•I Corinthians 12:12-14
•On Unity
•12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. 14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many.
(I Corinthians 12:12-14, ESV)
•Main Point
•These verses establish the analogy of the body
•Paul uses this analogy to show more what it means for unity and plurality
•There is one unifying force, and that is the Holy Spirit, that brings the many together
•Application Points
•On Unity
•Is the main focus on unity or plurality?
•One would argue they are not mutually exclusive
•Paul seems to be making both points simultaneously
• It is important for Paul…to see what truly unifies Christians
•How is it we can have unity when such unity seems impossible?
•When we consider rich and poor the world will say we cannot have unity
•On the left side is everything must be equalized
•The rich must give to the poor until there is neither rich nor poor
•Application Points
•On Unity (2)
•The other side would say there is a difference
•Yet, there is (supposedly) nothing stopping individuals from bettering themselves
•On both sides there is a difference
•How can the poor attain the same status as the rich?
•Both sides answer that question differently
•There are obvious flaws, however, to both sides
•On one hand you must take from one group and give it to the other
•Forcing people to give up their possessions is theft by any means of the word
•Application Points
•On Unity (3)
•While the idea of merit and working sounds good…we have seen how the rich/powerful are usually one step ahead
•We have seen how the rich and those in power can keep people down
•If unity cannot be attained economically, then maybe some other means of unity
•Have any of these things brought lasting unity?
•It seems we are stuck
•We always seem to distinguish group from group
•Application Points
•On Unity (4)
•If we are unable to escape this way of emphasizing differences, then is there any hope?
•All it takes is us thinking probabilistically over what can give the greatest amount of unity while lifting up the greatest amount of differences
•There is no greater source of unity than what Paul describes in this text…unity through the Holy Spirit
•In Christ we find our redemption
•In this redemption we also given the guarantee of our redemption, the Holy Spirit
“11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.”
(Ephesians 1:11-14, ESV)
•Application Points
•On Unity (5)
•We have been given the Holy Spirit
•This same Spirit is given to all
•He is not given just to pastors, or to laity
•This is the unifying force for each
•Whatever differences there are in this world are shattered because of the unifying force within
•Even though we may have our differences, for those who adhere to the foundational principles of the Gospel…have received the Holy Spirit
•It is not whether we agree on every doctrinal point, but whether agree on the foundational principle that Jesus is Lord
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•Application Points
•On Unity (6)
•We can fellowship with those who adhere to the Gospel
•We can be unified with them in the same Spirit
•In the end it is true for societal differences as well
•The rich believer is not better or have more worth
•Neither do we loathe the poor
•Their worth is as great as any…for the same Spirit that is within them is within us
•We can often give the powerful or those with prestige great glory
•If a well known politician came in here I’d proclaim the same Gospel
•If they are a Christian, I wouldn’t give them more due
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•Application Points
•On Unity (7)
•Because in the end we are all subject to the same Lord and the Holy Spirit within us
•There is no reason for us to think too greatly, or too little, or too much, or too small
•The differences will be spelled out more
•For now to point is to see the unity we can attain…through Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit
•Let’s not diminish the active role of the Spirit
•We can agree that this Spirit lives within us
•Let’s not underemphasize this role of the Spirit within us
•See the image of God, see to the Spirit of God…giving us a unity that none can stand against
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•Application Points
•The Gospel of Christ
•Origins
•Where it begins
•Fall
•What went wrong
•Redemption
•How it is fixed
•Glorification
•Where it at leads
