You Belong

1 Corinthians 3:1-9
6th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Sometimes, when I preach from one of the letters of Paul, I have the urge to qualify it first.  As in our lesson today, I feel I need to remind everyone that Paul was writing to a specific group of people (that aren’t you), in a specific place (that isn’t here), about specific issues (that you may or may not be dealing with).  In other words, today’s lesson isn’t necessarily about you.  The letters of Paul can feel scolding sometimes, so remember: it may not be about you.  In fact, I would go so far as to say that the reason he is writing this letter to the Corinthians is not something I think he would say to you.  

The problem that the church in Corinth was dealing with was their divisiveness.  From our text today, it seems that they had divided themselves up amongst various Christian teachers, Paul being one of them.  That problem is not really a thing you are struggling with right now: not only are you not fighting over Christian theology, you seem to get along pretty well.  In fact that may be one of this church’s best attributes: we genuinely like each other and this is an environment where we can have different opinions and ideas and still be welcomed; that’s not something all churches can claim.  

But just because you are not fighting with each other doesn’t mean there isn’t a Word from God here for us.  So no, you don’t get a complete pass this morning; neither do you need to start quarrelling in order to receive this Truth.  

Today Paul also tells the church in Corinth something that every disciple of Christ in every church needs to remember.  Paul’s answer to their arguments over who it was they followed, was to tell them that they were missing the point.  Namely, that it’s not so much about whose teachings you follow or even about being right; it’s about remembering to whom you belong.  And you belong to God: in Jesus, you have been bought and paid for; it is the Spirit of God who causes you to grow; and it is that same Spirit that calls you to continue God’s kingdom-work in this world.  But before you go, remember that you belong to God.  

I don’t believe that, when Paul was writing his letters, that he thought of it as “writing the Bible.”  To Paul, I’m sure this was just a letter; he wasn’t thinking, “Hey, this stuff’s pretty good.  Someone should save it as Scripture and pass it along from generation to generation.”  

But at the same time, Paul’s writings are not “just letters;” this is no casual text you send off to your friend to ask her if she wants to go for lunch.  No, as I said before, there were serious issues going on if Paul sent you a letter.  Having been through a few, I can tell you that church conflict is no small matter.  Paul cared about these people and he cared about the continuation of the gospel that he had personally proclaimed there.  I’m sure he thought deeply about how to address these issues; I’m sure he chose his words very carefully; and I’m sure he sought the Spirit of God to guide him as he set out to write these letters.  And of course it’s that same Spirit that makes books like First Corinthians so much more than just a letter.  In these letters we also find a Word of God that is eternal.  

Now I mentioned before that I don’t think we are a conflicted congregation like the Corinthian church was.  But at the same time, there is a strange comfort in knowing that, when churches do become divided, it’s nothing new.  Even in the earliest of churches, they were already arguing and dividing themselves up.  Personally, I think the early church had more-interesting reasons for fighting than we do; I mean you don’t read about them arguing over things like worship music style, or new carpet color, or who gets to use the vacuum cleaner (I have actually seen all of those split churches).  But there is a comfort in knowing that church leaders like Paul have always been battling the spirit of division that afflicts so many churches still today.  

We still divide ourselves over so many things: we divide ourselves over theology and church government into separate denominations; even within our community, we divide ourselves into smaller congregations by worship styles, age, probably even politics, and so much more.  If we’re not careful, any number of things can still divide us.  

I appreciate how Paul seems to say that this kind of unity is not something we reach overnight: he says this kind of quarrelling is a sign of spiritual immaturity.  And what is “immaturity,” if we’re doing it right, except a series of steps toward “maturity?”  It is a journey; we will get caught up in other peoples’ factions; and hopefully we will repent and—by God’s help—we will continue to grow.  But spiritual maturity is not an accident; it’s a thing we work towards on purpose.  There’s a reason why, in the Pastoral Prayer I pray every week, that I include a prayer for the larger Church, not just our church: The Church, both in this room, throughout this community, and throughout the world.  I pray this mostly as a reminder to myself.  I want to remember that I am not divided even from the other followers of Christ, both here and throughout the world.  

I was introduced to another pastor named Brian by a mutual friend a while back.  Unfortunately, because of that same spirit of divisiveness, the church he was at decided they no “longer required his services.”  So, instead of uprooting his family in search of another calling, he decided to stay here and start something new.  It’s not exactly a church, but it’s not exactly not a church.  He’s seeking to do the work of Jesus.  So do you know what I do? I pray for him.  He’s not competition, he’s a fellow-worker in the fields of Jesus.  I see how many people are lost in our community and I pray he plants.  

So we strive to be unified, not only with each other, but also the followers of Jesus everywhere.  If nothing else, this passage reminds us not only how we struggle to for unity, but why.  This is a good reminder, but there is also a Truth to remember here that is even more important than the unity: it reminds us of who we are.  We belong to Christ.  Above all else, we belong to God through our Savior.  

In verses six and seven, Paul reminds us that people and ideas don’t cause us to grow, God does that.  Paul says, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.”  Now, we don’t know a lot about this Apollos—spoken well of in the Book of Acts and it perhaps a convert of Paul—but it seems that his message was just different enough from Paul’s that it caused some debate.  

And so Paul’s answer to this argument is to remind them that they belong to God first.  Because belonging to God is even more important than being right.  Because belonging to God is why we live and why we have eternal life.  Belonging to God defines who we are as servants.  Belonging to God defines what we are called to do and be in this world as we seek to grow in our maturity and serve our Savior ever-more faithfully.  

And so let us strive to remember that we do not belong to ideas or teachers or denominations or even churches; but we belong to God.  And by the Spirit of our Risen Savior, may we continue to grow in him; even as he uses us to share his Truth throughout our lives.