One With God and His People

Introduction

Good morning. This lesson today comes from something I filed away a little while back from a Facebook post that was done by Doy Moyer. I’ve known Doy for a long time. He’s one of the faculty in the Bible department at Florida College. He has an opportunity, due to his wide influence, to speak with younger people, some of whom who have departed from what they might call a more traditional assembly like ours, and have headed in a direction that scares me personally, but scares him also. And he writes to them and for them on occasion, and this is one of those posts, and he entitled it from the soapbox department. And as you know, preachers can get on their soapbox from time to time. And so this was one of his soapbox posts.

And it begins by asking a question. Why is there division? And so when I saw that, I read with interest and filed it away for just such a Sunday as this.

The world is divided. The religious world is divided. Christendom is divided. Believers within various denominations are divided. Brethren are divided. Tragedy, right? Why? He says, often I see it suggested, and this gets to do with the people he talks with these things about. Often I see it suggested that it’s just the way we interpret the Bible that creates the problem. It’s quote C E N I that causes the divisions. Now let me tell you what that is. C-E-N-I is shorthand for commands, examples, necessary inference. Three ways that we determine what God wants us to do. The things that he has spoken authoritatively by command, the things that he has shown us by examples, patterns that we are to follow, and the things that his words imply that we ought to do.

Necessary implication. Shorten that down. C-E-N-I is what he mentions. Some people say that approach to the scriptures is what divides because you insist on looking at the Bible in that way. Let me just tell you something about C-E-N-I. Command, example, necessary inference. Me or Doy, we didn’t get together and say, you know, we’re going to impose this set of rules on understanding the Scripture. You know, that we’re going to look at the Scripture through these eyes of C E N I and thus come to some conclusions about what the Bible is telling us to do. These are just labels that we give to what is already there. The way we ought to understand authoritative communication, and we talk about these examples having generic and specific elements, or these commands having generic or specific elements.

So we talk about generic authority and specific authority. Again, that doesn’t originate with me. That’s the nature of communication. The more general the command is, the more choices that are allowed. The more specific the command is, the fewer choices that are allowed. That’s just the nature of authoritative communication. Some people were acting like Doy and I, or some generation before us made this up. This is the way you understand what to do. We understand that in the way parents communicate with children. It’s the nature of communication. Or we hear it’s liberal interpretation that causes the division. Perhaps it’s hermeneutics that are to blame. And that’s what I was talking about when I was talking about C E N I. If you don’t know what the word hermeneutics means, it is simply the science of biblical interpretation.

How are we supposed to understand the Bible? What rules are we supposed to employ? What are we supposed to understand about the contents of this book? For example, the figures of speech that it uses, to know what God’s will for us is. He says, but yet those who say these things offer no alternative yet, those who say these things that the problem is hermeneutics. They offer no alternatives that would unify. That’s what’s interesting. They cry all day long, C-E-N-I, you know, where do you all get that? Or hermeneutic, it’s hermeneutics. And then, okay, so what’s the solution to division? That’s what Noise asked. Then what solution do you offer? What is it? Who has it? What’s it called? Who will enact it among us all? No, he says, that’s not ultimately why we are divided.

1. Taking Every Thought Captive to the Obedience of Christ

There is something deeper we must identify. It’s not C E and I, it’s not hermeneutics. Why are we divided? He says, I’ll tell you why we are divided. Paul says it. And it’s interesting. Let me give you the context of this. The brethren at Corinth are rejecting Paul. That’s the whole context of this. They have been convinced that he’s not real and genuine, and they are trusting in counterfeits. False apostles. And here is the problem that exists in the church of Corinth. It’s why they are divided from God’s servant Paul. It’s why all men become divided from one another when they are so.

We are destroying speculations. And every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God. And then this. We are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. And we are ready to punish all disobedience whenever your obedience is complete. And he says, I want you to notice this one thing, this one phrase. Taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. He says, We are divided because we don’t allow every thought to be taken captive to the obedience of Christ. We want our own ideas, our own thoughts to win the day. No hermeneutic can be successful unless we are first willing to relinquish our own thoughts and ideas and bring them under control of the Lord. That’s it, brethren. That’s the key to fixing the problems of division and being unified with God and his people.

We must relinquish our own thoughts and ideas and bring them under the control of the Lord. In other words, why are we divided? We are failing to deny ourselves, Luke 9 23, have the mind of Christ, Philippians 2 and verse 5, and seeking first his kingdom that we’ve talked about recently, Matthew 6.33. What did he just say? We’re not denying ourselves, we don’t have the mind of Christ, and we are not seeking first his kingdom. Yet we refuse to destroy the speculations and lofty things raised up against God’s knowledge. Consequently, our obedience is incomplete. And then he concludes the problem is we get in our own way. Like the disciples of Jesus, we fight over who is greatest in the kingdom. We get in the way of children who want to come to him.

2. Self Gets in the Way

We rebuke those who would break open their costliest perfumes to anoint Jesus. We pilfer from the money box, then we blame divisions on methods of interpretation. I like that conclusion. He says this in conclusion. First, destroy the selfish beast within and let Christ take us captive to bring every thought under obedience to him, then, just maybe, we’ll begin to see the unity that we all claim to want. I think Doy’s right. I think that’s the source of division. And I want to talk to you about the first four comments that were made after this post. One brother said, this sounds like James 4, 1 through 4. How suspicious. Where James says, What’s the problem of quarrels among you? Is not the source. Your pleasures that weighs war in your members.

That’s why you have quarrels. And you lust and you do not have. So you commit murder. And you do not have because you do not ask. These people are in love with the world. And by so being, that is hostile to God. Frank Walton was the second comment. Frank preaches in Mobile. Sherry and I were there just a few weeks ago and heard my good friend Frank preach. And then he prevailed upon me to preach on Sunday night. And Frank was the second to comment on this post. And he made the observation that Steve made a couple of weeks ago, which Steve said he had not uncovered it until he was preparing to preach. It’s because he didn’t listen when I said it. About the lusts of the flesh in Galatians 5.

Remember that comment? You did make that comment, right? The lust of the flesh in Galatians 5, that eight of them, particularly in verse 20, in the middle of that, have to do with attitudes toward brothers. Jealousy and envies and stuff. Those things are the lusts of the flesh. And so Frank makes that observation. Eight of the 15 works of the flesh have to do with the division, have to do with division or the inability of people to get along in loving harmony. Loving harmony is defined by the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5, 22 and following. Let’s spend some time looking at Galatians 5.20 and Galatians 5, 22 and 23 about what the fruit of the Spirit is, and I’ll get to that in the final point.

Selfishness, as you say from Paul in 2 Corinthians 10, which is also carnality in Galatians 5, which is a reflection of our true character, he says, have we really died to self to live for Christ? Or are we carnal religionists? Think there are any of those out there. You know, I think that’s really what many of the New Testament writers were warning against. Being carnal religionists. Tommy Thornhill is a preacher. I don’t know him. But he says, when I preach on unity, I start with the attitudes of Ephesians 4. Until brethren get those things right, they will not have true unity, but will be divided. Paul said the problem of division in Corinth was carnality. And he does. In 1 Corinthians 3, 1 through 3. Self gets in the way.

3. The Attitudes of Ephesians 4

What does Ephesians 4 have to say about unity? Oh, there’s a lot about unity in Ephesians 4. There is one body, and there’s one Lord and one faith and one baptism. But before he gets to all of those things, he says at the beginning, first of all, you need to walk worthy of the vocation wherewith you have been called. We’ll not have any unity without that. With all humility and gentleness. Patience. Showing forbearance to one another in love. Incidentally, I think it’s the same word for patient that you see in James chapter 5 in regard to our circumstances, being patient with affliction. We’re to be forbearing with one another, showing forbearance to one another in love, being diligent, or endeavoring, I do like the King James there.

Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit or to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. And then he comes to the end of that section. And he says, speaking the truth in love, growing up in all aspects unto him who is the head, even Christ, and the whole body supplying its part. Those are the key principles in unity. Keep a finger or a string in Ephesians. We’re coming back to that at the end. But then I like the fourth and final comment by Rick Bird, who made all of this very personal and applicable. When he said, What thought have I not let Christ take captive today? I like that. We can talk about division in the world and the plague that it is and the things that divide brethren.

4. Live Beyond Ourselves: Make Me a Servant

We can talk about what the source of that is, people’s attitudes, but ultimately, to fix any problem, we must work on ourselves. And ask this question. Ask this question as you go through your week this week. What thought have I not let Christ take captive today? And so I want to take Doy’s thoughts and talk about the enemy of unity and its solution. We must live beyond ourselves. I mention that a lot. I don’t know if I can mention it too much. We will never mature spiritually until we determine to live beyond ourselves, putting God and others before ourselves. I said I was going to come back to this on Wednesday night from our Nehemiah study, but I’m going to hit it now instead.

As we talk about what they were doing in Nehemiah 9 and 10, when they were confessing their sins before God, when they were having that long solemn assembly when everyone would sign the document, professing their loyalty to God and to covenant. I’m impressed by the reverent way in which they approached God in Nehemiah 9 and Nehemiah 10. And I quoted something to you that I want to repeat. No confession of faith in Scripture, either old covenant or new covenant leaves lifestyle and practices unaffected. And these people pledged that they would keep the Sabbaths. These people pledged that they would support temple worship and pay each time that they must in order to support the worship of God in the holy place. And they made a commitment in regard to their homes.

We need to make a pledge in regard to unity in our homes. If you think about it, how are we going to cultivate these attitudes if our home is constantly a place of war and conflict? The people that we are around the most.

You know, it’s funny, I put these thoughts together before the wedding yesterday where we sang, make me a servant. And I must compliment. I don’t know if it was Terry’s idea, we haven’t had a chance to talk about this, but as we walked, as Ariel walked down the aisle, and all the groomsmen and bridesmaids, as they all walked down the aisle, there was boards placed, spaced out by the pews of the different qualities of love of 1 Corinthians chapter 13. I thought. They could see the words as they walked down the aisle. I thought, that’s a touch I haven’t seen before, and I like it. I like it. And I think some of the best congregational singing, there were people from Luffkin, there were people from here, and a lot of Christians there.

Beautiful singing. Make me a servant. That’s the key. That’s the key. Make me a servant. And it’s not about keeping score. Because that’s what we’re tempted to do. Okay, this was my act of service. Where’s yours? You know. Two for me, zero for you. You better get busy. What if the Lord? We talk about modeling the love of the Lord. What if the Lord did that for us? This is how many ways I’ve served you. What have you done for me? I would never measure up. Never. And yet that’s the way we want a level playing field in our homes. And we want that in the local church. I have served you. Now how are you going to serve me? I’ve scratched your back. Now you’re going to scratch mine.

Is that what the Lord modeled when he went around and washed the feet of every one of those disciples in John 13? Was he keeping score? He watched Judasie. I’ll tell you, we struggle in marriage because we’re keeping score. And that’s part of 1 Corinthians 13. Love does not take into account wrong sufferer. You’re not keeping score on who’s hurt who the worst.

We’re keeping score. I’ll tell you what the Lord calls me to be in marriage. And what he calls me to be in a local church, and that’s a servant of others. And so I serve my spouse. And you know what? By her spiritual maturity, she may outserve me. But if we’re going to have a competition in all of this, let’s see who can serve the most. And you know, this isn’t really any big secret. What I’m talking to you about this morning is not a big secret. In 1 Corinthians 7, Paul says it clearly.

Because he is distracted. Because his cares and interests are divided. He has a wife that he has to attend to. And he’s concerned about the things of the world. Not that he’s worldly. He’s concerned about something in the world. That is that he has a wife. He has responsibilities to her. He’s concerned about the things of the world how that he may please his wife. And the woman is the same in marriage. She is concerned about the things of the world, how that she may please her husband. And I’ll tell you, that’s the secret and key to all of it. As long as selfishness reigns, marriage will not be what God intended. It is only when we become selfless. And we look at our spouse and say, you know, I’ve been with that guy for a long time.

I know what makes him tick. Or I know what makes her tick. I’m going to supply that. Even if that’s not in my comfort zone. I’m going to try to learn to do that. And supply that. Make me a servant. Don’t keep score. Lower your. Well, see what that’ll do. That’ll lower your expectations. It’s not about how they’re responding to me. It’s how Christ called me to respond to them. Because that’s the example that he gave. We talk so much about the love of Christ and his example, but I don’t think we get it. I don’t know. That’s hyperbole, isn’t it? Some get it. But I don’t think we get it sometimes. It means you serve. They answer to God for how they serve. You don’t answer for them.

5. Proper Attitudes Give Rise to Unity

They answer. You do what you are responsible to do. And for a male, that means loving leadership. Don’t get carried away with your authority, fellas. An abuse of authority is terrible in the church. It’s terrible in the home. It’s a loving leadership. That’s the leadership that Christ modeled. Husbands love your wives as Christ love the church. And wives be subject to your husbands. That’s a challenge. Ephesians 5, verse 24. But we’re to be subject to one another in the fear of Christ in the local church. And that gets back to self-being in the way in regard to unity in the local church. So I want to tell you this morning as I wrap this up about the right approach that precipitates unity. Proper attitudes give rise to unity with God and his people, and those things don’t just happen.

You don’t just sit in enough Bible classes and hear enough truth to where these attitudes are cultivated. You’ve got to do some work, you’ve got to get some effort. You’ve got to set your mind in the direction of the cultivation of these attitudes. And Doy wrote another post in this vein. He says, all discussions, whether about authority and worship, grace and works, or any other worthy set of topics, let’s encourage each other to appreciate what we’re trying to do based on these passages, which tell us it’s not about what pleases us. That’s not the standard.

And again, take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. Going back earlier in that text in Galatians chapter 5. The spirit sets itself against the flesh and the flesh against the spirit. And she’s warning them don’t bite and devour one another. The flesh wants to take over and take control. You’ve got to cultivate the spirit, the fruit of the spirit that we read about in Galatians 5, 22 and 23. We have as our ambition. As long as we are here to be pleasing to the Lord. And so as we wrap this up this morning on the subject of unity in Ephesians chapter 2, I want to go back earlier before he gets to all of those oneness thoughts of chapter 4 and endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace, he’s already talked about this.

When he talks about God’s great plan to bring those who are afar off near, to bring Jew and Gentile into one man in the body. He starts that by saying, we are created in Christ Jesus for good works. Just hit me this morning that one of those things that’s involved in that is the pursuit of unity.

He says, you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God and the world. Oh, what a tragic condition. But now, in Christ Jesus, you who were formerly afar off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. And he who is our peace. He himself is our peace, he says in verse 14, and now he has established peace between Jew and Gentile. And now we both have access to the Spirit in one Spirit to the Father, verse 18. And then he talks about the fact that we are now a holy temple, growing into a holy temple fitted together and a habitation of God and the Spirit in verse 22.

Conclusion

We are brought into union with him and by him. As faith leads to our repentance, leads to our confession of him, and our immersion into him. And because we have been brought into union with him by our response to the gospel and by him, the provisions that he’s made possible in the gospel, we are thus seeking union with others in him. And let me emphasize the word seeking. It will not be forged without some effort. And we must allow God to shape the nature of this union. Three passages and we’re done. Matthew chapter 15 and verse 13. Jesus emphasized this truth when he said, Every plant which my heavenly Father did not plant shall be rooted up. The psalmist, unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it.

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity. It’s what the Lord has always wanted. But we must endeavor to bring it about. Have you done those things that bring a person into peace with God and union with him? A union made possible by him. It is by the grace of God that this invitation comes to you this morning. If you need to respond, do so as we stand and say.