Unity in the Church: The Task of Bridge Building
In September 2022, I was invited to speak at Noble City Church in York, PA. They were in a series on "the Church" and I was asked if I would address my unique calling of bridge building in the Church. I told them to receive my message as some relational practices within a faith family filled with fallen people. I would ask that you receive it the same.
I have inserted my sermon manuscript below and underneath it is the audio recording of the message. I pray this will aid in how we are and can be as family in Christ.
“Unity in the Church: The Task of Bridge Building”
I. What is it?
Think for a moment. When you hear “bridge building”, what does that imply to you?
What it implies to me is something has been broken or there is a distance that appears too far to cross.
In our case with the Church, it implies that the practical connection (how we interact with each other) as family in Christ can be broken, that there can be barriers/distances wedged in-between this connection we share as family in Christ. Now, because of sin and differences, there will always be a host of things that cause this. However, I won’t be addressing the causes in this message. I want us to learn about solutions, because that’s what bridge building is about: solutions to prevent and/or get across what unnecessarily divides us.
II. What is the biblical basis for it?
In your primary passage for this month’s series, Mark 3, Jesus provides 2 doctrinal building blocks that Apostle Paul uses when he deals with division in the Corinthian Church.
Mark 3:20-26 (CSB), “20 Jesus entered a house, and the crowd gathered again so that they were not even able to eat. 21 When his family heard this, they set out to restrain him, because they said, “He’s out of his mind.” 22 The scribes who had come down from Jerusalem said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and, “He drives out demons by the ruler of the demons.” 23 So he summoned them and spoke to them in parables: “How can Satan drive out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26 And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand but is finished.””
Mark 3:31-35 (CSB), “31 His mother and his brothers came, and standing outside, they sent word to him and called him. 32 A crowd was sitting around him and told him, “Look, your mother, your brothers, and your sisters are outside asking for you.” 33 He replied to them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” 34 Looking at those sitting in a circle around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.””
1Corinthians 1:4-13 (CSB), “4 I always thank my God for you because of the grace of God given to you in Christ Jesus, 5 that you were enriched in him in every way, in all speech and all knowledge. 6 In this way, the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you, 7 so that you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. 8 He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you will be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful; you were called by him into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. 10 Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree in what you say, that there be no divisions among you, and that you be united with the same understanding and the same conviction. 11 For it has been reported to me about you, my brothers and sisters, by members of Chloe’s people, that there is rivalry among you. 12 What I am saying is this: One of you says, “I belong to Paul,” or “I belong to Apollos,” or “I belong to Cephas,” or “I belong to Christ.” 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in Paul’s name?”
The 2 doctrinal building blocks that Jesus provides and Paul uses is
From Jesus in Mark:
1. A kingdom/house divided cannot stand (vv24-25).
2. These are my family (vv33-35).
From Paul in 1Corinthians:
1. “called by him into fellowship with his Son” (v9).
2. “Is Christ divided?” (v13)
Paul identifies these 2 spiritual realities as the doctrinal basis for unity/bridge building: (i)we have a familial bond in Christ and (ii)there is no division in Christ. This is what “unity in the Church” is eternally founded upon.
With that said, this doesn’t mean every Christian has to be friends with each other—friendship is a choice, family isn’t. Instead, Paul is communicating that since we are eternally united in Christ there should be no tearing apart the bond we have as family in Christ—(like breaking off a branch in a family tree to start a separate branch; who produces the branches, the tree or the branch?). Hence, the reason Paul “urges” the brethren to mend their divisions.
The church in Corinth, both warranted and unwarranted, had some broken relationships. These believers had erected barriers and wedged them in-between their connection as family in Christ. But, as Paul would mention in Galatians 3 and Ephesians 2, Jesus didn’t tear down the wall that once divided us, He didn’t provide a home in Him for the diversity that normally separates us—ethnicity, gender, socio-economic & political status, upbringing, etc—and He didn’t join us all together as one family by one Spirit with one Father for us, after the fact, to re-erect walls to re-divide the family. Oh, and then for them and us to do so thinking we’re doing it for God: I belong to Paul, Cephas, Apollos; or, I’m pro-life, pro-justice, pro-women, conservative, moderate; or, I’m for this non-salvific doctrine and if you’re aren’t you might not be saved; or, I’m for this philosophy of ministry and if you aren’t you’re wrong; so on. Jesus didn’t do what He did to bring His people together just so we can re-erect walls to re-divide the family. That undermines and is a waste of His work.
These 2 spiritual realities—we have a familial bond in Christ & there is no division in Christ—are the reason divisiveness and dissension within the Church are described as sinful and works of the flesh (Gal. 5:13-21, Phil 2:1-4, Col. 3:5-15, Jam. 3:9-4:1, 11-12). They are the antithesis of the unity Christ’s atonement accomplished for us.
III. What does this look like? (How can we be bridge builders in the Church/pursue unity amid unnecessary division?)
Now we can move to the application: the task of bridge building—those solutions that help us prevent and/or get across what unnecessarily divides us.
In 1Corinthians 1:10, Paul gives a threefold instruction to the church on how to be bridge builders amid divisions. Unity in the Church matters so much that Paul uses his apostolic authority to command this whole church to unify, and then tells them how to do so.
1. Be unified in how you speak.
This is not so much doctrinal as it is positional. Are we speaking the same spiritual language about ourselves and other believers first and foremost as relating to our identity in Christ.
Notice how often Paul does this in ch1:2, 4-5, 9-10, 12-13, 30-31.
“2 To the church of God at Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called as saints, with all those in every place who call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord—both their Lord and ours.”
“4 I always thank my God for you because of the grace of God given to you in Christ Jesus, 5 that you were enriched in him in every way, in all speech and all knowledge.”
“9 God is faithful; you were called by him into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. 10 Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree in what you say, that there be no divisions among you, and that you be united with the same understanding and the same conviction.”
“12 What I am saying is this: One of you says, “I belong to Paul,” or “I belong to Apollos,” or “I belong to Cephas,” or “I belong to Christ.” 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in Paul’s name?”
“30 It is from him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became wisdom from God for us—our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption—31 in order that, as it is written: "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord."”
If we are conscientious to speak of ourselves and other believers from the position of “in Christ”, “for Christ”, & “unto Christ”, then, the very gathering of our thoughts to speak what we’d say, will correct the posture of our hearts back to humility, and then it’ll remind us that to speak for disunity is ultimately defamation of Christ Himself. If we are speaking the same spiritual language about Christ, in Christ, and for Christ, then as James says, our speech, like a rudder, will steady the whole ship.
2. Choose to not split the family.
Paul said, “that there be no divisions among you”. That is, no schisms, no party loyalties other than Christ; hence, why he used “rivalry” in v11. There are no opposing teams in Christ. We are one body made up of many members, but still the same body. So think about that. Who tears up and destroy their own body or home? I’m assuming we’re all going to answer, very few people do. Even Satan knows better than that—for a house divided cannot stand.
Jesus tore down the walls! Therefore we live as family together in a Temple not made with human hands!
Jesus made us one new man in Him! Therefore we all wear the same team jersey!
Where is the room to divide?
This is what Paul is implying here. We make the conscious choice to divide, so then we can make the choice to not be divisive.
3. Return to the same page.
Paul said, “that you be united with the same understanding and the same conviction”. “United” here means to repair what has been torn apart—e.g., mending a net or fixing a tear in your clothes. Some translations say, “be joined together”, which would be a rejoining together. But Paul adds “with the same understanding and conviction”. Thus, this uniting/rejoining is about restoring the group to the same page in thinking and in action regarding what biblically and eternally matters most.
When we’re divided over unnecessary things, that means we’ve spent more time on things that cause separation compared to the eternal things we have in common that connects us as blood bought family in Christ. Paul says we have ability and the substance to repair what’s been torn and come back together on what matters most to God and for eternity.
IV. Conclusion
Bridge building in the Church is about family reconciliation—where are we as a faith family unnecessarily divided and then attempting to reconcile us—because we have an eternal bond in Christ with no division. Therefore, this means whenever we walk in disunity we are being contrarians to the very gospel we believed for salvation and that joins us together as family in Christ.
Being a bridge builder in the church is reflecting Jesus with His Church.