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Iron Sharpens Iron Radio

The Nature of Biblical Unity

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The following resources expand on AMBrewster's interview with Chris Arnzen concerning "The Nature of Biblical Unity."
Check out Aaron and Chris's conversation about Biblical Friendship.

Online Course

Podcast Episodes about Christian Unity

Podcasts Episodes for Family Unity

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Articles

Unity in the Midst of Trials

Resolving Conflict

Flourishing Friendship

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​AMBrewster's Notes

• Today’s Goals
  1. Freedom from the pursuit of Identical Unity.
  2. Freedom from the shallow concepts of Christian Unity.
  3. Freedom from the angst that comes from the Spectrum of Functional Unity.
• All Unity
  1. All Unity Requires Similarity
  2. All Unity Requires Specificity
  3. All Unity Requires Separation
• Christian Unity
  1. Foundational Unity
     1. Unity in Christ Requires Redemption
     2. Unity in Christ Requires Life
     3. Unity in Christ Requires Submission
     4. Unity in Christ Requires Cooperation
     5. Unity in Christ Requires Imitation
     6. Unity in Christ Requires War
  2. Functional Unity
     1. Degrees of Separation
        1. Commands are clear Biblical mandates. They don’t change, and you have to do them. For example, “Don’t provoke your children to anger.”
        2. Principles are generally drawn from examples. For example, “Reprove a wise man, and he will love you.” This verse doesn’t command us to love people who reprove us, but the principle is clear. Commands and Principles come from the Bible. The rest of the list is how we apply those commands and principles.
        3. Convictions are personally held beliefs that you base on biblical commands and principles. God tells us not to provoke our kids. Undoubtedly someone out there might believe that criticizing their child’s weight could be provocative. That’s an example of a belief that’s extrapolated from a biblical truth. It’s their conviction, so they create a Standard to live by. By the way, I don’t believe that’s a correct application of Ephesians 6:4
        4. Standards are rules we create to help us keep our convictions. So, this person decides that they will never say anything negative about their child’s weight. They will only speak in positive terms or let their doctors handle it. Now, remember, God doesn’t tell us to do this, but someone may feel convicted about it, so they create a standard. Often this happens when we mix our feelings and personal experiences. People who refuse to speak negatively about their children’s weight often had negative experiences when they were young. Now, before I continue, I want you to know that I personally do not have this conviction. In fact, I have the conviction that it would be very unwise not to be frank with my child about their health. But that’s my conviction I’ve come to by using biblical principles. My personal conviction isn’t stated in Scripture either.
        5. Preferences are things we believe please God, but for which we have no biblical basis. For example, I prefer not to shop at Target. That would be a preference. 
        6. And then Hang-Ups are the negative version of Preferences—they’re things we believe very strongly, even though we have no biblical basis for it, but which also get in the way of clear biblical commands or are allowed to hinder my relationships with others. Any time a personal preference causes us to disobey a clear command or principle—we have a serious problem.
     2. The Beauty of Disagreement
        1. Remember that Disagreement is Not Inherently Bad.
        2. Disagreeing with God is a sin.
           1. Psalm 119:160
           2. John 17:17
           3. Matthew 18:15-17
           4. I Corinthians 11:17-22 (19)
        3. Disagreeing in areas of liberty is not a sin.
           1. Romans 14:1-23
           2. Acts 15:36-41
        4. Sinfully disagreeing on any topic is a sin. We’re going to refer to this kind of disagreement as conflict.
           1. I Corinthians 13:1
           2. James 4:1-3
     3. Be Thankful for the Disagreements and the Conflict.
        1. Acknowledge that God is working.
           1. James 1:2-4
           2. Romans 8:28-29
        2. Hope all things and believe all things. I Corinthians 13:7
        3. Be thankful for what God is doing in the situation and the fact that reconciliation is always possible in His strength. 
           1. I Thessalonians 5:18
           2. Philippians 4:6
           3. Ephesians 5:20
           4. Colossians 3:15
           5. Colossians 3:17
        4. Follow Jesus’ example. 
           1. John 11:1-46
           2. Jesus allowed Lazarus to die.
           3. He was glad Lazarus died (even though it was hard for everyone involved).
           4. He was glad because it provided an opportunity for God to be glorified.

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