In the opening verses of 1 Corinthians, the apostle Paul address his letter to “those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints…” (1 Cor. 1:2). This word “sanctified” has the meaning of something being set apart for a specific purpose–in this case, set apart by God’s calling. Now, the idea of being set apart implies a separation of some kind. And indeed, we read in John 17 that we are to be set apart. Christ, in praying to His Father, said, “I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth” (John 17:14-17).
So we see that we are called by God to be set apart from the world–in it, not of it–set apart by His truth and His Spirit (1 Cor. 6:1). As Christ was in the world but not of the world, so we are to walk among the world but not along its paths. We are called to be something different. We are to be strangers to this world, as Peter writes in 1 Peter 2:11-12: “Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.”
Not only does Peter explain how we are to walk apart from the world, he tells us why: so that those who are in the world will see our good works, our “apartness,” and be moved to glorify God. We are to represent God and His ways to those around us, and thus flee the works of unrighteousness. As Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
For all this talk about being “set apart,” however, there is one way in which we are not supposed to be set apart; we are not to be set apart from our brethren. In Jesus’ prayer, He does not pray for His followers as individuals as much as He prays for them as a body. In fact, a few sentences later, He prayed, ““I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me” (John 17:20-23). Notice that He ties a mission (teaching the world that Christ was sent by His Father to the world) to our unity.
No wonder, then, that back in 1 Corinthians 1:10 Paul pleads with the Corinthian brethren, “Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.” Christ prayed that we would be one as He and His Father are one, with no division at all. Paul points out that none of us has anything to glory about, save God’s mercy: “For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, 29 that no flesh should glory in His presence…that, as it is written, ‘He who glories, let him glory in the LORD’” (1 Cor. 1:26-29, 31).
Division amongst ourselves in unacceptable. As Paul asked in 1 Corinthians 1:13, is Christ divided? No! But before we start looking at larger divisions and corporate issues, perhaps it is best to first look at ourselves as individuals. It is very easy, when thinking of division, to start thinking about groups that disintegrate. However, any group that experiences a division experiences it because of what started as individual decisions. So let us ask ourselves: do we ever speak things that cause division? How is our speech? What are our actions like? Do our words and behaviors “Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king” (1 Pet. 2:17)?
James had plenty of reason to rail against the improper use of speech in his book. He wrote, “But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so” (James 3:8-10). How are we doing? When someone’s name comes out of our mouth, is it because we are talking about their positive qualities? Is it because we are speaking in love and honor? If they heard what words we attached to their name, would they be uplifted and encouraged, or devastated?
Do we have our own little group that we think is somehow “better” than everyone else–or at least “better” than a small group of others we see as inferior? Watch out! James warns, “My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality…If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well; but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors” (James 2:1, 8-10).
Division and partiality are serious matters. We are called to be “set apart” from the world and united with our brethren. As Peter wrote, “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy” (1 Peter 2:9-10). We who are Christian are called to be a special people to God. We were not, before our calling, a nation or people unto ourselves. His calling may be the only thing we have in common with some of our brethren. Paul put it very clearly in Colossians 3:8-15: “But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all.
Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.”
As Thanksgiving approaches this week in the United States, let us carefully consider our calling and sanctification. We have been set apart for the Lord’s purposes. It is by our unity that we are to show forth His greatness. We ought to be thankful not just for our individual calling, but for the calling of our brethren in the faith. We will show that gratitude in our actions and words as we speak to and about one another, as we move among one another in love. Let us be sure that in our speech and behavior there is no partiality or malice toward anyone, but love and right speaking and right action. Let us “Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king” (1 Pet. 2:17).
shiningjourney
Thank you, Sweetheart. Those are very wise words and we sure need to be reminded. Hugs sandy