Dealing with Disunity in Christ's Church (Pt. 2)

This post is the second part in a series of posts considering Four Strategies to Deal with Disunity found in 1 Corinthians 1:10-17. To follow along, here is Part 1.

The First Strategy: Exhort Unity, v. 10

Verse 10 is an exhortation for the brethren. Paul writes, “I exhort you, brethren.” Did you know that 27 times Paul uses the plural word “brethren” in this letter more than another other letter he wrote by far? He consistently reminds them they are brothers in Christ because brethren are to live in unity. Psalm 133:1 declares, “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity!” Paul even punctuates his exhortation “by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” The name of Christ had already been amply referenced in the opening 9 verses of the letter. Christians belong to Christ, have received grace in Christ, and have Christ as Lord. Here Paul was urging them as brothers in Christ, and as an Apostle of Christ who represents Christ, through the name of Christ, to be unified! This is a strong exhortation!

Unity is something we need to urge and remind our people of its great value. Those concerned for the strength of the church must know that a divided house cannot stand, Matthew 12:25. It is a sad reality, but one confirmed by my 23 years of pastoral experience, that some seemingly mature and committed Christians walk into our local churches voicing pleasant words publicly while harboring their own agenda and a dissenting heart privately. Because of the threat, we must continue to exhort unity. Ephesians 4:3 is another strong exhortation. It urges all believers in the church, “(be) diligent to preserve the unity of Spirit in the bond of peace.” Unity should be urged and diligently preserved.

To know how to urge unity better, let us briefly consider Paul’s three exhortations:

First Exhortation:

First, Paul exhorts the Corinthians to “all agree.” That seems like a tall order! How can you get people, even in church, to all agree? What a task! And do we really have to agree about everything?

The word “agree” literally means “to say the same thing as.” Some scholars point out that this phrase had a political connotation in first century Greek. It meant to get everyone on the same side, as you would in politics. In other words, there was to be no dissenting voice at Corinth and certainly no war of words. “Don’t be at each other’s throats,” is the idea. Instead, be allies! Be compatriots; not squabbling soldiers of the cross. Dr. Garland in the Baker Exegetical Commentary explains, “They are to be like a chorus singing from the same page of music, not like a cat’s concert with each howling his or her own cacophonous tune.”

Second Exhortation

Second, Paul exhorts that there be no divisions. The word “divisions” is “scismata.” We get our word “schism” from it. Matthew 9:16 provides us with an everyday image of a schism. There, Jesus taught, "… no one puts a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch pulls away from the garment, and a worse tear (same word) results.” A schism, then, is a pulling away – a rip – a tear between people.

In the church at Corinth the term does not mean that there was any actual physical separation yet. We can surmise that because the same word is also used in 1 Corinthians 11:18 where Paul writes, “For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that divisions exist among you; and in part I believe it.” They were still meeting together as one church. These divisions had not yet caused them physical separation! At this stage division was manifesting itself more like cliques and strife, not splits into two or three churches. They worshipped together, but they were bickering and jockeying for position. There was no formal tear in the church, but there was a tear in relationships. That is instructive because that is where church splits often start – with rips in key relationships in the church.

Furthermore, to put this exhortation by Paul in its proper context, we need to understand, that these dissensions were not centered around doctrinal controversies at Corinth. Rather, their dissensions resulted more from banding around certain well-known personalities. We glean that insight from v. 12 where Paul lists the celebrated leaders. The church people had divided loyalties to different leaders.

Why were they doing this? At the base of all this disharmony was the influence of pagan society. That influence came from the Greek concept of the great philosophers and their cherished wisdom. Greeks valued wisdom above all. They also highly valued the philosopher’s skill at oration, their ability to speak wisdom eloquently, and persuade a crowd with great power. Thistelton’s commentary points this out. “… this trait mirrors power struggles in the city-states of the Greco-Roman world of Paul’s day. Corinth represented an especially competitive and status-obsessed culture. Clearly their groupings within church life carried over these pre-conversion cultural traits.”

They had accepted a secular model of leadership centered on strong or significant personalities and worldly wisdom rather than on the divine truth of the cross. That is why Paul takes up so much space in chapter 1 and 2 writing about the difference between true wisdom from God and the world’s wisdom. They boasted in the great names of their favorite or founding teachers in order to exalt themselves over others. Paul brought them back to the unity of the cross! Notice how strongly Paul writes, “There are to be no divisions!” It is a categorical rejection of any division at all!

One other contextual note helps us to understand this dynamic. The key leaders/personalities themselves were NOT participating in or advocating these divisions. In fact, quite the opposite was true since Paul affirms Apollos in this very letter twice, 3:5-9; 16:12. This pompous display was more of a grassroots problem that needed uprooting, because the carnality of this local church put it in danger of ripping apart.

Such is the sad end of many a church today. We have all seen it, and many of us have come from backgrounds where we have experienced it. Many churches are no longer one, but two or three. They do not worship together. They are at odds with each other, and their testimony to the world around it has been largely lost. Yet years ago, they started out unified.

Third Exhortation

The third exhortation rounds the first two out. Paul urges them to be made complete. The word “complete” means to mend or to fix, like the mending of fishnets after a tear. The term was also used for setting bones and came to mean the resetting of relationships in a metaphorical sense. Rogers & Rogers Linguistic and Exegetical Key to the NT gives this insight, “to put in order, to restore to its former condition, to put into proper condition.” That is what they were to do immediately, to restore or mend their church by focusing on Christ and good relationships. Completion involved being “in the same mind and in the same judgment.” Both in their thinking and in their expressed opinions they were to find agreement. That is how they would be mended.

Paul was calling for real agreement not just external conformity. There was to be a genuine unity not just some organizational conformity. Some churches boast of their unity, but it is an organizational façade in which opinions sharply divide on major issues. Superficial unity will. not fulfill what the Holy Spirit desires for the local church.

Our unity, of course, allows for differences in opinions on smaller matters and in the giftedness and ministry styles of people in the church. Paul was not calling for complete uniformity in how they conducted their families or ministries. The teaching in chapter 12 about the diversity of the body of Christ will make that clear. We all have a different role to play in the body of Christ. God is not seeking a bland unity – a replica of each other, otherwise we would all be noses or hands and there would be no diversity in the body. Personal opinions and different contributions are still invited and needed. However, our common relationship in the body of Christ and our common purpose must be in agreement and working in the same direction. Philippians 2:2 also makes this clear, “Make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.”

Harmony in church is something to urge and work towards constantly. One strategy we use at our church is to put our leaders in training together, not just to learn the same doctrine and philosophy of ministry, but to have the same care for one another. No sub group is allowed to be dominated or controlled primarily by one teacher or leader. We also practice weekly prayer together on the part of the elders and other leaders. Praying together, though not guaranteeing unity, helps to encourage having the same heart towards the church. We have a significantly diverse church, yet we all are working together for the gospel. We urge people to crossover society’s barriers and get to know brothers and sisters from different backgrounds.

Exhorting unity is a start, but not enough to preserve unity. Stronger actions are sometimes needed.