Foundations of Discipline (5)

Let all things be done for edification. 1 Corinthians 14.26

The problem in Corinth
The churches in Corinth were in a mess. They had settled into a kind of partisanship that saw groups of them touting the views of one teacher over another, taking their identities from admired leaders, piously scorning and looking down on others, and making a mockery of the oneness of the Body of Christ.

Moreover, they were taking their cues for life as much from the surrounding culture as from the plain teaching of God’s Word, and they considered themselves to be really spiritual because they tolerated sinful practices, reveled in boisterous and free-wheeling worship, and practiced the most exotic gifts of the Spirit.

The problem in Corinth was that the churches there were filled with children – infants in Christ (1 Cor. 3.1-3). And one thing most infants have in common is that they tend to think only of their own interests and concerns. Churches organized around the interests, felt needs, and material concerns of their members are not schools for saints, but kindergartens for the coddled. The churches in Corinth had fractured the unity of the Body of Christ in their city, and they were in the process of starving the different congregations by catering to the whining of infants rather than following the agenda of Christ.

They were of little good to themselves and one another, and so had nothing to offer of Good News to the surrounding community.

Refocus
Paul determined to refocus the believers in Corinth by reminding them of the Gospel, directing their minds upward, to where Christ is ruling in glory, and advising them to prepare more carefully for His coming again.

Paul held out the vision of Christ exalted for the Corinthians so that they would begin to get back on His agenda and organize their lives accordingly. And he reminded them that they must think not in terms of themselves but of Christ and their fellow believers, and of their lost neighbors in the city of Corinth. They must get their lives in order. They must take up the disciplines that line up with the thinking of Christ and express the indwelling presence of His Word and Spirit (1 Cor. 2.12-16).

And as they do, they must turn their eyes away from themselves and their selfish concerns to think about whatever might conduce to building others up in the Lord. “Let all things be done for edification.” Paul’s exhortation concerning their worship applies to every area of life. As the Corinthians, duly chided, repentant, and reformed, began to get their lives in order, they would have to discipline themselves to seek the wellbeing of others, both in the churches and beyond.

They would have to make sure, in other words, that the disciplines that filled up the time of their lives were directed at the work of restoration.

Future-oriented
Discipline is not an end in itself. It is a future-oriented activity. Through discipline we bring our bodies into line with our vision of the future – of the good life, as we conceive it. We make our bodies obey what we hope to realize at some future point, and, for the Christian, that future can be summed up in the word “restoration” – the restoring of all things into the excellence and glory of Christ.

Christ has reconciled the world and everything in it to God through His life, death, and resurrection. Now, seated at the Father’s right hand in glory, He is restoring the world to Him, setting the world right and upright, returning it to that “very good” condition in which it was originally made (Gen. 1.31). Christ is doing this work through His Church, which is both a sign and outpost of His Kingdom, His rule of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. The watchwords by which Christians must live within the Body of Christ are words like “grow”, “increase”, “be transformed”, “be renewed”, and “restore.” We must do all things in life, everything that takes up the time of our lives, for the purposes of Him Who is making all things new (Rev. 21.5).

Thus, as we shake off whatever remnants of infancy still beset us, and begin to press on to maturity in the Lord, we’ll want to make certain that the focus of all our disciplines is toward restoration, the restoration of all things for the glory and honor of Jesus Christ. Whether in our own souls, our relationships with others, the work we do, our lives together in community and culture, or in dealing with our trials and struggles, we want to know the newness of Christ, we work for the manifestation of His pleasure and glory, and we will be content only when we and others – and our culture and societies – are being transformed to refract the resurrection life of Jesus more and more.

It is foundational to the work of disciplining our bodies that we want to see improvement, change, newness, and restoration in every activity of word or deed by which we make our way in the world.

Next steps: Where would you go in your church to be equipped for restoration such as is discussed in this article? Talk with a pastor or church leader about this question.

T. M. Moore

This week’s study, Foundations of Discipline, is part 2 of a 7-part series on The Disciplined Life, and is available as a free download by clicking here. We have prepared a special worksheet to help you begin getting your disciplines in proper shape for seeking the Kingdom. Write to T. M. at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for you free PDF of the “Disciplined Life Worksheet.”

A rightly-disciplined life requires a Kingdom vision, and that vision is centered on Jesus Christ exalted. T. M. has prepared a series of meditations on the glorious vision of Christ, based on Scripture and insights from the Celtic Christian tradition. Order your copy of Be Thou My Vision by clicking here.

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.