LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2001, Page 80

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80

CONVENTION ESSAYS AND REACTIONS
lowship, that we might go to the Gentiles, and they to
the circumcised.

Paul and the other apostles thought it was necessary to
find agreement on the truth of the Gospel. And please note
this connection: fellowship between teachers and churches
meant that they were also in mission together.
Here are more examples to show that the teachers and
churches in the New Testament desired a close fellowship
with one another. In 1 Cor. 16:1, writing from Ephesus on
the western coast of modern Turkey, Paul tells the church
in Corinth, “Now concerning the contribution for the saints
[in Judea]; as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you
also are to do.” In 1 Pet. 5:9, writing from Rome, the apostle Peter proclaims Gospel hope and truth to churches who
are scattered around north central Turkey, and reminds
them that they are not alone: “… the same experiences of
suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are
in the world.” As one writer has put it, “The early Christian
movement was not a scattering of isolated, self-sufficient
communities with little or no communication between
them, but quite the opposite: a network of communities
with constant, close communication among themselves.”1
The churches of God in Christ desired fellowship with one
another. But that is not all. They also desired unity and
agreement in their teaching and practice.

II. The New Testament Churches:
The Desire for Agreement and Unity
This desire for agreement in teaching came from the
words of the Lord Jesus himself. Jesus Himself had sent
the apostles first into the world to make disciples of all the
nations, by baptizing them into the triune name and by
teaching them to hold fast everything He had commanded
them to hold fast (Matt 28:19-20). The night He was betrayed, Jesus had promised His disciples that the Holy
Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, would come and guide them into
all truth (John 16:13). For the Spirit does not speak of Himself, but rather of Jesus, whose words are truth and life
(John 6:63). Jesus enjoined, promised, and commanded His
disciples to teach in turn all that He had taught them.
We can see this same desire for agreement in teaching
and life in the letters of Paul and most prominently in his
letters to the church at Corinth. This is not surprising;
Paul’s relationship with the Corinthians was a particularly
difficult one and he addressed many of their errors and
problems directly. The significant fact, however, is that
Paul does not only call the Corinthians to conform their
faith and life to his apostolic teaching. At the same time,
he calls them into agreement with other churches. Here are
some striking examples.
1 Cor. 4:17 For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord,
and he will remind you of my ways which are in Christ,
just as I teach everywhere in every church. 18 Now
some have become arrogant, as though I were not coming to you. 19 But I will come to you soon, if the Lord
wills, and I shall find out, not the words of those who
are arrogant, but their power. 20 For the kingdom of
God does not consist in words, but in power. 21 What
do you desire? Shall I come to you with a rod or with
love and a spirit of gentleness?

200l Convention Proceedings

The Corinthians, as we know, were abusing their freedom
in Christ. Some were thinking that they were free to abandon the stations in life in which God has called them,
whether single or married, slave or free. To this Paul responds in 1 Cor. 7:17 and declares, “Only, as the Lord has
assigned to each one, as God has called each, in this manner let him walk. And thus I direct in all the churches.”
Another example occurs in the important (and challenging) passage at the beginning of 1 Corinthians 11 regarding head coverings and the proper relationships between
men and women/husbands and wives in worship. Regardless of the particulars of understanding the entire passage,
Paul’s final comment is significant, 1 Cor. 11:16, “But if one
is inclined to be contentious, we have no other practice, nor
have the churches of God.” And in another significant
passage regarding male/female relationship in the church,
Paul even more strongly requires that the Corinthians’
thinking and living conform to the pattern of other
churches:
As in all the churches of the saints, 34 Let the
women keep silent in the churches; for they are not permitted to speak, but let them subject themselves, just
as the Law also says. 35 And if they desire to learn anything, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it
is improper for a woman to speak in church. 36 Was it
from you that the word of God first went forth? Or has
it come to you only? 37 If anyone thinks he is a prophet
or spiritual, let him recognize that the things which
I write to you are the Lord’s commandment. 38 But
if anyone does not recognize this, he is not recognized.

We do not need to determine the specific points of interpretation relative to this passage. We need only note that
Paul here combines a demand for submission to his apostolic authority with a truly ecumenical perspective. The
apostle desired that all of the churches under his care possess a unity, a God-pleasing agreement in teaching and in
practice.
But didn’t even the first Christians have their disagreements and their problems to work out? Indeed they did.
And there were (and are!) areas of life and practice in which
there was no command from the Lord in light of the cross
and empty tomb and so there was freedom to eat and drink,
to worship on this day or that, to be married or to be single.
In such matters the most important thing was for each one
to be convinced in the Lord in his own mind and for no one
to pass judgment upon a brother or sister in the Lord (Rom.
14:5, 10).
But weren’t there other, more significant, doctrinal
areas of disagreement reflected already in the New Testament? Yes, such disagreements appear in the earliest
church. But they did not remain. The early church as
portrayed in the New Testament was not content that
such disagreements remain. In the face of doctrinal disagreement, they met and came to agreement. In Acts 15,
some came to Antioch to teach that faith in Christ alone
was not sufficient to be saved; necessary also was circumcision according to the Law of Moses. The churches did not
agree to disagree. No, they came together at the Jerusalem
Council until there was agreement. And then they issued a
common written agreement and sent it to the churches
troubled by this controversy.