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Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:10-17
Song: Blest Be the Tie
Unity in the local church consists of at least three elements according to Paul. The absence of any one of them is a deterrent to unity. They are common sense actually. But they are uncommon common sense because they find too few adherents among religious peoples.
1. Common Speech—“speaking the same thing.” Where there is communication there is community. When communication breaks down community is unglued. It comes apart at the seams.
2. Common Mind—“joined in the same mind.” A community is comprised of those who identify or think of themselves together. They are single-minded folk. A community (com, “together,” + unis, “one”) understands that together they are one. Conversely, when they are apart they are less than one, incomplete and thus vulnerable.
3. Common Judgment—“joined in the same judgment.” Community implies concurrence—its participants running in the same direction toward a common aim. They are animated by the Musketeer loyalty of “all for one and one for all.” There exists a “one another” mentality that judges and pursues one’s neighbor’s interests as higher than one’s own.
All three of these elements work together and to gather. From them derive three obvious means of protecting the togetherness of the local church: Speak to gather. Think to gather. Work to gather.
Jason Moore
