Nr 7 Indicator that you might be in a Dysfunctional Church

You might be in a dysfunctional church if everyone feels that they are spiritual. There is nothing wrong with being spiritual or feeling spiritual for that matter, if you are genuinely spiritual. This was the problem in the church of Corinth; they thought they were spiritual, but they weren’t. The Apostle Paul discusses this in 1 Corinthians 3:1-4:

Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men? For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere men? (NIV)

In the passage which precedes this one, Paul talks about those who are spiritual have the mind of Christ. The Corinthians don’t. They are worldly (unspiritual). How can this be? These are Christians. They believe the right things. We can see from the rest of the letter that they saw supernatural “signs” such as healing, prophetic speech and tongues; these were spiritual gifts. They also saw themselves as wise. This was one of their beefs against Paul. He didn’t speak with rhetorical skills as one who is wise. He just told the simple story of Jesus, the cross and the resurrection.

Why did Paul say that they were unspiritual? He felt that they missed Class 101. They didn’t have the basics down. Loving our brothers and sisters is not advanced Christianity, it is basic. Jesus said, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:35-36) Love is meant to be tangible, “Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. (1 John 3:18) Paul continues in 1 Corinthians 3 to tell them that the unity of the church is basic. Of course we can disagree; we can disagree as a loving family disagrees – but doesn’t stop loving one another. The church at Corinth was engaged in a civil war. The envied one another. Envy doesn’t want anyone to get ahead of us. We will work to see that our brother or sister doesn’t succeed. This was why there was strife between them and they were divided, particularly on the issue of leadership. Paul says that when they are behaving like this, they were unspiritual.

Well, what does it mean to be spiritual? I won’t summarize the many books that have been written on this subject, I will just present some basic ideas. First, we must give the Corinthians their due. Believing the right things is important. Seeing the manifestations of the Holy Spirit is important. Spiritual wisdom is important. The issue about wisdom is certainly not some strange desire of Paul that people were to be ignorant. He just wants them to understand wisdom from a spiritual perspective. So, what is the issue? For Paul, to be spiritual, you must be transformed, from the inside out; he says, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:1-2) When we are transformed, the questions become like these:

1. Do you love your brother and sister?
2. Do you encourage one another?
3. Do you seek to build up the church without regard to your own position?

I suppose none of us becomes completely transformed this side of heaven; I know I haven’t. I do know that I am not the same person I was when I first started this journey called the Christian life. What should be happening in the church to make us grow in spirituality? We must:

1.Teach and learn right doctrine – study of God’s word, not just for academic learning, but personalizing the word and applying it to our lives

2. Have define our common vision – when we have a common vision, we don’t strive against one another

3. Find ways to serve one another – Learning to love in tangible ways in the church

4. Find ways to serve our community – Learning to love the world as God loves the world

There is certainly much more to say about true spirituality, but this will suffice for this time. Let us not just feel spiritual, let us be spiritual.