Transcript
Ben Fallon: Paul, for this episode, we have a variety of questions, both from local church pastors and leaders, but then also from congregants and families. The common theme that runs through all of the questions is, “Disunity in the Church.” It could be a significant crisis or some seemingly small issue, but it looks like it has growing potential to divide the body of Christ.
Some of the questions are: “How can I serve and lead in a church that is in the middle of a divisive crisis or disagreement?” And then another, “If I'm a lay person, when is it time to give up and leave if the divide is not healing or unity is not being achieved?” So I'll let you just generally address the topic of unity and division within the body of Christ in the context of a local church.
Paul Tripp: Well, I want to begin by just talking about the unity of the church. And I want to begin that by saying that the unity of the church is not some happy luxury but a God-ordained necessity. Three passes in scripture immediately came to mind as I read this question. First, Psalm 133:
Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!
It is like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard
of Aaron, running down on the collars of his robe!
It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountain of Zion!
For there, the LORD has commanded the blessing–life forever.
Unity is a blessing by God because the unity of his people is only ever his creation. When I sit up in the balcony at Tenth Presbyterian Church, and I look down at that congregation, I look around and think, “Oh my goodness, we have nothing in common.” I mean, we are all so different: different interests, different politics, different social standings, different careers. But God has done something marvelous; he has given us something so beautiful, so important, so essential to life, that we lay down all of our differences in order to get together, to work together, to celebrate this central thing. That is awesome; it's a miracle! I mean, you just have to understand that every time the church gets together and people don't fight and beat one another up, it's a miracle because it's so counter-intuitive. If you don't understand that unity is counter-intuitive, spend an hour on Twitter.
We just, we should never stop being amazed that we are as unified as we are. It is the miracle of divine grace that all these people from different backgrounds are unified. And that unity will explode into perfection in eternity, where people from all over the globe of different languages, different cultures, different families, different traditions, different personalities, who all look different, will with one voice sing praises to the one who brought them together. And they won't fight with one another, and they won't argue about their differences. If your church is unified, you're already marching toward what eternity will be someday. I'm ready to preach!
There's a second passage that I think is really important. It's Ephesians 4:1–6. After Paul has finished with one of the most beautiful, encouraging gospel rants in all of Scripture, Ephesians 1-3, this is his immediate application:
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
I think he says ‘one’ seven times in case we didn't get the point. Now, it should get our attention that immediately applying the gospel to the church, the thing that Paul wants to talk about is unity. And he says, basically, “...in order to be unified, we've got to live with humility and gentleness and patience, bearing with one another in love,” (Paraphrase). If you have to “bear with” somebody, it means they're irritating you. “Eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace,” because “There is only one body, there's only one Spirit, there's only one hope, there's only one Lord, there's only one faith, there's only one baptism, there's only one God and the Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all,” (Paraphrase). Powerful!
And then the final passage of the three that I wanted to look at is John 17:20–23. This is Jesus' final prayer before he goes to the cross:
I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.
So some things to understand here. Christ's goal for our unity is the unity of the Trinity. His prayer is that we would experience somehow, some way, the perfect unity that the Trinity enjoys. The second thing he says when he says, “the glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one,” Jesus is saying, “I have given them everything they need to be unified. Unity is the goal and I've made provision for it.” And then he says, “This is not just about life inside the church, but the unity of the church is meant to be a major argument to the outside world that the gospel is really true, that you sent me,” (Paraphrase). Think about this. Jesus' plan is that the world will look at us and say, “How is it possible for this community of people to get along so well, to love one another so well, to treat one another so well?” that the unity would drive people to begin to ask questions about the gospel.
What has sadly been true in our generation is the disunity of the church; the angry way that we speak to one another has been used by people to say, “How do they have anything to offer us if they can't get along with one another?” So the unity of the church is essential because it's clear to God's will for his people; it mirrors the perfect unity of the Trinity. It is essential for the ongoing, essential, sanctifying work of the body of Christ to continue and thrive. No one in the church has arrived and can be healthy in isolation. There's an entire chapter in the Bible dedicated to the fact that we're a body of many members and one member can't say to the other member, “I have no need of you;” that's 1 Corinthians 12. The third thing is this unity has been designed by God to be an essential piece of the church's mission to the unbelieving world. It is meant to point the world to the person and work of Jesus.
So some questions about the disunity of a particular church: “Is that disunity a matter of loyalties to certain persons in leadership?” That's discussed in 1 Corinthians 1:10–13, a Church divided by personality cults. “Is it a matter of conflicting ministry philosophies?” “Is it rooted in making non-essentials more important than they actually are?” “Is it a matter of foundational, biblical or theological disagreement?” “Is the congregation divided into opposing tribes?” “Is the division publicly affecting the ministry inside and outside of the church?” “Has a division been dealt with with a commitment to unity and a spirit of humility and love with respect and honor?”
I'm reminded of the words of Jesus in Matthew 12:25, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand.” If the leaders of a church are more concerned with winning for their side than they are for the essential unity of the church, I’m not talking about a unity that compromises biblical truth, then it will eventually become impossible for the church to do what is designed by God to do and to be what he has called for it to be. In this case, you are part of an unhealthy, dysfunctional church. That kind of church will give the devil a massive opportunity, and it may be time to look for a more unified, spiritually healthy congregation. I think the questions that I have asked are really important because they give you a way of analyzing, examining, and understanding the disunity and A, how it needs to be dealt with, and B, how it will affect the life and ministry of the church.
BF: Paul wrote a book called Reactivity: How the Gospel Transforms Our Actions and Reactions. And while the application is written in the context of social media and digital communication, there are a lot of foundational gospel principles in that book that can help with unity and division in the body of Christ. You can check it out at paultripp.com/reactivity.
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