A fractured congregation is a paralyzed, neutralized congregation.
Many times what fractures the congregation is unbiblical loyalty to particular human ministers on the basis of worldly wisdom: standards of personality, communication, style, community influence, and charisma that are not the minister’s duty or responsibility in Scripture.
Paul addressed just this situation in his first letter to the church at Corinth.
The people at Corinth were identifying with particular leaders (“I am of Apollos”) and competing with one another on that basis. This led to “jealousy and strife” which rendered the Corinthians “of the flesh,” immature, and “infants in Christ” (1Co 3:1-4), and was the occasion for his appeal for them not to be divided but to be one (1Co 1:10).
Being immature babes in Christ — “fleshly” — was what Paul identified as the cause of disunity in the Corinthian church. He then identifies in 1 Corinthians 3:4-4:21 five ways to avoid division and cultivate unity. Each of these related to how the congregation viewed — and behaved toward — its ministers. In this post focusing on 1 Corinthians 3:4-9 I address the first — acknowledging the ministers’ employer.
Focus on God’s Work, not MenU
Instruments of Conversion. Ministers are important, but not like the Corinthians were supposing. They were hitching their spiritual wagons to the rising stars of the ministry world, thinking that their connection to, and allegiance toward, those ministers secured them some spiritual worth. But ministers are only those “through whom you believed.” Particular men might be important in your spiritual life and growth, but those men are not indispensable.
Servants of God. Ministers are answerable to God as his servants. Paul emphasizes God’s activity in all ministry, and starts with the ministers’ relationship to God: servants. Furthermore, they have different roles to play — planting and watering — and those roles are assigned to them by God. It is wrong, then, for a congregation or members in it to place more importance on one role over another.
Sharing a Goal. All ministers are “one” in the sense that they have a common goal, regardless of the particular role God assigns them. That goal is the harvest of righteousness sown by the gospel. For some, the harvest is conversions; for others, it is growth in righteousness. True ministers will strive for this goal. When a congregation promotes different goals, such as high attendance, big budgets, “happiness,” and so forth, it will naturally lead to competition, jealousy, and strife.
Paid for Labor. We are more familiar with being paid for what we’re “worth,” which is largely determined by what we produce. Salesmen are compensated based on what they actually sell; entrepreneurs for what make. But what is a minister “making”? The Lord does not pay his servants based on production — seats in pews, dollars in the bank, volunteers in the nursery — but on his “labor.” When a congregation has differing ideas about how to assess the minister’s value, there will be division.
Working God’s Venue. Workers have a field of operations, and it is no different for God’s servants. If some plant and some water, it implies a field, which is exactly how Paul describes the congregation: God’s field. He also uses the imagery of a building: God’s building. So God’s servants work their assigned roles in God’s assigned area of operation. But sometimes the “field” gets fenced off: members refuse the ministers access to do their planting and watering. And sometimes the “building” is plastered with NO TRESPASSING signs telling ministers to stay away. This only results in division.
A proper understanding of members and ministers, and proper relationship between them, is crucial for church unity.
This is the first post of three on unity from 1 Corinthians: