A Case Study in Conflict

We know that the church of Corinth was a conflicted church. Paul starts his letter to them with a frank statement of their conflict. Here is what he says:

¹⁰ I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. ¹¹ My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. ¹² What I mean is this: one of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.”

They were divided into factions that fought bitterly with each other, so that news of their conflicts spread all the way to Paul where he was staying in Ephesus. He had founded the Corinthian church in the first place, and now he heard that they were divided against each other. He names the divisions by the people each faction claimed to follow, but he blames all of the factions equally – even those who said they were following Christ!

Clearly, division and schism are – at least in Paul’s mind – the great denial of Christ’s death and resurrection. Paul is ready enough to talk about issues. In 1 Corinthians, he deals clearly with sexuality and marriage (chapters 5-7), Christian liberty concerning issues of the Law (chapters 8-10), and the way that Christians practice their worship, including use of spiritual gifts (chapters 12 to 14). But dealing with issues in Christian life does not justify division and schism.

We see this truth clearly in chapters 12 and 13, which deal with worship issues, and also apply the basic insight that unity in love is greater than our need to be right in the issues we argue about. Let’s look together at chapters 12 and 13.

1 Corinthians 12

Paul is discussing order in worship in general, and here he brings that conversation to the use of spiritual gifts within worship. The Corinthians evidently were fascinated with the way that some people were able to channel spirits and exercise powerful gifts – possibly a holdover from the spiritual cults they had known before their conversion. [Clearly, they were not Mennonites! We tend to look at such people with suspicion.] Paul discusses the use of tongues in chapter 14, but here he sets up the discussion by looking at the underlying unity we have as brothers and sisters in Christ.

Paul uses this unity to answer the question they seem to have had: “How do we know when someone’s spiritual gifts are really evidence of the presence of God?” He says, “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.”

If someone tries to set Jesus aside, they know that person does not belong to God. If someone exalts Jesus as Lord, they know that person belongs to God. This is the point that I have made before – that the core of the gospel is to embrace the affirmation, “Jesus is Lord.” Our faith begins with Jesus. Our faith is built on the foundation of Jesus Christ. Without Jesus, we cannot be part of the Christian Church.

This principle applies not only in discussions about spiritual gifts, but it also applies in all of our conversations – from marriage matters to how to use our offerings. [These two are the matters Paul discusses before this section on spiritual gifts.]

You notice that the text states that all of this takes place through the work of the Holy Spirit. Different churches describe the work of the Holy Spirit in different ways. Here is how The Confession of Faith in Mennonite Perspective puts it:

The Holy Spirit calls people to repentance, convicts them of sin, and leads into the way of righteousness all those who open themselves to the working of the Spirit. Scripture urges us to yield to the Spirit, and not to resist or quench the Spirit. By water and the Spirit, we are born anew into the family of God. The Spirit dwells in each child of God, bringing us into relationship with God. Through the indwelling of the Spirit, we are made heirs together with Christ, if we suffer with him, so that we may also be glorified with him. The Spirit teaches us, reminds us of Jesus’ word, guides us into all truth, and empowers us to speak the word of God with boldness. The Holy Spirit enables our life in Christian community, comforts us in suffering, is present with us in time of persecution, intercedes for us in our weakness, guarantees the redemption of our bodies, and assures the future redemption of creation.

The Holy Spirit is the presence of God in our lives. We come to faith through the work of the Spirit. We learn and grow as followers of Jesus through the Spirit. We learn how to live with each other through the Spirit. We learn to love one another through the Spirit. We learn how to work together as sisters and brothers in the church through the Spirit.

Therefore, Paul refers to the work of the Holy Spirit making us one body in Christ. The church is a living organism in which we all play a part – as the Holy Spirit lives in us and gives each one what the whole body needs. “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.” Note the succession of titles: … the same Spirit; … the same Lord; … the same God. The presence and work of the Holy Spirit in our lives is the very presence of God as God. Our unity, then, is the unity of the Spirit, which shows itself in the differences of the gifts given to us to serve the whole body.

Paul continues, “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.”

Different gifts – One Spirit. Diversity and difference are visible in the unity of the Spirit. Paul lists a series of gifts: wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, naming the spirits, and tongues. Each of these takes a variety of forms within the church, and in the Corinthian Church they had become a source of conflict and division. Let me do some guessing, going beyond what the text tells us, but I hope consistent with the text.

• Some have a message of knowledge – They talk about the words Jesus spoke and the miracles Jesus did. They know. They call themselves “the party of Christ”.
• Some have a message of wisdom – They talk about the way that the first church dug deeply into the words and actions of Jesus. They have learned wisdom. They call themselves “the party of James”.
• Some have great faith – They are able to trust God in all kinds of situations. They call themselves “the part of Peter”.
• Some perform healings, just as Jesus did. They also are “the party of Jesus”. Those who do miracles are the same.
• There are some prophets, who speak words that God has given them. They call themselves “the party of Paul”.
• Scattered among the parties are some who speak in tongues and some who interpret tongues.

 They all have one basic problem. They are using the gifts that God’s Spirit gives to the church in order to support their own little faction, dividing the church. Paul rebukes them. He says, “These gifts were given to you to unite the church, not to divide it. You are one body, with One Spirit and One Lord!”

The Place of Love (How Love Works)

The basic point in 1 Corinthians 12 is clear: Differences and disagreements in the church are normal. They are not a problem. The fact that we have different gifts and abilities and ideas and understandings is not itself a problem – if these differences are a part of our larger unity. We are the body of Christ, and we differ from each other as the different parts of the body differ. But there remains a basic question. How do we experience the unity of the Spirit? How do we become “one body”, the body of Christ? The answer of course is through the greatest gift of all.

I have often heard 1 Corinthians 13 read at weddings. That is good, although Paul did not write it for weddings. He wrote this chapter for you and me when we are in conflict in the church. Using the passage at a wedding is good. I hope that this kind of love characterizes our marriage relationships! I encourage applying the passage to family life, but Paul is talking about the church. We are the family of God, and the Spirit gives one special gift to all of us: God’s love. Consider the qualities of love that we find in the “love chapter”. Love:

•          Is patient and kind.
•          Does not envy or boast.
•          Is not proud and honours others.
•          Does not seek its own benefit.
•          Does not get angry easily or remember past wrongs.
•          Rejoices in what is true [that is, it avoids what is not true].
•          Protects and trust the other.
•          Hopes for God’s best and perseveres when loving is not easy.
•          Never gives up.

It is a remarkable list! It is also an impossible list. I can honour others just fine, provided that I’m getting lots of honour too. I’m not proud, unless I start to feel as though people don’t care about me. I don’t envy others, at least if someone is envying me. I protect others provided they are also protecting me. I can keep my temper, so long as no one provokes me. I don’t remember past wrongs, but then I don’t remember lots of things from the past.

In short, I can do most of these as long as life is going well and I feel good about myself. That doesn’t take the Holy Spirit! A reasonably nice person will get a lot of these right on a good day. The problem comes when we find ourselves in conflict with other people, especially when the people we are supposed to love are the people we are in conflict with. How do I trust the other and hope for God’s best in their lives when we belong to two different factions?

That’s when love becomes the greatest gift that the Holy Spirit gives us. I can persevere and never give up in love only if the Holy Spirit is at work in my life. I can seek the benefit of those I disagree with only if the Holy Spirit is leading me. I can forget [really forget] the wrongs someone does to me only if the Holy Spirit clears my mind for me. [My mental computer has trouble clearing the trash folder properly!]

Humanly speaking, we require complete agreement in order to be in the unity of the Spirit, but that is not what Paul describes. Paul describes a unity based on love, which applies when we agree and when we disagree. My church of origin – the Brethren in Christ – has sometimes loved well and sometimes not. Our church historian, Morris Sider, tells a story that shows us at our best [Stories and Scenes from a Brethren in Christ Heritage].

Jacob Ginder had been Bishop of the Manheim District in Pennsylvania for many years. In his retirement and during the years of significant change in the church, he had retained his strongly conservative views on church doctrine and practice. Henry asked his father to accompany to the General Conference held at Manhattan, Kansas in 1951. Jacob declined, saying that the conference would be discussing making significant changes in church practice, and he would be distressed by what he heard. But Henry, by promising to drive to Kansas, persuaded his father to go with him. One the way home, Henry asked Jacob, “How did you like the conference?” Jacob replied, “Oh, I didn’t like what I heard, but I trust the brethren.”

The BICs, like the Mennonites have their faults, but they and we are learning and re-learning the lesson of love – to trust each other even when we disagree. Such love and trust really are possible only through the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives individually and corporately. As we meet together this morning, we confess our lack of love, and we ask God for the fullness of God’s Spirit, and we worship and adore the Lord who gave his life for us on the cross. The real focus of our worship is always God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. God, who alone makes us one and enables us to live together as one body with all of our unique gifts. Amen!

Steinbach Mennonite Church

10 February 2019

Texts

1 Corinthians 12: 1-14, 27-31

Concerning spiritual gifts

12 Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. ² You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to dumb idols. ³ 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.

⁴ There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. ⁵ There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. ⁶ There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.

⁷ Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. ⁸ To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, ⁹ to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, ¹⁰ to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.¹¹ All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.

Unity and diversity in the body

¹² Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. ¹³ For we were all baptised by one Spirit so as to form one body – whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free – and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. ¹⁴ And so the body is not made up of one part but of many.

1 Corinthians 12: 31b – 13:13

Love is indispensable

And yet I will show you the most excellent way.

13 If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ² If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. ³ If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

⁸ Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹ For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰ but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. ¹¹ When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. ¹² For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

¹³ And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.