Unity in Christ is worth fighting for (Unity in Christ is coming) – Galatians 3:15-4:7 (3:24-29 quoted, NIV)
So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian. So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
To the churches in Galatia, a region of churches rather than a single church, Paul makes a detailed argument about the what unites Christian believers together as co-heirs. This is a terrific passage to study as a whole, but for brevity, let me focus on what value the actual, realized unity has in today’s spiritual currency. If some of us do actually “belong to Christ” then according to Paul, there is a unity that we find in Jesus that transcends our social status, religious heritage, and gender. I think it might be fair to add age, culture, ethnicity, first language, physical ability, mental health, etc. The unity, Paul says, has made us “Abraham’s seed” which is singular. When we are “in Christ”, we are carrying the blessing of God for the nations, which of course is the good news about Jesus. Maybe we can earn that title of “Christian” or “little Christ” after all.
That seems like something to work hard for; to see the nations blessed. Jesus, speaking to his Father, indicated likewise, that the veracity of his claim to be able to save people’s souls and forgive their sins would be magnified as the world saw unity among those who followed him. “I [Jesus] in them and you [Father] in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” (John 17:23). This complete unity again is not a surface level unity were we try to dress the same way, or speak the same language. Jesus didn’t want to imply uniformity among those who followed him, but a unity created by a mutual love and preference for the other. If we have indeed been baptized into Christ, then we belong to him and his body. We are not our own. We are only effective in displaying this unity if we engage in the difficult work of loving other Christians in meaningful and tangible ways. We need not worry about a PR team or news articles to publish our great and wonderful unity. Remember Philippians 2. No vain conceit. As my wife would lovingly remind me, “Give the Holy Spirit some breathing room turbo.” They will know we are his disciples by our love (again, Jesus’s words).
Now, if I’ve convinced you that a form of Christian unity, centered around humility, respect, preference for the other and self sacrifice is worth pursuing, then give me a moment to warn you about the cost and the pace of progress.
First, our formulas for being nice enough for polite company are going to break down. Don’t think that the Old Testament Law was trivial. No less trivial than the cultural institutions of your family of origin. But “in Christ”, the Law that formed the people of God toward receiving the expected Messiah was “fulfilled” (REF). From that point forward, faith in that Messiah (Jesus) is the way we enter into the family of God (John 1:9). In the image Paul uses with the Galatian believers, the Law was watching over the people of God until Jesus came. Paul’s long discussion about the value of the Law during those years between Moses and Jesus (60 or 70 generations) found in his letter to the Romans. Here Paul keeps to his point that by their faith in Jesus, these believers, both Jewish and non-Jewish, were ALL children of God. This “baptism into Christ” frees the people of God from the legislation that formed the people of God before Jesus. Jesus said, “you heard it said….but I say to you…” in his famous Sermon on the Mount. In these six teachings he brings the legislation from the Old Testament into a Christocentric ethic of love. He moves from the outside boundaries of minimum social acceptance toward the heart behind these laws. Paul seems to think that being clothed with Christ will not only fulfill the Law of the Old Testament, but allow believers to stand before God as his children, well within the behavioral and relational expectations of God’s children.
Second, our formulas for elevating ourselves above others are going to be broken down. The infamous prayer of the Pharisee, Jesus shared as an illustration in Luke 11, this religious God-follower said, “God, I thank you that I am not like other people…”. His list separating others as evil doers before his recounts why he stands boldly before a holy God. An Ancient Jewish blessing daily praised God “…who has created me a human and not beast, a man and not a woman, an Israelite and not a gentile, circumcised and not uncircumcised, free and not slave.” An Ancient Greek saying thanks the gods “that I was born a human and not a beast; a man and not a woman; a Greek and not a Barbarian.” (Thales of Miletus***). I’m sure the Roman citizens had similar prayers of thankfulness being Roman and free. You have this prayer in your heart too. At least, I know I do. It’s the reason we read further into tragic news stories until we find the “why not me” factor in the story. Why were they killed, arrested, injured, etc? Was it their social status, their addiction, their skin color, or their choice of friends? Thank God I am not, _________. I wonder what multitude of my sins can be traced back to that root sentiment. Paul’s statement to the Galatians rather puts our thankfulness directly on that which equalizes our value in the communities we live in! Thank God that we are in Christ and we ALL are Abraham’s promised seed! We are the blessings to the nations declared in Genesis 12 and indeed we still proclaim that blessing (the gospel of Jesus) to the nations. Thank God we have TOGETHER become heirs according to the promise. Thank God that she is God’s child even I’m upset by her. Thank God that he is God’s child even if worships differently than I do. Thank God for them even though they value different traditions, sing different songs, and have different ways of understanding “the good life”.
Let me just say, it’s ok to feel like this might be too much to ask. It may seem impossible to rid our church of feelings of superiority and from structures that reenforce our human social comfort foods: thankful-self-piety potato salad, power-islands veggie dip, and social-strata layer cake. (Too Baptist perhaps?). Paul didn’t spill 4 chapters worth of ink to the Galatians because an easy fix or simple teaching was going to solve their human condition. The Apostle Paul strenuously battled with the Apostle Peter over this. What makes me think I’m going to have an easier time than Peter with getting rid of my “Thank God I am not you” silent-prayers, hidden-thoughts, and micro-reactions?
[Need to continue and make this more practical here. How do I confront my ego with the Gospel? How do I embrace unity that defies uniformity, indeed that glories in the beauty of the other instead of feeling threatened?]
[Maybe sum up with “the kingdom is going to be alright” ideas from Good and Beautiful, finishing with the Dallas Willard quote…]
*** Source: http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=D.+L.+1+1 Diogenes Laertius (3rd Cent AD), Lives of Eminent Philosophers, translated by R.D. Hicks “Hermippus in his “Lives” refers to Thales the story which is told by some of Socrates, namely, that he used to say there were three blessings for which he was grateful to Fortune: “first, that I was born a human being and not one of the brutes; next, that I was born a man and not a woman; thirdly, a Greek and not a barbarian.””
Pastor Chris Hooper 