Christ Church

To Glorify Christ (Pentecost 2024)

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INTRODUCTION

The Holy Spirit has been active in the world since the creation of the world. He appears in the second verse of the Bible, for example, hovering over the face of the waters (Gen. 1:2). In every era, God is always God. The Son of God is always the visible image of the invisible Father, and the Spirit is always the one who empowers and equips. Nevertheless, we do see a difference between the Old Testament and the New in this regard. The Spirit has always been the one ministering forgiveness, and cleansing, and power. This has always been his work. But in the Old Testament, His operations were much more surgical and precise. In the New Testament era, His operations are much more torrential. Water is always water, and while it would rain in the Old Testament, in the New Testament, the dam has burst. 

THE TEXT 

“And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:1–4). 

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

Pentecost is a Christian holiday, but it was also an Israelite holiday also, called by the same name. The word means fifty, and it occurs fifty days after the sabbath of Passover week (Lev. 23:16). It is also called the Feast of Weeks. In the English-speaking world, it has also been called Whitsun. It was a harvest festival, and so God waited to pour out the Spirit until it was time to harvest the first great crop of Christian converts. 

The Christians were already of “one accord” and waiting for power and authority, just as Jesus had instructed (Acts 2:1; Luke 24:49). There was a powerful sound, like a mighty rushing wind, but the sound was inside the house where they were (v. 2). Cloven tongues of fire appeared above each of them, and sat upon them (v. 3). These fire tongues (glossa) are described with the same word that is used in the next verse for the different languages. They were all filled with the Spirit, and began to speak in other languages (glossa here, and dialektos in v. 6). This is not so much a reversal of Babel, because they are still speaking numerous languages (Gen. 11:7), but it certainly is a reversal of the curse of Babel.

THE SPIRIT IN OUR MIDST

Theologians make a distinction between the ontological Trinity, the triune God as He is in Himself, and fully known only to Himself, on the one hand, and then the economical Trinity, God as He manifests Himself to us in this world. This of course is not a claim that there are two Trinities, but rather is a distinction between the Trinity as God knows Himself, and the Trinity as He reveals Himself to us. 

We know that Almighty God is one (Dt. 6:4). Christians are monotheists. Within the Godhead, there are three eternal Persons, all equal in power and deity. The Father is revealed to us as the source and origin. He is the Father. The Son is begotten by the Father, and is the only begotten Son of the Father (John 3:16). The Holy Spirit is called both the Spirit of God (Matt. 12:28) and Spirit of Christ (Phil. 1:19), and so we confess that He proceeds from both the Father and the Son. All together are the one true God.

All of this is of great practical importance. We pray to the Father, in the name of Jesus His Son, and we do so in the power of the Holy Spirit. All of our prayers function within the triune goodness of God. “For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father” (Ephesians 2:18). For through Jesus we have access to the Father by one Spirit. If I may use a homely illustration, the Father is the city we are driving to, the Son is the road we are driving on, and the Spirit is the car we are riding in. And all of it is happening within the one God, in whom we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28).

But none of this is a pedestrian matter of getting us from “here” to “there.” The tongues are all from different places, true enough, but they are also all on fire. The thing that moves us is a Spirit of glory. 

“But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me” (John 15:26). “He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you” (John 16:14). 

MAKING MUCH OF JESUS

My father liked to tell a story that illustrated how the Spirit works to glorify Jesus Christ. The testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy (Rev. 19:10). My parents were friends with Corrie ten Boom, and one time they brought her to Annapolis to speak. My father had given one of Corrie’s books (A Prisoner and Yet) to a Jewish neighbor, who then got really excited when she found out that Corrie was coming. She asked if it could be arranged for Corrie to speak at her synagogue. That was worked out, and my father took her there and sat listening to her talk. One of his thoughts was that “if she says ‘the Lord Jesus Christ’ one more time, we are not going to make it out of here.” And his point in telling the story was that when people are filled with the Spirit, they cannot help making much of Christ.

So we are not to come to the Spirit as though He were the destination. That is not what He wants. That is not His work. His work is to glorify the Son. We do not come to the Son as though He were the destination. That is not what He came to be. He said that He is the way (the road), the truth and the life (John 14:6). His work is to bring us to the Father. We honor the Spirit best by working with what He came to do. And so lift up the name of Christ, and our triune God will sort out everything else.

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Nobility and Envy (The Continuing Adventures of Jesus #29) (KC)

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INTRODUCTION

After the Fall, there are really only two kinds of community in the world: the fellowship of nobility and the fellowship of envy. Cain envied his brother, murdered him, and was exiled and built a city; Seth was the father of noble generations who found grace in the eyes of the Lord. The word “noble” literally means “good generation” (high-born). Envy is the gangrene of bitter zeal. It is murderously destructive, while claiming to be concerned about truth and justice. Paul and Silas found examples of both nobility and envy in Thessalonica and Berea.

The Text: “Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews: And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures…” (Acts 17:1-15)

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

Departing Philippi, Paul and Silas headed west and came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue, and Paul preached for three weeks, explaining from the Old Testament that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead, and that Jesus was therefore the Messiah (Acts 17:1-3). Some believed and joined Paul and Silas, but the Jews that did not believe became envious and stirred up a mob against their apparent host, a man named Jason, accusing them of creating disorder through their allegiance to another king (Acts 17:4-9). 

Paul and Silas slipped out of town that night and came to Berea, where there was another synagogue, and the Bereans were more noble and willing to study the Scriptures, many believing (Acts 17:10-12). But when the Jews of Thessalonica heard that Paul and Silas were preaching in Berea, they came and started stirring up trouble there also, so that Paul left for Athens (Acts 17:13-15). 

THE MESSIAH OF THE OLD TESTAMENT

Christianity, like Judaism, is a religion of the book, of the written word. This is a testimony to the kind of God we serve: He is a God who has revealed Himself plainly and He does not change. He has spoken and His Word is true. And He is glorified in demonstrating His faithfulness over time. “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope” (Rom. 15:4). Jesus repeatedly appealed to the Scriptures for His authority (e.g. Lk. 4:21, 24:27), and the apostles did the same (Acts 8:35, Rom. 1:2, 1 Cor. 15:3-4, 2 Tim. 3:15-16).

What Scriptures would Paul have appealed to? “The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone” (Psalm 118:22, cf. Ps. 110). “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Is. 53:4-12). 

ENVY & TRUE NOBILITY

It is the preaching of Christ from those Scriptures that contrasts the Thessalonians and the Bereans. In one place, as some people believe, envy takes over and turns into a mob (Acts 17:5) and in the other place, we have true nobility that searches the Scriptures hungry for the truth (Acts 17:11). There’s nothing quite so galling to envious people but to point out how some people are better than them, but Luke will not be bullied: the Bereans were more noble than the Thessalonian mob. But people are easily bullied and manipulated by the envious: what God has given (or not given) “hurts” the envious. The envious are always “concerned” about the “trouble” being caused by the more noble. 

There were some noble-minded who believed and “joined” Paul and Silas and formed the first Christian church in Thessalonica (triggering the envy) (Acts 17:4), whom Paul wrote shortly after (1 Thessalonians). Paul was still concerned to address that toxic atmosphere when he described their conversion as becoming “followers of us, and of the Lord” (1 Thess. 1:6). And not stopping there, Paul underlined the genuine ties (mother/father) that were formed between them (1 Thess. 2:7, 11) and noted that they had become followers of the churches in Judea, suffering similar things as them (1 Thess. 2:14). The envious hate the fellowship of nobility and try to spoil it. But the fellowship of nobility is based on the apostolic commitment of pleasing God and not man (1 Thess. 2:4), and the Thessalonian believers demonstrated that they understood this by the fact that they received the gospel as the Word of God and not man (1 Thess. 2:13).

APPLICATIONS

True nobility is receptive to all truth. Envy hates truth that gets in the way of its plans or narrative. Truth includes differences in gifts, abilities, wealth, happiness, hardships, and success. Nobility studies the truth in search of true wisdom; envy sorts the truth in search of its own demands. Nobility is patient and gracious, but envy seethes with bitterness, “zealously” resenting what seems to be injustice in the world, what seems “unfair.” James says that this is the origin of our fights and quarrels and strife: our bitter envy (Js. 4:1:1-2).

All human cultures function on the basis of imitation and similarity: the question is only whether it is noble imitation or envious imitation. Noble imitation joins others seeking to please God and not man, seeking the truth grounded in the Scriptures, content in the generosity of God. Envious imitation idolizes others and self: obsessing over others (even their faults) and obsessing over how you feel or what you have, which is ultimately murderous because these idols are finite (and if there is a god, he is apparently a tightfisted miser). In envious cultures, this idolatrous rage builds like an electrical charge until individuals blowup at their spouse/families or whole communities can erupt in mob violence. 

This is why Christ had to suffer. Envy says, if I can’t have it my way, then nobody should. Envy resents others having what seems better. So God sent the very best thing He had into the world knowing exactly what the envious would do to Him, determining to save them by it.

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Real Roman Trouble (The Continuing Adventures of Jesus #28) (KC)

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INTRODUCTION

In 42 B.C. in the fields of Philippi in Macedonia, Greece, the armies of Brutus and Cassius collided with the armies of Mark Anthony and Octavian, and the latter soundly defeated the former. Octavian would become the emperor of the Roman Empire, taking the name Caesar Augustus and eventually lavish a great deal of prominence on the colony of Philippi as the site of that historic battle. 

Around 80 years later, in that same city, Paul and Silas began proclaiming the reign of another King, the Lord Jesus Christ, and a new way of being Roman. And as is the case wherever this gospel goes, it caused trouble – trouble that sets prisoners free. 

The Text: “And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brough her masters much gain by soothsaying…” (Acts 16:16-40

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

After a possessed slave girl followed Paul around in Philippi for many days, crying out that they were servants of the Most High God, Paul commanded the demon to leave her, and when it did, this ruined her soothsaying abilities, and Paul and Silas were brought up on charges to the magistrates (Acts 16:16-21). With some mob pressure in the background, the magistrates stripped and beat Paul and Silas and imprisoned them (Acts 16:22-24). At midnight, while Paul and Silas were singing praises to God, a great earthquake broke open the prison, but the prisoners remained and Paul saved the jailer’s life, preached the gospel to him, and he and his whole family were baptized immediately (Acts 16:25-34). The next day, the magistrates asked Paul and Silas to leave town quietly, but appealing to their Roman citizenship, they requested an official release and visited Lydia and the fledgling church before leaving (Acts 16:35-40). 

PRINCIPALITIES & POWERS

Literally, it says that the girl had the “spirit of a python,” which refers to the Greek god Apollo and his shrine at Delphi. This may be a general description of the kind of soothsaying she was doing, or it may mean that she was from that shrine or received her power from there. Regardless, she made her masters money and after Paul commanded the demon to leave her, she no longer could (Acts 16:19). What do we make of this? 

In 1 Corinthians 8, Paul says that idols are nothing and there is only one God, but then he goes on to say that pagan sacrifices are offered to devils and we must not have any fellowship with them (1 Cor. 10:20-21). Likewise, the phrase “principalities and powers” sometimes refers to human authorities (Tit. 3:1) and clearly at other times refers to spiritual beings (Eph. 6:12). And Daniel referred to spiritual beings ruling Persia and Greece (Dan. 10:13, 20). Putting this together, we should say that there are more material explanations for some things than we realize, but there are also sometimes spiritual forces at work. Superstition, illusions, science, and fear can do a lot, and sometimes the spirit of Samuel gets called up from the dead (1 Sam. 28). But in the resurrection and ascension, Christ has triumphed over all principalities and powers in heaven and on earth (Eph. 1:20-21, Col. 2:15). 

EARTHQUAKES & BAPTISMS

While Luke seems to describe the earthquake as a simple providence, worship is described in the Bible as an earth-shaking reality (e.g. Ps. 29). Regardless, Paul and Silas singing followed by an earthquake is a fitting picture of what the gospel is doing in Philippi: ‘exceedingly troubling the city’ (Acts 16:20). This is what the gospel does: it shakes heaven and earth, so that “those things which cannot be shaken may remain” (Heb. 12:27). It is shaking Philippi so that only the true Philippi may remain. The gospel addresses the spiritual realities at the core of human life and society, and in so doing, transforms all of human life (business and commerce, entertainment and arts, politics and law, education and recreation) into what it was created to be. We a see microcosm of this principle in the salvation offer Paul gives the jailer in the middle of the night: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house” (Acts 16:31). We might add: and thy business, thy neighborhood, thy hobbies, thy city, and thy nation. 

CITIZENS OF ROME & HEAVEN

This episode contrasts rival visions of what it means to be “Roman.” The masters of the slave girl protest Paul’s disruption of their customary way of “being Romans” (Acts 16:21), but Paul is actually embodying a new way of “being Roman” in Jesus Christ and requires the Philippian magistrates to at least partially acknowledge that (Acts 16:37-39). Later, when Paul writes the Philippians, he exhorts them to reckon their citizenship according to the gospel of Christ (Phil. 1:27) and as primarily rooted in heaven (Phil. 3:20). Being an imperial colony, they would have understood that this didn’t mean they were not loyal or patriotic citizens of Rome, but rather the true form of that citizenship was being impressed upon them from Heaven. By preaching and casting out demons and baptizing, Paul was teaching the citizens of Philippi how to be true Romans. 

APPLICATIONS

This is Ascension Sunday, and so we celebrate Christ seated at the right hand of the Father, far above all principalities and powers, and we set our affections on Him there so that we will be truly affective here in this world, in our city and nation (Col. 3:1-4). This is how we learn to be true Americans, true men, true women, true husbands and wives, businessmen and members of our various tribes. Christ restores our humanity.

We ought to fight the temptation to see demons behind every tree, and this includes the need for governing our thoughts to think about those things that are good, true, noble, and lovely (Phil. 4:8). But we should also pay close attention to the warnings in Scripture about where the Devil likes to creep in: do not let the sun go down on your wrath (Eph. 4:26-27); spouses, do not deprive one another sexually (1 Cor. 7:5); women, watch out for idle chatter (1 Tim. 5:13-15), and men, watch out for pride (1 Tim. 3:6). 

In a world gone mad, sanity is trouble. We are gospel-trouble makers, not out of spite or a desire for chaos. We are here to establish the worship of the Triune God, set prisoners free, teach true justice, and establish the customs of Christ in the marketplace, home, and governments for human flourishing.

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The Wisdom of God (The Continuing Adventures of Jesus #27) (KC)

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INTRODUCTION

The wisdom of God is foolishness to man, and we must understand deep in our bones that one of the central missions of God in the history of the world is to destroy the wisdom of man (1 Cor. 1:19). This doesn’t mean that we cannot grow in God’s wisdom, but it means that we must be incredibly skeptical of human wisdom. The goal of the history of the world is that no flesh would glory in His presence but that all would glory in Him (1 Cor. 1:29-31).

This wisdom is on display in Paul’s circumcision of Timothy, and in his obedience to the Holy Spirit leading him to the Philippian riverside to preach to a few Jewish women. 

The Text: “Then came he to Derbe and Lystra: and behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timotheus, the son of a certain woman, which was a Jewess, and believed; but his father was a Greek…” (Acts 16:1-5)

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

After parting ways with Barnabas, Paul and Silas began visiting the cities from the first missionary journey, coming first to Derbe, where Paul and Barnabas had ended that first trip, where Paul recovered after being stoned in Lystra (Acts 16:1, 14:20-21). This time in Derbe, Paul recruited Timothy to join them, whose mother was a believing Jew but whose father was a Gentile, and so Paul had Timothy circumcised to prevent giving offence (Acts 16:2-3). 

Together, they visited and encouraged the churches in Phrygia, delivering the decision of the Jerusalem council, before heading north and then west to the coast by the leading of the Spirit (Acts 16:4-7). There in Troas, Paul saw a vision of a man from Macedonia calling for help, and Luke apparently joined them, as they sailed to northern Greece and came to the chief imperial city Philippi (Acts 16:8-12). On the Sabbath, since there were apparently not enough Jewish men to form a synagogue, they went down to the river side where Jewish women gathered for prayers, and God opened the heart of a woman named Lydia to believe the gospel, she and her household were baptized, and she invited the missionaries to lodge with her (Acts 16:13-15).

CIRCUMSISING TIMOTHY

At first, this might seem confusing for Paul to circumcise Timothy, but this is a glorious illustration of gospel wisdom. Remember, prior to this, Paul had worked closely with Titus, a Greek, and had specifically resisted the implication that he needed to be circumcised (Gal. 2:3). And now, the Jerusalem Council has just explicitly ruled that circumcision is not necessary for Christians (Acts 15), and he’s reporting that to the churches and then the first thing Paul does is circumcise Timothy (Acts 16:3). A reasonable person might ask: What is up with that? The answer is in Galatians: “For brethren, ye have been called to liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another” (Gal. 5:13). Paul was willing to sacrifice his freedom to avoid giving offense in order to help build up new Christians into maturity (cf. Rom. 15:2, 1 Cor. 8:1). But when people began demanding circumcision, Paul drew a fierce line, and called that a “yoke of bondage,” and being in one of his more winsome moods, wrote that he wished those who made that kind of trouble would castrate themselves (Gal. 5:1-3, 12). 

But this decision with Timothy really is remarkable. This goes against everything in our flesh. And no doubt, a bunch of the “based bros” would have snickered amongst themselves and said things like “Ok, boomer,” as though Paul was losing his edge. But far from it: this was Paul demonstrating that he understood the wisdom of the gospel. And underline this point: he didn’t have to do it. And circumcision was no little, painless thing. Paul was willing, happy even, to lay down freedom and comfort for the sake of avoiding offense. It was only at the point where a preference was turned into a mandate, that Paul absolutely refused. This wisdom applies to drinking alcohol, dietary preferences, educational methods, health care decisions, and liturgical details, among others.

THE GOD WHO CLOSES DOORS AND OPENS HEARTS

The Holy Spirit is cited several times in this passage: not allowing them to go further into Asia or Bithynia (Acts 16:6-7) and He is implied in the vision of the man from Macedonia (Acts 16:9). John Calvin points out that it might have felt like a significant let down to have ended up in Philippi after such a fruitful ministry in Asia Minor and for there to be no synagogue to preach in, only a group of Jewish women gathering for prayer at a river side. But undaunted, they preach the gospel, and the Lord opened Lydia’s heart (Acts 16:14). We are not apostles and we are not ordinarily led with the same kind of direct instructions or visions, but we do have the Spirit’s authoritative word in the Bible and we have witnessed the same powerful miracle every time someone comes to faith in Christ. It really is incredible that the Lord of Universe is so dedicated to using human means: the Spirit directs Paul and Paul preaches, and God opens hearts. But the reason is so that we will understand more profoundly His wisdom and His glory, and our foolishness and weakness.  

APPLICATIONS

So much here is about wisdom: when to defer, when to change course, and following the Spirit. We need wisdom, and James says that we should ask since God gives wisdom generously to those who ask in faith (Js. 1:5-6). Later, James contrasts the meekness of wisdom from above with the carnal wisdom that is full of bitter envying (Js. 3:13-17). So this is the fruit of the kind of wisdom you actually have versus what you might think you have.

Wisdom is not esoteric mysticism. It is not irrational or pure luck. Wisdom is the skill or art of living well in obedience to God for the edification of His people (cf. Ex. 35:30-36:2). Edification means “building up.” God gave His Spirit of wisdom to Bezalel for the construction of the tabernacle, and the Spirit has now been poured out for the construction of the Church (1 Cor. 3). Edification is not doing whatever seems best to us or even what anyone prefers. Edification is growing in holiness. We are artisans working on God’s house, for the salvation of the world, which seems kind of silly if you think about it. And the principle means that God is using is the preaching of Christ crucified for sinners.

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Convulsions & Antifragile Maturity (The Continuing Adventures of Jesus #26) (KC)

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INTRODUCTION

We live in world full of petty divisions and many foolish alliances. Maturity means growing up into a deep commitment to the truth as well as being able to tell the difference between gnats and camels. Unity at all costs will always lead to compromise, and certain wooden ideologies create brittle men and communities. We are seeking to build an anti-fragile like-mindedness, full of resilient, joyful saints, loyal to Christ and their people.  

The Text: “And some days after Paul said unto Barnabas, Let us go again and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord and see how they do…” Acts 15:36-41

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

After some time in Antioch following the decision of the Jerusalem Council, Paul proposed to Barnabas that they revisit the churches from their previous missionary journey (Acts 15:36). Barnabas insisted on taking John Mark with them, but Paul disagreed since John Mark had left them on their last journey (Acts 15:37-38, cf. 13:13). Remember that Barnabas was known as the “son of encouragement” (Acts 4:36) who had initially brought Paul to the apostles after his conversion (Acts 9:27). Barnabas was sent by the apostles in Jerusalem to encourage Paul’s ministry, and the two of them had led the first major missionary journey (Acts 11:22-30, 13:2) and stood together against the Judaizers who said Gentiles had to be circumcised to be saved (Acts 15:2). In other words, Paul and Barnabas had been very close, but the disagreement over John Mark was so sharp that Paul and Barnabas separated, with Paul taking Silas and Barnabas taking John Mark (Acts 15:39-41).  

WHO WAS JOHN MARK?

John Mark was related to Barnabas and probably his nephew (Col. 4:10). This likely explains at least some of Barnabas’s strong feelings about the matter. After some time serving with Barnabas, Mark later became an apprentice under the Apostle Peter (1 Pet. 5:13), under whose authority, Mark wrote his gospel. It seems likely that Mark was the rich young ruler that Jesus instructed to sell everything, since he adds, “Jesus beholding him loved him” (Mk. 10:21), and he may be the young man who ran away naked from the Garden when Jesus was arrested, since Mark is the only gospel to mention it (Mk. 14:51-52). Mark fits the rich young ruler description when Peter shows up at his mother’s house after breaking out of jail – a large enough house to gather in, with servants (and suggests great piety since this was during a fierce persecution, Acts 12:12). At the end of Paul’s life, imprisoned in Rome, he asked for Mark, “for he is profitable to me for the ministry” (2 Tim. 4:11).

MISSION MATURITY

So what do we make of this sharp disagreement? Well, Paul certainly had a point: John Mark did apparently flake on the first missionary journey (Acts 13:13). We are not given any information about why he left. Maybe he had very good reasons; maybe he couldn’t take the heat. Paul felt so strongly about this, he believed it was worth dividing over. Given the rest of his ministry and the fact that the church commended Paul and Silas, I am inclined to side with Paul (Acts 15:40). 

Nevertheless, Paul’s conviction was not personal animosity but a matter of ministry focus (Col. 4:10, 2 Tim. 4:11). Many Christians allow compassion and sympathy to trump duty and truth. Given the threats they faced, Paul was not crazy to want a strong missionary team. Churches, businesses, and nations sometimes need to make similar decisions, which need not be a permanent appraisal of character or gifts. This is what we may call “mission maturity.” What do we need right now to be faithful? Not knowing Barnabas’s arguments, he may have been too soft, or he may have believed that he had certain familial duties that trumped Paul’s convictions. No doubt this was a hard moment, but all the indications are that both men remained faithful to God, refused to be bitter or resentful, and the mission carried on. It is possible to disagree, go separate ways, and remain in fellowship, even if we might note that it appears Paul chose the path of greater blessing.

APPLICATIONS

The word for the “sharp disagreement” is the word “paroxusmos,” which is where we get the English word “paroxysm” meaning “convulsion” or “outburst.” The only other use of the word in the New Testament is Heb. 10:24: “And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works.” Our fierce pursuit of Christ and the missions He has assigned to us (family, church, business, community), ought to be calculated to apply godly pressure on those around us to love and obey Christ more. 

In this case, the division actually did result in more love and good works: Barnabas continued discipling Mark, which apparently ultimately resulted in Mark serving Peter and writing a gospel and becoming very useful to the Kingdom. Paul ended up taking Silas with him and they had an incredibly fruitful ministry together. And this doesn’t always mean that “everybody was right in their own way;” it just means that not every disagreement, division, or mistake is fatal. Good men sharpen one another (Prov. 27:17). 

Sometimes the kindest thing you can do is fire a fellow believer, so they can find the right job, so that you can provide that job to the right person. Sometimes you give an honest, mixed review/reference for an employee or business. Sometimes, faithful correction or rebuke is not received well at first. Sometimes church discipline is true love, handing a hardened sinner over to Satan so they may be saved and protecting the sheep (1 Cor. 5:5). 

Christians are commanded to preserve the unity we have in Christ (Eph. 4:3-6), but there is another kind of unity we are required to pursue (Eph. 4:13-16). This means that as far as it depends upon us, we want to be in fellowship with all who have the Spirit, who are part of the body, who confess the Triune God. But fellowship is not the same thing as agreeing about everything or being able to work closely together. As we grow up into the fullness of Christ, we must work at holding these things together. Different missions require different kinds of unity. And the grace of God in Christ holds us all together.

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