One Body: Called To Unity

In 1 Corinthians 7, Paul affirms both singleness and marriage as good options for all Christians. But when he is asked about issues of separation and divorce, Paul applies the teaching of Jesus and the heart of God in a way that offers both grace and truth. There is hope for every marriage to stay together, there is hope for victims, and there is hope for life after divorce.

In 1 Corinthians 5-7, Paul deals with a variety of situations that call for a healthy understanding of Christian sexual ethics. The heart of his response can be summarized as “honor God with your bodies.” How can Paul’s response to Corinth speak to our contemporary moment? One thing is certain: grace and truth belong together.

I have the right to surrender to Christ. I have the freedom to become a slave of Christ. I have the liberty to become dependent on Him. And living out of a cross-shaped story, I can choose to give up and give in for the good of the body and for the joy of love. Re-imagine what freedom looks like in Christ.

We apply Paul’s seven lenses for the question “how do we be good neighbors”?

Who is God? Well, God is patient, and He is kind. He does not envy or boast. He is not arrogant or rude. He does not insist on his own way. He is not irritable or resentful. He does not rejoice at wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. He bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. God never ends and He will not fail.

If Christ be not raised, your faith is in vain, and you are dead in your sins. But since Christ is raised from the dead, He will also raise your body by the power of his spirit. He shall return to make all things right, and we shall live with him forever in glory. We live out of this hope…and we die with this hope.

Jimmy Shaw, a West Side Shepherd, challenges us to consider what it means to have one Lord–especially during a hyper partisan election season.

Show me your way of life…and I’ll show you what you believe. Join us this Sunday as we reflect on our “way of life in Christ” (1 Cor 4:17). We will tell of our shared faith story as we welcome 4 new shepherds to lead this flock under Jesus Christ, the Chief Shepherd.

Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is power…freedom…transformation…unity…glory.
The wisdom of the world can’t hold a candle to the mind of the Spirit. And we, people of the Spirit, sharing in one Spirit, walking by one Spirit, empowered by one Spirit, shine like lights in the world, radiating with power and glory that comes from the crucified Lord.

Paul’s answer to the divisive factions in Corinth is a call to unity: one body, centered on one Lord, sharing one baptism. Paul asks them to consider three profound questions (1 Cor 1:13): Can Christ be divided? Who was crucified for you? Into whose name were you baptized?

Could Jesus live in Corinth? In our opening lesson exploring First Corinthians, we are going to put on a set of lenses to see the church and the world anew. These 7 lenses show how a Christian can navigate their way in a dark world and yet see others (and themselves) in the light of hope. Yes, Jesus could live in Corinth. The pressing question then is whether Corinth will see Jesus in us.