church dwindles. 

Paul reminds the Corinthians that God's elective purpose of grace (1 Corinthians 1:27-29) and effectual calling of sinners unto salvation (1 Corinthians 1:26) are the basis for our evangelism. Whoever wants to get saved will get saved - plain and simple. Whenever God's choice and calling in the Gospel are wedded to a willing response to trust in Jesus - salvation occurs (John 1:12-13). As we read in Acts 18:10 "for I am with you, and no man will attack you in order to harm you, for I have many people inthis city.” Churches need to realize that there is no telling which ones God has been working in to prepare them for the moment of salvation - which is why we must go to all people. 

Closing thoughts:

As we close out today's post, we consider once more a strategy for addressing debilitating problems that occur in so many churches from 1 Corinthians 1. We first of all must begin with the positive work of God. He is working and wants to do more work in our churches. The question is: are we willing to work with Him?

Secondly, problems have to be addressed and not ignored. Then thirdly, God has prescribed the cross, the Word and evangelism for both mitigating problems that threaten to arise and forging ahead to go from God-given potential to God-ordained actuality in the Kingdom. May we all heed this strategy as given in God's Word. 

A strategy for addressing debilitating problems in American churches - Addressing problems and getting back on track with God

1 Corinthians 1:10 "Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment."

Introduction

Yesterday we began considering a strategy for addressing debilitating problems in American churches. I'll admit that in some ways I am painting with a very broad-brush. Perhaps readers of this post are dealing with context specific issues in their own church. If any readers out there are pastors, perhaps the principles being unpacked in this short series will prove helpful. Eitherway, we noted yesterday that when addressing debiliating problems in American churches (or any church in any country for that matter); we must begin with the positive work of God. God is still working in churches - even troubled ones. Unless the church and its leadership have uniformly turned away the Spirit's calling for them to conform to the will of the Father, there is always hope. We must recognize that the Lord Jesus Christ is King over His church. The Corinthian churches had many positive things still occuring in its midst. Despite the liabilities - Paul wanted to first highlight the positive workings of God in 1 Corinthians 1:1-9. With those positives outlined, we now move to the second part: the problems needing to be addressed. 

Problems needing to be addressed - 1 Corinthians 1:11-17

Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 1:11-13 "For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe’s people, that there are quarrels among you. 12 Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, “I am of Paul,” and “I of Apollos,” and “I of Cephas,” and “I of Christ.” 13 Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?" Each of the people had been influence by one gifted teacher or another. Undoubtedly we certainly must respect those who bring to us God's word (1 Thessalonians 5:12-13; Hebrews 13:7,17). The problem that the Corinthians had was they focused on the messengers, rather than the Master who sent the messengers. The attitude of competitiveness had entered into the fray. Some felt themselves superior because they had been baptized or sat under Peter's ministry (i.e Cephas). Others had been influenced by the mighty Bible teacher Apollos and still others held their allegiance to Paul. The fellowship was fractured at Corinth, debilitating its effectiveness and causing it to squander its God-given potential. 

Paul was very specific in his addressing of problems. In our American churches, we too often sweep problems under the rug. Leadership oftentimes lacks the courage needed to lead people through a time of working through issues that come about through the collective sin of people. Despite ample scriptures that detail how Christ's church ought to address its problems, churches today tend to rely on their own methods.

Jesus gave the first command to the church in Matthew 18 by reminding God's people of the need to care for one another, keep each other accountable and rescue one another from the perils of sin (Matthew 18:1-14). Jesus then lays out a simple step by step strategy: one-on-one (18:15); followed by a group helping the person to see their issue (18:16) and if refused, telling it to the church (18:17). Many churches shy away from such instructions, failing to see how such a process could benefit fellow believers. However, such a process is designed not to destroy Christians and thrust them out of the fold, but to beg them to be restored so as to reconnect them to the fold. 

Churches today preach about the Great Command in Matthew 22:37-39 about the need to love one another and the Great Commission of Matthew 28:18-20 concerning the need to evangelize the nations. However, lest we heed Jesus' Great concern in Matthew 18 - namely unity and holiness with the church walls - we will never be effective in our love nor evangelism. In Matthew 18:18-20 Jesus details the results that occur when Christians are unified. The agenda of Heaven and the activities here on earth are brought into allignment. Prayer is powerful. 

When we are made alert to our weaknesses, short-comings and problems, it can be unsettling. Yet such a process is needful if the church in America is to move forward and go from God-given potentiality to God-ordained actuality. Corinth was immersed in a pagan culture that was saturated with moral and spiritual darkness. God was calling the church to heed the call to unity and to address its problems. Likewise the American church of the 21st century is in a culture that is more pagan and no-longer Christian. Everyone in every church is responsible to one degree or another for the overall spiritual atmosphere at any given church. It truly takes pastors, leaders and people in the pew all working together in humble submission to Jesus Christ to accomplish the mission of the local church. Unless the Spirit of God is empowering every Christian and every church - all will be in vain. Once problems are addressed, repentance must occur. As 2 Chronicles 7:14 reminds us: "if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from Heaven, then will I forgive their sins and then will I heal their land." God has given us an abundant and robust method for addressing problems in our churches. When we heed what He says in His word - we will then get back on track with God.

More tommorrow.....

A strategy for addressing debilitating problems in American churches - Begin with the positives of what God is still doing

1 Corinthians 1:10 "Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment."

Introduction:

In yesterday's post we spend time considering how the American church and Christians can avoid squandering their God-given potential. We concluded that what it will take is heeding God's call to unity. Why heed such a call? By heeding God's call to unity in the local church, Christians can go from God-given potentiality to God-ordained actuality. That is to say, we can go from what could-had-been Christianity to the real Christianity demonstrated in the Bible. Today I want to explore further into 1 Corinthians 1. Undoubtedly 1 Corinthians 1:10 not only occupies the center-point of the first chapter, but really the main point of Paul's entire first Epistle to the church at Corinth. Noting what he writes in this opening section can aid us in diagnosing and addressing the all-too-common issues that plague our American churches today. 

Positives of God's ongoing work

Paul begins in 1 Corinthians 1:1-9 by noting what God has already been doing in the church at Corinth. As a pastor here in America, I hear all the time how much trouble churches are experiencing in our cities, towns and country-sides. In the particular area where I serve for example, I know of 2 churches that have closed their doors already this year. Such news can be depressing and we can almost be convinced that God is no longer working. 

However, even in churches where there are abounding problems such as discontent, leadership disagreements, declines of various sorts and the like, we must remember that God is still at work! Paul issues forth positives about the church at Corinth. She was a church that was rich in grace (1:1-3); rich in gifts (1:4-8) and rich in God (1:9). Despite all the church's issues, the Corinthians were termed by Paul as "saints" in 1:2. God had a word for this church - and that's a good thing! As long as God has a word for the church to hear, that means there is a blessing He is desiring to bestow. We musn't focus only on the ruinous outcomes and consequences caused by our collective sinfulness or poor decisions or careless words. Indeed addressing such issues are the chief point of this Epistle, but not the only point. Beginning with the positives of God's still-ongoing work must be done to give hope to people in our churches that God still desires to do even more work in their midst. 

To illustrate this point, I can recall years ago working with a team of people in a Baptist Association that was trying to help a church in a given area. Over the years the church had changed many pastors and had even shut its doors at least once and started up again. The situation was so dire that the congregation of a once thriving church of 100 people had dwindled down to 15. Once the Association had gathered various people from other churches, the process of revitalization had begun. Sadly, three months into the work, a few people in the congregation pushed back and told the team of helpers and leaders to leave.

Two friends of whom I knew personally on the team were convinced that God was not yet done. The leader over the Baptist Association, other pastors and myself all concluded that the church was going to close its doors for good. Thankfully, my two friends and four other people exercise "sanctified stubbornness" and convinced a few key people in the church to work with them. To the shock of everyone in the Baptist Association, that small congregation turned around in six-months! What man could not do - God did! God was still working - even though many people had quit working! God determines which churches remain - not man. Jesus said in Matthew 16:18 that the gates of Hell will not prevail against the church - so who are we to argue against Jesus?

Whenever you read Paul's letter to the Corinthian church, you may wonder how in the world such a church was able to still operate. There is only one answer: God had more work He wanted to do in and through that church. Paul began with the positives of what God was still doing - and I think that is what every pastor and church member and denominational leader of any stripe must do. God is Sovereign. God is Good. His will achieve the outcomes, and He expects our effort and faith to work alongside with Him in promoting His mission in every local church. Its not easy - but it is sure worth it!

More tomorrow!