(continuation
of Meditation 95)
God’s
solution to quarreling and strife in New Testament churches
In Meditation 95 we saw
how churches can obstruct the work of God’s Spirit in their midst by the
deep-seated problem of quarrelling and strife. The sad result is often partiality,
divisions and church splits. Such a church has fallen prey to Satan’s scheming
as the apostle Peter warns: “Be careful! Watch out for attacks from the
Devil, your great enemy. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for some
victim to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8*)
What is God’s remedy for a church that is in danger of losing its way in
quarrels and strife?
Should we call upon the members of
that a church to simply stop quarrelling and behave better? Should we give them
some guidelines for better communication? Or what?
I think that some insight into group
dynamics, some teaching of communication skills and problem solving might
benefit that church for a while, yet would this really solve the problem?
God teaches us in His Word [the Bible] that the root
of this problem is hidden in our heart. Through the mouth of His prophet
Jeremiah (7th century B.C.) God indicates that “the human heart is most deceitful and desperately
wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?” (Jeremiah 17:9*)
Jesus Himself makes us aware of the
fact that “from within, out of
a person's heart, come evil thoughts ... greed, wickedness, deceit ... envy,
slander, pride, and foolishness. All these vile things come from within; they
are what defile you and make you unacceptable to God.” (Mark 7:21-23*)
The apostle Paul shows
us that “the acts of the sinful nature are obvious: ... hatred, discord,
jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy ...
and the like.” (Galatians 5:19-21**)
It is because of the profound ‘sickness and rebellion of the human
heart’ that any behavioural training would not really solve the problem.
The apostle Paul recognised this root cause of his defeat the more he
attempted to overcome sinful behaviour. This former Jewish rabbi who aimed at
perfect living according to the Mosaic Law, describes his downfall in an honest
and shocking way in his letter to the church in Rome:
“I know I am rotten
through and through so far as my old sinful nature is concerned. No matter
which way I turn, I can't make myself do right. I want to, but I can't. When I
want to do good, I don't. And when I try not to do wrong, I do it anyway. But
if I am doing what I don't want to do, I am not really the one doing it; the
sin within me is doing it.
It seems to be a fact of life that when I want to do
what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God's (Mosaic) Law with
all my heart. But there is another law at work within me that is at war with my
mind. This law wins the fight and makes me a slave to the sin that is still
within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life
that is dominated by sin?” (Romans 7:18-24*)
Actually, here we are at the heart of the Good News of Jesus. Not only
did He come to take the blame and punishment for our sin, but He also grants to
everyone who remorsefully comes to Him and receives Him as Saviour and Lord ‘a
new heart’ through the gift of His Spirit.
That is exactly what
God had already promised in the 6th century B.C. through His prophet
Ezekiel: “I will give you a new heart with new and right desires, and I will
put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony heart of sin and give you a
new, obedient heart. And I will put my Spirit in you so you will obey my laws
and do whatever I command.” (Ezekiel 36:26-27*)
Church members who have
been born again have received God’s Spirit as the authentication of their new
life in Christ. The apostle Paul writes to the Christians in Ephesus: “You
also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of
your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the
promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the
redemption of those who are God's possession--to the praise of his glory.”
( Ephesians 1:13-14**)
So, when the apostles address the problem of quarrelling and strife
amongst church members, they write to those who have received God’s own Spirit
at their conversion! As God’s Spirit has Jesus’ character, He is well able to
transform every church member and every church into the likeness of Christ!
What does the likeness of Christ mean in practice?
Jesus discloses in the Gospel of Matthew ‘his heart of
hearts’ when He says: “... I am gentle and humble in heart...” (Matthew 11:29**)
Consequently, wherever
God’s Spirit works in people’s hearts, the humility of Christ will come to the
fore! That’s why we read a lot about humility in the New Testament. Here are
some examples:
The apostle Paul
testifies about having the humility of Christ when he speaks to the Ephesian
elders: “You know how I lived the whole time I was with you, from the first
day I came into the province of Asia. I served the Lord with great humility...”
(Acts 20:18-19**)
He appeals to the
church in Ephesus (modern Turkey) to invest in Christlike humility: “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.” (Ephesians 4:1-3**)
Paul encourages the
church in Philippi (Greece) to live a Christlike life: “If you have any
encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if
any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my
joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit
and purpose.
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in
humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look
not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your
attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus...” (Philippians
2:1-5**)
The apostle reminds the
church in Colossae (modern Turkey) that through the gift of God’s Spirit, Jesus
Christ is their real life. Therefore he urges them to “put to death the
sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual sin,
impurity, lust, and shameful desires. Don't be greedy for the good things of
this life, for that is idolatry. God's terrible anger will come upon those who
do such things. You used to do them when your life was still part of this
world. But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior,
slander, and dirty language. Don't lie to each other, for you have stripped off
your old evil nature and all its wicked deeds...” (Colossians 3:5-9*)
Now that God’s Spirit
lives in them, their new Christlike life should become more and more visible:
“... you have clothed yourselves with a brand-new nature that is continually
being renewed as you learn more and more about Christ, who created this new
nature within you. ... Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.
Since God chose you to be the holy people whom he loves, you must clothe
yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness,
and patience. You must make allowance for each other's faults and forgive the
person who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive
others.
And the most important piece of clothing you must wear is love. Love is
what binds us all together in perfect harmony. And let the peace that comes
from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are all called
to live in peace. And always be thankful.” (Colossians 3:10-15*)
The apostle Paul instructs his co-worker Titus about
what he must teach the churches regarding their new life directed by God’s
Spirit: “Remind your
people to submit to the government and its officers. They should be obedient,
always ready to do what is good. They must not speak evil of anyone, and they
must avoid quarreling. Instead, they should be gentle and show true
humility to everyone.
Once we, too, were foolish and disobedient. We were
misled by others and became slaves to many wicked desires and evil pleasures.
Our lives were full of evil and envy. We hated others, and they hated us.
But
then God our Savior showed us his kindness and love. He saved us, not because
of the good things we did, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins
and gave us a new life through the Holy Spirit. He generously poured out the Spirit
upon us because of what Jesus Christ our Savior did.” (Titus 3:1-6*)
The apostle James mentions the need for Christlike
humility in the churches: “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good
life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.
But if you
harbour bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it
or deny the truth. Such "wisdom" does not come down from heaven but
is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. For where you have envy and selfish
ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.
But the wisdom that
comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate,
submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers
who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.” (James 3:13-18**)
The apostle Peter encourages the churches to live a
Christlike life, empowered by God’s Spirit. He writes: “All of you, clothe yourselves with humility
towards one another, because, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the
humble.’” (1 Peter 5:5**)
Furthermore, Peter
writes: “Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be
sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. Do
not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to
this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.” (1 Peter 3:8-9**)
What then is true, Christlike
humility?
The apostle Paul explains that in
talking about Jesus’ humility. He
writes to the Christians in Philippi: “Your attitude should be the same that
Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not demand and cling to his rights
as God. He made himself nothing; he took the humble position of a slave and
appeared in human form. And in human form he obediently humbled himself even
further by dying a criminal's death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:5-8*)
The apostle Peter writes to Christians who are persecuted and shows them
how Christ humbled Himself: “... if you suffer for doing good and you endure
it, this is commendable before God. To this you were called, because Christ
suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.
‘He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.’ When they hurled
their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no
threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.
He himself
bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live
for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. For you were like sheep
going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your
souls.” (1 Peter 2:20-25**)
Jesus shows us how true humility manifests itself: “Jesus called them [His twelve disciples]
together and said, ‘You know that in this world kings are tyrants, and
officials lord it over the people beneath them.
But among you it should be
quite different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant,
and whoever wants to be first must be the slave of all. For even I, the Son of
Man, came here not to be served but to serve others, and to give my life as a
ransom for many." (Mark
10:42-45*)
In all these examples we see that
Christlike humility has everything to do with:
-- loving others; being gentle and tender-hearted,
considerate and compassionate; being merciful and patient; being impartial and
repaying evil and insult with blessing. (Ephesians 4:1-3; Colossians 3:10-15; Titus 3:1-6; James 3:13-18; 1
Peter 3:8-9; 1 Peter 5:5)
-- not clinging to your rights, but
lovingly serving others in the way Christ served. (Mark 10:42-45; (Philippians 2:5-8; 1 Peter 5:5)
-- considering
others better than yourself. (Philippians 2:1-5)
-- making
every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
(Ephesians 4:1-3)
-- being willing to suffer for doing
good, like Christ, in obedience to God. (1 Peter 2:20-25)
In all these examples we see that quarreling and strife can
be overcome in a church by the transforming power of God’s Christlike Spirit.
As He has planted ‘the heart of Christ’ in every reborn child of God,
prevailing over quarreling and strife by Christlike love and humility becomes a
real possibility!
Here are some questions for reflection:
-- Does my church obstruct the work of God’s Spirit by
quarreling and strife? Is my church plagued by fractions, divisions or is it
even in danger of a church split?
-- If quarrelling and strife are a
problem in your church, are your church leaders looking for a godly remedy or
trying to find help in humanistic solutions?
-- Is my church aware of the fact
that only by remorseful repentance and confession to God and each other can divine remedy
take place? How does God’s Spirit lead my church through the process of repentance and
renewal?
-- Does true, Christlike humility
rule my church? How does it manifest itself in your midst?
Translations: * New Living Translation; ** New
International Version
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