Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to dumb idols. Therefore I want you to know that no-one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, ‘Jesus be cursed,’ and no-one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit.
1 Corinthians 12:1-3 NIVUK
As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
Ephesians 4:1-6 NIVUK
Right at the start of Paul’s plea for the Corinthian church to be united, as he’s remonstrating with them for their attempt to form cults of personality, he says three words that are really pretty shocking:
Is Christ divided?
1 Corinthians 1:13 NIVUK
Why would he say something like that?
Well, there are three reasons.
Firstly, he argues elsewhere in his letters, as we saw earlier, that God's purpose is to reconcile all things under Christ.
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfilment – to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.
Ephesians 1:7-10 NIVUK
So, when Christians resist that call and are divided, then it looks like they have received the gravitational pull from different parts of Christ that are, in fact, divided and dismembered.
Secondly, because, as we will later see, Paul states that the church is the Body of Christ on earth. So when the church is divided, the Body of Christ is divided.
Thirdly, because this is how the world perceives it when the church is divided.
Let me give you a really simple example. When I was growing up, TV situation comedies were huge. They were often the means through which British and American people processed difficult situations or history, such as the Second World War (‘Dad’s Army’ , ‘’Allo, ‘Allo’), the Vietnam War (‘M*A*S*H’), the fading British Empire (‘It ‘Aint Half Hot, Mum’), aging (‘One Foot in the Grave’) and the struggle to survive in the hugely materialistic 1980s (‘Only Fools and Horses’).
One such sitcom was set in Liverpool and featured the struggles of a poor Roman Catholic family as it gradually disintegrated (‘Bread’). Like most sitcoms, it spawned a series of catchphrases that remained for a long time after its TV run finished. But one thing stayed with me even longer.
You see, the series cut across the vicious sectarianism that was around at the time, both in Liverpool and in Glasgow. The lead character in it often mentioned the ‘Protestant God’ and the ‘Catholic God’.
It was done in jest, but that's how many people saw it then, and some still do now.
Those who claimed to bear Christ’s name were divided, so there had to be two Christs.
This raises a serious point. Christians who are divided, particularly those who air their divisions in public, clearly care more about their argument than they do their Lord; they clearly care more about winning it more than winning souls for the Kingdom of God.
In short, they have made an idol out of being right.
Which brings us to Paul’s first argument for unity in the Body of Christ.
And this argument is gloriously simple: God is one, so His people ought to be one.
Take a look again at these verses prayed by Jesus:
‘My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one – I in them and you in me – so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
John 17:20-23 NIVUK
Did you see it? The unity of the Body of Christ is clear, unmistakable testimony of the character of God: that the Son is in the Father, the Father is in the Son and that both are one.
So it seems that the unity of the church teaches the world about the trinity and about the unity of the Godhead.
But when the church is divided, it looks like God has some form of split personality disorder.
However, this all begs one question: with whom should we be one?
And this where Paul’s statement is really quite challenging.
You see, we all have our own ideas of what makes someone a Christian.
Some say they should wear certain clothes. Or do some things and not do others. Or be baptised. Or exhibit certain gifts of the Holy Spirit. Or like and listen to certain music. Paul cuts through all that with one sentence:
Therefore I want you to know that no-one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, ‘Jesus be cursed,’ and no-one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit.
1 Corinthians 12:3 NIVUK
I'm sure someone reading this will think that Paul has set the bar too low; that this means ‘undesirables’ will have the right to call themselves Christians. But what Paul says here actually echoes something Jesus said:
‘Teacher,’ said John, ‘we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.’ ‘Do not stop him,’ Jesus said. ‘For no-one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, for whoever is not against us is for us.
Mark 9:38-40 NIVUK
‘Master,’ said John, ‘we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we tried to stop him, because he is not one of us.’ ‘Do not stop him,’ Jesus said, ‘for whoever is not against you is for you.’
Luke 9:49-50 NIVUK
Do you understand what Jesus is saying here?
He is saying that His followers do not have the right to decide who is a believer and who is not. He is telling them to accept people who are not one of their number. He’s saying that someone who claims His Lordship and participates in ministry that glorifies Him is a disciple.
And this is repeated by Paul the next time He talks about what it takes to be saved:
But what does it say? ‘The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,’ that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: if you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.
Romans 10:8-10 NIVUK
But why is only this profession enough?
You have to understand that it is not a simple profession.
Proclaiming that Jesus is Lord was then, and is now, deeply unfashionable. In some countries it will lead to you being mocked and made fun of; in other countries it will lead to persecution, imprisonment and even death. It is not and never has been something to be taken flippantly or lightly.
That’s why Jesus is clear that His disciples should count the cost before following Him (Luke 14:25-35). Because there is a cost, and the cost is high.
So if someone is brave enough to cross over to the ‘wrong side of the tracks’ as far as the world is concerned and name Jesus Christ as their Lord, then that ought to be respected and valued.
Moreover, Jesus also taught in a couple of lesser known parables that we still do not have the right to decide who gets into the Kingdom of God and who doesn’t:
Jesus told them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed ears, then the weeds also appeared. ‘The owner’s servants came to him and said, “Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?” ‘ “An enemy did this,” he replied. ‘The servants asked him, “Do you want us to go and pull them up?” ‘ “No,” he answered, “because while you are pulling up the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: first collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.” ’
Matthew 13:24-30 NIVUK
‘Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Matthew 13:47-50 NIVUK
Do you see this?
The Kingdom of Heaven is a field in which God sowed good seed, but the enemy sowed weeds.
The Kingdom of Heaven is a net that caught fish that were worthy and fish that were worthless.
In both cases, Jesus is telling us that the reckoning of good and bad takes place on Judgement Day, at the end of the ages. It doesn’t take place now.
So, yes, the bar is set. Anyone who claims Jesus as their Lord and is seeking to follow Him should be regarded as our brother or sister. Their doctrines, practices, rituals and taste in music do not matter. Set them aside and let God sort it out.
After all, even one of Jesus’ closest disciples was a betrayer.
No, our job is not to sort out the wheat from the chaff. Our job is to accept them into the Body of Christ and let God do the sorting.
Because that is how we name Christ as Lord.
By obeying Him.
Questions
1. Have you thought before about how disunity in the Body of Christ affects His reputation – His glory – in the world around us? How doss this make you feel?
2. Did you count the cost before you followed Jesus? What appreciation does this give you of the cost others have to pay, and therefore the meaningfulness of their confession of Jesus Christ as Lord?
3. Are there people that you find a hard time accepting as members of the Body of Christ? Why? How do these verses change your attitude towards them?
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