The Church At Westvue

The Church At Westvue

• Laborers• Business owners• GEDs• PhDs.• Lawyer(s?)• Poor• Rich• Young

• Old• White• Black• Yankees• Lived abroad• Never left 20 miles• “Young” Christians• “Old” Christians

I. The importance of unity (10a, 11a)

• (10a) “Now I exhort you”: (urgency) (Phlm.)• (10a, 11a) “brethren”: (nature)

– Blood is thicker than water. Ge. 13:5–8 – Ps. 133…

–Good and Pleasant–Distinguishing–Nourishing…

• (10a) “by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ”: (source)

Faith Hope Love

I. The importance of unity (10a, 11a)

• (11a) “informed by Chloe’s people”: – Not gossip!– Our responsibility! (Jude 22–23; Gal. 6:1)

II. The aspects of unity (10b)

• “that you all”: (v. 2) “No child left behind…”• “agree”: “confess” (Rm. 1:4; Ac. 8:37; Ac. 18)

– Not limited to the “good confession”…• Words, Jn. 17:20–21 • Traditions, 1 Co. 11:1–2

– Political term, “make up your differences”

II. The aspects of unity (10b)

• “and that there be no divisions among you”: – Preventative, “The condition of being divided

because of conflicting aims or objectives, division, dissension, schism” (BDAG).

– Unchecked divisions mature. Dry rot…

II. The aspects of unity (10b)

• “but that you be made complete”: – Provisional– Medical term: “knit together broken bone”

(1 Co. 12:12…18)– To cause to function well…

Jos. 8:3–8, 12–22• “in the same mind”: thoughts• “in the same judgment”: outcome of thoughts• Rv. 17:13

III. The opposite of unity (11–17)

• (11) “For I have been informed that there are quarrels among you”: Change!

• (12) “that each one of you is saying, ‘I am of…’”:– the whole body was infected. – emphasized “I” and “of…” and not Christ.

• “I am of Christ” cf. “Gospels only…”– Pauline, Apollonian, and Petrine Christians

III. The opposite of unity (11–17)

• Adventist– Advent Christian Church– Seventh Day Adventist

• African Orthodox Church• Amana Church Society• American Ethical Union• American Evangelical Christian Churches• American Rescue Workers• Anglican Orthodox Church

III. The opposite of unity (11–17)

• (13) “Has Christ been divided?”: – Fragmented, Jn. 19:23–24

III. The opposite of unity (11–17)

• (13) “Paul was not crucified for you, was he?” “Or were you baptized into the name of Paul?”:

“This phrase in the Greek implies the closest possible connection. To give money into a man’s name was to pay it into his account. To sell a slave into a man’s name was to give that slave into his undisputed possession. A soldier swore loyalty into the name of Caesar; he belonged absolutely to the Emperor. Into the name of implied utter possession (Gal. 3:29 lmt).” (Barclay, p. 16)

III. The opposite of unity (11–17)

• Servant/master confusion! Cf. 3:4–5• Contrary to mssg. and reaction

– Some rejected Paul. – Some clung to Paul and rejected others. – The correct approach: Accept Paul as

Christ’s servant

III. The opposite of unity (11–17)

• (14–16) “I thank God…”: • (17) “For Christ did not send me to baptize, but

to preach the gospel…”: – If he had been sent to baptize, would it be

necessary? (Mt. 28:19)– Even if Paul didn’t come to baptize, that

doesn’t mean it’s not necessary. (idiom)– The very passage they use to support their

doctrine destroys it, cf. v. 13.

III. The opposite of unity (11–17)

• (17) “not in cleverness of speech”: (2 Co. 10:10)• (17) “so that the cross of Christ would be made

void”: empty

IV. Lessons

• A church can die. (Rv. 2–3) Dt. 13:1, 6, 12–15 • A church can be divided in spite of an

appearance of unity.

• A church usually divides over matters not taught by Christ or His apostles, cf. vv. 11–12. – Baptism: Immersion, pouring, sprinkling?

“It was not he that obeyed the first commandment, but he that made the golden calf that caused confusion in Israel” (Alexander

Campbell).

IV. Lessons

Missionary Societies, J.H. Garrison…

“We have no account in the scriptures of any missionary society, with its President, Secretary, and Board, and therefore they are unnecessary and unauthorized innovations.”

“The ‘silence’ of the scriptures about these societies is sufficient reason for their standing aloof from their brethren in the great co-operative evangelistic movements of the age – the chief glory of the modern church!”

IV. Lessons

• A church divides when the unspiritual brethren refuse to surrender their humanly inspired opinions, cf. v. 12.

• A church is more effective in accomplishing God’s will when we do things God’s way, cf. vv. 5, 10, “complete”:

IV. Lessons

Missionary Societies: R.M. Bell…

“To facilitate evangelism they organized a missionary society. This society did not accomplish all that was hoped for, so they organized another and another. … The time came when supporters of these societies (I was one of them) were forced to admit that we were not getting the job done. The “anti” missionary group, which refused to be restructured, was running circles around us.”

IV. Lessons

• How can we know what is efficient? (Jer. 10:23)• Cf. “Division” “schism”… schizophrenia

– Arguments against the person…• A church is only as strong as its members are.