LifeWay Bible Studies for Life Series for March 7: When members won’t get along

After an extended period of complete isolation, a man was rescued from a deserted island.  As his rescuers were coming ashore, they encountered an unusual sight. Just a few yards off the beach sat two crudely constructed buildings. They could tell by the crosses on top of the buildings they were intended to be churches.

When curiosity could no longer be contained, one of the rescue party asked the man: “Why do you have two church buildings? Are you not alone?” The man said: “No, I am completely alone. The church on the right is the church I attended when I first arrived here. The church on the left is the church I started attending when I had a disagreement with the members of the church on the right.”

Whether a single member of an island church or one of the great churches of our metropolitan areas, churches struggle with members who simply cannot get along. Conflict among parishioners is not new. Many of the Apostle Paul’s letters address the issues of disagreement among church members.

The church at Corinth had perhaps the highest profile of a fractured fellowship, requiring Paul to send pointed encouragement and clear instructions regarding the matter. Paul said, “I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought” (1 Corinthians 1:10). After Paul’s admonishment, he provides three reasons why churches through the ages have struggled with members who simply cannot get along. Paul indicates the problems are the result of misplaced loyalties, human pride and spiritual immaturity.

Misplaced loyalties (1 Corinthians 1:10-15)

The church at Corinth had enjoyed the leadership of a number of early church fathers. From the passage, it is clear Paul, Apollos and Cephas (Simon Peter) had all ministered among them (v. 12). As a result of the work of these great men, certain members of the Corinthian church began to identify themselves as the disciples of Paul or Apollos or Cephas. Some rightfully chose to call themselves the disciples of Jesus (v. 12). It is not hard to assume divisions arose because one group believed their favorite minister held to and taught the truth. These loyalties no doubt led to feelings of superiority.

While few will admit it, these same misplaced priorities continue to exist in churches today. Some pastors and ministers go to a new church field and quickly discover groups loyal to the person who held their position in the past. In many churches, members will pledge their allegiance to a particular staff member. It does not seem to matter whether it was the church in Corinth or the modern church in America, the result is always the same. Misplaced loyalties lead to fractured fellowships.

Human pride (1 Corinthians 1:26-29)

Misplaced loyalties weren’t the sole cause of conflict in the Corinthian church. Paul indicates many of their problems were the result of pride. Paul reminds the church how they were when they first came to Christ—lacking wisdom, short on influence and devoid of pedigree (v. 26). Paul then indicates why God chose them in the first place: God, “chose the foolish things to shame the wise, chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong (v. 27) and “he chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are (v. 28). God had taken their deficits and made them useful in his kingdom.

God chooses and calls people who are nothing in the greater scheme of things so no one could boast. God already had described his nature as “jealous” in the law given to Moses (Exodus 20:5). He is jealous because he wants to receive glory in all things. God desires a church where no one can boast about themselves or the minister with whom they align themselves. In the church, there is only one person worthy to be praised, the Lord Jesus Christ who gave himself to redeem all church member and produce a healthy body of believers.

Spiritual immaturity (1 Corinthians 3:1-4)

As Paul begins to wrap up his treatise on the cause of dissention in the church, he describes the third cause for conflict—spiritual immaturity. Many in the church at Corinth never had matured beyond their salvation experience and were not able to address their problems like spiritual men and women (v. 1). Their real problem was carnality, wanting to satisfy the flesh and not to walk in the Spirit. Paul clearly indicates this carnality leads to, “jealousy and quarreling among you” (v. 3). Wherever humans walk in the flesh, there will be great difficulty. When church members walk in the flesh, conflict is inevitable.

A few verses earlier, Paul describes the kind of church member who is mature and is able to lead the church beyond its difference. He describes that believer as being, “the spiritual man” (2:15). It is the spiritual man who is able to deny misplaced priorities, pride and spiritual immaturity because he has, “the mind of Christ” (2:16).

The solution for broken fellowship in the church is found in I Corinthians 2:2, “For I resolved to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” When a body of believers focuses on what really matters most, the crucified and risen Lord, discussions about who was the better teacher, whose faith is more real because of their understanding or who has reached the highest level of spiritual maturity become petty arguments. When church members truly fix their gaze on Christ, the fighting stops and glory begins.