United we stand

BULLETIN ARTICLE – 15 JAN 2017

The Psalmist’s picture of shalomic (peaceful) unity among a people who love each other sacrificially is the desire of the true Church of Christ. Sadly, this is not the norm for most Christian communities, even those whose foundation is built on the confession of Jesus Christ as Lord (1 Corinthians 3:11). We are no exception and we need to recognize this in order to repent, seek forgiveness and healing. The Church in Corinth did not have this unity and the lack of it diminished their testimony and hindered their work for the Kingdom of God. It is likely that this crippled necessary church discipline processes and left the walls unguarded for the invasion of the transactional and promiscuous culture the Corinthians were known for.

The Church in Corinth had divisions caused by groups of believers aligning themselves with different leaders. They did not seem to be theological divisions and more likely they were divisions based on personalities, charisma or the way leaders exercised their gifts. The problem was probably serious enough for Apostle Paul to urgently address them. Disunity and the lack of harmony harms the Church’s task to reveal God who is unseen to the world through the perfect and complete love of God working and displayed in the Christians in the Church (1 John 4:12). Jesus in his High Priestly Prayer for the Universal Church prayed for complete unity (John 17:11, 21- 23), love (John 17:22) and the protection of unity (John 17:11, 15). Lest we make light of this, we have been warned that “There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers” (Proverbs 6:16-19). You will recognise that the first six things on this list are characteristic of the seventh. Clearly, unity in the Holy Spirit is important to God.

We seek the Lord for a new work in our Church. In our December 2017 Corporate Prayer Day, we sought the Lord for revival in our Church. One key aspect of this is right relationships. Church members were encouraged to ask God to heal any broken relationships in their own lives and in the Church. Continue to pray for God to deal with any unforgiveness or bitterness among fellow Christians in the Church and for repentance and reconciliation. Paul concludes his letter to the Corinthian Church with these words; “Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.” (2 Corinthians 13:11). May this be so for BKC in our generation.