01/07/2020
There is nothing that will destroy a family, a church, a community, or a country, more swiftly, and certainly, than internal bickering, and discord. As Christians we are not meant to fuss and fight amongst ourselves, but to comfort one another, and to live in peace. However there are those whose sights are set on power over humility, ruling over serving, and man’s law over God’s commandments. We have but one ruler, one Lord, and one God by whom we are judged as right or wrong. So, who rules your heart today?
“Finally, brothers, rejoice. 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 ESV
The one overarching Church of which the Bible speaks is not a playground to be used to advance our glory, but the sole possession of Jesus Christ, and when He comes to claim it He will set right all the wrong He finds within it. Paul speaks to the church in Corinth, and tells them that they are in danger of discipline, and the authoritative rule of Jesus over them. This is not something to be toyed with. Listen...
“This is the third time I am coming to you. Every charge must be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. I warned those who sinned before and all the others, and I warn them now while absent, as I did when present on my second visit, that if I come again I will not spare them— since you seek proof that Christ is speaking in me. He is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful among you.”
2 Corinthians 13:1-3 ESV
This sounds ominous doesn’t it, and it is. There are five brothers and sisters in my family, and as children I remember arguments erupting between us. I also remember that when my father came home from work he wanted to return to a peaceful house, and would settle all arguments, and any wrongdoing swiftly. If he was required to do this the punishment was not light, and the instigator(s) of discord would have a high price to pay. All arguments had best been resolved before he arrived, or better yet... the argument should never have occurred in the first place. All disobedience was likewise dealt with. The punishment he rendered was in support of the love that he felt for us, and was meant to instruct, and reestablish order in his household. We were, above all else, his children, and he loved us enough to correct us.
“Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!”
2 Corinthians 13:5 ESV
The rule of my father, and mother, was not negotiable. Our household operated under their authority. In this age of feel good everything, including religion, we seem to think that we can negotiate God’s commandments, and that His love for us is such that it makes Him weak and mailable, and His Word easily rewritten, and made to serve us... easily circumvented, but neither of these assumptions are true.
“For he was crucified in weakness, but lives by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but in dealing with you we will live with him by the power of God.”
2 Corinthians 13:4 ESV
Paul warns the Corinthians that Jesus gave Himself up to be crucified in weakness but that He has now reclaimed, in resurrected life, the absolute power of God. Paul also says that as His emissary he has been given not only humility, but that power through Christ. As modern day people this sounds totally unacceptable because we have the tendency to feel like we control our world and all in it, and that every rule is meant to be bent through negotiation, but the Corinthians understood absolute rule, and they knew what happens to those who disobey that authority. Paul didn’t uphold God’s will maliciously, but in perfect love. Just as love and punishment were not at odds in my parent’s home, God’s punishment, and His love, are not incompatible either.
“For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. For we are glad when we are weak and you are strong. Your restoration is what we pray for. For this reason I write these things while I am away from you, that when I come I may not have to be severe in my use of the authority that the Lord has given me for building up and not for tearing down.”
2 Corinthians 13:8-10 ESV
If we live in accordance with God’s Word, and the teaching of Jesus then things are as they should be, and we remain in harmony with one another. Paul tells the Corinthians that he wants to take a position of weakness, and let the church rule itself, but he reiterates that he will exert his authority if need be.
So how are we ruling ourselves today? Are we bickering, and arguing as we jockey for power over Christ’s Church, trying to negotiate God’s commandments, and interpreting God’s will so that it becomes our own? Are we in discord with one another, ignoring the fact that we don’t rule the Church, we are not meant to determine the legitimacy of the commandments that have been given us, or that it isn't for us to negotiate God’s will? Are we comfortable in all of this, and ready for Jesus to come again? Are we certain? Have we examined our faith, and the faith of our churches by placing the template of God’s Word, and the gospel of Jesus Christ over them?
“Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”
2 Corinthians 13:11-14 ESV
Prayer:
Father, thank you for the unchanging, and nonnegotiable Word that you have given us. Thank you for your Son Jesus Christ whose life, and absolute obedience to your will, are our template for righteousness, sanctification, and holiness in our lives. Help us Holy Father to obey, and to live peaceably with one another by remaining in your will, and being obedient to your Word, the Gospel of Jesus, and all you command. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who rules over us in love, and certainty. Great is your love and discipline, and powerful is your right hand. We praise you, and place ourselves prostrate at your feet... our crowns cast before you. All authority is yours Heavenly Father, and in your presence we are to be judged, not by man’s law, but by yours. All glory is yours by the love, mercy, and grace, that you show us, and that is given in unwavering truth as it flows to us through Jesus. Forgive us Lord, for we have sinned; restore us, and your Church to you that we might be with you forevermore.
“Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil. Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
1 Thessalonians 5:19-23 ESV
Rich Forbes