One thing many pastors struggle with is how to bring discipline to the body. In our politically correct culture we are too worried and too afraid of offending people. Why? Because we have come to equate more people with more success, but we have done this at the expense of true discipleship and proper discipline that contributes to the true and long term health of the church.
Often times, as pastors, in our own insecurity we let people hang in limbo, we watch them from afar, often times because we know approaching them may not be well received, especially if they do not act as though you are their pastor…when in reality you are the closest thing they have to a pastor. Sometimes we are so busy and consumed we let things fall through the cracks…that is not an excuse, but a reality. Sometimes we ignore things in the hope that they will correct themselves. Or we justify non-action in the name of “letting God deal with it.” In reality, it is the man of God, the pastor, the elder, the overseer that God calls to deal with His flock.
In Hebrews 12:8 the scripture equates a lack of discipline to being illegitimate and not sons. God disciplines those whom He loves as sons. Discipline is not a “dirty word” it is a word that provides safety, security, and structure for growth, as a father provides for his children. In the Great Commission of Matthew 28:19 Jesus commands us to make disciples, not attendees. A disciple is a disciplined follower.
As we gather together to worship each week, we are to find our pleasure in Him, and in finding our pleasure in Him we find it in one another. As the Body of Christ, we are commanded to love one another as He has loved us, for we are joined together in Him as one.
This is a “cry to unity” to resist the carnal and cultural pressure toward self centeredness, self seeking, self gratification, and anything else that would cause us to deny or sacrifice “one another” in the name of self…anything that would disrupt or destroy the unity we are called into.
In the following short article we will go from King David to the Apostle Paul and look at the topic of unity in the Body of Christ…the One True Church. In 1 Chronicals 11 we see the kingdom turned over to David, by God, and all Israel declaring their unity. In Ephesians 5 we see Paul paint the beautiful picture of husband and wife…Christ and His bride, the church. In both of these pictures of unity the cry is this; “Indeed we are your bone and your flesh.” That is, we are no longer divided, but we are “one flesh.”
Of the sons of Issachar who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do, their chiefs were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their command; 1 Chronicles 12:32
Do we understand the times in which we live? Our nation, in many ways is more divided today than it has been in recent history. It is said; “Compromise is the art of politics.” Today that no longer seems to hold true, I believe we could say that “division has become the art of politics.” In too many ways we are a divided people.
You may wonder why I am talking about politics. I believe the political landscape is a reflection of the cultural landscape, and the cultural landscape is a reflection of the spiritual landscape. As with all things, we can come back to the doorstep of the church to find the root of those things that are out of order in our culture. As the church goes, so goes the culture.
In Matthew 5:13 Jesus declared that we are the “salt of the earth.” In the next verse He declares that we are the “light of the world.” How can the salt season what it is applied to if it has lost its flavor? It cannot. How can a light dispel darkness if it is hidden under a basket? It cannot. How can the church, called salt and light, bring the flavor of unifying love and the brightness of divine light if it has lost its flavor and hidden its light? It cannot.
Where is the grace of God in the people of God? We all want God’s grace, but we refuse to extend the very same grace we demand for ourselves. We allow offenses and misunderstandings and even disagreements to rule the day instead of God’s grace.
We all seem to be looking for something, but do we really know what it is we are seeking?” I am sure we may think we do, but if our searching is not founded on more than the passing desires of our flesh or the deepest depths of our pain, we search endlessly in vain.
We are called to seek and to search, but that seeking and that searching must be founded and rooted in our deepest desire to know Him. And in our quest for Him, we cannot help but find each other, for we are bone of His bone and flesh of His flesh (Ephesians 5:30).
The church, among other things, is referred to as a family. There is the reality of the universal, the “invisible” church, and there is the reality of the local, the very “visible” church. Christ Fellowship is a local expression of the very visible church that corporately makes up the universal church.
In Ephesians 5 Paul is writing to the local visible church at Ephesus. In these verses he is offering practical inspiration concerning proper relationships and unity, but on a deeper level he is speaking of the church, the body of Christ, in terms we must grasp.
In Ephesians 5:30-32 Paul specifically relates the church to a marriage. If we are married to Christ, then are we not joined to one another? If Christ loves and cherishes His body, the church, should we not all the more love and cherish one another, His body the church? If He will not divide, why do we divide? If He has not allowed the offenses that we have committed against Him to keep us divided and separated from Him, why do we allow offenses to divided us and separate us from one another?
The answer to why is really very simple, it is called sin. Another word we could use is unbelief. The solution is also simple, it is called repentance. Here is the reality; if He will not allow our offenses to keep us separated from Him, neither must we allow our own offenses to separate and divide us from one another. As we are in Him, let us repent, and so I am.
We, the church, are called a family, and a family has disagreements, but families do not stop being family. A husband and wife will have offenses and reasons to divide, but they must not, for they are called and commanded to be one flesh…bone of bone and flesh of flesh.
A husband does not have to ask the Lord for a sign as to weather he should leave his wife or not. He should already know what the Lord commands. He can make all kinds of excuses as to why he should, why he wants to, why the relationship is deficient, but God commands unity…oneness in the family. The same goes for wives and for parents and for children. The same goes for the church, the local body of believers. We are commanded to unity and we should repent for anything less.
In the aftermath of the battle and the death of Saul, after God had turned the kingdom over to David, all Israel came together, including the sons of Issachar who understood the times. They came together to David declaring; “Indeed we are your bone and your flesh” (1Chronicles 11:1). It is time for the church, the Body of Christ, to utter this same cry to one another and to our King. It is time for the visible church, the world is watching, to stand up as one and cry; “Indeed we are your bone and your flesh.”
Until the world sees a church, until our city sees a people willing to remain one, in spite of offenses, misunderstandings, disagreements, and miscommunications…a people willing to remain one in spite of the failing and frailty of human flesh…until they see that unified people they will not see Jesus. They will only continue to see and hear the justification of their own unbelieving hearts that say; “They are just like us, there is no difference, why should I join that?” And so, they will not.
As long as the church, from pulpit to pew, individually and corporately, continues to seek its own satisfaction, its own convenience, its own self centered desire, the world will continue to see every reason that it remains in unbelief. Until we the church, come to the place of laying down our offenses, of looking past our misunderstandings, and in spite of our disagreements, stand as one mighty man and cry to our King…”Indeed we are your bone and your flesh”…until then, the world will not see the King.
Unity in the Body of Christ is not a suggestion from the Lord, it is His heart commandment for the healthy function of His body to this end, that the world may believe the Father sent the Son (John 17:21 and 1 Corinthians 12:25).
In Ephesians 6:12, the Apostle Paul reminds us that our battle is not against flesh and blood, in other words, we are not each others enemies, and so we should not allow division, or offense, or any other thing that would give place to the true enemy to stand. In fact, in Ephesians 4, Paul instructs the church in how to grow and walk together with one another and commands the church to “give no place to the devil” (Ephesians 4:27). He commands us “do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God” (Ephesians 4:30). How do we avoid doing that? By not allowing any corrupt word to come from our mouth, but instead, what is good and necessary for building up…by imparting grace to the hearer (Ephesians 4:29). We are commanded to put away the things that are “unkind” and to “be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:31-32).
“Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us” (Ephesians 5:1-2). And as you meditate on these things remember that love is patient…love endures all things…love never fails (1 Corinthians 13:4-8).
As the church stands in unity truly the church will we be seen as one family, as one body, as one man…for in unity our witness is pure and undefiled. Not because we are many without failings, but because we are one in love…in spite of our many failings.
1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!
2 It is like the precious oil upon the head, running down on the beard, the beard of Aaron, running down on the edge of his garments.
3 It is like the dew of Hermon, descending upon the mountains of Zion; for there the LORD commanded the blessing— Life forevermore. Psalm 133
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