{"id":4620,"date":"2019-04-01T17:20:53","date_gmt":"2019-04-01T22:20:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/?p=4620"},"modified":"2019-04-18T12:02:59","modified_gmt":"2019-04-18T17:02:59","slug":"unity-strong-in-fellowship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/2019\/04\/01\/unity-strong-in-fellowship\/","title":{"rendered":"Unity: Strong in Fellowship"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cGuard This Man\u201d (1 Kings 20:39) is the Men\u2019s Ministries theme for 2019.\u00a0 The \u201cman\u201d we are to guard, for the sake of application, is one\u2019s self.\u00a0 Some refer to this as soul care.\u00a0 Proverbs 4:23 echoes this imperative, \u201cAbove all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.\u201d1<\/sup>\u00a0 The wisdom of this proverb aptly connects our doing with our being, accurately declaring that our doing flows out of our being.<\/p>\n

Acts 2:42 outlines a number of essential convictions that must be ingrained in the fabric of a man\u2019s soul if he is to effectively \u201cguard this man.\u201d\u00a0 In the first quarter of this year, we saw that we must \u201cguard this man\u201d so that he is \u201csound in doctrine\u201d.\u00a0 A second reason we must \u201cguard this man\u201d is so that he will be \u201cstrong in fellowship.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Luke says the early church \u201cdevoted themselves to . . . the fellowship\u201d (Acts 2:42, ESV).2 <\/sup>\u00a0He expands this further by saying, \u201cAll who believed were together . . . day by day, attending the temple together and . . . in their homes . . .\u201d (Acts 2:44, 46, ESV).3<\/sup>\u00a0 The Easy-to-Read Version says they \u201cate together, prayed together, stayed together, spent much of their time together in the Temple area and in their homes.\u201d4<\/sup><\/p>\n

One may think this strong emphasis on fellowship came easily, because they were exclusively a Jewish sect. However, such was not the case post-Pentecost as the early church grew exponentially.\u00a0 The success of the church in the Roman Empire was directly tied to its absolute inclusiveness\u2013 embracing every culture and race, every social stratum, both learned and unlearned, and male and female who put faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as \u201cthe only one who can save people\u201d (Acts 4:12, ERV).5\u00a0 <\/sup>Hence, the primary focus of their \u201cfellowship\u201d was in the person of Jesus Christ, leading the Apostle Paul to say, \u201cThe old labels we once used to identify ourselves\u2013labels like Jew or Greek, slave or free\u2013are no longer useful. We need something larger, more comprehensive\u201d (1 Corinthians 12:13, MSG).6<\/sup>\u00a0 The first-century church came to understand they were first Christians and everything else second . . . Christians first and Anglo second . . . Christians first and African second . . . Christians first and Asian second . . . etc.<\/p>\n

The Apostle Paul underscores this truth in Ephesians 2:14 (MSG) \u201cChrist is the reason we are now at peace. He made us Jews and you who are not Jews one people. We were separated by a wall of hate that stood between us, but Christ broke down that wall.\u201d7<\/sup>\u00a0 Consequently, the church enjoys a mystical unity<\/strong>.\u00a0 The church, called out of darkness into His marvelous light, is \u201cthe supernatural society of God\u2019s redeemed people.\u201d8\u00a0 <\/sup>Furthermore, the church experiences a ministerial unity<\/strong>, sharing a common purpose of fellowship and partnership that results in learning, loving, and liturgy, which in turn promotes a material unity <\/strong>of sharing with joyful hearts with those who are in need.<\/p>\n

The psalmist extols the blessedness of this unity saying, \u201cOh, how wonderful, how pleasing it is when God\u2019s people all come together as one\u201d (Psalm 133:1, ERV).9\u00a0 <\/sup>Since \u201cyou are joined together with peace through the Spirit. Do all you can to continue as you are, letting peace hold you together\u201d (Ephesians 4:3, ERV).10\u00a0 <\/sup>Hence, if we are to \u201cguard this man\u201d individually and collectively, we must be strong in fellowship, valuing community over isolation, ministry over selfishness, and people over possessions.<\/p>\n

Does this unity of fellowship in the church mean we will never experience hurt and injury from interpersonal, relational conflict?<\/strong>\u00a0 Ray Pritchard, of Keep Believing Ministries, references Dietrich Bonhoeffer\u2019s classic work Life Together<\/em> when answering this question, noting that Bonhoeffer, in essence, said that \u201cthe church is the place where our dreams are shattered \u2013 and that is a good thing.\u201d<\/em><\/strong>11\u00a0 <\/sup>Pritchard explains, \u201cIt is only in the nitty-gritty of life together with all its disappointments and rude awakenings that we discover the Holy Spirit at work in us. In the church, we are thrown together with some people with whom we\u2019d never otherwise associate. And that\u2019s a good thing because God uses those angular people to shape us into the image of Christ.\u201d12<\/sup><\/p>\n

Christians often have a hard time getting along with each other. This has been true from the earliest days of the church. The Apostle Paul, who planted the church in Corinth, wrote 1 Corinthians to the believers there principally because of internal conflict in the church. By the time Paul wrote 2 Corinthians, the tension was largely between Paul and the church. Even in a healthy church, such as the one in Philippi, conflict was a problem.\u00a0 The scripture is not silent about this reality.\u00a0 Jesus teaches us what to do if someone in the church sins against you (Matthew 18:15-17); he teaches us what to do if you sin against someone (Matthew 5:21-26), and Paul teaches us what to do when another Christian sins (Galatians 6:1).\u00a0 I highly recommend Mark D. Roberts expositional teaching entitled \u201cGod\u2019s Guidance For Christians In Conflict\u201d<\/em> for a more in-depth study of interpersonal conflict in the first-century church and its application to the 21st<\/sup> Century Church.13<\/sup><\/p>\n

In summary, there are basically three types of people in the church:\u00a0 (1) peace-breakers (2) peace-fakers and (3) peace-makers.\u00a0 Jesus does not call us to be peace-keepers, but peace-makers (Matthew 5:9) who learn to confront with excellence in a manner that is humble and gentle, patient with others, making every effort to maintain unity, and forgiving the offending person (Ephesians 4:2-3; Colossians 3:13-15).\u00a0 How do we do this?<\/strong>\u00a0 Using the word PEACE<\/strong> as an acronym, Rick Warren outlines five biblical steps we can take in an effort to restore fractured relationships:<\/p>\n